by Kova, Elise
“I wouldn’t count on that.”
“How so?”
Jax shrugged and Vi let that topic of conversation die. She didn’t want to seem too eager for information on the prince.
“You said you wanted to enlist, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Come find me in the morning.” Jax stood. “You can be under me, or Raylynn, depending on if you have magic or not.”
Vi didn’t have to force or fake her smile. She could enlist in the army and be near Aldrik. Moreover, she could fight along Jax and Raylynn. The idea of continuing to protect them both was appealing.
“Are you certain?”
“Yes, just remind me I was when the sun is up. Nights like this have a tendency to be forgotten.” Jax laughed.
“I will.”
“See you in the morning then—” Jax paused, holding out his hand.
“Gwen,” Vi said, filling in the blank. “My name is Gwen.”
“‘Soldier Gwen’ has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?” Jax clasped her hand and they shook on both their second introduction and a deal.
“It does,” she agreed. “Almost like it was fated to be.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Vi, Taavin, and Deneya enlisted under Raylynn. Since Vi was the only person among them who could conjure her magic in the elemental ways of the Dark Isle, it was too much of a risk for them to try and join the sorcerer-warriors of the Black Legion.
Instead, they were foot soldiers—part of the nameless, faceless masses that exercised the will of the Emperor in his thirst for conquest.
Part of her thrived in the anonymity. It guarded her heart from seeing the Northern peoples she’d once considered friends and kin put to the sword. Being no one allowed her to move without raising attention or suspicion.
The other part of her clung to her identity. That was what motivated her to look after Jax and Raylynn, intervening on their behalf in more than one battle. Her small acts had no bearings on the outcome of the world’s fate, but protecting them both honored memories of people she’d cared for.
“Thank you for today,” Vi said to Deneya as she sat heavily around their campfire. The smell of burning bodies and ash was still thick on her from earlier in the day. “You really helped with Raylynn.”
The very woman leaned against a tree some distance away, hair slicked to her neck with sweat, talking with Baldair. With every turn in the conversation, Baldair took a half-step closer. He never missed an opportunity to be by her side.
Their unspoken love was obvious to everyone but them.
“We’ll have to leave her side, soon.” Taavin didn’t mince words. “Aldrik will sustain his injury soon.”
“Yes, the one that brings him to Vhalla. Because nothing says ‘fall for me’ like being wounded and helpless,” Deneya said dryly.
“You’ve been saying he’ll sustain his injury ‘soon’ for months.” Vi glanced at Taavin.
“Things aren’t happening exactly when we expected.”
“The world is changing. We’re getting closer to the end of the vortex.” Vi poked at their campfire with a stick, watching the flames dance.
“It’s just variation,” Taavin insisted. Vi shared a look with Deneya. The man wasn’t going to admit they were on their final course until they were extinguishing the flame of Yargen. Vi had accepted that much.
Vi stood. “I’ll be back. Off to the latrine.”
“You know where to find us.”
She always did. The campsites were mostly the same—only the terrain changed. The three of them set up their tents together, maintained their own campfire, and kept to themselves. The moment someone made a passing attempt to befriend them, Vi or Taavin would say or do something extremely off-putting.
They were the odd ones—odd, but effective. Too weird for anyone to want to spend much time with, too valuable to discharge.
“Do you think he’s really going to do it?”
“Of course he won’t. He’s mourning, not suicidal. Well… I don’t think he would.”
Two men murmured by a campfire. Their backs were to her and neither seemed to realize Vi was there. She shifted her weight onto her back foot and floated her front foot forward before shifting her weight. The need for silence seemed suddenly paramount.
“You don’t have me convinced… Listen, I’m worried. We should go after him. The attack today was hard on him.”
“He was delivering a message. He’ll be back within an hour and you’ll feel foolish for this.”
“What if I don’t?” The man turned his head and Vi slid behind a tent, creeping around the back to remain out of sight and within earshot. He lowered his voice to a whisper. “What if I have every right to worry? It was his son in that village. There were no survivors and you heard the way he was talking. He had a whole plan on how he was going to get close to and attack Prince Al—”
“Stop that nonsense,” the other man hissed. “You’re going to get him killed for treason with that talk and there’s no point to it.”
“You don’t know that. You didn’t see his poisoned dagger. He was serious.”
Vi pressed her eyes closed and took a breath. She started off in the opposite direction, away from the men, rounding back through camp in a different way than she came. She crouched down at Taavin’s side, clasping his shoulder.
“That was fast.”
“We have to go.”
Taavin did one quick scan of her face. “What happened?”
“I overheard two men talking about someone going to attack Aldrik,” Vi whispered.
“He’s supposed to be wounded in battle. That’s how it’s always happened.”
“I know what’s supposed to happen, but that’s not what’s actually happening,” Vi interrupted curtly. “Something changed.”
“Too many somethings,” Taavin murmured, glancing at the fire, as if he was the one who could find truth in flames.
“We need to move, now.” Vi stood.
They both followed her into the woods. Aldrik’s camp wasn’t far—probably an hour by foot for a normal soldier. She wanted to cross the dense forest in thirty minutes. If anyone could do it, it was her.
Not looking to see if her companions could keep up, Vi began to run. The trees blurred around her and, seemingly in a blink, they emerged into the camp. Rising above the other tents was a large, square canvas structure.
She was so close.
Magic flared. The inside of the tent glowed orange.
They were too late.
Fate had sneaked past them. As Vi’s eyes had been on Raylynn and Jax, thinking she had a bit more time to look after each of them before Aldrik required her attention, fate had made a mad dash for the prince.
Vi pushed past soldiers. Two guards positioned at the outside of the tent didn’t even have a chance to stop her.
“What’re you—” they tried to ask, but she ignored them, barging into Aldrik’s tent.
A charred husk of a man was on the floor. The prince had his hand pressed against his side. He was on his knees, hair a mess, covering his face as he lifted his dark eyes to her. His jaw was clenched shut and he swayed.
“My prince, I’m here to help you.” Vi rushed over. Aldrik slumped against her. His eyes were hazy. The man was an inferno to the touch. “Halleth maph,” Vi murmured. The prince was too far gone to hesitate using her Lightspinning.
“Don’t heal him entirely,” Taavin cautioned.
“But—”
“It’s not what we expected, but this wound will be what takes him south.”
“He can head south when he’s not on the verge of death.” Seeing Aldrik like this made Vi panic more than she would’ve wanted.
“Trust—” Taavin was interrupted by the two soldiers bursting in the tent behind them.
“The prince has been poisoned,” Vi said hastily. She could feel the foreign substance attacking his body. “He dispatched the assailant, but he’s wounded. He needs to return
to Lyndum for healing.”
The soldiers looked at the carnage, at the blood soaking her shirt.
“Now!” Vi barked, standing. Taavin took Aldrik’s other side. “Fetch his horse and every other warstrider or hearty breed.”
“Who are you to give orders?”
“I don’t have time for your strutting and self-importance,” Vi sneered, looking down at the man as she passed. “Your prince is dying. I am the woman trying to save him. That’s all that matters.”
The other soldier snapped into action, running from the tent and shouting, “Horses! Get Baston and five more mounts!”
As they emerged, six horses were trotting over, already saddled and ready to ride. War made people prepared to move at all times.
The soldiers helped Vi and Taavin hoist Aldrik into his saddle. They tied him to the saddle and packed healing herbs into his wound, bandaging it. Deneya was one of the women quickly stocking their mounts.
“I’ll sneak off and head west,” she whispered hastily. “I’ll grab the crown from our place and meet you south.”
“Thank you.” Vi squeezed her hand.
“I’m ready to be out of here.” Deneya followed Vi over to one of the other mounts. “You need to go. The prince doesn’t look good,” she said, louder.
“The Minister of Sorcery will be able to extract the poison from his blood,” Vi declared to those assembled as she mounted one of the horses without permission.
“Who in the Mother’s name do you think you are?” Some major Vi didn’t recognize balked at her and Taavin as they saddled up. “Those are my—”
“There’s no time!” Vi shouted and snapped her reins. As she passed the large, familiar black horse Aldrik was riding, she gave it a light smack on its rear.
The mount’s dark eyes met hers and Vi could’ve sworn she saw recognition there. He might be called by another name now, but Vi would know Prism anywhere. The beast followed closely behind her.
Four soldiers, Taavin included, took up the rear as they began to race across the continent.
The North was a blur. The Waste even more so. The party stopped at the Crossroads, briefly, demanding fresh horses for the non-warstriders among them, food, and clean bandages for the prince. Two soldiers threw around the idea of staying and sending for Western healers, but Vi overruled that decision. Just when the debate grew heated, Aldrik gained enough clarity to side with her. She wasn’t sure if it was Yargen helping her in that moment, but Vi said a quiet thank you to the goddess anyway as they set out once more.
Hooves thundering on the Great Imperial Way filled her ears. The noise was monotonous and deafening, and the only sound any of them could hear. When they left Shaldan, they had all been too panicked for small talk. Now, they were all too exhausted.
Sweat rolled down her neck, plastering her clothing to her skin underneath her armor. The heat of the desert made the appearance of the Southern treeline in the distance a welcome sight. She was even grateful for the storm clouds on the horizon. The idea of rain was a balm to her sun-beaten cheeks.
She was such a fool.
Rain pounded down around them nearly non-stop after they entered the forests. Tiny rivers ran around the horses’ hooves and down the road. She went from constantly wiping sweat out of her eyes to blinking away rainwater.
A yell distracted her from her riding trance. Vi looked over her shoulder in a panic. A horse was down, its rider shouting curse words as his leg was pinned under it.
“You’re not far.” One of the other soldiers riding a standard mount pulled on his reins, rounding back to the other man. “You three go on ahead. Get the prince there. It’s a miracle he’s held on for this long,” the woman shouted over the rain.
“You heard her, let’s go!” Vi kicked her horse’s heaving sides to force it up the steep incline toward the Capital.
Horns trumpeted off every wall. The sound echoed around them all the way to the palace. Vi followed the calls to a side wall where two large doors were opening.
Palace servants rushed to meet them. They went immediately for Aldrik, who nearly fell into their waiting arms the second he was untied. Vi dismounted and her knees bit into the stone of the Imperial Palace as she slipped and lost her footing.
“Soldiers, report!” A man rushed out to meet them. Vi blinked up at him and then, with the help of her horse, stood.
“The crown prince has been poisoned. Fetch the Minister of Sorcery. Have every cleric help him.” It was more of a command than a report.
“We couldn’t identify the poison, but the Imperial library will have the answer,” Taavin interjected from her side. He looked as wobbly as she was. But his head was clear enough not to forget the most important part. “Have the library staff summoned to look up information on Northern poisons—poisons in general. Anything will help, just get every library apprentice on the task.”
“With haste.” Luckily, the guard on duty didn’t seem to mind their barked orders, or at the very least he understood where they came from. “Marcus, help them inside. I’ll go to the clerics.”
“Sir!” Another soldier saluted and then guided them into the palace. The four of them entered through a side receiving room, shivering and soaked to the bone. Vi looked over her shoulder, staring at the door Aldrik was taken through. “I’ll take your full report later. For now, let me find you food and some warm clothes.”
“That’d be much appreciated,” their companion said through chattering teeth.
“I’m going off to the toilet,” Vi declared.
“Me too,” Taavin said eagerly. Perhaps a little too eagerly. It had been a long ride, so Vi hoped his enthusiasm wasn’t conspicuous.
As they left, their companion told Marcus about the soldiers they left behind on the road. Vi closed the door firmly behind her and started through a tunnel that connected to another large hallway. Voices could be heard behind several doors and Vi paused, looking to Taavin.
“What now?”
“We’ve done all we need to.”
Vi leaned against the wall, scrutinizing him. “We went to war. We raced across the continent, keeping him alive—not healing him, to get back here and do… nothing.”
“The magical Bond your parents form is a stone in the river.”
“A Bond…” Vi murmured. Bonds were legendary things—two sorcerers whose lives were wholly intertwined in such a profound way that they could never do harm to one another. A Bond could even keep one sorcerer alive while the other was mortally wounded. “I suppose something that powerful would be a stone in the river.”
“Even knowing it was a stone—or, believing it is—I was worried there. Things are changing and I admit to wondering if Aldrik could actually die.”
“I don’t like that thought.” Vi pushed her soaking hair away from her face, slicking it back. “I’d always assumed Aldrik and Vhalla’s lives were stones in the river.”
“As have I,” Taavin said hastily. “But uncharted territory has my nerves aflame.”
Vi nodded, looking in the direction where commotion echoed in the hall. “Should we go oversee things?”
“I don’t think we should risk it. He’s here and the library staff has been summoned. It’s best not to muddle fate further with our presence.”
“Then our focus becomes finding and replacing the crown.” Vi pushed off the wall and began to wander aimlessly away from the voices and commotion as she focused on their new task. Taavin followed her into narrow and narrower corridors. Her mind was leading her in a specific direction, some map or blueprint in the far recesses telling her where to go. Vi trusted her subconscious self.
“That will be work for the morning,” Taavin said eventually.
“What do we do tonight?”
“Whatever we want.” Taavin took a step closer to her, wrapping an arm around her waist. “You’re a hard woman to get alone these days.”
Laughter sprang forth, tired and airy. “All this was a long ploy to get me alone, Taavin?”
“You seem happy,” she murmured.
“No. Just relieved.” He pressed his lips against her forehead. “Where are we headed?”
“I don’t know,” she murmured. “Somewhere quiet.” Sure enough, they’d ended up in the bowels of the palace, deep enough that no sorcerers even maintained the candles or torches on the walls.
“I think you’ve achieved that.” Taavin paused at an open doorway. A dust-covered bed stood stubbornly against time. “Does this look good to you?”
She hummed as she assessed their option. Vi murmured “Kot sorre” and pushed the dust from the bed with a glyph that also bunched the threadbare blanket. “Better.”
“Good.” Taavin carried her to the bed and laid her down. Vi caught his shirt as he pulled away. She used what strength she still had left in her to yank him forward. Taavin stumbled, catching himself with a hand on the pillow by her head. Dust filled her nose, nearly making her cough, but Vi suppressed it as his lips met hers.
She would not allow anything to break this kiss.
His fingertips smoothed over her cheek and, despite the exhaustion he must be feeling too, he kissed her hungrily. His tongue probed hers gently, eliciting a soft sigh from her. When he finally pulled away, he stayed close enough for their noses to touch.
“Thank you,” Vi whispered. She wanted to get the words out before sleep claimed her. “Thank you for being here no matter what.”
“There’s nowhere else, no time else, I would ever want to be.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Taavin’s arms were tucked around her, enveloping her in a cocoon of warmth. Vi shifted in an attempt to nestle farther back into him. His body curled around her back and his breath tickled her ear lightly.
The halls were quiet. It was as if there wasn’t another soul in the entire palace—as if this space they had found was out of time itself. She trailed her fingers along his forearm to his hand. Even in sleep, he laced his fingers with hers.
