03 - Sworn (37 page)

“I still don’t regret any of this,” I said. “Do you?”

She let out a hollow, hopeless chuckle, and sniffled. “Never. Maybe if I’d known how much this would hurt, I would have avoided it. I’m glad I didn’t.”

“It would be easier for you if you stayed here. You could avoid my father’s anger, stay safe. Help your family.”

She rested a hand on my forearm and squeezed. “I know. And I’m tempted to, but I can’t. I have a larger purpose, too, even though I don’t understand it yet. If I had my way I’d be by your side through any battle. I need to help. I belong with you, with Kel and Nox and Griselda. Not here. I need to be there to learn to use my talents, to fight against Severn, to find out what my place is in this world. And even if that place is without you, forever—” Her voice caught in her throat. “Even then, this is what I have to do.”

I wanted to tell her we’d get through, that we’d find a way to be together, but we had an agreement. No more lying to preserve each other’s illusions or emotions.

I sat up and took her hand, unsure of what else to do. Tempted as I was to start pushing her away, to pretend that this didn’t hurt and that she’d never meant as much to me as I’d thought, I wouldn’t. Pain like I hadn’t felt since before I could properly remember swelled within me until I thought I would burst. Or crack. Or simply cease to be. I had never wanted this, and yet losing her felt like losing a part of myself I hadn’t know existed until she came into my life.

She sat back against the bench and nodded to herself. “I have to figure out what my life is going to look like, what I want to be. Maybe someday I’ll help fix things in Darmid, who knows?”

My heart ached at the resignation and powerful determination in her voice. Gods, how I adored her. “Maybe you will.”

“If I stay here now, my family will drive me insane, as will not knowing what’s happening in Luid. What’s happening to you, Kel, Nox. Now Victoria too. No, I’m coming.”

I placed a kiss on the filthy shoulder of her shirt, knowing that even that was more than I had any right to now. I couldn’t help myself.

She rested her head against me, just for a moment. There was nothing left to say.

Victoria returned with her pack and bedroll. “Shall we?” Tear tracks marked her cheeks, but her voice was calm and certain.

We left the horses. They wouldn’t be able to keep up if any of us ended up flying. As the sky darkened over us, the two Sorceresses and I set out to the north, where I hoped we’d find a dragon, a flying horse, and a half-blind little girl waiting.

A strange fairy tale, indeed. If only we could all find the happy ending we were all searching for.

24

NOX

T
he sky clouded over as we passed through a series of small towns. At his request, I had been riding near Ulric at the head of our procession, but this morning Laelana had insisted on speaking to him privately, giving the rest of us a bit more distance. It suited me well enough. I preferred to speak to him as little as possible, as I hadn’t forgiven him for what he said about my mother.

I couldn’t get too far away, though. Ulric didn’t like to have to search for me.

He made no grand proclamations of his return as we passed through towns, but also didn’t deny his identity when folk were brave enough to approach and ask. I suspected he was assessing their reactions, deciding whether he could expect support when he did declare that the rightful king had returned.

Or I might have been completely wrong. If Aren had been there, I could have asked him. He knew how all this worked far better than I. But there had been no sign of him for four days, and no word that anyone else had seen or heard from him.

Damn him, leaving me to deal with the old man on my own.

The people seemed glad enough to see their king returned to them, which gave me a good feeling about our prospects. Less than a week and we’d be at the city gates. I wondered what would happen if Severn chose to respect the law. Would he still be executed? I hoped so. He would always be a threat. A man so cruel and power-hungry would never give up, not even after a hundred years in prison.

Ulric motioned for me to come closer and sent Laelana away, apparently done with her for now. “Any news?”

I looked back over my shoulder, but no one was close enough to listen in. “I’m making progress. I found some interesting notes in Mama Bunn’s books about controlling magic—old stuff on the bindings they used to perform, and ways to block the effects of magic.”

He narrowed his eyes. “You’ll have to enlighten me. I don’t see how reducing magic helps my problem.”

My shoulders stiffened at his condescending tone. “Sometimes when you can’t solve a problem by approaching it head-on, you need to go around the back way. By looking at the ingredients and techniques that lessen magic, I’m getting ideas on how to protect you from it while you recover. Great ideas.”

Making those ideas a reality was the issue.

The stone-serious line of his mouth didn’t change, but I thought I detected a slight lift at the corner of his eye. Amusement? Pride? I couldn’t tell.

Laelana returned. “We have nothing left to spend.”

“Then barter,” Ulric said without favoring her with a glance. “Surely among your people you have some who have services to offer in exchange for food and clean water.”

She sneered. “When you showed up, I thought our fortunes had turned. I promised you my people’s support because I thought we’d benefit from it. And what have we seen from you? We’re displaced, hungry, dirty, exhausted.”

“All things in time, Laelana. You’re starting to sound like your beloved husband.”

“I defended you when he said we were fools to follow you to Luid. I’m beginning to think he was right.”

I didn’t need Aren’s gifts to see that the king wanted no more of this conversation. Still, he didn’t order her away. “You would have had to leave that encampment anyway, in search of water,” he said, speaking with only the barest hint of irritation in his voice. “And tell me, how have I benefited from having your people come with me? You slow me down and pester me for food, as though I can pull it from my own body to feed you. In spite of the training we’ve offered, I doubt you could defend us if Severn came after us. Your people’s support is appreciated, but don’t overestimate your value. You’ll benefit more than I will in the end.”

He looked up at the dark clouds. Thus far the results of their appearance had been unimpressive, just enough of a sprinkle to tease us and leave a small offering in the rain barrels before the clouds disappeared, only to return later to taunt us. The draught had been localized to the rebel camp’s area. The lack of rain on our journey was a simple matter of bad timing or bad luck.

Lightning flashed so far in the distance that I almost missed it.

“Better get ready to collect water,” Ulric said. He looked back at the people. “You’re right, they do look exhausted. Let them rest now. I’m going to take a few people and scout farther ahead. Nox, you stay with me. Laelana, please find Nox’s friend Kel and send him along.”

Laelana’s mouth drew back in an irritated snarl. She dug her heel into her horse’s side and wheeled it around, nearly trampling Kel as he approached on foot.

“The king wants you,” she spat.

“Thanks,” he said, and looked to us. “I was just looking for an update on our plans.”

Exhausted though he was, he preferred walking to riding when possible. I supposed riding an animal felt strange when one was accustomed to getting around by one’s own flukes, and walking gave him plenty of opportunity to associate with the people. He seemed to mind spending time with them far less than Ulric did, enjoying the chance to see the world with people who were unlike him.

“You’ll come with us. We need another set of eyes.” Ulric snapped his fingers and motioned for a young man to fetch another horse, and didn’t speak again until Kel had mounted.

Kel and I exchanged a glance. If he was irritated by the order or Ulric’s short tone, he didn’t show it.

Ulric looked once more at his people, and took the lead as we picked up our pace and left them behind.

“More like a stone around your neck than an army, aren’t they?” I observed.

Ulric kept his eyes on the road ahead. “They’re my people. I usually try to avoid being this close to them, but they are my responsibility. Severn forgets that, I think. The dissenters are our responsibility as much as the sycophants and the flatterers in Luid. Severn seems to think he can show favor to the people who please him and let the rest rot. He would see these people dead before he fed them, I’m sure.”

“You wouldn’t, if they opposed you?”

“I might have when I was younger. I hardly remember. But I know better now, and I won’t have Severn ruin everything I’ve worked so hard to build.”

I wasn’t sure what to say to that, so I let my frustration simmer in silence. How could this man be so infuriating and cruel to his family, and yet sound so noble when it came to his people? It didn’t strike me as a deception. He apparently felt genuinely justified on both sides.

He glanced sideways at me. “I feel that. Your anger.”

“Do you?” I tried not to feel like a child caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

“I don’t have Aren’s talents, but I have always been able to read people better than most. When you focus so hard on your hatred, especially when it’s directed toward me and you’re in such close proximity, I know it.”

I leaned in closer. “Are you using magic, then? Is it making you ill?”

“I’m fine. I’ll let you know if that changes.” He shot me an appraising glance. “You have a lot of anger, don’t you?”

“Yes. Most of it’s not directed at you, but you piss me off. Frequently.”

He smiled then, but it faded a moment later. “That’s no surprise. And I understand, of course.”

“Do you?”

“You think I’m a bad father.”

I gritted my teeth. “That’s not even a portion of it. I’m glad you know it, though.”

He laughed. “Nox. One of my children had me locked away in an enemy land and stole my throne, and several others are dead because of him. Two support him, one of whom is a monster who takes pleasure in causing others pain. One son stands with me, but reluctantly and with much rebellion in his heart, and even he’s run away. My only living daughter was exiled to the dragon lands at my order, and now hates me. I know I’m not the victim of a massive misunderstanding.”

“And yet you won’t change.”

His expression hardened. “No. I’m the king. Country before family and before self. If Aren hates me but becomes a better king some day because of what I’ve put him through, I’ll have done my job. If—”

Griselda Beaumage rode up beside him, followed by another Sorcerer. Qurwin, if I remembered correctly, a dark-haired fellow with a strong jaw and sharp eyes. I’d hardly seen any of them since their arrival. Laelana was careful to keep the Belleisle Sorcerers close to her and away from Ulric as much as possible, and Griselda had not objected thus far.

“Your Majesty, I apologize most sincerely for the interruption.”

Ulric turned back to me. “That, my dear, is how one addresses a king.” Then to Griselda he said, “Always a pleasure to speak with you. Is there a problem?”

“I’m not sure. I asked Maks to ride ahead, and he’s reported a building staffed with soldiers just down the road. It wasn’t on my maps.”

Ulric frowned. “Thank you. Would you care to ride with us?”

“We would.”

They spoke quietly about the people. Ulric never asked directly about Laelana and Goff or their private plans, but I sensed he and Griselda were communicating something about that amongst their words about concerns over food, the weather and the poor spring, and a missing child. She asked after Aren, and Ulric said he hadn’t had any news.

“We’ll need him soon, won’t we?” she asked.

Ulric’s mouth tightened. “We’ll manage without him if we have to.”

“Of course,” she replied, but something in her tone said she suspected more about Ulric’s situation than she was supposed to.

Tell her,
I thought, hoping he might pick up on it, but he was right. He didn’t have that gift.

We rounded a wide curve in the road. On the other side we found a building that looked like a small stone fortress with few windows and an imposing wooden door, shut tight. A soldier in a red uniform appeared on the roof, shielded behind a stomach-high wall. Four more joined him in a row.

The first to appear was also the first to speak. Tall and thin-shouldered as he was, his wide beard gave him a comically unbalanced appearance.

“Hold, travelers. Where are you headed?” His voice boomed out, rich and deep.

“Is this not a free road?” Ulric called back to him.

“This is the king’s road, as are they all. State your business.”

Ulric took in the sight of the soldiers wearing the usurper’s colors.
Back away,
I thought.
We’ll go around.

He stood his ground. “I am Ulric, king of Tyrea. Lord Severn will no doubt be overjoyed to hear of my return. Perhaps you’d be so kind as to send a messenger and let him know that as of this moment, he is relieved of his duties. I thank him for governing in my absence, but he’s free to step down now.”

The soldiers looked apprehensively from Ulric to their leader, who showed no such uncertainty.

“Oh, he’ll be interested to hear that the whispers are true,” he called down to us. “You should tell him yourself, though. I’m sure he’ll be eagerly awaiting your return.”

Ulric’s jaw muscles tightened as he glared upward. “What’s your name, soldier?”

The bearded fellow jerked his head toward us, and two of his men picked up bows and arrows to take careful aim.

“They call me Hal. Hairy Hal to my friends.”

“Do you consider Lord Severn your friend?”

“No, I consider him my king as of yesterday’s proclamation. Step back. Ulric is dead.”

He knew as well as I did that the rightful king stood before him. It was evident in his arrogance, and the nervousness that showed on his men’s faces. They all knew. But they had orders, and they had clearly sworn loyalty to Severn.