SWNOVELS Court of Ice and Ash: Chapter 6
hiding something. The two princes are constantly sneaking into the forest. I have questioned Dagar, the first knight, many times since his eldest son, and young Torsten join them. And now, by the gods, they are taking Herja.
No one knows what mischief they are managing. No matter what threats Arvad and I spew at them, my three loyal children will say nothing to what they’re up to. But there is a heaviness in Sol’s eyes.
Perhaps it is the burden of taking the crown. His father often reminds him of his duty as future king. Necessary, but it could be too much. He has only reached sixteen and . . .
“What is that you’re reading?”
My eyes snapped up from Lilianna’s journal. Ari’s shape blurred through my tears. This was the first entry Halvar and Tor were mentioned. Strange to read about their past lives and know them now.
I didn’t expect to miss them, yet I did.
“Three hells,” Ari said, his eyes wide. “What has upset you so? I did not think anything could break you, Kvinna Elise.”
Ari settled on the fallen log beside a shallow stream. We’d stopped to water the horses and to eat a meager meal of berries and dried herring. We were in Calder’s territory now. The roads grew narrow, overgrown, and rocky enough I doubted any ravens would patrol.
I forced a tight grin at the king. “Nothing. It’s nothing.”
With care, Ari peeled the tattered journal from my fingers. I went to object, but he was already scanning some of the entries.
“Bleeding hells,” he said under his breath. “Is this . . .”
I nodded when he went quiet, understanding his stun. “Queen Lilianna’s.”
His eyes were devoid of playfulness, he was purely astonished. “How did you come by this?”
“You have shields. I am of the royal line. My uncle had many artifacts,” I lied.
“And this upsets you?” He stroked the spine reverently.
“Yes, but not for what you think.” I smiled when he handed the journal back. “It’s foolish.”
“I don’t believe in foolish. Simply different thoughts. I vow upon my mother’s grave I shall not mock you. Why does the former queen upset you?”
For a moment—I trusted Ari.
I licked my lip and clutched Lilianna’s journal to my chest. “I’ve read countless times by now how Arvad and Lilianna once ruled. I was raised to think of them as vicious, cutthroat, and killers. But in truth, they were fair, they loved each other, they loved their children.” I stared at the ground. “And my people destroyed them. I simply want this land to be what it once was.”
Ari paused. For once without a thing to say. His voice was low and steady when he finally spoke. “You are a surprising Timoran, Elise Lysander. We, at last, agree on something. It is my oath, to all people, that this land will once more thrive as it did under the Ferus line.”
“Yes, but what of the Timoran people?”
“There are more who think like you, I’m sure of it. Lilianna was Timoran.” He tugged on one of his locks of golden hair. “I am Night Folk, but clearly my own bloodline is not fae alone. There will be war if I have anything to say about it, but I pray to the All Father of gods that we can heal the scars of this land. Together.”
I opened my mouth to respond, but words turned to ash. Ari was fair, and a knot gathered in the back of my throat. If Valen would not take his place, then Ari might be the best chance we had. It was not a disturbing thought. Oddly reassuring, in fact.
He tapped my knee and stood. “Are you ready to continue? We wish to reach the inn before dawn.”
I nodded and gathered the journal, shouldering my satchel, and followed Ari to the horses. Siv rode with Frey, Mattis with Ulf.
They had yet to speak, but I had to believe Mattis would defend her even angry as he was.
Once Ari settled in front of me again, he waved the clan forward. Sharp aches burned and cramped in my bones from riding hard. I gritted my teeth and held onto his waist.
“Ari,” I said after we took the lead. My voice slipped and stammered as the horse rocked over uneven ground. “How . . . how do we explain ourselves t-t-to an innkeeper.”
I let out a choked squeal when the horse fumbled over a raised step in the path and squeezed Ari until he let out a grunt.
“Hells woman, did you not insist you were a skilled rider?”
“I am!” My crushing grip said differently, but I was inclined to argue. “Just not when the creature is attempting to scale a mountainside.”
“Have more faith in Vit, Elise. He may be old, but he is strong.” He chuckled, patted the horse’s neck, as if we were not about to topple off the side. “And have more faith in me and my plans. Where we go, few questions are asked.”
Soon enough the paths leveled, the forest thickened, and when the pale dawn crested the horizon, I understood.
Sven’s alehouse came into view.
“You know this place?” I brushed a few wild locks of hair out of my eyes when Ari dismounted and tethered Vit to a post.
He grinned and held a hand for me. “I told you, Elise. I have unseemly connections, same as you.”
“Is he . . .” I wrung my hands in front of my body, unable to finish. Was Valen inside? Would he be pleased to see me? Angry? I would hate to see the light and affection he once had in his eyes darken.
Ari rested his hand on the small of my back, nudging me forward. “I believe we are alone. For now.” He lifted his brow, studying each twitch of my cheek. “Does he frighten you? You never did tell me if you ran from the Blood Wraith.”
“Yet here we are whether I did or not,” I said with a touch of bitterness.
“We must take risks.”
I closed my eyes. Heat turned my insides upside down. “I did not run from him, Ari. At least not that time. But it does not mean the Blood Wraith will be pleased to see us.”
He dipped his chin, a cautious grin on his face. “Understood. Still, I believe he is needed. Ravenspire fears him, and those are the people we need on our side.”
To that, I had no answer. It was unnerving at times how much Ari played feckless to hide his logic and cleverness. Aligning with the adversaries of Calder’s crown was the wisest choice, but only two of us knew the consequences of unmasking the Wraith.
Then again, this could be the nudge needed to push the Night Prince toward his fate.
Ari opened the door to the alehouse. I held my breath and followed.
Stale wine, ale, and unwashed skin hit my face. Beneath the stained floorboards was a constant damp in the air. A faint hint of coopery blood. My fists clenched and unclenched. Stains on the floor painted the boards in splatters of dark black from old blood. How much of the grime was left behind from endless nights of Valen’s torture?
The curse demanded blood and the Guild of Shade took it under this very roof.
I swallowed bile, staring at the table where I’d faced Legion Grey for the first time as the Blood Wraith, where I’d demanded he return my missing fingertips. A hot spark of pain bit at my heart as I touched the foggy glass and stared outside where I’d lain next to Valen after his cursed night. Where he’d kissed me before we went to the Black Tomb.
Before everything changed.
“Well, look who came back.”
My eyes flicked to the countertop. Sven sneered as he scrubbed a drinking horn.
“Sven.” My voice cracked. I lifted my chin and stepped to the counter.
“I keep my mouth shut.”
A furrow gathered between my brows. “Your pardon?”
The aleman winked, and returned the horn to a dusty shelf. “I keep my mouth shut. I can sees you’re about to tell me not to mention times we last saw each other, girl. I keep my mouth shut.”
“Wholly unfair,” Ari said. “Now you have admitted there are secrets between the two of you, and my curiosity is piqued to dangerous levels.”
The aleman snickered and clasped Ari’s forearm. “You pay me, and I’ll keep your secrets too.”
The stand-in king clicked his tongue. “I suppose that’s fair. But I assure you, Elise, I will pester you ruthlessly.”
I shook my head. “You’re a child.”
Ari grinned, as if pleased I’d insulted him. We waited for the others to saunter inside. Soon enough the room was packed with sweaty, travel worn bodies. Siv found me, offered a curt nod to Sven, but said nothing.
Mattis hesitated. His eyes on us, then the clan. In the end, the carpenter came to stand at my other shoulder.
“Ulf said this is where the Blood Wraith frequents,” he said, voice low. “You came here?”
“After the siege, yes. I didn’t think he’d still return, though.”
“You speak as if you know him well.” Mattis scratched his chin. “What aren’t you telling me? Why would the Blood Wraith not only save you, but take you here? Why keep you with him?”
“Mattis—”
“Sit,” Ari interrupted. He grinned at the packed room. “The aleman will tell us what he knows.”
Sven’s leathery face wrinkled. Something close to a smile, I’d guess, but perhaps the years of snarling kept him from showing a true grin. “You come here to stand against Ravenspire?”
“As I explained in my missive,” Ari said.
“You came to . . . assist other patrons?”
Ari didn’t falter. “As I explained in my missive.”
Sven puckered his lips. “Then I’ll tell you a bit. I don’t give up secrets, but the ways I see it—this is life and death.”
“Couldn’t agree more,” said Ari. “Where can we find the lost Shade. Or better yet, the Blood Wraith.”
“I don’t knows where he’s gone,” Sven said. “The Wraith that is. But I knows where he’s going. As I explained in my missive, your best chance at meeting is at the fury quarries. It’s warded, though. Tricky magic lives there, keeps in all the Night Folk the king don’t want to kill just yet. Knowing the Wraith as I do, he’ll wait until dark.”
“And you’re sure he attacks tonight?”
Sven shrugged. “Best guess, yes. It’s been nigh a week since his Shade was taken. Tonight is when they switch out the ravens. It’s a weak point during guard changes. Seems the best night to act if you ask me.”
Ari slumped in his chair. “Guesses. I don’t like working on guesses.”
“It’s all you’ll get,” Sven said. “Not like me and the Wraith are thick as thieves. I give ‘im a roof and cover, he gives me shim.”
Sven turned away and began wiping the dingy countertop. Ari waited a moment, but when it was obvious the aleman was done speaking, he faced his clan. “The Wraith must know how to enter the prison. We find our own way in—best case—we reach the captured Shade first. Prove our intentions. Elise.”
My mind had wandered, but Ari’s voice drew me back to the moment. “Yes.”
“What do you think? Do you agree with the aleman about the Wraith attacking tonight?”
I glanced around the room, shrinking under the scrutiny of so many. “I can’t say. Truth told, I’m surprised he has not burned half Timoran to the ground already.”
“His Shade mean that much to him?”
“They are loyal only to one another,” I said. Siv shook her head and glanced at the floorboards. I hated saying it, but it was true. Valen, Tor, and Halvar would fight for each other. I did not belong among them.
Ari’s jaw tightened. He stood, leaning over the table. “We go tonight, then. If the aleman is right, then it will be the best opportunity to enter the prison. Take a few tolls to rest. We leave soon to face whatever fate the Norns have been spinning for us.”
Fate. Such a fickle thing. The magic of the girl in the cage—Calista. What had she called herself? A storyteller. A spinner of fate in her own way. Perhaps she was descended from the three Norns at the base of the great tree.
I thought of her often, wondering if she’d ever gotten free from her prison. She’d fought for Valen, for me. But she told me fate had grand plans for Valen Ferus.
Tonight, I would either aid those plans, or alter his path entirely.