The Warrior's Curse

by Jennifer A. Nielsen

  The pit that had formed in my gut suddenly became heavier. I dismissed Basil and Trina, then turned as Gabe began sending orders to Huge, who was nearby.

  “Gather in as many Alliance members as you can and send them to Woodcourt,” Gabe said. Then to Imri, he added, “Is there nothing more you can do? None of your technologies?”

  She ran a hand over her close-cropped head, looking more unnerved than I’d ever seen her, or any Brillian. “Our vibrations worked as planned. But we did not anticipate the breadth of his magic, nor his willingness to use it.”

  “How many did you lose?” I asked.

  “Fifty-two, based on the most recent report. Simon, it happened so fast. And if his magic is like Kestra’s, then he just pulled the strength of all fifty-two of my people into himself.”

  As Kestra had just pulled all of Endrick’s power to herself. And hadn’t Joth told me he and Kestra were sharing their powers now?

  “Loelle’s medical station is set up at Woodcourt,” I said. “That’s where Tenger is going. If any of your soldiers are still alive, she can heal them too.”

  “I will not accept that woman’s help,” Imri said. “And I cannot believe that you are letting her roam free.”

  Sighing, I said, “What good is Loelle to us down in the dungeons? If you wish to save lives, get your people to her as quickly as possible!”

  I started to walk away, but Gabe grabbed my arm. “Where are you going? Surely with Joth and Kestra inside the palace, we are sealed out of it.”

  “I still have Rawk,” I said. “He can get past the half-lives.”

  “And then?”

  “I’ve got to find Kestra.”

  “Harlyn is in there too!”

  “Yes, and wherever Kestra is, Harlyn won’t be far away. Joth is going to kill Kestra, Gabe.”

  “Maybe we should let him. What if Kestra is responsible for your sister’s death?”

  He waited for my response, but I was frozen with anger. Or was it fear that was causing my heart to pound so violently against my chest?

  When he saw how his words affected me, with a louder voice he added, “If you can get in, find Harlyn. I am right about this. How can you be so blind?”

  “Right or wrong, I am in command.” I began searching the skies for Rawk’s approach, losing the focus I should have had on Gabe.

  I caught movement from him just as he swung at me, hitting me square in the jaw. “Maybe you shouldn’t be,” he sneered.

  I reeled backward, then launched myself at him, trying to pretend there weren’t stars in my vision. He easily grabbed my arm as I reached to hit him, but he never saw my other fist headed for his gut.

  It was his turn to stumble back, though he refused to let me go, so I used my own weight to shove him. We ended up on the ground, each of us more than ready to continue.

  “Stop this!” Imri yelled, running up to us. “We cannot fight each other—we must focus on the enemy.”

  “Who is the enemy, Simon?” Gabe yelled. “Who is it?”

  I released him and shook myself free of his grip, then stood as Rawk descended nearby. Without another word to Gabe, I rolled onto the dragon’s back and gave a silent order to launch into the air. Hoping to calm myself, I rolled my knuckles against Rawk’s scales, thanking him for coming before we made even bigger fools of ourselves down there. Rawk snorted at me and I gave a tight smile, but I was no calmer than before.

  We had launched steep and high, so I already had a good view of the layout of the land. Many of the Ironhearts were retreating, literally running for their lives. I searched every face I saw for any resemblance to Rosaleen, but as far as I could tell, she wasn’t here. She wasn’t anywhere, and that worried me.

  My cavalry was in close pursuit of the fleeing Ironhearts. Before this had all begun, I had left orders with Commander Reese not to strike at anyone in the act of surrender, and my soldiers seemed to be following those orders.

  However, all at once, simultaneously, every single Ironheart stood erect, many of them clutching at their chests, then in unison all of them retrieved any weapons they had dropped and began hurrying back toward the palace.

  Kestra was ordering them in. She was using Endrick’s powers to regroup an army she now considered hers. Nothing else could explain what I was seeing. If Rosaleen was in the area, she’d be called in too. That’s where I’d find her.

  I asked Rawk to locate any way through the palace barriers that he could, though I was surprised that on his first attempt, he flew straight through to the castle without even a whisper of resistance. No barriers.

  It shouldn’t have been that simple, even for Rawk.

  Something had changed.

  What was happening inside that throne room? Was Harlyn somehow involved?

  Rawk flew us over a wide parapet somewhere near the rear of the castle. From here I could see empty iron cages. Endrick’s animals were free, though I hadn’t seen Dominion riders on any of them thus far. Maybe they had escaped as soon as Endrick was killed. Or maybe they had been moved so Kestra and Joth wouldn’t have access to them. However, for now, my main task was to get inside the throne room and see the commotion for myself.

  Gabe had asked me who the enemy was, and I now had the answer.

  Kestra was the enemy, though Joth was worse.

  Harlyn was an enemy to Kestra, though Gabe was worse.

  Gabe might’ve become my enemy as well, though of all enemies, I was the worst.

  For I had not given anyone the full explanation of why it had to be me entering the palace.

  I had come to claim the Scarlet Throne for myself.

  At all costs.

  As awful as I had felt when Darrow left my throne room, my mood didn’t improve at seeing Joth kneeling before me. Now that I had my place on the Scarlet Throne, it was time to disconnect my powers from Joth, to separate us again. He wouldn’t like it, but I wasn’t offering him a choice.

  For now, he smiled, took my hand, and kissed it. The last time he had taken my hand, I had noticed how very warm it was, but that was true no longer. Or perhaps I was now as fever warm as Joth had been.

  Joth kept hold of my hand to say, “My queen, now that we’re alone, there is something I must ask. In your battle with Endrick, I know that you called the half-lives here to the throne room for your protection, but I do not sense them here … or anywhere. Where are they?”

  His question irritated me. Who was he to imply that their sacrifice was not worth my victory? With a sigh, I said, “Endrick claimed that the curse he had imposed upon them was not the worst he could do.”

  Joth’s eyes widened. “He didn’t … Kestra, he didn’t—”

  “We knew there would be sacrifices in order to claim the throne—”

  “Corack sacrifices, yes! Brillian or Halderian sacrifices! This was not supposed to happen! Harlyn walked free from this room. How could you save her, and not my people?” He was practically screaming now.

  I stood. “Enough of this! I am your queen, and you will not speak to me this way.”

  He stood as well, grabbing my arm. Instantly, I felt a sensation of all strength within me being sucked from every vein, every drop of my blood. As if my bones had melted to jelly, I sank to the floor.

  He must have planned this. He must have waited for this very opportunity when my guard was lowered.

  This time when Joth knelt, it was without humility, without respect. His voice was a rabid snarl as he said, “As punishment for your misjudgment, a few of my people must be restored. I will not weaken myself with their cure, but your strength is expendable. I am gathering them all into this hall. Find them, restore them.”

  It had always been my intention to eventually restore his people, so I didn’t know why he had resorted to forcing me now. He must have had other reasons.

  “There is not enough in me to do it.” This wasn’t stalling—he had genuinely drained me of every bit of strength I had.

  “For now, it’s only a small number of th
e Navan. I will give you what you need to complete the task, but no more. As long as you are restoring my people, you will live.”

  “And then?”

  “And then you will try to persuade me to keep you alive. Our magic is connected, Kestra. If I must dispose of you, it will cause me great pain, I assure you.”

  A hundred thoughts of what I wanted to say came to my mind, but I lacked the strength for any of them. Instead, I preserved what I had to reach out to the Ironhearts, ordering them into my service and hoping they listened. They had no reason to do so, other than possibly recognizing that my magic had the same signature as Endrick’s. I hoped they would believe that I could crush their hearts if they refused me, though at the moment, I lacked the strength to crush even a gnat.

  “My people are here,” Joth said. “Begin.”

  My eyes had been closed, but when I opened them, I was surprised at how well I could see the half-lives. I faintly recalled Endrick saying that he could see them, so it followed that I was now able to do so too. Hundreds of half-lives were in the room—I could see each one as though I were looking through a sheer veil. Their attention passed from Joth to me, wondering who would be called forward first for restoration. Wondering, no doubt, why Joth had said that for now, I would only be helping a small number of them.

  At Joth’s prompting, a man stepped forward, wearing a stocking cap and a simple tunic and trousers with a rope for a belt. I reached out to him and gave everything I had to his restoration, then immediately felt a new surge of strength for the next to step forward, a woman similarly dressed. Perhaps his wife.

  They were an odd choice for restoration, I thought. Clearly these were not people of high status or recognition, and Joth wasn’t paying them any particular attention as close friends or family.

  But as I restored the man’s wife, I began to understand why he had chosen them. Joth did have his reasons.

  And I had mine.

  So I continued with the next in line, and the next, each time receiving a limited infusion of strength. Again and again I continued restoring his people in the order that Joth silently called them forward. I had no idea where he was getting his strength to continue this process, but since he wasn’t showing the slightest sign of weakening, he must have drawn in enormous amounts of strength before entering this room. Somewhere outside this palace, there must have been dozens of his victims, or more.

  “Please let me rest,” I begged him.

  “My people have not slept for an entire generation,” he said. “When they sleep, you sleep.”

  “You don’t understand,” I said. “You are restoring my magic enough to help your people, but physically, I am empty. I will not do anything more until I’ve rested.”

  “Keep going, or you will die here.”

  Barely keeping my eyes open, I said, “I will die here if I keep going.”

  His grip on my arm tightened; then suddenly he tilted his head and mumbled something under his breath, as if in conversation with someone.

  Perhaps he had forgotten that with our connected magic, I was privy to what he was hearing, and I wasn’t sure what to think of it.

  “The Halderian king has entered the palace” was the message.

  Joth pulled me closer to him. “Did you know of this?”

  “Know of what?” I replied.

  Inside, my stomach was churning. Had Simon come as friend or foe?

  Foe.

  On more than one occasion, I had proven myself an enemy to him. If only he knew how ineffectual an enemy I was.

  With that single thought, something within me awoke. I had Endrick’s magic. I was more powerful than this! Maybe I didn’t know everything Endrick had been capable of doing, and certainly I didn’t know how to use the magic I now had, but I would not play the victim any longer.

  Perhaps Simon was an enemy now, but Joth was the greater threat. My only hope might be to use the one against the other.

  I reached out once more to the Ironhearts, and despite my weakness, I found it easy to identify each individual. I knew in general where they were, and I knew if any were attempting to ignore my hold on them.

  So I gave a slight squeeze on the hearts of every single soldier. Now I had their attention. Then I made sure they knew their orders. Their queen had need of them.

  Joth faced the thirty people I had restored. I imagined they were nearly the same as what they had been before Endrick had cursed them: same age and clothing as before, same interests and abilities … or almost the same.

  Joth said to them, “If you have been restored, then for now, you must remain in this room, for your protection. Those who have not been restored must offer their assistance to all of us. Go and find the Halderian king. Bring him here.”

  Once Joth seemed satisfied that his order had been obeyed, he turned back to me. “Will Simon relinquish his kingdom to save you?”

  Despite my weakness, I couldn’t help but laugh. “As things between us are now, Simon wouldn’t relinquish his dessert to save me. But if he is coming here, whether by choice or by force, you should be afraid. Whatever he wants, he will get it.”

  “Then I hope he wants to die,” Joth said. “For once I get him to kneel to me, that will be his fate.”

  I shook my head. “Who will kill him? It won’t be you.”

  Joth’s eyes narrowed. “Why not?”

  I smiled. “By the time Simon gets here, my Ironhearts will already have their orders to bury you.”

  At my words, nearly every door into the throne room began to echo with pounding noises. Joth’s people rushed to the doors to hold them closed, but their eyes revealed their fear.

  “Remember your magic,” Joth told them. “Use it!”

  But the people only stared at him and each other in confusion, which made my smile widen.

  The thirty Navan had been restored … mostly. But Endrick had one power at the root of all other powers he had ever obtained—the ability to steal magic from others.

  And so I had.

  It was commonly believed that he had to kill the person in order to take their magic, but now that his power was mine, I understood differently. He killed the person so that they could not challenge him to get their magic back. He could have left his victims alive.

  As I had left the thirty people of Navan alive. But their magic was mine. And I had no intention of sharing any of it with Joth.

  Joth’s face reddened in anger. “What have you done?”

  Now my smile disappeared. “Kneel to me and beg my forgiveness. This will be your only warning.”

  “Never!” He reached for me, but using a power I had just acquired, my arm slipped through his grip like it was coated in warm butter. He ordered his people to grab me before I escaped, but I did the same with them, slid out the door, and used the last bit of strength within me to seal the door closed.

  There were no Ironhearts nearby. I’d ordered all of them nearer the front of the throne room, closer to where the bulk of Joth’s restored Navan were.

  Grateful to be alone, I slumped to the floor, closed my eyes, and tried to find anything within me to stand. I knew it wouldn’t be long before I was found, and I needed to hide until I recovered.

  “Get up, Kestra.”

  I opened my eyes and groaned. Harlyn stood before me, with a disk bow aimed directly at my chest. Her voice lacked any emotion whatsoever. Considering all that I had done for her in the past several hours, I would have preferred to hear at least a hint of gratitude. Or at least something in her tone that didn’t sound nearly so eager to shoot me again.

  “Get up,” she repeated. “Or this will be the place you die.”

  I glared up at her. “And what happens if I do get up?”

  Harlyn’s eyes flashed, and she gave no answer. She didn’t need to. I already knew it.

  Joth had use of the half-lives as his army, warriors I could not even sense, much less see, yet who apparently had become tangible enough that they could strike a person down in an instant.
Finally, I understood that.

  And I had to expect that they knew I had entered the castle, and that some attempt would be made to stop me.

  Until they did, I would do everything in my power to get as close as possible to Joth and Kestra … if she was still alive. And I had to find Harlyn. If I failed at that, I figured Gabe would finish whatever he had started outside. I’d never seen him so angry, and certainly not so angry with me.

  Then I paused right where I stood as a realization flooded over me. It was so obvious, I couldn’t believe that I had missed it.

  Gabe had feelings for Harlyn; maybe he even loved her. He couldn’t say anything because he knew she was meant for me, but nothing else explained why his reactions concerning her had been so strong.

  Which made me wonder if Harlyn felt the same way about him. I knew they had spent a lot of time together and become good friends, if they were only friends. Maybe she didn’t feel she could say anything either.

  Loud, angry voices suddenly echoed down the hall from the throne room, bringing me back to the moment. I could think about Gabe later. For now, I needed to think of Harlyn and Kestra.

  I lifted my sword and ventured deeper into the palace, toward the throne room. Perhaps it was pointless to have my sword out—it would be worthless if the half-lives attacked—but I felt better with it in my hand.

  Only a few steps later, someone reached out and grabbed my arm. I twisted around and began to swipe at my attacker, but stopped at the last minute, realizing it was no attacker at all. Or at least, I didn’t think it was.

  Darrow put a finger to his lips and motioned for me to join him. He had stationed himself in a darkened alcove directly beneath the grand staircase. I crouched near him but said nothing. He looked deflated, as if the world had caved in around him.

  “You were right about her,” he said. “Kestra is worse than I had anticipated. Even if she recognizes what she has become, she has no wish to change anything. She cares only for the throne.”

  “Harlyn was with you. Where is she?” I asked.

  “Harlyn entered the throne room with me, and when I failed, she challenged Kestra to a fight. Kestra used some sort of magic to sweep Harlyn out of the room, but I couldn’t find her. I don’t know what has happened to her since then.”