Book 5: Chapter Twelve

Rusol stood atop the southernmost guard tower, comparing the map he carried to the direction in which he sensed Yassi’s bond. She’d finally stopped moving. West, then south, and now she was to the southeast. Exactly where he’d expected.

He had to force down a sudden surge of anger at her treachery. Why had she left? She was his wife! She was carrying his child! She should have been in the palace under the care of a midwife, but instead she’d fled, managing to elude the royal guards. And she’d taken Merice with her for some reason. That was a lesser betrayal, perhaps, but Merice had always been kind to Rusol. Plus, she was the last of his family. He didn’t count the various cousins scattered around the city—they’d always ingratiated themselves with Marten and Rikard, never attempting to worm their way into Rusol’s good graces until after Rikard had died.

Nearly as worrying as why Yassi had left was how she’d managed it. In all the orders Rusol had given her over the years, he’d never specifically said she wasn’t allowed away from the city, but that shouldn’t have been necessary. His other commands had always ensured her obedience and compliance. What had changed?

The only possible answer he’d come up with was his final order to her—to protect their child from the wardens, and from Corec in particular. Had Yassi Seen something in her visions that frightened her so much it overrode all the other restrictions she was working under? What could it have been, and why hadn’t she told him? Even if she’d been under a compulsion to flee the city, she could have left a note.

Or what if he’d missed something, some faulty order that allowed her to betray him deliberately? Could the same thing happen with his other bondmates? How could he ensure their loyalty without issuing so many commands they lost their capacity to act without his constant supervision?

At least there were two he could depend on—even if it was for their own reasons.

He returned to the palace and tracked them down in the trophy room. They were alone there, huddled together in whispered conversation. When they saw him, they jerked away from each other, looking guilty.

Magnus recovered first. “Rus, hello! Looking for us?”

Rusol hesitated. Were Magnus and Kolvi walking out together? He’d always been under the impression they disliked each other.

He could ask about it, but neither of them liked discussing their private lives. If he had to start forcing them to do things, they’d become no better than his other bondmates. He decided to let the issue go.

“Yassi’s in Sanvara City,” he said instead.

“So, you were right, then,” Magnus said.

Kolvi shook her head. “I didn’t think she’d be so obvious. If she’s trying to get away, why go to the only family she has outside of Telfort?” Kolvi didn’t think much of Rusol’s theory that Yassi might have fled to protect the baby from the other wardens.

“Obvious or not,” he said, “we know where she is. But that doesn’t solve the problem—she’ll be able to See anyone who’s coming after her.”

“I hope you’re not still thinking of sending us,” Magnus said.

That had been Rusol’s first plan. Who better to retrieve his wayward queen than these two? But neither of them wanted to spend months traveling to Sanvar and back, and if they went, he’d be stuck relying on his other bondmates.

“No,” he said. “I had a better idea. I’m going to send someone she’ll never suspect.”

#

Ariadne paced back and forth in the guest bedroom she’d been using. “What if she misses the time again?” she asked.

“We’re a few minutes early,” Sarette replied. “If she doesn’t make it today, we still have tomorrow.” They’d scheduled three possible days, since Leena wasn’t sure how busy she’d be. She’d already missed the first one.

Then she was there, appearing before their eyes—but she stumbled and had to grasp Ariadne’s arm to steady herself.

“Are you all right?” Sarette asked, coming to support her other side.

“I just need a minute,” the other woman said. “It’s been busy. Corec’s in Larso, so I’ve been checking on him as often as I can.”

“Larso?” Ariadne asked. “Is there trouble?”

“He’s worried Rusol has found out about his family. But it’s been two days and he hasn’t signaled for help, so I figured it was safe to come here. You’re going first, right?”

“Yes, but could you take me to Tyrsall before we go back to the keep?” Ariadne asked. Then, taking in Leena’s state, she added, “Or I can stay in Tyrsall for a few days if you need more time.” She could see if Peregrine was in port—and if Loofoo was still part of the crew.

Leena shook her head. “It’ll be fine. I’ll have to rest while we’re there, but if we’re going to do it, we should do it today. I have to go back for Corec tomorrow, and then I’ll need to spend some time in Sanvar.” To Sarette, she said, “It may be another week before I can make it back here.”

“You don’t need to come back,” Sarette said. “I’ll fly.”

Ariadne exchanged glances with Leena.

“All the way to the keep?” Ariadne asked. “That’s got to be close to a thousand miles.”

“A bit over a thousand if I fly straight, but I’ll probably cut across the plains instead. The storms are heavier there. I should be able to get three hundred miles on a good day.”

“Have you ever flown that much before?”

“No, but Vartus says I should. He thinks I’ve spent too much time riding and not enough time in the air.”

“I don’t know,” Leena said. “It doesn’t feel right to just leave you here. Are you sure?”

“Yes. I might even make it to the keep before you could have gotten back here, but if the weather clears up and it takes longer, I still need the practice.”

Leena nodded. “All right. If it takes more than a week, though, I’ll come looking for you.”

Ariadne grabbed her travel pack and gave Sarette a quick wave. “Will you thank your uncle for allowing me to stay here?”

“Certainly.”

Leena reached for Ariadne and then suddenly they were elsewhere.

#

Ariadne left Leena resting at an inn in the market district, then made her way alone to the largest of The Lady’s temples in the city. The courtyard held a marble statue of a mother carrying a babe in her arms. Ariadne shivered at the sight. The Chosar didn’t make statues of people, only of totems, and the thing made her think of a golem taking away a child.

Even ignoring the creepiness, the statue didn’t make any sense. These people thought of The Lady as the goddess of families and children, but Hera had never married or had children. Was there some reason for the odd bit of lore, or had her followers made up false stories about her?

Inside the doors, Ariadne was greeted by a young priest wearing the gray and white robes of the order.

“Welcome, visitor,” the man said. “How can I help you?”

“I’d like to speak to The Lady,” Ariadne said.

“Of course. Our sermons are given mid-morning, followed by an hour of worship each day, but you’re welcome to sit in the hall or approach the altar on your own. There’s an offering bowl if you’d like to make a donation.”

“No,” Ariadne said. “I want to speak to The Lady directly. Is there a blessed priest here who receives visions?”

“All are blessed in the presence of The Lady,” the man said.

Ariadne rolled her eyes. Back at the temple in Snow Crown, it hadn’t taken her long to realize the priests didn’t want to discuss their blessings with an outsider, nor admit to not having been so blessed. Perhaps they thought it would hurt the legitimacy of the Orders if people realized most priests had no more of a connection to their god or goddess than any random person off the street.

“I’m sure they are,” she said, “but I want to talk to someone who’s actually been blessed with divine magic. Who’s in charge here?”

A few nearby parishioners had turned to listen to the conversation. The priest eyed Ariadne warily. She’d seen the expression before. In this time and place, full plate armor was considered a sign of wealth or power. He wanted to get rid of her without causing a commotion, but he wasn’t sure who she was and didn’t want to risk offending someone important.

“High Priestess Carolin ministers to this temple, but she’s very busy,” he said. “I promise, The Lady will hear any prayers you send.”

“Is that so? Fine.” Ariadne raised her voice. “Hera!” she called out. “Enough of this nonsense! If your priests can’t help, then talk to me yourself!”

By now, everyone in the hall was watching. An older, matronly priestess rushed over.

“What’s going on?” the new woman hissed under her breath.

“Are you Carolin?”

“She wants to speak to the High Priestess or to The Lady herself,” the young priest explained.

“The High Priestess isn’t here right now,” the newcomer said. “I’m Priestess Breda. If you’d like to speak to The Lady, you’ve come to the right place. She’ll hear your prayers. There’s no need to shout.”

“I don’t want to pray to her,” Ariadne said. “I want to talk to her. Does she send you visions? Tell her that a Mage Knight of Tir Yadar is looking for her. I suspect she’ll want to speak with me.”

“I’m afraid that’s not possible,” Breda said. “Our Lady sends visions when she wishes, not when we—” Her eyes went blank and she froze in place.

“Breda?” the man asked, a concerned look on his face.

Breda suddenly drew in a sharp breath, her eyes darting around anxiously. “I … she spoke to me! She hasn’t done that since—” She saw Ariadne, and her face went white. “Sh … sh … she says I have to help.”

The priestess reached out to touch Ariadne’s temples with trembling fingers. The temple and all the people in it faded away, and Ariadne was alone in a place of swirling gray mists.

Then a new figure took shape, emerging from the fog. It truly was her, though her ears were rounded and her face less angular, allowing her to pass as a human.

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Hera. One of the wardens who’d destroyed everything Ariadne had known, and her predecessor in the Mage Knights.

“I apologize for coming to you this way,” the woman said, staring past Ariadne’s left ear. “Your name is Ariadne, yes? I think that was it. I don’t remember everything, but you and I met a very, very long time ago. Sometimes I don’t know how much of me is still that woman, and how much is something else.”

Ariadne fought down a rush of anger. “What did you do? What happened to the—?”

Hera spoke over her. “By now, I’m sure you’ve learned about the destruction caused by the ritual. You must hate us. All I can say in our defense is that we didn’t know what would happen. In pride and ignorance, we unleashed chaos that overwhelmed the world for more than a century.”

She was still looking off to the side. Ariadne realized the other woman could neither see nor hear her, yet the words confirmed that the wardens had been responsible for whatever had happened.

“It affected our people more than most,” Hera said. “The wildstorms—remember this! Now that you’ve left stasis, you must avoid Donvar or any other source of wild magic until you master a spell to protect yourself. The wildstorms unmake our people. To protect the Chosar, they had to become something new. And so were born our children—children of the stone, the sea, the storms, and the sun. They lived on, but the world changed and our empire was no more. Our people splintered into small nations, separate from each other.”

That was too much information to take in all at once, but Hera was still speaking.

“Whether the wizards who crafted the ritual knew more than the rest of us, I can’t say, but we’ve spent the past five thousand years hiding what we did. We hide our secret shame, and we pretend we saved the world with our gifts of divine magic—a world that we ourselves ended with our arrogance, and a magic we stole from the totems. Anything you might have heard about the ritual, do your best to forget it. It’s too dangerous to allow that knowledge loose in the world.”

Hera glanced to her left, though at what, Ariadne couldn’t see.

“I don’t have much time,” the woman continued. “We place restrictions on ourselves to prevent interference, but I have to say this—if you had family or friends in the inner city of Tir Yadar, they likely escaped to the Skotinos Mountains. Most did. I wish I could tell you more. And I saw a glimpse of your future. I saw you die in stasis, and I saw you live, provided you were bonded to a warden. I didn’t realize … I didn’t know the same would be true for all the Mage Knights. I could have saved seven more, but I didn’t know!”

Hera took a moment to calm herself. “But you lived, and that’s something to celebrate,” she said. “There are many roads you can take, many paths you can follow, and I can’t see where they all end. We’ve interfered with your life too much already. I release you of all obligations—to the Chosar, to the Mage Knights, and to me. Your future is your own.”

The vision faded away and Ariadne awoke, still standing in the temple.

“What happened?” Breda demanded. “What did she say?”

Ariadne ignored her, her mind racing. Had Hera just admitted to bonding her? And that was the least important of what she’d said. Ariadne’s parents and sisters may have lived! If what Hera said was true, they could have made it to the Skotinos Mountains, the first home of the stoneborn—who were also Chosar. Boktar was Chosar; Sarette was Chosar; even Loofoo was Chosar.

Ariadne's people were all around. They had never left.

She collapsed into a nearby pew, her legs no longer able to support her weight. Tears obscured her vision. It wasn’t the first time she’d cried since waking from her long sleep, but this time the tears were happy ones.

Before leaving, she poured an entire pouch of gold coins into the offering bowl.

#

Razai was atop the lookout tower, flicking pebbles at the roof of a cottage below, when she heard a shuffling sound behind her and then a startled gasp. A little girl wearing a bright yellow dress with a dirty hemline had come up the stairs.

After a moment of surprise, the girl’s eyes narrowed. “You ain’t supposed to be up here,” she said with a hillfolk accent.

“Why’s that?”

“It’s dangerous. Katrin says so.”

Razai hid a smile. “It is, huh? Should you be up here?”

The girl took on a worried expression, seemingly trying to figure out which answer would get her in the least amount of trouble.

“I’ll tell you what,” Razai said. “How about I don’t tell Katrin you were here, and you don’t tell her I was?”

The girl thought about that for a moment, then nodded. “I know who you are,” she said.

“Oh?”

“You’re Razai. I saw you yesterday at supper.”

The child could have been in the great hall the night before. Razai hadn’t paid much attention—she’d just been in long enough to grab some food to take back to her suite, not wanting to eat with everyone else.

“That’s me. What’s your name?”

“Ditte, but you have to call me Princess Ditte.”

“Princess, huh?”

“Yeah, cuz Corec and Treya ‘dopted me.”

That was news to Razai. “I don’t think that’s where princesses come from, kid.”

Ditte’s lower lip quivered and her eyes began to water.

Shit. If Corec and Treya really had adopted the kid, she’d probably been orphaned recently. What could it hurt to let her play make-believe?

“Sorry, Princess Ditte,” Razai said. “I was just teasing you, Your Highness.”

The girl’s eyes widened, as if she was surprised someone had finally fallen for her scam. “You ain’t supposed to do mean teasing. Only nice teasing, Katrin says.”

“I’ll keep that in mind for next time, Your Highness.”

Ditte nodded, seemingly appeased. “Why is everyone mad at you?” she asked.

Razai had preferred the previous topic. “Because they think I did something I shouldn’t have.”

“Did you?”

“No. I don’t think so.” Unfortunately, Corec seemed to be the only one who didn’t blame her for letting his name slip to Rusol. Everyone else was anxious about his abrupt departure, and appeared to believe it was somehow Razai’s fault. Leena, of all people, had taken it as a personal affront.

“Why not just ‘polo … ‘pology … why not say you’re sorry?”

“Because I didn’t do anything wrong!”

“Sometimes Katrin and Treya make me say sorry when I ain’t done nothin’ wrong.”

Razai scowled. Was that how the others saw her? A misbehaving child, like Ditte? What right did they have? It wasn’t like any of them had ever done anything for her.

Except Corec, that one time in Livadi—whether she’d needed it or not. And Boktar and Bobo, when the three of them had fought the war priests during the battle at Tir Yadar. And …

Razai angrily shoved the thoughts away. She didn’t need the others, and soon she’d be done with them forever. Corec would be back soon, and she would insist he undo the bond once again. After that, she just had to wait for Nedley to return so she could tell him about his brother. Then she could finally go south.

Ditte was still staring at her, awaiting a response. Being orphaned at a young age was a rough life for a girl. Corec might make for a better father than Vatarxis had, but the kid should have been home with her own family.

Was it the dragon that did it? Raiders? Razai didn’t want to ask. Asking brought back the memories.

What had the others been thinking, bringing a young child to a place they expected would turn into a war zone before the end of the year? Sure, they probably had some sort of escape strategy for the non-combatants, but it was impossible to account for every potential outcome.

Ditte was only a year or two younger than Razai herself had been when Vatarxis had taken her hellside, teaching her to use her powers and her wits, and to rely only on herself. Teaching her to fight.

“If you’re going to be a princess, you’ll need to learn how to take care of yourself,” Razai said. “Has Corec shown you how to use a knife yet?”

Ditte tilted her head to the side. “I ain’t allowed … I’m not allowed to use knives. Someone else has to cut my food.”

“Not that sort of knife. Come on, kid. Let’s go make some trouble.”

#

Leena was already waiting in the glade when Corec arrived, but she was sitting on a large rock, leaning forward and resting her head on her hands.

“Hey, are you all right?” he asked.

She looked up. “What? Oh, I’m fine—just tired. Traveling here a few times a day to Seek the coins took more out of me than I thought it would.”

Corec grimaced, feeling guilty. “Sorry. I should have left a note so you’d know everything was fine and you didn’t have to keep coming back.”

“There weren’t any problems, then?”

“No. If Rusol knows about my family, he hasn’t done anything about it yet. I warned them, but there’s not much else I can do here without making things worse. I don’t want him getting the impression I’m back in Larso—he needs to know I’m at the keep.”

Leena nodded, then stood. “Are you ready to go?”

“Are you sure you’re up for it?” Corec asked. There were dark circles under her eyes.

“I can manage. It should be fine now that I’m not Seeking on top of everything else.”

Corec nodded and held out his hand. Leena took it and then with a blink they were in one of the suites back at the keep. Ellerie was carrying a pile of books and papers to a desk, but she squeaked and dropped everything when they appeared right in front of her.

“Leena!” she said. “Why did you—? Never mind. That was quick. I thought you’d be gone longer.”

Leena didn’t answer, just swaying unsteadily. Corec grasped her shoulders to keep her from falling.

“Maybe you should sit down,” he said.

They helped her to the desk chair, and Ellerie tilted Leena’s chin up so she could look her in the eye. “It’s not drain shock, I don’t think. Can you hear me?”

“This is wrong,” Leena muttered. “I meant to go to the great hall.”

“It’s not a big deal,” Ellerie said. “You just surprised me.”

“No, you don’t understand. I was thinking of the great hall right as we Traveled. I shouldn’t have ended up anywhere else. I haven’t missed my target since … since before Cordaea. I need to go home and talk to Rohav.”

“Well, not right now,” Ellerie said. “What if you miss again? You’re too tired. You should go get some sleep first.”

Leena nodded slowly. “Yes, sleep,” she said, standing and making her way to the bedroom.

“Will she be all right?” Corec asked.

“She’s been doing too much,” Ellerie said. “We need to cut back on what we’re asking of her.”

“That’s mostly my fault,” Corec said. “But I’ll tell the others, too. Did anything happen while I was gone?”

“I finished repairing the big gap in the northeast curtain wall.” Ellerie was still staring absently toward the other room. “We’re just patching the smaller holes now. There’s not enough stone left to replace the upper half of the western lookout tower, and we haven’t found the quarry yet. The carpenters are just going to build a wooden platform for now.” She shook her head and turned back to him. “Wait—what happened where you were?”

He told her what he’d told Leena, then added, “So, nothing has changed. We’ll just have to watch for any problems. Maybe the hillfolk towns nearest to Fort Hightower would be willing to listen for rumors in exchange for some extra coin.”

“Except you’d need Leena to take you there.”

“It can wait,” Corec said. “Or we can hire messengers.”

Ellerie nodded.

Corec checked on everyone’s locations through the warden bond and noticed a change he hadn’t expected.

“Is Sarette back already?” he asked.

“No, she decided to fly the whole way instead, but Ariadne is here. The visit to Snow Crown must have been good for her—she’s in a better mood than usual.”

Corec nodded. “Let me know if Leena gets worse. I’m going to go track everyone down and tell them what happened in Larso.”

#

After changing out of his armor, Corec made his way to the tavern. Katrin was playing her harp and singing a song about the fight against the dragon, but she stopped when she saw him.

“I’m done for now, folks,” she announced, standing up and nestling her harp back into its case. “Maybe I’ll play again later.” There were a few murmurs of disappointment, but it was a smaller crowd than usual.

“That’s a new song,” Corec said when she joined him.

“You weren’t supposed to hear it yet—I’m still working on it.” She poked his arm. “And that’s how you say hello? After disappearing for three days? I was worried!”

“I’m sorry. I thought Leena let everyone know there weren’t any problems.”

“She did, but that just meant you hadn’t signaled her for help! We still didn’t know what was going on.” She waved at her brother to get his attention.

Corec sighed. “I told my father about Rusol, though I’m not sure he believed me. He promised he’d be careful, but I think he was just humoring me.”

“Do you think Rusol will try something? With your family, I mean?”

“That depends on why he’s after me. If it’s because I’m a warden, I don’t see what my family would have to do with it. I just have to make sure he knows where to find me, and we’ve made a good start on that already.”

Barz arrived then and set a mug on the table, then stalked away without a word. He avoided talking to Corec whenever he could.

Corec reached for the mug, but it was warm to the touch. “What’s this?” he asked.

“Tea,” Katrin told him. “We ran out of ale. We were never going to have enough for the number of people who showed up. I was only planning on serving our own workers, not an entire village. We’re stuck with tea until Nedley gets back.”

“People are paying for tea?” There were teahouses in the city, but Corec had never seen one in the countryside.

“I’m giving it away for free. We have plenty, and I didn’t want to close the tavern for two weeks. Everyone knows they can come talk to us here. Not many people have been brave enough to knock on the doors to the keep.”

Corec nodded.

“So, what else happened?” Katrin said. “You were away for three days.”

“Well, three days is what I told Leena in case I needed that much time, and then I didn’t want to worry anyone if I called her back early. It turned out I didn’t actually need all three days, but it was good to see Branth and Isa. We, uh, spent most of the time planning the wedding.”

“Branth is getting married?”

“Uh, no. Our wedding.”

Katrin narrowed her gaze. “I hope you’re not suggesting we get married in Larso.”

“No, no, I convinced Isa I can’t be away for that long. We settled on having it here, this winter.”

“Winter? It’ll be wet and miserable here over the winter. Why not this summer?”

“Isabel wants to come, and I couldn’t tell her no. Winter’s the only time she and my father can get away for any length of time, and it’s not like I can send Leena to get them. Father would have a fit—he might try to have her arrested.”

“And he’s coming to a place full of mages?”

“Well, he hasn’t agreed yet, but Isa intends to keep arguing with him until he does. If he refuses, I guess we don’t have to wait until winter, but I’d like it if Branth could come. He’s busy in the summer too.”

Katrin shook her head. “Winter’s fine, I suppose. If you’re planning on having actual guests instead of just our friends, it would be hard to put something together any earlier. Food’s going to be tight for a while. Mella won’t want to serve salted fish for a wedding.”

“Ahh, yeah, about that … Cook and Isa gave me a list of recipes in case they don’t arrive in time to help. I hope Mella won’t be offended.”

“I’ll let you talk to her about it. She won’t argue with you.”

“Trouble?”

“She’s just used to working for rich people, and I don’t know how to do things the right way. What if I say or do something wrong in front of your family and then they end up not liking me?”

“Well, they don’t like me much either, so you’d be in good company.”

She frowned at him, but he just laughed.

“Don’t worry about what my family thinks,” he said. “If you want something to worry about, then worry about whether we’ll even be here by winter. If Rusol attacks, we might have to evacuate everyone before then.”