SWNOVELS Song of Sorrows and Fate: Chapter 18
Cuyler and his men stashed the horrid sea singer in the damp cellar at the Norn’s house—or at least, what used to be the Norn’s house. It looked more like a blockhouse on a bleeding fortress. Embrasures and parapet walls surrounded the space. Wood and stone grouted together with thick clay deadened the outer world and kept the air cool inside.
More than the old, rotting house transforming into something out of a battle journal, I could not overcome the transformation of the sisters.
Young, almost lovely. Their ghostly eyes weren’t so frightening, but it was strange to see their lumps and rolls tighten up to muscle and lean sinews.
I tapped Forbi on her slender shoulder as we trudged down the wooden staircase.
“Are you well, Forbi?” I asked. “There seems to be an urgency, and you once urged me to accept the truth. What happens if I don’t?”
“Will the royal her take on the burden should the truth be said?”
“If you’re asking if I feel guilty countless folk have been trapped in a dreary existence for lifetimes in Raven Row, then yes. I’m not made of damn stone.”
Forbi frowned and let out a sigh. “Tales begin to fade. The part where a dark story grew stronger begins. It begins the part where fate paves a dark him’s path to victory.”
What did that mean? “Davorin’s victory?”
“Our tale is clear,” Forbi said, turning to continue down the steps. “But without the call, the dark him will rise. Beneath him, we fade.”
I was left befuddled, with a touch of bile in my throat. With a cautious glance over my shoulder, I found Silas in the shadows. He stood by no one but me, almost as though others frightened him more than the blood spilled in the Row.
“My delay would cause your souls to fade? Is that what you’re saying?”
“Risks from twists and fate. More time, a dark him has more strength.”
I pressed a hand to my chest when my heart felt as though it might shatter its way through. “So, because I waited . . . Davorin’s fate grew stronger?”
“How could you know, Little Rose?” Silas asked from behind us.
“No.” I held up a hand. “No, don’t coddle me. I knew there was a path I needed to take, and I ignored it. I fought against it out of fear.”
I shook my head. Damn tears. They stung the backs of my eyes and made it difficult to see properly. What a fool, what a weak-spined fool I’d been. The song that broke these kingdoms, the curse, the new story Silas and I had brought into fruition weakened because of my cowardice.
It had given that wretch too much time to strengthen, to grow, to return and attack the people I loved most.
I’d never forgive myself should they be harmed because I refused to move forward.
Out of these fated crowns, I was the weakest.
Elise was willing to sacrifice her own bleeding life for Legion Grey, a cursed beast whose true name was hidden.
Malin was willing to face the tyrants of her land, to accept a throne with a bloody history, all to stand at the side of her Shadow King.
Saga was afraid of her own heart, yet she boldly handed it to the Golden King despite the risks. She faced the man who’d tried to break her, and brought war to his feet.
What had I done? Learned my true name, learned I had a place in all this, then dug my head in the sand for the better part of ten turns all to hide from the feeling, the burn that I, too, had a place in this brutal tale.
Cuyler opened the door to the cellar, the others spilled into the room. Once inside, Silas kept to the corners, his hood pulled over his head. Cuyler strode over to the opposite wall where the horrid creature appeared dry and sickly. His face seemed to rot off his bones, the holes in his flesh revealed his teeth.
Skin flecked off in scaly pieces, and every rib showed through thin, iridescent flesh whenever he drew in a gasp.
Cuyler reached for a water basin and ewer off a wobbly table near a shelf with crates of turnips. “Thirsty, sea singer?”
The creature opened his yellowed eyes, dried lips parted, and his breaths grew harsher when Cuyler poured a long stream of water into the basin.
“I could wet your tongue should you speak.”
The sea singer chuckled, rough and raw. He was such a hideous thing. How had I ever felt a flicker of desire? Then again, the song of a sea singer was one of the grandest illusions.
“No?” Cuyler shrugged one shoulder. He lifted the bowl to his own mouth and took a sloppy gulp, intentionally allowing water to spill down his chin. He let out a gasp of relief, grinning. “So refreshing.”
“Why speak when . . .” the sea singer began, “when I am . . . dead anyway?”
Cuyler returned the bowl to the table and snapped his fingers. “Good question. You’re right, you are dead. But how quickly and painlessly you die is up to you. Where is the battle lord?”
The sea singer tilted his head. “The dark earthen fae?”
“Whatever you call him, he’s not one of you. He fled to your watery world like a coward. He’s bringing war between our worlds, is he not?”
The sea singer didn’t sneer. Truth be told, the poor bastard looked more exhausted than anything. He stared longingly at the bowl and ewer. “He takes enemies back to their truest hatred. To the torment he enjoyed most.”
“He’s attacking each kingdom in ways he tormented them before.” The words spilled from my mouth before I could stop them. I blinked and looked to Cuyler. “I-I don’t know how I know that.”
“It is his role in the tale,” Silas said in a soft rumble.
“What do you mean?”
“Through the histories he used hatred, war, blood. It makes sense he would use hatred in their lands to torment them once again.”
A cruel shiver bit its way up my arms. He was right. As little sense as it made, every kingdom, every gift of fate’s magic, was an enemy to Davorin. He would try his best to cut them at the knees.
“He’s not here,” I said, facing the sea singer. “Not yet. Isn’t that right?”
The creature drew in a rattling breath, the slightest curl to his pocked, rotting lips flickered on his face. “Not the time.”
“He’s waiting for a certain moment you think?” Cuyler folded his arms and came to stand by me. “What is it, do you suppose?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “But Davorin is biding his time. He’s waiting for something. Where is he, sea singer?”
A hacking cough filled the sea fae’s lungs. When he looked at us again his expression was vicious. “The earth fae remains near the Ever Ship.”
“I’ve sailed on that damn monstrosity.” I grimaced, but my heart skipped. “Wait, the Ever Ship was . . . your king’s ship. He’s dead.”
“I do not . . . speak lies.” The sea singer’s chest heaved as he searched for air. His body was battered, soon he would struggle to speak without wetting his lips. I knew enough about the sea fae to know some fared decently on land. Others, like the sea singer, could hardly keep their eyes open when removed from the seas too long.
“What has Davorin promised your people in return for fighting his war?” I snapped.
Three breaths, five. After the sea fae swallowed with effort he spoke. “Revenge.”
I shared a look with Silas. He was not there, but doubtless he knew what had happened between me and King Thorvald of the Ever. The way the bastard had snatched me straight out of Olaf’s alehouse, the way I’d left my royals to find their missing littles with my Cursed King’s newly cursed blood.
I knew the end of the tale, knew Valen had lodged an axe in Thorvald’s chest.
Revenge. The sea folk were here to avenge their fallen king. Doubtless it wasn’t hard to convince them to rise, not with Davorin’s sly tongue and battle skill.
“Kill me,” the sea singer rasped. “Allow me to see the seas of the Otherworld, and I will leave you with one final warning to aid your fight.”
Cuyler looked to me until I gave him a quick nod. The blood fae removed a knife and approached the sea singer. “Speak true, and you’ll be out of your misery.”
The creature let out a breath of relief. He lifted his gaze to me. “When you meet the Ever King again, a word of advice—if you wish to keep your lives, I wouldn’t make him bleed.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
The sea singer smirked and merely closed his eyes. He’d given his warning. He would say nothing more. Soon, he choked and spluttered as blood filled his lungs after Cuyler slit a deep gash over his neck.
Don’t make the Ever King bleed?
“So, the sea fae have a new king,” I said. “Davorin has influenced them. They have reason to despise our folk after that bastard of a king was killed. We are facing a great war,” I admitted. “One between land and sea. One between hatred and love.”
“His part comes when he returns to his land of old,” Danna whispered.
I furrowed my brow. “Davorin’s part?”
“Back to the beginning,” Oviss added.
Frustration boiled over, but the heat on my skin soothed when a hand rested on my shoulder. Silas had abandoned his corner to stand beside me. Such a simple gesture, yet somehow, I knew it caused him a great deal of discomfort.
Somehow, it made it better knowing he was there.
“I don’t know how to help them,” I whispered. “I found you because I was out making a promise to protect Lumpy—my Sun Prince. Now, I feel as if I’ve left them all to the crazed vengeance of a madman. As if I’ve done this to them.”
Silas placed a palm on the side of my face. For a moment it was as though no one but the two of us remained. “Then sing with me, Little Rose.”
“Sing with . . .” I swallowed. We had a power together—his song, my words. It crumbled worlds. Perhaps it could be enough to give a new burst of fate to stand on the sides of my royals. Whatever battles they fought, it might help them.
It might protect them.
“I don’t have the words,” I admitted.
“This is the part of a first bond,” Forbi muttered. Her youth was restored, yet the damn woman continued to speak in riddles. I was beginning to think she did it on purpose.
Instead of berating her, I merely sighed. “Explain, Forbi.”
With Danna and Oviss at her side, the seers knelt on the damp stone. From inside the pouch on her belt, Forbi removed a handful of rune stones. Danna took out a burgundy candle from hers. Forbi clutched her sisters’ hands and began to hum.
The tune was steady, low, and eerie. A chill deepened in the cellar, thick and musty, and pressed against my lungs until I thought it might ache to breathe.
When Forbi’s eyes opened, the milky white practically glowed. “The final gift joins at last, a tale of queens for a deadly task.”
Forbi’s eyes fluttered closed, and Danna’s opened. “A dreary foe attacks the gates, hunting for his crown to take.”
“Hand in hand, you must stand,” Oviss chanted, “all gifts united in our first land.”
Forbi hummed. “Sing a tale.”
“Bring them home,” Danna said, voice soft.
Oviss finished gently with, “Only then will defeat or victory be known.”
Next, the three sisters repeated a line, one that was oddly familiar. One I’d heard before when Saga used the sisters’ voices to help find her way back to Ari.
Now I saw, it was always aimed at me.
“A caution follows with this tale,” the seers said, softly, “should the first bond break, you will fail.”
“I feel to say these crowns afar,” said Danna, “relive the battles once fought before. A curse of blood, a sea seeking revenge, and a plague of darkness across a land.”
“Gods.” Silas closed his eyes.
“What?” I gripped his wrist. “What is it?”
“That’s what he’s doing—he’s reigniting the battles that led to the restoration of each crown.” He held up a finger for each kingdom. “A curse broken by a choice is again restored. The unification in the East with the sea fae brought them to find the queen’s ring, did it not? Yet, it led to a new enemy that would want revenge. And a plague of darkness brought the Raven Queen and Golden King together.”
My head pounded in a sick rush of panic. I didn’t know exactly what was happening in the other kingdoms, but it didn’t take much to guess it was wretched and bloody and dangerous.
“Fight back.” Danna said. “Will the royal her let a cruel him crush her head?”
“We need to help them,” I said, not to anyone in particular, but more a plea to my own desire.
Forbi rose to her feet. “Then you must sing the songs of fate to choose the soul that will make you whole.”
I blinked, looking to Silas. I never wanted to be commanded by the whims of the Norns. It frightened me to know my choices were not my own. But what if, long ago, a path began merely because a little boy and a little girl cared for each other?
What if, before two children even knew anything about heart songs and love of souls, they chose each other?
Silas held out a hand. “I do not know every step. But we have changed paths before. Sing with me, and we might know what moves to take.”
I feared what might come of another song between the two of us. From the beginning we’d altered paths, we caused the beginning of the end to a kingdom. Still, there was power here, a boil to my veins, a truth I didn’t fully understand.
To sing with my Whisper, to unite my words with his, somehow, I knew it was the only way to save them.
“Careful, Cal,” Cuyler whispered. “Your seidr . . . I can feel it. Something is changing. Take care.”
He wasn’t wrong. There was a heady sense that something was about to change. Perhaps something dangerous. Perhaps it would be as devasting as it was the night we sang a song to save my Raven Queen aunt.
I licked my lips, then reached for Silas’s hand.