“What did they tell you?” Phynis asked, tilting her head in curiosity.
“That they wanted to make a clean break, so that no one looked to you for decisions instead of me,” he replied, obviously embarrassed.
“That’s actually rather sensible of them, I think,” she mused, then shook her head and laughed softly. “Not one of the reasons I thought of, actually.”
“Well, I’m still not happy with it,” he muttered under his breath. After taking a deep drink, he frowned and then asked, “So what are you going to do now?”
“I’m not sure. I can’t do anything too sensitive for the same reasons I stepped aside, which means I can’t do most administrative tasks either.” Phynis sighed and frowned into her teacup. “Later today I’m interviewing some of the researchers we’re sending to that cave system. I’m thinking about taking up fencing or studying magic as well, since I don’t have too many options. Unfortunately, my magical talent is barely average, and I’m not sure if the brand will even allow me to use magic.”
“I hope that the researchers can help you. I’m not going to count on taking the throne until it happens, sis. You’re still the heir, in my mind,” Zanath told her firmly, setting his jaw.
“We’ll see, little brother.” She chuckled at the statement, smiling at him happily. “Do your best either way. We all hope that I’ll be able to get this fixed. We’ll just have to wait and see.”
* * *
The meeting with the various potential researchers had gone well, Phynis thought. She smiled at the memory of the various men and women she’d met with. Choosing just four to go to Sistina’s cavern had been somewhat difficult, but she thought that the ones she’d suggested would do a good job, and wouldn’t panic over being so close to Kelvanis. Hopefully her mother would approve of her suggestions.
The thought of her mother made Phynis frown for a moment. Queen Calath hadn’t made time to meet with Phynis aside from the single meeting when they’d first reached the castle, and every other encounter had been in public and surprisingly brief. It made her uneasy, but Phynis supposed that what had happened to her had likely caused a great deal of trouble that her mother was having to deal with. So she firmly set the thought aside and tried to prepare herself for sleep.
Phynis hummed softly as she slowly brushed out her hair, trying to relax as she looked in the mirror. The sun had set not long ago, and she knew she should be in bed already, but she was too restless. She’d been having strange dreams that never seemed to stick in her mind of late, and Phynis would rather delay them in a somewhat productive manner. She was wearing her nightgown and her maid had left at her request not long before.
That was part of why she started slightly when the front door to her chambers opened, and Phynis frowned, calling out. “Felicia? Is that you?”
She turned around as the doorway to her room opened, and her eyes went wide in surprise as General Fairbrook stepped into the room. The general was in casual clothing save for the sword at his side, and he had a confident smile on his face. His voice was smooth as he spoke. “No, it’s me, Your Highness.”
“General? What are you doing here? You should leave, now!” Phynis demanded, her pulse quickening suddenly. He shouldn’t be in here alone, and he definitely shouldn’t have been able to enter her rooms with an obvious weapon! She stood, tensing herself to scream for help at the slightest provocation.
“I don’t think so. Be quiet, Princess, and don’t do anything to try to leave,” he spoke confidently, a smile on his face. A ring on his right hand suddenly flickered with blue light.
“Erk!” Phynis choked slightly as her voice suddenly cut off just as she was about to call for help. For a moment, she didn’t realize what had happened. But then her eyes went wide as she realized that he’d just commanded her via her slave brand.
“I must say, you being branded was a stroke of luck for me. I’ve wanted you for years, Your Highness, and this was just irresistible to me.” He chuckled softly, smiling more broadly. “And I know enough about your condition to know that if I play my hand right, you won’t be able to resist me on the morrow. Lust for me, Princess, and let your body quicken.”
Phynis backed away, unable to talk under his command, her tongue feeling swollen in her mouth. But at his command, the brand suddenly grew warm and heat began to coil through her veins. As the pounding of her heartbeat began to almost resound in her ears, Phynis felt her body obeying the general, and despair flooded her. She couldn’t do anything as he approached, reaching over and running a finger along her jaw line.
“Disrobe, then lay down on the bed, Princess,” he spoke huskily, then kissed her hungrily.
She couldn’t resist, and her hands automatically rose toward the laces of her nightgown.
* * *
Desa paused and frowned as she crossed the hallway, looking down toward Phynis’ chambers. Normally, there was only a single guard assigned to watch Phynis’ door at night, but due to the kidnapping, that had changed. Phynis’ standard guard had been increased to two guards each night, with one guard being required to be from among those guards who hadn’t accompanied her ill-fated trip to Galthor and been branded with her. All of that had been decided with the agreement of Her Majesty, Phynis, Desa, and the captain of the Royal Guard, Laila Steelguard. Which was why she was concerned that she could only see a single guard on duty and that it was Evrial.
Evrial was one of the guards who’d been with them, and alarms were already going off in Desa’s head. Evrial would never allow herself to disobey her orders after what had happened. Changing her mind about checking a few records in the library, Desa turned and headed down toward Phynis’ chambers.
Evrial saluted as Desa approached, her voice firm and calm as she spoke, but there was something about her eyes, almost like she was in pain. “Captain.”
“Evrial. Who’s assigned here with you tonight?” Desa asked, suppressing the urge to jump to conclusions as she tapped her sheaf of papers against her leg.
“Private Skylark,” Evrial replied simply. “She had to use the restroom.”
“Really. And you didn’t call for a relief for her?” Desa asked, her paranoia climbing sharply since she knew this had been addressed.
“No, we thought she would be back so soon that it wouldn’t be necessary,” Evrial replied with that same look in her eyes. And with it, Desa’s feeling that something was wrong grew to certainty.
“I see. Well, I need to check on Her Highness. Excuse me, Evrial,” Desa told her, stepping toward the door, only to have Evrial block the way.
“Sorry, Captain, but Her Highness left explicit instructions that she wasn’t to be bothered until morning,” Evrial spoke firmly, one hand on her sword sheath.
“Indeed. I was afraid of this,” Desa spoke softly, almost sadly, as she took several steps back, and then shook her head as she gathered her magic and spoke several words, weaving the magic almost instantly to strike like a serpent.
Sheets of ice wrapped around Evrial in a sudden surge that caught the warrior off-guard, and she only managed to get her sword halfway out of its sheath before the ice climbed upward, fully encasing everything but Evrial’s nose. Oddly, the guard looked almost grateful, which meant that Desa’s suspicions of what had happened were all but confirmed. Someone who could command slave brands was here.
“I’m sorry, Evrial, but I don’t have time for this,” Desa spoke sharply, quickly unlocking the door with her own key. Now that she was inside, she heard the faint sound of a man’s voice, and anger grew inside her. Almost instantly, she dropped the papers to the floor and rushed forward, opening the door to Phynis’ bedroom and stepping inside just in time.
Sitting on the bed was Phynis, completely naked and with her legs spread. An anguished expression was on the princess’ face, even as she was flushed bright crimson. Her brand was different than those that Desa had seen on others, a deep cobalt blue that was elaborate and stood out against her skin. While Desa had seen the brand be
fore, never before had it been glowing with azure light.
In front of her, half-naked himself, was General Marcus Fairbrook. Seeing him turning to look at Desa in surprise made her rage flare brightly. But in spite of that, she controlled herself as she hissed, “General. You do not belong here. Explain yourself.”
“Captain Desa Iceheart. What a surprise to see you. But I’m glad it’s you and not some other guard,” he spoke, obviously regaining his confidence as he smiled and ordered, his ring flickering with blue light. “On your knees, Captain.”
Desa felt something strange wash over her. It was like the command had substance, as something foul touched the brand on her stomach and just flowed off, like a raindrop bouncing off of a pane of glass. It didn’t take a genius to know what it was that he’d just done, and her rage burst out full-bore as she hissed the words to a spell.
A dozen spears of ice appeared over her shoulders, and she spoke harshly. “General Fairbrook, you are under arrest for High Treason. Surrender now or die.”
“Impossible!” he gasped out, eyes widening in shock, then narrowing as he dove to try to hide behind the bed. “No, I don’t think so! Princess! If I’m hurt, you’re to—”
As he moved, Desa struck without hesitation. He probably had expected her to hesitate or to be delayed by the brand’s magic that normally kept a slave from attacking their master. Unfortunately for him, she didn’t have any hesitation, and the spears lashed out like silver streaks of light. By the time the General was halfway to the bed, the spears were on him. The frozen spears burst through the general’s body, throwing him back against the wall as blood sprayed throughout the room.
Desa did freeze for a moment then, as she realized what she’d just done. Shaking it off, she rushed to the bed and asked softly, “Phynis! Are you alright?”
Phynis stared at her, and then she slowly shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes and trickling down her face. Desa swore softly, and murmured, “Give me a minute, Phynis. I’ll perform the ritual to free you of his commands, and then we’ll get the others in here. I just… damn it, I should’ve imprisoned him, not killed him. Shit. I’m sorry, Phynis. I should never have let him close to you.”
They both jumped as, all at once, the ring on the dying man’s hand exploded into flames, then crumbled to dust.
* * *
“And Private Skylark?” Queen Calath asked with a scowl, her fingers tapping the table impatiently.
“Recovering. The poison left her disoriented and highly suggestible, so she actually ‘remembers’ having guarded the princess’ door all last night, with no interruptions,” Captain Laila explained, her voice hard and angry.
“Well. At least we know who the traitor was,” Zanath murmured, shaking his head. “I hate what happened, but…”
“The traitor we know of. It’s entirely possible that there are others, Your Highness,” Desa interjected flatly. “While it is very likely General Fairbrook was behind our ambush, it would be unwise to assume that no one else has turned to Kelvanis in hopes of avoiding slavery.”
“Quite. This entire conflict is absolutely devastating to our nation. People are growing worried and even desperate, and desperate people make choices that are foolish. I wish to the gods we had the power to actually face Kelvanis in straightforward war.” The queen sighed, shaking her head. Looking at Desa, she asked, “How is Phynis reacting?”
“She’s in shock.” Desa’s voice grew soft as she shrugged. “We thought she’d be safe here, and we’ve been back what… two weeks? And now someone managed to command her, got past her guards, and almost raped her. I’m afraid of what might have happened if he’d been able to command me as well.”
“Agreed. Speaking of which, you said that the command just slid off you?” Captain Laila asked, her eyes narrowing slightly.
“That’s what it felt like. My only guess is that, for whatever reason, the brands have one set of control sigils for all of the ones in Kelvanis. And somehow Sistina keyed it to a different set, or something along those lines,” Desa replied, shrugging again as she frowned. “And saying it ‘felt’ that way isn’t quite right either. It’s an indescribable sensation. It definitely had no effect on me. I didn’t even hesitate.”
“Mmm. Be that as it may, I believe we may have to change our plans due to what has happened.” Queen Calath stood up and walked to the window, staring through it.
“Your Majesty?” Desa asked uncertainly.
“My initial plan was to let Zanath take over duties as the crown prince, and let Phynis do what she wished so long as it didn’t seem dangerous,” Calath explained, turning around and sighing. “That appears to no longer be an option.”
“What do you mean, Mother? What do you plan now?” Zanath asked her, looking nervous.
“Desa. Do you swear, on your magic and soul, that all of what you have told me about your brand is true?” Queen Calath asked instead, her expression serious.
“I…” Desa hesitated for a long moment, going over what she had explained before, then finally nodded. “I do. I swear, upon every drop of magic and my eternal soul, that all of what I have told you about my brand is the truth to my knowledge.”
“Good. In that case, do you think you can trust the team being prepared for the researchers to get Phynis to Sistina? As well as yourself and the guards?” Queen Calath asked, looking at her seriously. “I believe that at this point, we must ask Sistina to free Phynis and the other Royal Guards from Kelvanis’ influence. Even if Sistina’s motives are unknown yet, she does not have the territory that they do or the hundreds of command sigils that our forces must risk.”
Everyone looked startled at the queen’s statement, though Desa wasn’t too badly surprised by the explanation. She’d thought about suggesting it, in fact, but had decided that it wasn’t worth potentially causing suspicion of her own motives. So she considered for a few moments before replying.
“I think if we reinforced the escort with a few more guards we can make the trip. That would be just as a precaution in the case that members of Kelvanis’ military with command sigils are in our path. We need to be able to disable the other guards if they’re commanded, after all,” Desa finally recommended, shrugging. “The only real concern will be if they’ve realized that there’s something in the caves.”
“Hmm… opinions?” The queen looked at the other two with arched eyebrows.
“I do not like the idea of Princess Phynis or her guards being under the influence of anyone at all. But given the events of last night, I see little choice.” Laila let out a deep breath and nodded. “That is the best of a bad series of options, in my opinion.”
“I… I think it’d be for the best. She admitted to me she felt envious of Desa, Mother. She felt that the freedom would be worth the risk,” Zanath said, his voice slow, but not hesitant at least.
“Then we are agreed. Captain Desa, make the arrangements,” Queen Calath told her, then paused before speaking softly. “And keep her safe, like you did last night.”
“I will do my best, Your Majesty,” Desa vowed, saluting and bowing deeply.
* * *
After Desa and Zanath had left, Laila turned to her Queen and spoke, her voice serious. “Permission to speak, My Queen?”
“Go ahead, Laila. We’re in private,” Calath replied calmly, looking down at the map of the war front, and the symbols that represented the dozens of raids that Kelvanis had managed over the last year. There were far too many of them.
“May I recommend assassinating Sistina with the additional guards after the princess is freed?” Laila asked, still standing at attention and her face serious. “That would eliminate the chances of foreign influence on her actions.”
Pausing at the recommendation, Calath looked up to meet Laila’s gaze. She frowned for a moment, seriously considering the request before finally shaking her head. “I dare not risk it, Laila. We do not know how much power Sistina truly has, and I cannot be certain that they would succeed at the at
tempt. Besides, at this point Phynis will never inherit. The nobles have been in such a furor after she came back, and I’d thought I was making progress, but this? This has simply confirmed their fears about how easily Phynis could be influenced. As much as I love her and hate to consider it, at this point the key is to keep Phynis out of Kelvanis’ hands.”
She paused for a moment, her hands trembling, and looked up at Laila as tears filled her eyes, her voice growing soft. “And with that in mind, please place a guard who you know can be trusted to ensure they never get their hands on her again. But only as an absolute last resort, Laila. Only if there are no other options.”
Laila hesitated for an instant, then bowed her head, placing her hand over her heart. “It will be done, Your Majesty.”
Chapter 23
Serel paused as they came over a hill and caught sight of Westgate’s walls. The mission had been much longer than she’d anticipated, and the attack by a frost drake on the way back through the mountains had nearly killed several more people, including a priestess. That would have been disastrous, and it had been a near thing, killing it. But they succeeded, and they were almost back to civilization. She almost let out a sigh of relief, but she didn’t dare. Not yet, at least. They weren’t in Westgate yet, which meant that they weren’t quite safe. The fact they didn’t have to all go on foot anymore had helped speed their journey.
She glanced back at the large carriage at the center of the caravan, holding the high priestess and five of her fellow priestesses, along with the angel they’d captured. Behind it came two wagons filled with the supplies for their trip, along with the hidden large wooden sarcophagus which held Medaea. Fortunately, the elaborate wards built into the sides of the box contained her presence, making it seem like a normal, if large, box. Of course, the goddess chained within would probably be less than pleased if she woke.
The troops were more cheerful, now that they were in sight of Westgate, at least. They’d been less than pleased to be denied entry into the temple, as well as being denied opportunities to enjoy themselves with the priestesses, so she would be glad to be rid of them. She suspected that they’d be disposed of soon either way. Her fellow Enforcers, on the other hand, looked relaxed as they rode their horses toward the city, each of them keeping a wary eye out for danger in spite of their apparent relaxation.
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