Frozen Tides (29 page)

Magnus ran at them, but suddenly found himself flat on his face, the wind knocked from his lungs. Someone had tripped him. He looked up to see a Kraeshian guard looming over him, his sharp sword pressed to Magnus's chest.

Magnus raised his arms to his sides. “I surrender.”

The Kraeshian eased back on the sword, and Magnus clasped his hands on either side of the blade and rammed the hilt into the guard's face, breaking his nose. As the guard reeled back in pain, Magnus leapt to his feet and slammed his fist into his face, knocking him to the ground.

Then, without any hesitation, Magnus yanked the sword from the guard's grip and drove the blade down into his chest.

Sword in hand, he rushed along the hallway, desperately searching for Cleo. She was nowhere to be seen, but he spotted Kurtis, alone, headed for an exit.

“You better have answers for me.” Magnus pressed the tip of
the sword between Kurtis's shoulder blades, just as the kingsliege reached for the door handle. “Where is Cleo?” he hissed.

Kurtis froze in place. “I don't think that's quite the right question to ask right now.”

“Oh? And what's the right question?”

“The right question is, who was it I was meeting with at the gates earlier today?”

“Well, you're a coward, so it had to have been a Kraeshian. One who bribed you, told you he'd spare your life if you did as he asked.”

Kurtis let out a dry little laugh. “Close,” he said, “and yet so far. It wasn't a Kraeshian. It was a king. Your father, to be specific.”

Magnus's blood grew cold and his face went slack.

“Yes, Magnus. Your father has arrived.”

“And he took the princess. Why?”

“Why do you think? Honestly, Magnus, use your head.”

Magnus stiffened and pressed his sword harder against Kurtis's back.

“All right, no need for violence,” Kurtis bit out. “Your father took Princess Cleo because he wishes to personally finish the job that should have been done in Auranos, had you not intervened.”

“He's going to kill her.”

“Of course he's going to kill her.”

“Where has she been taken?”

Kurtis shrugged and gave Magnus a smirk over his shoulder.

“
Where?
” Magnus pressed the blade down even harder, until he saw a spot of blood bloom out on the kingsliege's tunic.

“Kill me and you'll never know,” Kurtis growled.

“You and me, Kurtis, we're all alone up here. No councilmen, no guards are going stroll by and help you out.” He sliced downward along Kurtis's spine, making him whimper in pain. “You will tell
me what I need to know swiftly, or I promise I'll have you begging for death when I start carving off body parts.” Magnus grabbed a handful of Kurtis's hair, yanked him backward, and brought the sword's edge to his cheek. “I think I'll start with your nose.”

“No, don't! Please!” Kurtis shrieked. “If—if I tell you, you will promise to let me leave the palace, alive and unharmed.”

“Very well. And if you lie, I will hunt you down and make you suffer like one of the stray cats you adored so much as a child.”

Kurtis swallowed hard. “The princess has been taken to my father's castle, where Amara and your father are staying.”

“Much gratitude for the information, Kurtis.”

“Now let me go.”

Magnus pulled his sword away. “A promise is a promise.”

Kurtis reached for the door handle, but before he could turn it, Magnus interrupted him.

“That's the hand you used to strike her, isn't it?” Magnus said.

“What are you—?”

Magnus swung his sword, severing the kingsliege's right hand at the wrist. Kurtis screamed, his eyes wide and wild with shock and pain.

Magnus grabbed him by his shirtfront, turned him around to face him, and slammed him against the wall. “By the way? I lied about not killing you.”

Just before he could plunge his sword into Kurtis's soft belly, a servant appeared in the hallway, shrieking, pursued by a Kraeshian guard. Magnus turned to look, and Kurtis slammed his head against Magnus's forehead before tearing off down the hallway, dripping blood in his wake.

Magnus roared with anger and immediately ran after him, but when he turned the next corner, Kurtis had disappeared.

He charged down the stairs and pushed through the palace
doors, frantically searching outside for his enemy. The light snowfall of this morning had now become a storm, the skies thick with dark clouds, making it difficult to see more than twenty paces away.

The Limerian palace had been captured. Amara's army was in control, her guards swarming the grounds like ants. And Magnus was trapped.

He knew he had to fight for his people, to destroy his father and Amara, to take back his kingdom before it was too late.

But right now, at this very moment, all he could think of was Cleo.

LUCIA

PAELSIA

D
ownstairs at the inn, Lucia forced herself to eat some bread and honey, chewing each piece slowly and methodically before swallowing.

“Rough night?” the server girl asked as she brought some cider to Lucia's table. “Had a bit too much to drink, did you? I know what that's like. Stick with Paelsian wine and you won't have to suffer the next day.”

“I appreciate the advice,” Lucia replied as the girl left to attend to another table of travelers crossing the barren plains of Paelsia.

She'd tried to deny it at first, but now she knew it to be true.

She was pregnant with Alexius's child.

And she had never felt more confused, terrified, and alone in her entire life.

Kyan slowly approached her table and took a seat across from her. She sipped her cider, not bothering to spare him a glance.

“I need to apologize to you, little sorceress.”

Lucia dunked a piece of the dry bread into the honey and popped it in her mouth.

“My behavior last night . . .” Kyan continued. “My behavior during these past several days, has been inexcusable.”

“I'm glad to hear you admit it,” Lucia said drily.

“That you're still here this morning, that you haven't abandoned me, is a miracle.”

Finally she looked up at him. “Do you think I have anywhere else to go?” she said, her tone wracked with accusation. Kyan's hands were clasped in front of him on the table, and he wore an extremely grave expression.

“I'm unbearable to be around, I know it. I've always been this way. It's . . . in my nature. Fire, you know.”

“Oh, I know it. I know it very well by now.” She let out a long sigh and leaned back in her chair. “So what do you propose we do?”

“You are important to me, little sorceress. You're the only living thing on earth that still connects me to my family. You
are
my family.”

Her throat tightened. “Is this how you treat family? With cruelty and abuse?”

“You're right. You're absolutely right. I'm sorry.” He leaned forward until she had no choice but to gaze right into his sincere amber eyes. “Here is what I propose. There's no sense in continuing on in vain with our search for a gateway to the Sanctuary. Instead, we need to find that boy again, the one from the village market. Are you certain he has the obsidian orb?”

She felt a pang in her belly as she thought back to Jonas Agallon and the girl Kyan had killed. “I can't be completely certain,” she said solemnly. “I thought he did, but perhaps I was wrong. We can look for him. But if we find him, you'll let me handle him, understood? I won't let you get carried away again.”

A smile tugged at his lips. “Lucia Damora, magical protector of unworthy mortals.”

“Only because you've given me no other choice, oh fearsome fire god.” She let out a sigh and fought a smile of her own. “I forgive you this time. But if you lose your temper again, if you do
anything
to make me feel like I'm not worthy of your company because I'm nothing but a filthy mortal, we will have a very big problem, you and I.”

“Completely understood,” said Kyan, placing his hands on top of hers. “So. Now that all ill will is healed between us, tell me, little sorceress, how do you feel on this”—he turned and glanced out the window at a sky full of dark storm clouds—“rather gloomy and unpleasant Paelsian day?”

She'd heard it was always gloomy and unpleasant near the Forbidden Mountains.

“How am I?” she repeated.

Pregnant,
she thought.
I'm pregnant and my magic is weakening because of it.

Lucia couldn't help but think about the warning Queen Althea had issued her when she was little more than twelve years old.

“Men will tell you lies to get you into their bed, to use you for their own pleasure, only to discard you right after. You must not let this happen. If you do, all you'll end up with is unwanted children, a wasted life, and squandered potential—all because of a stupid decision to share flesh before a proper marriage. And if your father were to get word of that kind of behavior, he wouldn't hesitate to kill you.”

What helpful, motherly advice from the woman who'd resented Lucia's existence since the day Gaius brought her home.

Alexius had used her for plenty of deceitful reasons, but not for her body. She'd given herself to him freely because she thought she was in love with him.

Perhaps she really was.

“Little sorceress,” Kyan said, leaning forward. “Are you still here with me?”

She pulled herself out of her thoughts. “Yes, I'm here. Where else would I be?”

Part of her wanted to share her concerns about what was growing within her, but she held her tongue. Better to keep this a secret for a while longer, especially from Kyan. She'd been able to hide so few secrets from the fire Kindred, she'd allow herself this one.

Lucia gazed out of the window at the mountains in the distance. How tall they were, all sharp, jagged black rocks spreading north to south along the western border of Paelsia. She had read books about this countryside, ancient texts proclaiming that the Sanctuary could be found if one ventured deep enough into those mountains.

“What do you know about the Forbidden Mountains?” she asked Kyan.

“Only that mortals have given them a silly name, and they're rather unpleasant to look at.”

“You're an eternal, all-powerful elemental god. Is that really all you know about the storied mountains that many fools think lead directly to the Sanctuary?”

He shrugged. “Geography doesn't concern me—that's my brother's area of expertise. Mine is a bit more interesting.” He held his hand out and produced a flame that danced a jig upon his palm.

She laughed, surprising herself. “Very impressive.”

“It's possible I'm even more talented than the Goddess of Serpents, wouldn't you say?” He closed his fist to douse the fire as the server girl returned to their table.

“What can I bring you?” she asked him.

“Nothing except a bit of information.” He nodded at the
window. “Tell me about the Forbidden Mountains. Why are they so foreboding?”

She grinned. “You really want to know?”

“Oh, yes, I
really
do.”

“Well, who really knows what the
real
truth is, but my grandmother used to tell me stories about them. About how they're not mountains at all, but gigantic guardians that protect the Sanctuary from the rest of the world. And that any witch or exiled Watcher who ventures there will not only have their magic stripped away, they'll be blinded, too, so they won't see the dangers threatening them right before their own eyes. She had so many stories like that.” The girl's eyes grew glossy. “I miss her so much.”

“Where is she?” Lucia asked.

“She died only a short time ago. I lived with her further west, she took care of me after my parents died. Now I have to work here.” She glared around at the inn. “I hate being stranded in the middle of this wasteland.”

Lucia listened carefully, realizing only now that she hadn't needed to use even a small amount of her magic to draw the truth from this girl. “What's your name?” she asked.

“Sera,” said the girl, then shook her head. “Apologies, I shouldn't burden you with my many problems.”

“It's not a burden at all.” Lucia captured the girl's gaze. She could be a wealth of information. There was no way Lucia could let her walk away without first magically wrenching every detail she could out of her. “Tell me, Sera, did your grandmother tell you stories about gateways to the immortal world? Stone wheels in various locations around Paelsia?”

Sera drew in a sharp breath, as if someone had wrapped a hand around her throat and squeezed. “No. No, she never said anything like that.”

“Was your grandmother a witch?”

The girl hesitated, her expression growing tense and pained. “Y-yes.” Her bottom lip began to tremble. “But there were rumors that she was much more than just a witch. There was gossip and whispering that she used to be an immortal, one who exiled herself to marry my grandfather. That sounds foolish, I know. And of course she never admitted that to me. People would talk, and Grandmother would just ignore them.”

The witch from last night had been very strong and had fought back against Lucia's weakened magical influence. This girl, however, didn't resist, which would keep her discomfort to a minimum.

Lucia concentrated and drew that magical shroud tighter around Sera. “What else did your grandmother say about the mountains? About their magic?”

“She . . . she always made sure to remind us that mountains themselves aren't magic. They just protect something
else
that is magic. Right in the middle of them, that's where the magic can be found.”

Kyan listened attentively, hanging on to every word Sera spoke.

“Thank you very much for your help, Sera,” Lucia said. “You can go now.”

Sera nodded, shook her head as if she'd just emerged from a disconcerting and unpleasant dream, then wandered away from their table.

“It wasn't all that far from here that I was awakened and able to take mortal form,” Kyan said. “I believed Melenia was responsible for that, but now I'm not so sure.” He stared out toward the mountains again, now with much more interest than before. “There's something out there, little sorceress. Something powerful enough to draw me forth from my cage, something that released me without your magic playing a part in it.”

“Those might only be stories, like Sera said. The kinds of stories grandmothers tell their granddaughters to make sure they don't wander off alone into the mountains.”

“Perhaps it's just a story. But perhaps it's the answer we've been searching for all this time.” He looked back at her and frowned. “I know I said we should stop looking for the stone gateway . . .”

Lucia stood up from the table, emboldened by her experience with Sera and ready to dive back into Kyan's mission once more. “You're right. This could be it. That's what the Forbidden Mountains hold—the magic we need to draw Timotheus out of the Sanctuary, and to release your family from their prisons.”

“So we're in agreement.”

“We are. We're going to the center of the Forbidden Mountains.”