by Sage, May
“Let us stay a moment, if you don’t mind. I didn’t take the time to gaze upon this keep on our way in.”
Complying with his request was no hardship.
The Court of Night was beautiful in its own way. It looked exactly the way a fortress harboring a queen ought to, with its tall gates, the castle’s heavy frame, and the conveniently narrow streets that prevented the army from entering shoulder to shoulder. It was the creation of a queen ready for war. The Winter Court was first and foremost a home. A home that could comfortably house hundreds of guests when it needed to.
Yet the only way into the keep on foot was over an elegant alabaster curved bridge—the only part of the building that was relatively new. It had been built after the War of the Realms, for in times of peril, the fortress had stood alone, impenetrable to those who knew not its secrets. Some might try attacking it by air, but those with any sense knew better: elves were famous for their devastating aptitude as archers.
Elden had sheltered the young and infirm while the able-bodied males and females of age had fought their enemies back across the borders.
“Exquisite, is it not?”
She agreed fervently. Her curiosity piqued, Devi asked, “What is your home like? Carvenstone?”
Valerius shrugged. “My formal keep is but an old, drafty manor with few remarkable qualities. It will, no doubt, be destroyed or sacked in these next few days. Let us hope the seelie and scions do me a favor and raze it completely. I should have rebuilt it years ago, but other projects took precedence.”
Devi asked, “If it’s of so little value, why did your friend, Kallan, risk so much to get there?”
She must have understood the prince a little better, because Devi wasn’t surprised when he replied, “For the people. There’s a dwelling no seelie or scion has heard of—an ancient place that used to be sealed. Kal and I found it by accident. Its entrances are concealed and secured by many spells. Those who would be in danger if discovered live there, but there is enough room for more. If Kal makes it back before the enemy reaches it, he means to evacuate the city and the surrounding towns.”
Vale’s concern was obvious.
Devi gave him what reassurance she could. “He has a dyrmount. The scions failed to reach us on our journey; their Griffins and scouts only found us when we reached the forest. I bet the scions we faced were already posted in the woods to intercept anyone who ran through the eastern gate.”
“I think so, too.”
“So, your friend will be just fine. Kira will find him.”
She said it with so much conviction that Vale nodded. “Now come. Elden wishes to see us on the morrow. From this day forth, we must catch sleep when we can. We’ll leave after speaking to your father. Pleasant as this place may be, we cannot linger.”
Not with everything else going on in their world. Staying idle would go against who she was.
Devi led Vale to a guest apartment and found their parting uncomfortable when they reached the doors.
“Tomorrow, then,” she said before turning away, returning to her quarters.
She’d expected to manage a few hours of sleep, but she tossed and turned until the sun rose in the east. It was too early for one used to the unseelie schedule. Devi didn’t think she’d ever been that exhausted. But her mind wouldn’t let her rest. Something felt amiss. With a resounding sigh, she got up, got dressed, and headed back to the king’s gardens.
Kira Star Rivers wasn’t one to welcome a missive telling her what she was supposed to do, regardless of who it might come from.
Elden’s words were concise and to the point, relaying a direction that sounded too much like an order. But she was also bored and in desperate need of a distraction, so she opted to comply.
The western border was quiet. Too quiet, perhaps. Kira was certain it would change soon, but she might as well find a way to occupy herself in the meantime.
“Hela, you’re in charge in my absence. Kill anything that doesn’t belong in these woods.”
She liked to keep her directions simple. Her second smirked. “Can I play with them first?”
Kira rolled her eyes. Stupid question. Of course she could.
Elden’s letter stated, “There is a fae male riding along our borders. You are to extend him your aid until he reaches the end of his journey. He has Corantians on his trail.”
Kira disliked most fae, but her distaste for anything coming from Corantius ran deeper yet, especially now.
She was indifferent to Isle politics because the Isle overlooked the Graywoods of Wyhmur in all dealings, but when she heard the seelie and the Court of Crystal had joined forces against the unseelie realm, her blood had boiled.
She couldn’t say she cared about many unseelie fae—or any, really.
Except one.
Her sister lived in those lands, in the very city that had been attacked. She knew Devi to her core. She could take care of herself. Hell, had she wanted to, Devi could have destroyed the entire army single-handedly. However, that would have meant killing every single living thing around her, and Kira’s sister just didn’t have it in her.
No, the genes for brutality had skipped her twin; Kira had been granted a double dose instead. Devi could be in danger. If the seelie and the Corantians had hurt her twin, she’d not rest till they were all ashes in the wind.
“What are we doing?”
She lifted her eyes to the black crow circling her head. “Rescuing a boy.”
The crow flew down and stared her right in the eye as if to check that the statement had come from his master.
Kira added, “And torturing him until he tells us every single thing he knows of Devira’s whereabouts.”
The bird beat his wings and returned to his affairs, as if concluding, Never mind. That was definitely Kira.
She leaped onto a branch ten feet in the air and propelled herself higher and higher into the thick tree, until the branches struggled to bear her weight; then she jumped to the next tree and the next after that, fast and silent and invisible to the most acute creatures of the woods.
She froze suddenly as a shiver ran up her spine. Kira pulled the long staff strapped to her back as her head snapped to her left, seconds before it came. A wind of shadow and fire moved so fast that it was at the border one moment then passing beneath her in the next, ignoring her entirely and racing for the heart of the forest. She’d barely seen a thing, but she could feel a powerful force.
Her eyes narrowed in the direction the shadow had fled. Thousands of miles away, there was Elvendale. She considered her options. Fast as it was, she’d never reach her home before the foe. She couldn’t even send Crow with a message; the bird was swift, but it’d still arrive too late.
She put the staff back in its sheath, shrugged, and kept on jumping from treetop to treetop.
What did it matter if the elves of Elvendale had no warning? She pitied the demons that attacked the Winter Court.
Seven
The Sword and the Crown
Despite the soft feather pillow and the mattress perfectly calibrated to his taste, Valerius couldn’t sleep. After a while, he stopped trying.
He headed to the king’s garden before dawn, hoping to catch Elden before Devi joined them. He found the ancient lounging on a chaise, leisurely picking dark grapes.
The three guards stepped aside to let Vale pass without being prompted, this time.
“I’m rather vexed,” Elden said while remaining the picture of joy and serenity. “I heard I missed quite the performance last night.”
Vale smirked. “I’m certain we’ll have other occasions, given that I am to wed your daughter.”
They’d spoken as vaguely as possible in front of Devi the previous day, but the king had lowered the shield around his mind for an instant to clarify his meaning. The deal was his help, as long as Vale was to marry Devi.
The king smiled. “If you survive.”
That was a big if. “Well, it seems like you have reasons to wish
I make it. What support can you grant us?”
Elden was amused. “On one hand, there’s a vindictive brat still stuck in a rebellious stage, and on the other, a youthful boy who’s never thought of anyone outside his borders.”
Valerius couldn’t deny that accusation.
“I can’t say I find the outcome of this quarrel all that fascinating. Your brother came to me asking for maps and spells. He was granted both. You are unarmed and ill-equipped. I will give you weapons and supplies. My armies will let you pass through my lands and come to your assistance while you’re in my territory. That’s all I can concretely offer; I cannot support you outside these borders.”
Vale understood. If Elden were to help him openly, his brother would see the king as an enemy, regardless of the deal they’d struck. It mattered not. The elf king offered exactly what Vale needed.
He inclined his head and pressed his hand over his heart reverently. “The unseelie realm will know of this. We shall not forget.”
“I expect you wouldn’t. I’m not done, however. But let us wait a moment, for Devira will make such a fuss if we were to continue without her.”
A moment was all they needed; Devi appeared, in armor. Not the brown leather she’d worn in the Court of Night, not even the uniform elf guards wore around the city. She had on tight pants hidden under a long coat comprised of both metal and fabric—a soft gray material like silk. There was a high slit on either side of her legs to allow for easier movement, and the fabric swayed with each of her steps. Vale didn’t mistake the outfit as a stylistic choice, although she certainly looked devastatingly beautiful. It was maille, the most pliable, thinnest, and strongest of metals that could be spelled to stop steel, absorb blows, and even repel dragon fire.
The metal was as precious as it was rare in the Isle. Vale knew his mother owned such armor, and perhaps five nobles in his acquaintance could boast to possessing a piece, no doubt gathering dust amongst their treasures.
Devi had braided her hair down her back, and it fell to the backs of her knees, completing the picture of a goddess of war.
Vale hoped he wasn’t expected to talk anytime soon—or look away from her, for that matter.
“Daughter.”
“Father,” she replied with a dip of her head.
“I see you’ve found your wardrobe.”
Devi didn’t seem particularly surprised or impressed that an armor worth more than an entire horde of dyrmounts had been waiting for her. She simply replied, “Thank you for updating it. I was glad to find the clothes fit.”
“I assumed your measurements wouldn’t differ much from Kira’s,” Elden replied, and sighed. “And like your sister, you choose to wear armor. Two daughters and not one is interested in dresses.”
The corner of Vale’s mouth hiked up. He could imagine the old king dressing his little girls in the prettiest silk and lace, and despairing the moment they learned to say no and choose pants instead. Such was the burden of fathers who raised strong daughters.
He frowned. No, from what he’d seen in her mind and heard of her past, Devi hadn’t been raised here.
Without being privy to the details, Vale could guess at the story between Devi and Elden. The king clearly loved his daughter as much as any powerful lord had ever loved a child, but to the likes of Elden or Shea, children were a commodity. The tension between them was all too familiar.
“Oh, I’m interested,” Devi replied. “I’ll come back to raid the closet someday.”
Then she turned to Vale, missing the glint in her father’s eye. The prospect of her returning to these lands warmed the ancient’s cold eyes like nothing else Vale had seen since meeting the king.
“What did I miss?” she asked Vale.
“Your father has offered us supplies, and we were waiting for you to hear the rest.”
Devi’s eyes widened in surprise.
“I was telling your prince the outcome of this war is rather inconsequential to the Winter Court. However, there’s one thing to consider.”
“The fact the other guy may attack you once he’s done with the rest of the world?” Devi guessed.
The king laughed. “No. You.”
Devi bit her lip, hesitant and baffled.
“Your alliance is with the unseelie realm, and you are my daughter. As such, I will grant Valerius Blackthorn one weapon I denied his kin: knowledge.” Elden turned to him. “Gallal informed me you were good with a sword. Fast, too. But you didn’t maintain your speed for long. I imagine you can’t.”
He was reluctant to divulge too much to the scion whose loyalties were as fleeting as the wind, but he acquiesced. “I can keep it up long enough to dispatch any enemy I’ve faced.”
“But you have not faced any powerful Corantians yet,” said Elden. “Scouts aren’t warriors or knights. Imagine how well you’d fare against those who were granted gifts like yours.”
Vale remained silent. Such thoughts had entered his mind and kept him awake when he ought to sleep. If the throne in the Court of Crystal could choose the next king, as Devi had told him, reaching it was their best chance of survival. He had to force his brothers into starting the selection process, ending this conflict once and for all.
Should the throne choose one of his brothers, Vale would be no threat. He’d bend the knee and swear fealty. It would kill him to surrender after the destruction of Asra, but he’d do it to avoid the slaughter of his people and protect the realm. Vale could ask to return to his lands and live in exile for the rest of time. That was his hope.
If he was crowned overking, however…
Elden didn’t give him time to think through that daunting prospect.
“There are objects that may help you,” said the elf. “Devices your enemy doesn't know of.”
That caught his attention, as well as Devi’s.
“The enlightened came to us with swords and axes; peculiar for a race advanced enough to create vessels to travel through space, wouldn’t you say?”
It was, and yet it wasn’t; guns and bombs were available in the Isle, but they were the weapons of the weak, only wielded by lesser fae. A high fae could outrun the blast of an explosion or defuse it with magic. The strongest chose steel because nothing was as fast and lethal as them. Bows were redoubtable to those swift enough to shoot a dozen magic-infused arrows faster than bullets per minute, like Devi. A gun, however, was of little use against fae who could control the elements around them or were nimble enough to move out of the way.
Still, Vale imagined that an advanced alien species would have developed fancier ways to kill each other.
“Their instruments were more than they appeared,” Elden explained. “Technological marvels designed to enhance the power of those wielding them. They recharge their wielder’s magic like a battery.”
“You mean to say that with one of these instruments, I could retain my higher speed for an extended period of time?” That sounded too good to be true.
“For as long as you need to. And a divine device would also exponentially increase the reach of your power. Our limits are defined by our resilience. The first lesson we teach our young is not to overtax themselves, for they could collapse or even die. What if using magic had no effect on you? What if it drained an inanimate object instead?”
Devi asked the one question at the forefront of Vale’s mind. “How do the devices work? They can’t have infinite power. You say they’re batteries. How do we charge them?”
Elden hesitated. Before the words crossed his lips, Vale could tell he was about to lie. “They’re powered by sunlight. They absorb it during the day, store it, and redistribute the energy.”
Vale opened his mouth, but Devi beat him to it. “Great. Awesome. Now the bit you’re not telling us, pretty please.”
She plucked grapes from her father’s plate and popped one into her mouth before handing one to Vale.
Elden watched her move, confused, like no one had ever questioned him or stolen from his plate before.
> He opted to shrug off the slight.
“Like most enlightened devices, the weapons are sentient and can therefore opt not to recognize a bearer.”
Of course they were. Despite the warning, Vale’s mind raced, seeing all the possibilities. Devastating powers without any limit or effect on him. It was the sort of thing one could only dream of.
“You don’t happen to have one hanging around by any chance?” Devi asked.
The king laughed. “I said I would grant you knowledge, not unlimited power, daughter.”
Typical.
“In the old days, the enlightened used their weapons freely before my eyes. When I joined my father in combat, they granted me one, and still, it serves me well, but it would be of no use to you. These devices are forged to recognize their rightful masters. Mine only answers to me and shall do so until the day I pass it on. Then you can fight Kira for it, as it will only answer to those of my blood.”
Devi pouted and grumbled that her chances were grim in that case.
“And no Corantians know of this?” Valerius asked, doubtful.
If such objects existed, surely they would be the talk of the whole realm…unless the enlightened had purposely hidden them from the masses.
Elden confirmed it.
“After the first war, the enlightened decided to keep the knowledge of these devices secret, for armed with those weapons, their descendants would be dangerous. There is no other scion who bears a divine device, and only the ancients are aware of them. Few still live to tell the tale, and none would, for they were ordered to remain silent on the matter. But there are seven enlightened in Corantius. They own their own divine weapons.”
Ah, yes. Those guys. Valerius had conveniently forgotten about them. He was going to have to ask about the actual gods before they left. His mother had told him precious little, and he guessed Elden knew more.
Again, Devi was first to speak. “These gods. What are our chances against them?”
“You have none,” her father replied.
Great. Encouraging.
