Rise of Legends (The Kin of Kings Book 2) (24 page)

“It’s been too long,” Tauwin complained. “Trentyre should’ve been mine the same night I took back my family’s castle. Now we don’t know what those Academy dolts are doing in the forest.”

“We believe they’re trying to find a way to communicate with Hiller’s army in Trentyre,” Stanmar said.

“Just charge in and take it then. You told me you have more than—” Tauwin stopped himself as he noticed Sanya.

“Sorry, my king.” She curtsied. “I was told you wanted to see me, but I can wait outside.” She turned as if to leave, though she used psyche to make him want her to stay. She wanted to hear this.

“Wait. Come here. Stanmar, go on.”

Sanya walked across the meeting room and into Tauwin’s arms, but was somewhat surprised when he kissed her on the mouth as Stanmar spoke.

“We can’t charge the city anymore, sire, we…too many…” He cleared his throat as Tauwin continued to kiss Sanya, forcing her to kiss him back.

“Continue,” Tauwin urged the army commander, holding Sanya’s hand and pulling her toward his chair. “Why can’t the men charge anymore?” He probably wanted her on his lap again, but she chose the empty seat beside him instead.

“The men have seen too many deaths, sire,” Stanmar explained. “Not unless we dress them in full suits of armor or bring them horses from Greenedge will they risk their lives. They’re miserable in the trenches—the stink of bodies, boredom, and debilitating cases of trench foot have sapped their spirit. They were promised a swift victory without danger, as I’m sure you remember.”

“How much longer are you saying it will take?”

“It could be months because that’s how long it will take to make enough armor.”

Tauwin slammed his fist onto the table. “Months? That doesn’t make sense. We have…how many more troops than they do?”

“We believe three or four times as many,” Cheot answered for Stanmar.

“Then this is ridiculous. What about the catapults?”

“Another week,” Cheot said.

Tauwin scoffed. “Take the Academy in a week, then gather everyone to take Trentyre. Simple.”

Stanmar pressed his lips together in barely contained anger. “The Academy isn’t a threat to us while we have it surrounded. Our enemies are trapped. It’s only a matter of time before we take Trentyre. Then we can gather all of our men for an attack on the Academy.”

“Nonsense. Take the Academy once the catapults are finished.”

“You might destroy most of the school,” Cheot said quietly.

“I don’t care anymore. This needs to end.”

Sanya agreed. She couldn’t think of keeping up this charade for another month as she waited to be queen of Kyrro. But if Tauwin somehow lost the war, she likely would be executed with him.
There must be a smart way to finish this quickly.
She stared at Stanmar and hoped he would come to an answer.

He took his time, then finally spoke. “I suggest we withdraw two hundred of our men from Trentyre to defend the catapults being constructed. The remaining men can surround the city like we’ve done to the Academy. Then they don’t have to suffer in the trenches any longer. Once the catapults are ready, we’ll take the Academy. If Hiller and his army still wish to stand against us in Trentyre after that, we can use the catapults on the city until they give up.” Stanmar spoke with apparent remorse, as if hoping Tauwin wouldn’t agree. “But I suggest we keep our current plan and wait for armor to be made instead.”

“No. The first plan is what I want.” Tauwin stood to show he was finished. Sanya and the two advisers rose. “That’s all. Come, Sanya.”

It was late, so she figured he would try to take her to his bedroom if she didn’t come up with an excuse.

“My father was very ill,” she said as they went up the stairs to the floor containing their bedrooms.

Tauwin’s pace didn’t change as he gripped the railing firmly, still looking annoyed at the news of how long it might take for Kyrro to be his. “I hope he’s all right,” Tauwin lied.

“I think he will be, but I’d like to see him again tomorrow to make sure. I’m planning to go early in the morning, so tonight I’d like to speak with your chemists to see if there’s anything I can bring him.” She stopped on the stairs, showing she wanted to go back down.

Tauwin frowned. “Very well.” He started downstairs with her.

“I don’t want to trouble you,” she said, wondering why he was opting to go with her.

“I’m just going down because I need to speak with Cheot.”

To bring Cheot’s daughter to bed with him.
Tauwin hardly hid the fact that he shared his bed with some woman each night, but this was the first time that he’d chosen a psychic. It worried Sanya. If Tauwin wanted, he could end their engagement on a whim.

She did a quick calculation, then affectionately touched his arm. “One week,” she told him.

“What?”

“We should set the wedding for one week from tomorrow. That will give me and your mother enough time to plan, and enough time for my father to recover.”

He stopped and smiled. She felt a surge of arousal from him as he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her in for a kiss. She was beginning to hate the taste of his lips. She’d better make sure Kyrro was taken by the time they were wed.

*****

The next morning, Sanya left the castle early. She brought a potion she knew her father wouldn’t need. She’d never been to the capital of Kyrro when she was younger, so it was difficult to tell if the quiet streets were usually filled with busy, working people or if this was common and had nothing to do with the recent change in leadership or the war.

She strolled into the Takary mansion, the guards only giving her a cursory look. She beamed with excitement as she made her way to her father’s room. Her mother was finally going to come back to the world of the living, and her father was finally going to be punished for what he’d done to her and Sanya’s sister.

Spiro actually looked ill, to Sanya’s surprise. But it had been a lie when he’d told her he was sick. What did this mean?

“What’s the matter with you?” she asked, hoping to figure out this riddle but knowing he would give her little information, as he always did.

“Something from the food, I believe.”

Another lie. This was the body her mother was to use soon, yet it looked weak as Spiro moved toward Sanya for the perfunctory hug he always gave her when they hadn’t seen each other in a while. Her touch pained him greatly, though he said nothing of it.

“I tried to convince Tauwin to let you live at the castle,” she lied, “but you know how stubborn he can be.”

“Don’t worry about that.” Her father sounded so defeated.

She closed the door and went to lock it, except the lock had been broken off. She gave him a puzzled look as she gestured at it.

“A fit of rage,” Spiro admitted with a bit of shame. “Never mind it. Here, drink this.”

He put a potion to her lips. She closed her mouth tightly and leaned away. “I told you, I’ve taken my last potion from you.”

“This is the last one, I promise you!” His expression was as if he’d invented an elixir that would make her immortal. At least he seemed more energetic than before. “I’ve done it, Sanya. You’ll be able to feel and control bastial energy once you drink it.”

“Like the last one, which kept me awake for two nights straight? Or the one before that, which sent me into a depression so deep that I tried to kill myself? You think you’ve done it every time. I told you I’m done!” She shoved away his hand, spilling the potion on the rug.

She expected him to yell at her as he usually did, but instead his shoulders sank in quiet disappointment. She used psyche to sense an overwhelming fatigue, but below that was some kind of secret, something he didn’t want her to know.

She let it out of her mind. A secret was nothing new.

Sanya sensed someone standing outside the door. Then she felt the sting of a psychic trying to read her emotions. She let her fear and excitement be read plainly. Whoever was out there wouldn’t stop her from getting her father to the spiritual world.

Soon, the psychic left. Sanya convinced herself it was just a curious inhabitant of the mansion. No lock on the door was concerning, but there would be no better time than now.

She drew the box from her pocket, then took out the akorell bracelet. Spiro gasped and reached for it.

“Where did you find one?”

She stepped back and drew her dagger. He stared at it, confused. He asked her a question, but she didn’t hear as she concentrated on opening a portal to the spiritual world.

“What in all holy—?”

“Get in.” Sanya gestured with her dagger, making sure to stand between her father and the doorway in case he tried to escape.

“Are you threatening me?” He seemed amused. “Is that what’s happening?”

“Yes.” She wanted him to be scared. “Go, or I’ll cut you.”

“Cut me?” His face fell, though there was still a hint of entertainment in his eyes. “You’re angry with me?”

“Go.” She didn’t want him to know how strenuous it was to keep the portal open, so she made her face relax.

He slowly walked toward its entrance, the bright spiritual world visible on the other side. Sanya swiftly moved behind him and shoved him in, then jumped in right after.

He seemed alarmed by the warm ground that changed color beneath him, hopping as if his feet might burn. Then he slowly came to rest and let out a laugh of amazement.

“Incredible, Sanya! Where have you taken me?”

No, he would not enjoy this. She put herself between him and the exit, ignoring his question.

“I’ve been a psychic for many years, Father. It might’ve had to do with your constant tests and experiments, but don’t let that give you any pride. I was the one who did all the work.”

Her words didn’t seem to matter; she could see him beaming with arrogance, clearly taking credit for what he’d created.

“Stop that,” she insisted. “I was a miserable child, and I’m miserable now. I’ve murdered, Father. I’ve killed people who didn’t deserve to die. I’m as heinous as Tauwin himself.” Finally she could see her words sinking in, his pride faltering. “As heinous as you,” she added and watched him grimace as if she’d stuck him with a knife.

But just as quickly as her words had hurt him, he seemed to recover. With deep lines in his forehead, he looked around. “Where in god’s world did you take us?”

“The land of the dead.” She called her mother’s spirit over to them. “Can you feel her, Father? This is Lori.” Sanya gestured at the approaching cloud of energy.

“Lori?” He reached out as if to touch her spirit. She drifted out of his reach, obviously frightened.

“Don’t startle her, you monster. You’ve already done enough by sending her here.”

“Sending her here? Are you saying I killed her?”

“If you didn’t, then you were completely responsible.”

He looked as if he was about to deny it, but then changed his mind. “I suppose there’s no point in withholding the truth anymore.”

“That’s right,” Sanya agreed. “For years, I’ve been able to tell when you’re lying to me. I know you killed her. I knew as soon as she didn’t show up.”

What Sanya had told Basen the night Nick died wasn’t quite the truth. Her mother hadn’t taken the news of Spiro’s experimentations on Sanya lightly. Lori had formed a plan as soon as Sanya told her during one of their monthly visits. Sanya fled Tenred during the night. She crossed through the Fjallejon Pathway and into Kyrro at just twelve years old. Lori was supposed to meet her at the Academy, where Lori figured they would be safe until they found a new home. But she never showed up.

Sanya waited at the Academy for three nights. She’d given a false name to Terren, who’d handed her off to the master mage instructor, a gentle woman by the name of Marie Fyremore who Sanya later heard died during the war.

Spiro had informed King Tegry Hiller that his daughter was missing, and he’d sent hundreds of men out, some of whom came to the Academy and dragged her back.

Sanya had changed greatly since that time, both physically and mentally. Sometimes she wondered what kind of woman she would’ve become if her mother had made it to the Academy. There was no doubt in her mind she would’ve had a chance to be a better person.

“It was an accident,” Spiro explained, looking between Sanya and Lori’s spirit. “Can she hear me?”

“Yes,” Sanya said, though she wasn’t quite sure if it was true.

“Lori, I’m sorry. But you shouldn’t have done what you did. You left the guards outside your bedchamber no choice when you refused to go back in your room.”

“What happened?” Sanya asked. She hadn’t seen her mother’s body after she was killed. “I know her heart didn’t just stop, like you said it did.”

“She was stabbed during a scuffle that she started with the guards.”

“The guards that you put there to keep her from leaving! She was a slave to you, not a wife.”

“Because she didn’t understand!” Spiro shouted back. “And look what I’ve accomplished because she couldn’t interfere. Look where we are. Look at what you can do.” He gestured around them at the rolling hills of hardened energy. “You are extraordinary, as I claimed you would be.”