Siege: A Borrowed Magic Novella (3 page)

For a long minute they just stared at each
other, and then he pulled the ring off his finger and held it out
to her.

“No,” she backed away. “You need it. Now more
than ever. What if Kern comes after you? What if—”

“I don’t want it.”

“But it’s yours,” she insisted, desperate for
something to cling to, some sign he still cared. “I gave it to
you.”

“And I’m giving it back. I don’t want
anything to remember you by.” He placed it on the table and
disappeared through the door. He never looked back.

She’d always wondered about girls who cried
over a broken heart. Now she understood. It was something
intangible that she couldn’t explain. But it brought with it a
physical pain that shot through her chest and robbed her of
breath.

Three

Adare screamed again, her pain a stinging reality.
Maren could relate. Sort of. Adare was having a child much too
early. There was fear for the baby, in addition to the actual
physical agony. Maren’s pain was different, and yet no less
heartbreaking.

Four months.

That’s how long Philip had been gone.

There was a place inside her that would never
be the same. It wasn’t empty, as she would have expected, like a
hole that could never be repaired. No, it was full. Of pain. Of
memories. Of what should have been. She’d learned to lock it away,
deep inside, in dark areas she didn’t have to explore. But times
like now, seeing others’ pain, she couldn’t seem to keep that lock
in place.

Adare squeezed her hand so tightly it hurt,
and Maren looked over at Daric. His brow was creased with worry and
his eyes were red. He didn’t look much better than Adare, with her
face drenched in sweat and her hair in wet clumps on the
pillow.

Everything was wrong, had been since the day
Kern appeared. The day Philip left. At first Maren thought it was
just temporary. Philip would come back. He’d apologize and
everything would be all right. Then days passed. Then weeks. Then
months. He wasn’t coming back.

She didn’t even know where he was.

In that hidden place she avoided at all cost,
she was terrified. For Philip. For Daric and Adare. For the
kingdom. They still didn’t know when Kern would be back. No one had
seen him since that horrible day. But there was no doubt he wasn’t
finished.

Adare screamed again, and Maren bathed her
forehead with a cool cloth. “Adare, it’s all right. You’re going to
be fine.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Adare sobbed. “The baby
won’t make it.”

“You don’t know that.” Maren tried to sound
confident but wasn’t sure she managed. “They’ll find someone. Not
all the mage healers are gone.”

But they were. After Kern had been
imprisoned, fear of magic had run rampant. The mages were forced
into the shadows or fled to other kingdoms, hiding what they were –
and what they could do.

Maren wiped Adare’s brow again as another
contraction hit and then glanced up at the midwife. She shook her
head. This wasn’t a normal delivery.

A knock sounded, and then the door opened to
reveal her father, out of breath, as if he’d run the entire way to
Adare’s room.

“They found a healer.”

Daric almost wilted in relief, a light in his
eye Maren hadn’t seen in days. “When can they be here?”

“A few hours,” her father said. “But I’ll see
if there’s anything I can do to get them here faster.”

Then he was gone again, leaving Maren with
the painful knowledge that Adare might not have that long.

The next hours were horrible. The baby wasn’t
turned right. Adare had screamed herself hoarse and now only moaned
occasionally, in and out of consciousness. Daric looked as if he
were living a nightmare.

Maren tried to be strong for all of them, but
the past few months had taken a toll. She felt years older, as if
the pain of losing Philip had stolen some of her life and forced
her to grow up too fast.

Adare’s eyes suddenly popped open then
squeezed shut again as her body shuddered in agony.

The midwife rushed over. “The baby’s coming.
At least it’s coming the right way now.”

Maren didn’t know whether to be more scared
or relieved. The healer still hadn’t come.

“Lady Maren, I need you right here.” The
midwife motioned to her side. “Do everything exactly as I say.”

Maren reached for a clean cloth, her hands
shaking uncontrollably.

“Adare,” the midwife said, “I need you to
push as hard as you can.”

Adare whimpered and…tried.

Maren felt tears fall on her cheeks and wiped
them away. “Adare, you can do this.”

A baby’s cry rang through the room a few
minutes later – and then fell silent. Maren wrapped up the small
prince and held him close, but he struggled to breathe.

Adare was essentially unconscious as the
midwife tried to make her more comfortable. Daric didn’t leave her
side. Maren held the small baby, quickly losing hope he’d
survive.

And then the door banged open, and her father
and a man she’d never seen rushed in. The stranger took one look at
Adare and then searched for the baby. He rushed over and grabbed
the boy from her arms. Words streamed from his mouth as his hands
roamed over the baby’s chest. And then a second tiny cry filled the
fear-paralyzed room.

Maren let out a small sob and rushed to
Adare’s side. “He’s all right, Adare. Your son is all right.”

Adare managed a tired smile and then her body
tensed.

The healer handed the baby to the midwife and
pushed Maren out of the way so he could examine Adare. “She’s
hemorrhaging,” he said, his face creased with worry.

Silence blanketed the room as the occupants
went from hope right back to despair. Maren felt her father’s arms
pull her close as they all turned to Daric.

“Can you help her?” The king sounded
desperate.

“Yes,” the healer said. “But she won’t be
able to have more children.”

Daric squeezed his eyes shut. Then he took
Adare’s hand and bowed his head. “Do it.”

Four

Maren paused outside her father’s study. Someone was
with him and his voice sounded oddly familiar, but she couldn’t
place it. Which didn’t surprise her. She was exhausted after the
past two weeks, and her brain felt muddled from lack of sleep.
Adare was better but hadn’t left her bed. The young prince, Justin,
was perfect.

“…should have known she’d go to you for
help.”

The anger surprised Maren, and she leaned
closer, trying to listen.

“Yes, you should have,” her father replied,
his voice laced with something akin to disgust. “Especially since
you’d cut her off from everyone she knew. You, who claimed to love
her.”

The other man laughed. “If I remember
correctly, you also claimed to love her. And yet she still chose
me.”

Maren’s eyes widened at the pieces of her
father’s life she’d never known, pieces that were before her
mother, before her.

“The worst decision she ever made,” her
father commented.

“No.” The man’s voice was calm, but there was
something dangerous beneath the surface. “Leaving me was the worst
decision she ever made. And the reason she’s dead.”

Maren suddenly knew why the voice was so
familiar. She’d heard it only once, a few months earlier. Kern. The
man responsible for Philip being gone and her life crumbling.

Panic seized her, gripping her heart in its
claws. She pushed against the door, but although the knob turned,
the door wouldn’t move. Something else held it closed, something
beyond what she could see or touch. Kern had his power back. She
pounded until her fists were numb, but it made no difference.

“As much as I’ve loved reliving the past,”
Kern commented. “It sounds as if our time is up.”

Maren heard something crash to the floor.
Then a strangled cry that tore at every piece of her rent the air,
and she fell to her knees.

Not another sound came from the room, but
when she desperately banged against the door again, it creaked
open.

Kern was nowhere to be seen, but her father
was face down on the rug. She stumbled forward and rolled him onto
his back. All she could do was stare, as if her eyes couldn’t be
seeing what was right in front of her. Then she screamed, bending
over his body and pressing her face against his. For she couldn’t
look anymore. His chest was scorched black, as if he’d been burned.
Which she guessed he had. Only it wasn’t by fire. It was by
magic.

The horror of it engulfed her, holding her
hostage. She didn’t understand what had happened. She couldn’t
think. Everything was wrong. Philip…and now her father… She needed
to do something. Kern was—

Her mind snapped out of its numbness. She
pulled herself away from her father’s body and fumbled towards the
door. Kern was in the castle. And no matter what had just happened,
her father wasn’t his main target. She had to get to Daric. To warn
him. Without even looking back, she ran.

She headed for Adare’s room, where Daric
spent most of time since the baby was born. Which was probably
good. Kern wouldn’t look there first. Maren didn’t knock, didn’t
offer any explanation, as she barged into the room.

“Kern’s here,” she said, breathless from
running so hard. “In the castle. I heard him. My…” Tears streamed
down her cheeks. “He killed my father.”

Adare’s eyes went wide with fear. Daric
jumped up and enveloped Maren in his arms. She pushed him away a
second later.

“We don’t have time,” she said. “We need to
get you to safety.”

Daric shook his head. “I’m not leaving Adare
or Justin.”

“You must,” Maren insisted. “It’s you he
wants.”

Daric set his shoulders. “No.”

“Then you’ll all die together,” Maren said.
“And Adare’s in no condition to flee.”

Daric banged a fist against the wall. “What
do you want me to do? I can’t leave, protect only myself, knowing
Kern is in the same place as my family.”

Adare sat up. “And I won’t leave your side.
No matter what.”

Daric frowned, and then seemed to have an
idea. “We’ll hide in the tunnels. They’re as safe as anywhere.”

Maren found herself nodding. It was
perfect.

Until Adare began climbing out of bed.
“Daric, you and I can hide in the tunnels, but not Justin. He needs
to be somewhere different. Just in case.”

In case Kern killed Daric and Adare.

“Someone else can take him,” Adare said,
surprisingly calm. “If something happens to us, he’ll still be
alive.”

Daric took her hands. “And who will you
entrust him to?” he asked. “Who could take your place if
necessary?”

Silence descended like a hammer – until Maren
pushed herself forward. “I’ll take him.”

Fifteen minutes later, Maren ducked into an open
doorway and wrapped her trembling arms even tighter around the
baby. Then she pulled her hood over her face and tugged her cloak
around both of them. It only muffled his tiny cries.

Something crashed behind her, and she heard a
man howl in pain.

She peeked into the hallway and then started
running. She needed to keep the prince safe. Nothing else mattered.
Not even her own suffocating pain at her father’s murder. She had
to push it away. When the baby was safe, then she could fall
apart.

Footsteps pounded behind her, closer this
time, and she veered down a side hallway and headed towards the
main doors of the castle. Just a few more turns and she’d be—

The wall to her left collapsed, the explosion
so deafening her ears rang, and she struggled for balance.

“I believe you have something I want.”

Kern stepped from the rubble, and she
shivered as the darkness around him enveloped her. Then he held out
his hand.

“Give me the child.”

This wasn’t how it was supposed to happen.
Kern should have gone after Daric. She pulled Justin closer, as if
that could protect him. Either the baby was Kern’s target all
along, or Daric was already dead.

Her eyes darted three feet to her right, to
where another hall led back the way she’d come. It was her only
hope.

She clutched the child tighter. And ran.

Lights flashed around her, walls crumbled,
and the ground shook, but she didn’t stop. Not even when a chunk of
stone hit the back of her head and blood trickled down her neck.
Not even when she didn’t think she could possibly take another step
and her lungs burned for air. She concentrated only on running,
looking for somewhere she could hide, somewhere they would be
safe.

Sliding around a corner, she peered down a
staircase. It went to the dungeons. Not the hiding place she’d have
chosen, but the only option she had left. She all but fell down the
stairs, and into pitch blackness, clutching the baby tighter.

Her fingertips slid along the wall, guiding
her way, until she felt cold iron. A door. She pulled it open just
as something evil and magical grazed her side. She stumbled into
the room and tried to push the door shut. Kern shouted words she
couldn’t understand, and then there was a flash of light and her
shoulder exploded in pain. Her knees hit the ground as she tried to
keep her own body between Kern and the baby. And then it was as if
the castle disintegrated around her and the world went black.

Pain. That’s all Maren was conscious of. She wanted
to sink back into the oblivion that had held her.

Without thinking, she brought her hand up to
rub her eyes. Pain shot through her shoulder and she heard herself
scream.

“Maren!” Someone pulled her hand back down
and put something cold against her shoulder. “Maren? Are you all
right?”

Adare. Maren forced her eyes open, shutting
them again immediately. The light hurt. “I don’t know,” she said,
her voice hoarse. She tried her eyes again, this time squinting
until they adjusted. Adare sat beside her, eyes red, looking older.
Devastated.