03 - Sworn (21 page)

“And so what?” I asked. “He won’t take advantage of your weakness, even if you would of his.”

“You’re so sure of that, aren’t you?” Ulric scowled and turned away, effectively ending the conversation.

There had been a time when I hadn’t known that there were people like my grandfather, that a Sorcerer could be powerful and kind, could gain respect without hurting people. I had seen it, though, and with each closed-minded statement from my father, my need to escape grew.

I crammed the increasing pressure deep inside, as I always had.

“So what can you do?” I asked Nox.

“Experiment.”

Ulric rolled his eyes. “When I get back to Luid, I have Potioners and doctors there. Experienced ones.”

Nox rubbed the back of her neck. “But as you said, they’re in Luid. You’re stuck with me for now, unless you want me to talk it over with Mama Bunn. And it’s not like I have no experience.” The volume and emotion in her voice increased with every word. She stopped for a moment before she spoke again, more quietly if not less passionately. “This isn’t going to be me throwing random ingredients in a pot and hoping I don’t blow anything up. I know what I’m doing. I’ll work this out.”

Ulric looked up at her. “Very well. And I thank you, Nox.”

She chewed on her lower lip. “It’s a bad time of year for this. Most of what I’ll need isn’t blooming, or is underdeveloped.” She nodded to herself. “But I will make this work.”

She didn’t sound entirely certain, but the barest hint of a smile creased the corner of Ulric’s eyes. Nox didn’t seem to notice, but I did. He’d wanted her help from the start, but knew she wouldn’t do it if he demanded it. She needed to be opposed to him, to prove herself, to show him he was wrong.

I couldn’t help admiring his manipulative skills, much as I resented it when he tried to use them on me. I still had much to learn.

“Aren, is everything under control with your situation?” he asked.

“Everything is fine.”

“I’ve been thinking about the refugees,” Ulric said.

I narrowed my eyes. I had no idea where he might go with this. We hadn’t spoken much about them earlier, save for me passing on the information. “Have you?”

“Perhaps Rowan should go see to them. If there’s magical talent there, we might make use of it. They’re her people. They might listen to her.”

He watched me intently, waiting to see how I’d interpret the idea. Everything was a test. Always had been, and I’d failed many times.

“It could be a dangerous journey,” I said, allowing only the barest hint of displeasure into my voice.

He raised his heavy eyebrows. “I thought she wanted to be helpful. This is potentially beneficial to our cause if she succeeds.”

“And to you personally if she fails.” I couldn’t hide the disgust in my voice.

His lips curled. “I won’t deny that it would make things easier for me. And for you, Aren. Long-term thinking. There’s no way we lose.” I didn’t need to pry into his thoughts to know where he was going with this. He would use this to test her, to see whether she’d run back to them as soon as she had the chance. He had no desire to have help from untrained Darmish magic-users. He just wanted her gone, and justification for his mistrust.

I allowed my mouth to widen into a smile. “You know, you’re right. She should go. After all, it’s for the good of Tyrea.”

The creases on his brow deepened as his smile faded. “Indeed.”

He didn’t trust me.
Good.

“I’ll speak to her. Goodnight, Father.”

I stepped out of the tent and Nox followed, taking quick steps to keep up with me. Kel fell in beside her.

“Aren, what’s going on?” she asked.

“I’m going with her.”

“What?” Nox asked. “You can’t leave us.”

I turned to face her. “You’ll be fine. Stay with the group, try to fix Ulric’s magic. Rowan and I will catch up. We’ll move much more quickly than these people.”

She crossed her arms and frowned. “You can’t leave me with that horrible man.”

I put my hands on my sister’s shoulders. “This is for Ulric’s benefit, and yours in helping him. If Rowan’s aunt is among them, I suspect that she and Rowan will be a great asset in feeding these people, especially if it comes to a siege. Victoria is gifted in botanical magic—think what that will mean for you if we can convince her to join us.”

“Botanical magic? Like Laelana’s unfortunately deceased grandfather?”

“It’s a guess, but based on good information,” I said, becoming more excited now that the plan was made. I wouldn’t let Ulric sabotage himself and destroy my future. Better to defy him now, help Rowan, and perhaps secure our future and his. And a few days with Rowan might help release the pressure I felt to become my old self, help me focus on our true goals rather than on appeasing my father.

I offered Nox my most convincing smile. “You could have all the ingredients your heart desires by the time the people reach Luid. My reasons aren’t entirely selfish, I promise.”

“Just mostly selfish. But I guess we won’t get far without something of that kind of help.” She sighed. “Fine, go. Leave us. Have fun. Who needs you, anyway?”

I squeezed her arm. “Thanks, Nox.”

“Yeah.” She stared up at the sky, deep in thought. “Let me give you some potions in case anyone gets hurt. And bring me some dragon eggshell if you come across any. It might not help Ulric, but I’d like to test some things out for myself.”

My skin turned cold at the thought. “I’m hoping we won’t meet any dragons this time, but I’ll keep that in mind.”

Worry creased her brow. “Please do. And be careful. Ulric’s acting like he can do this without you, but I’ll tell you truthfully that he can’t. It’s not just his body. You’re right. He seems to be losing control of his thoughts, becoming overly suspicious and mistrustful. I didn’t know him well before, but I heard plenty about him. This isn’t the fair and decent ruler Tyrea lost several years ago.”

I wondered whether it was prison or his current affliction that had done it, and hoped Nox could help either way.

“If you die out there,” she continued, “or decide not to come back, this is over.”

“I’ll be back. I promise. I wouldn’t be going if it wasn’t important.” Her mentioning the dragon egg made me remember something else. “You should talk to Patience and Jevan about blocking while I’m gone. The Wanderers and his crew both seemed adept at it.”

She nodded, but looked uncertain.

Kel frowned and looked toward the east. “I don’t like you and Rowan leaving. I have a bad feeling about this.”

I shivered. “Me, too. But what choice do we have?”

14

AREN

^“
R
owan, wake up.”

Her eyes snapped open, barely visible in the thin light of a lamp that had been left burning outside. “What?”

“We need to go.”

“It’s morning?” She sat up and rubbed her eyes, then looked at me again as though remembering I wasn’t supposed to be there. “What’s going on?”

I sat next to her. “If you still want to, we’re going back toward the border to look for your family.”

That woke her up. “You... we’re... what?”

Seeing her expression brighten made me even more certain that this was the right thing to do. “Just you and me, while everyone else is traveling toward Luid. We’ll find the people who crossed the border, see if your family is there, or if there’s anyone else who will help us.”

She slipped silently from the bed and pulled on her pants, sweater, and jacket, then wrapped a long, knit scarf around her neck. She stuffed a few more items of clothing that she’d picked up from the supply tent into her pack and turned to help me roll up the bedding. Her over-cloak went into the already bulging pack next, and a broken comb. She paused.

“Your father didn’t give you permission to leave, did he?” She asked warily. “He needs you here.”

“Not as much as we need someone like your aunt to help feed these people, or as much as we need to hope that she’s among those who crossed the border.” It was a long shot, and we both knew it, but it was a chance we needed to take.

Rowan’s movements slowed. “I hesitate to mention this,” she said, “because all I want is to go with you to get my family. But even if we find Victoria, she hasn’t been herself for years. You saw her that night in the garden.”

“I did, I just don’t have any better ideas. There’s a chance she can recover. Perhaps the magic of Tyrea will help.”

She smiled. “You don’t have to convince me. Let’s go.”

I tied her bedding to the bottom of her pack. “We’ll talk more while we travel, okay? If I recall correctly, you’re good at that.”

She gave me a wry smile. “You recall correctly. I will have all of your secrets, Mister Tiernal.”

“All of my everything, fair lady, in time. We should go before someone sees us, though.”

The camp was asleep as we crept through the darkness, our path lit only by the stars and a full moon. “Isn’t anyone keeping watch?” Rowan whispered.

“Yes. But it won’t be a problem.”

I appreciated the fact that she didn’t ask the obvious question. The last time we’d spoken about my talents, I’d said I would continue to manipulate people’s minds if I had to, but I would be more careful than I’d been in the past, use my skills judiciously and with minimal harm to innocent people. I still wasn’t sure exactly how that would work, though. Would it be acceptable to make a person forget he’d seen us? There was a time I’d have done it without a second thought.

I sent my awareness out into the night, trying to sense human presences coming closer.

I wrapped a hand around Rowan’s wrist and guided her gently into the shadows. A young woman in black clothes passed us a few moments later, completely unaware of our presence. It wouldn’t always be that easy to avoid trouble, but I’d take it while it lasted.

We left the village behind us, and Rowan glanced over her shoulder.

“They’ll be fine,” I said.

“I thought I heard something.”

I concentrated harder. Nothing felt out of place as it had before Jevan stopped us on the road, and I sensed no magic aside from hers. “Probably just an animal, but we’ll be careful. That town the scouts mentioned was due west. We should head that way, and go as quickly as we can.” I hadn’t wanted to take horses from the village, knowing they were all needed for the journey, but was already regretting the decision.

Rowan slowed, then said, “We need to go north first. We’ll move a lot faster if we find Florizel and you fly.”

I stopped. “You didn’t say you’d seen her.”

She smiled sadly. “We haven’t had much time to talk. It was just before my pleasant little chat with your father, actually. She’s found a good place to stay, and gave me directions. Follow me. We’ll find it.”

She walked close beside me until we reached a steep incline, and then took the lead. Sparse trees dotted the land at the top, and moonlight flooded the ground. Our boots crunched over the dirt and scattered stones. Though we paused frequently to listen, we didn’t hear anyone following.

In spite of what we’d said earlier, we walked through the night without conversation. Rowan had changed so much since our first journey together. Then, she’d been afraid of me, and ignorant of everything around us that was so much more of a danger to her than I was. She’d experienced much in recent months that had forced her to change, to grow beyond her sheltered upbringing—and apparently quieted her.

When we reached a deep gorge, we climbed down. “Florizel said to look for a tree. There.” In the faint pre-dawn light, the massive pine stood like the silhouette of a twisted giant atop the opposite bank. “Then we head toward the mountains.”

She climbed ahead to the top of the chasm, slipping in the dry dirt that cascaded down onto me with each step. I let her get ahead, and then followed. By the time I reached the top, she had set her pack on the ground.

“Getting warm,” she commented, and slipped out of her jacket.

“You need a rest?”

She frowned. “Of course not.”

She seemed distant, and had since we’d left camp. “What’s wrong? You’ve been so quiet.”

“I don’t want to bother you with it. Or anyone. But you should know.” She sounded frightened, and so much more alone than I’d realized. “It’s about my magic. I can’t use it like I did after you rescued us.”

“That’s to be expected,” I offered.

“I know.” She squeezed her eyes closed. “And maybe that’s all it is, me not knowing what normal is supposed to feel like, what my normal abilities should be. It just… it feels like I’m chasing my magic, but I keep missing it. Or something. I don’t even know.”

I had no idea what she was talking about. Magic was inherent, a part of her as much as it was of me. It was a matter of learning to use it and increase it, not capturing it. But I nodded for her to go on.

“And it’s not coming back when I use it. I mean, it is,” she added when she saw the horrified expression on my face, “just not immediately. It’s taking its time.” Concern filled her eyes as they met mine. “It’s bad, isn’t it?”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

She sighed. “You have so much to worry about right now. Everyone does. I don’t want to be a burden. My troubles can wait.”

“No,” I said quietly. An owl hooted back from the forest. “They can’t. Not if you’re going to help us bring Severn down.”

She grimaced. “Ulric doesn’t want my help. I think he’d be happy to know I’m struggling, but I don’t want him to see that I’m weak.”

I couldn’t argue with that. “We’ll figure it out,” I said. “We can both practice along the way. See what we can learn about your situation, and how we can help each other prepare for whatever is coming. Don’t let Ulric’s dismissal make you feel less important. We need everyone’s help if we’re going to get through this.”

I tried not to let the depths of my concern come out in my voice. If whatever they did to them in Ardare was hurting Ulric, perhaps Rowan was suffering lasting complications as well. Nox might have more challenges on her hands than we’d realized, and this only made the need to find help more urgent.