Illusion: Book Four of the Grimoire Saga (17 page)

Stone answered without emotion. “It’s a reminder to watch what you do with your barb, as misuse will have dire consequences. I assume you recall the promise you made to anyone who violates the pact.”

Right. She was supposed to rip off their heads. She suppressed a shudder—she might have gotten carried away, what with all the magic and adrenaline pumping through her in the arena.

Another round of laughter cut through the air. Kara turned in time to catch a woman waving her hand, apparently telling a joke or story. The isen nearby waited, eyes on her as they walked. She finished and spread her hands open, apparently at the punch line. The group roared with laughter.

It seemed like Kara was missing all the fun.

She returned her focus to the path ahead, but her eyes slipped out of focus. These isen were closer than most families she’d seen in life. They laughed together, fought together, and—if Andor was right—protected each other without question.

Stone once said she was like a daughter to him, but she didn’t think of him as a father. He was more of a mentor who hit her with things to get his point across. Her father’s soul was trapped in Deidre’s body, and letting anyone take his place seemed like treason to his memory. A wave of anger burned through her veins. Her hands balled into fists, and her gaze shifted to her feet. She needed to keep it together. She would get her revenge on Deidre someday, but focusing on the hatred would unravel everything she’d built thus far.

A twinge of loss crept through the anger. Both Mom and Dad were gone, lost to Ourea’s monsters in some form or another. She sighed. Braeden was her only family in the world. He loved her. Cherished her. He would protect her without question, give her laughter and joy for as long as they lived. A desire rushed through her arms, a panic of sorts she couldn’t express. She wanted to show him what that meant to her—but how?

She racked her brain for several minutes, thinking back on their conversations as Stone led the way through the forest path.

After a few moments of no progress, her mind wandered to their destination—Ayavel. The beautiful landscape of the Ayavelian kingdom held within it the sinister royalty that hated drenowith and incited betrayal. Kara shivered. She hoped leading her newfound friends into the Ayavelian gates wasn’t a mistake. With a shudder, she wondered what Aislynn would have done if she saw ten thousand isen marching toward her door along the tree-filled path to the front gates.

An idea hit Kara so hard she stumbled. Delight simmered throughout her core. Andor asked her something, probably along the lines of whether or not she was okay, but she nodded and kept her eyes trained ahead.

Trees—the sanguini seed Aislynn gave her at the Gala could monitor Kara’s bloodline. Her family. The sanguini trees in Ayavel had a blossom for each living Ayavelian with the Blood loyalty. When planted with a few drops of her blood, who knew what Kara’s sanguini tree would bloom into—most likely, each little blossom on the tree would represent a living family member. If she planted it with Braeden’s blood as well, they might be able to use it to monitor their family as it grew. And since they couldn’t have a successful bond, perhaps this would bring him that joy instead.

Her breath caught in her throat at the thought of expanding their family. It was too soon for that, but at least she figured out a way to show Braeden what he meant to her.

She paused. This could backfire. Their tree might have a blossom for each Stelian instead. Braeden would be Blood, after all. It was a risk, but it didn’t seem to be how the tree worked. Aislynn’s trees might be for show—in all likelihood, the blood of her descendants was mixed in with the population over thousands of generations, and the trees had nothing at all to do with Blood loyalties.

It didn’t matter. She wanted to at least try.

She carried on, leading an army of isen to Ayavel’s lichgate. Evelyn would hate this. She would probably do something rash, something stupid, but Kara could only wait and see what happened. There would be a moment or two of peace before the final battle, and she could only hope Evelyn behaved long enough to let her enjoy it.

Braeden bolted down the hallway nearest to the throne room. He needed to find Frine, and fast.

A vagabond left an anonymous note on his office desk—Evelyn planned to meet the isen before they reached the castle and turn them away without the Bloods’ consent. If true, she could ruin a much-needed alliance, or worse—send these possible allies flocking to Carden out of spite.

Braeden picked up the pace.

He reached a closed door not far from the throne room, his feet skidding along the slick tile as he came to a halt. He rammed his fist against it, taking out his pent-up frustration in three thundering knocks against the wood.

Voices trickled through the paneling. The door swung open to reveal a Lossian Braeden hadn’t met. The yakona’s blue head bobbed, his black eyes filling up most of it.

“Heir Drakonin, may we—”

“I need to speak with Blood Frine, please,” Braeden interrupted.

“I’m afraid you need to set an appointment.”

Braeden cursed. “There’s no time for this! We need to move now.”

The Lossian flinched.

“Enough, enough, Erl. Thank you,” a man said from somewhere in the room.

Erl stepped away from the door, allowing Braeden inside. Braeden charged into the study to find Frine behind a desk, his son standing by the open window. A breeze swam through the room, shuffling papers on the wooden table.

“What is it?” Frine asked. His massive black eyes watched Braeden, unblinking. Braeden still hadn’t gotten used to the Lossians—namely their unblinking eyes—but he would have to ignore his discomfort for now.

He set his hands on his hips to calm himself. “I think Evelyn is about to make a mistake that could cost us the isen assistance.”

Frine sighed and stood. He grabbed his sword from the desk and buckled it around his waist. “Where will she be?”

Braeden hesitated. “Don’t you want proof?”

Frine huffed. “That girl is even more trouble than her aunt. After all her resistance to this war, I believe you without question.”—he gestured for the door—“Shall we?”

Braeden nodded. Gratitude flooded through him. Finally, a Blood listened. He almost couldn’t believe it.

Kara examined the empty woods surrounding the lichgate into Ayavel. A cliff rose in the middle of the forest, water cascading over its edge and into a lake below. The thunder of the waterfall filled the woods, swallowing any wildlife chatter. Mist hovered above the lake, a white glow trapping sunrays in the summer night. Several rivers escaped the lakebed, breaking away and carrying the rush of water into the forest. Her newfound isen army stood between the trees, silent and focused on her back. Her neck burned with the burden of thousands of eyes pinned to her, watching and waiting for the next move.

She stood at the edge of the lake between two small stones sticking out of the mud that signaled the start of a staircase that led into the water. Far below was a lichgate that would take her to the Ayavelian castle. She wouldn’t be able to get there, though, until the water parted—and the password Aislynn taught her all those months ago no longer worked.

She cleared her throat and said it again, louder this time—a word that had no meaning to her, despite her intuitive knowledge of the Ayavelian language.

“Foscythe!” she shouted again.

The waterfall thundered, swallowing her voice as it continued its rumbling. She huffed and twirled to look at Stone. He shrugged.

“Vagabond,” a woman said.

Kara looked around, her eyes finally settling on an Ayavelian woman standing on the edge of the falls. Water bent around her ankles, catching the hem of her silver dress as it billowed over the edge.

Neck craning, Kara took a step back to get a better look. Besides the trademark iridescent skin and white hair of all Ayavelians, Kara didn’t recognize this young woman. From this distance, she could only make out the barest details—smooth skin, a thin line across her lips instead of a smile.

“Did the password change?” Kara asked.

The woman nodded. “I’m afraid Blood Evelyn must speak with you first, alone, before she can allow so many isen into her kingdom.”

Kara’s fingers twitched. “We’ve already discussed this!”

A hand rested on Kara’s shoulder. Stone. He shook his head.

“Don’t make things worse,” he mumbled under his breath. She figured no one else could hear him above the water’s roar.

Kara frowned. “Fine.”

The woman arched her back. “Tell your isen to step back, away from the falls. They will be drowned if they try to enter with you.”

Kara nodded and raised her voice above the water’s thunder. “Yes, all right. Fine.”

Stone’s hand left her shoulder, but she didn’t take her eyes off the woman on the cliff. The woman tensed, eyes darting over the forest, likely watching the isen retreat to a safe distance. Finally, she raised her hand.

The waterfall parted at the gesture, revealing a staircase at Kara’s feet as it descended to the lakebed below. Kara took a slow breath and began down the steps before the path to the temple fully revealed itself.

Gold glittered through the layers of water ahead as Kara walked into the gap in the lake. Columns appeared through the glaze. She continued, storming along at the edge of the parting water as if her steps could make it part faster. Eventually, the water parted completely, revealing a staircase up to a golden archway.

She took the stairs two at a time, eyes narrowed and focused on whatever waited for her at the top. As her head cleared the last step, a thin face framed by long white hair appeared.

Evelyn.

The queen’s eyes narrowed as well, the three pupils in each eye clearly focused on Kara as she stormed into the temple. The young woman from the cliff top was already standing at Evelyn’s side, eyes to the ground as Kara entered.

As Kara’s foot landed on the top stair, water plummeted behind her. It rushed, crashing against an invisible wall separating the temple’s staircase from the lakebed.

Kara shook her head and bit her cheek. Evelyn had already agreed to this—though technically she hadn’t. The allied vote from the other Bloods and Braeden had outnumbered her. She had no choice but to let the isen in.

Kara did her best to keep from shouting. “What are you doing, Evelyn?”

“Keeping trash out of my kingdom.”

“Don’t you dare call them trash.”

“It’s what they are. It’s what all of you are—soul-sucking vermin.”

Kara grimaced, disgusted, but she had to pick her battles with this woman. “They’re fighting for us, and they’ll leave if you treat them like garbage.”

“They can fight for us, but they will not come into my home.”

“If you force them to sleep outside like dogs, they’ll leave.”

Evelyn shrugged. “Their choice. This is my home. They will obey me while they’re here. That’s the agreement.”

“No it isn’t! The agreement states they have free reign of the kingdoms in exchange for their help. You’re treating them as inferior and that’s
breaking
the agreement!”

“What’s going on here?” a man asked.

Kara shifted her gaze from Evelyn to see Frine standing at the other end of the temple. His blue head contrasted with the gold of the room, his large black eyes focused on Kara as if he didn’t expect Evelyn to give him an honest answer. Evelyn made a fist, but the queen didn’t reply.