Heritage: Book Three of the Grimoire Saga (29 page)

CHAPTER NINETEEN

KIRELM

Kara ran barefoot through the halls of Kirelm. Flick held onto her shoulder. She followed the shouting, mostly, and the clink of swords and armor. She had to find Ithone and Gurien. She could help if they would only let her.

“I said no, Aurora!” someone yelled from down a side hall.

Ithone.

Kara skidded along the stone floor and doubled back. Flick’s little claws dug into her neck but slipped a bit as he held on tightly.

She raced down the hall, her feet pounding the stone bricks. Two royal blue doors at the far end stood open. Light spilled into her hallway from wherever they led. A cacophony of voices bubbled out of the room, all of it nonsense. Too many men tried to speak at once.

“This is our home, Father! We must fight for it!” Aurora screamed over the din.

The chaos quieted. Even Kara hesitated, though for another reason than a royal debate. If she ran into that room, she would likely be surrounded by soldiers. She would be outnumbered, vulnerable to Ithone’s whim. If he saw her, he might even take out his anger on her.

But they needed help. This was as good a chance as any to show them her new power. To prove herself. To make Ithone listen to reason long enough to go back to Ayavel.

Kara took a deep breath and charged through the open doors. The familiar throne room blipped into view, and the memory of her first meeting with Ithone rushed to the surface. She shook her head, trying to focus. Soldiers filled almost every available space along the walls, all of their attention focused on the far end of the room.

On a platform to the left, Ithone stood behind one of the three thrones. Gurien flanked him, sword drawn and wings braced to take off at a moment’s notice.

Aurora leaned on the armrest of another throne, keeping it between her and her father. Her one wing stretched into the air. The stump of her other wing—the one Carden sliced clean off when he tortured her—twitched as the remaining one moved.

Gurien seemed to look everywhere but at the princess. “We’ll cover you as you leave, Blood Ithone. Several units will mount a counter attack while the rest guard your escape.”

Ithone nodded.

The general turned to his troops. “Head out!”

The troops around Kara stood at attention and turned in unison. Kara darted to the wall seconds before they trotted out the main doors, line after line.

Aurora cursed. “Father, we must fight for our home! I don’t understand why you would run away like a coward!”

Ithone frowned. “This is not a debate, Aurora. The Stelians have somehow found our city. It isn’t safe here. The citizens are already evacuating. We must leave as well, or they are all in peril. If you and I die, our entire race will die with us. You know this!”

“The Stelians are circling the city. We couldn’t leave anyway! If we set up defenses along the outer walls, we can take them out one row at a time. They are exposed. Our walls can’t be broken, but if they manage to break down the gates, we will lose an incredible advantage!”

Kara nodded. That was a good idea.

But Ithone’s frown deepened. “Come with me now, or I will force you to obey me. I do not want to control you, child, but I will.”

“That is all you have ever done, Father!” Aurora spat.

The princess ran down the steps toward the soldiers as they left. Ithone reached for her, his glare focused on the back of her neck. He was no doubt about to take over her, to force her to turn around like Carden had so often forced Braeden to do what he didn’t want to do.

Gurien set a hand on the king’s arm. “I’ll bring her back, Blood Ithone. Please, get to safety. She and I will join you soon.”

Without waiting for an answer, Gurien jumped off the platform and raced after Aurora. Ithone huffed, but lowered his hand. His gaze followed his general until the man ran outside. The giant doors slammed shut behind Gurien, and Ithone’s eyes landed on Kara. She froze.

“Vagabond,” the king said.

She nodded, tensed and ready to bolt if necessary. “How can I help?”

His hands balled into fists. He hesitated, watching her for a moment, still as a stone. He had to be debating with himself as to whether or not to carry out his original plan to kidnap her. They didn’t exactly have time. She would put up a fight; he must have known that much. To waste time on her might mean he would lose his opportunity to evacuate.

His jaw tensed, but he offered her a hand. “Would you be so kind as to join us? You can’t stay here.”

She expected a rude remark or maybe sarcasm, but not courtesy. He must have been trying to lull her into a false sense of security.

“Aurora’s plan might work. May I ask why you aren’t fighting?” she prodded.

His fists tightened further. “If they found the kingdom, we’ve already lost. Are you coming, or would you prefer to be Blood Carden’s prisoner instead of mine?”

She flinched. He must have already lost patience with her.

“I would rather not be a prisoner at all, Blood Ithone. I want to help. Just tell me what I can do.”

“You can stop wasting time and come with me. Remy, help the Vagabond up the steps.”

Kara twisted around in time to see Remy nod to the king and begin toward her. With his back to Ithone, Remy mouthed,
Run.

She backed away. Every inch of her wanted to beg for Ithone to see reason, to protect his home. She wanted to fight for his people. She would kill the invading Stelian army to keep them safe if it meant proving herself to him. She wanted to make things right between Ithone and the alliance, but he wouldn’t give her the chance. He didn’t want help. He wanted a weapon.

Ithone shot one final glare at the massive entry before he turned toward the wall behind his thrones. A hidden door slid aside as he neared and closed once he passed through it.

Flick cooed from his place on Kara’s shoulder. She rubbed his back, mind racing. They had to get out of there, but she didn’t know if it was safe to teleport back to the Rose Cliffs. Kara didn’t know much about lichgates, and it was possible there could be one in the air between the kingdom and safety. Since Flick couldn’t teleport through a lichgate, Kara didn’t want to appear mid-air and have a sudden surprise fall to the ground.

Instead of focusing on her room or the cliffs, she imagined the front steps just beyond the throne room. Aurora would likely be there, no doubt trying to convince her people to fight. And if Kara teleported from the throne room, Remy would have no idea where she’d gone. He wouldn’t try too hard to find her, either.

Crack!

“...so who’s with me?” a woman asked.

Kara opened her eyes. Flick purred on her shoulder. She stood at the base of a set of stone steps that led into a grassy courtyard. Aurora stood on the entry. Gurien stood to her left, arms folded as he stared at the ground. Just behind Kara, hundreds of soldiers filled the lawn in militant rows. The soldiers glanced at one another, but none of them answered their princess’s question.

Aurora’s fist tightened. She took a deep breath and opened her mouth to continue, but Gurien set a hand on her shoulder.

She turned toward him, her brows furrowed. Tears clung to the edges of her eyes, and Kara recognized that fear. Aurora was close to giving up. She couldn’t protect her home by herself, and she probably figured Gurien was there to drag her back to her father. Kara reasoned as much, at least.

Gurien arched his back and turned to the soldiers. “Unit one, follow Blood Ithone into the tunnels and protect him with your lives. Go!”

A block of about fifty soldiers broke off and ran around the castle. Kara had no idea tunnels existed beneath the castle, but it didn’t surprise her. Kirelm likely had many such secrets.

Gurien continued. “The rest of you, to your wall posts! This is home, and we will fight for it. You are Kirelms, and you obey your crown. If the Heir ever again gives you an order, you will not question her or hesitate. Do you understand?”

“Sir!” the soldiers shouted in unison.

Block by block, they took to the sky. Some slipped into doors within the inner wall; others raced through the secondary gate to the main streets beyond the castle. Hundreds more swarmed the sky within the wire mesh domes, until the flutter of wings drowned out the gusting wind. Kara figured the soldiers who had assembled in the courtyard were likely elite soldiers or squad leaders. In all likelihood, they had probably gone back to their troops to report Gurien’s orders.

Within moments, the courtyard was empty. Relief flooded Kara’s gut. At least someone in this kingdom could think clearly. Aurora studied the general, her eyebrows twisted in confusion.

“You’re helping me?” she asked Gurien.

He nodded. “You’re right, Aurora. To abandon home is a cowardly thing. I don’t think Blood Ithone ever expected his city would be found, much less attacked. He panicked. I can’t reason with panic. I can, however, reason with you. I lied to him—told him I would fetch you and bring you back—but I didn’t want him to control you. Blood Ithone can take care of himself, and I will suffer the consequences for my actions, whatever they may be. But we will save our home.”

Gurien slipped a hand around Aurora’s waist and pulled her around to face him. Kara blushed and looked away, but it wasn’t like she had anywhere else to go. She still hadn’t been acknowledged, and she didn’t yet know how to help.

The general sighed. “I know we don’t have much time right now, Aurora, but I have to tell you something, and I don’t know if I’ll ever have another chance to say it. I have loved you since the day I met you at your seventeenth birthday ball. I couldn’t take my eyes off you the whole night. From that moment on, I knew I would do anything for you. The only reason I climbed the ranks as quickly as I did was to get to you. Your father had to respect me, and it was the only way you would even know I existed. But I respect if you don’t want me. I do. I would still gladly die to defend my kingdom and my Heir.”

Kara peeked at the young woman in time to see Aurora smile—a real, rich smile. She set her hands on Gurien’s cheeks. The princess opened her mouth to speak, but she never got the chance.

Aurora arched her back. Her spine curved too far for it to be natural. She screamed and collapsed on the steps, her body shaking. Something snapped in the princess’s leg.

Gurien knelt and lifted Aurora in his arms. She whimpered.

Kara raced over. “What the hell just happened?”

Grief shattered Gurien’s face. His knees shook as he held the trembling princess.

“Aurora, it’s okay,” he whispered.

“Father, he—”the princess choked. Sweat pooled on her temple.

“Gurien, please tell me how I can help,” Kara said.

He pulled Aurora closer to him. “You can’t, Vagabond. Blood Ithone must be dead. Aurora was just awoken as our Blood, and that means the Stelians are in the castle. They found Blood Ithone. If he’s dead, it’s more likely Blood Carden found and killed him.”

“How?” Kara pressed.

“They must have found the tunnels.” Gurien cursed under his breath.

Gurien lifted Aurora into his arms and stood. Her body convulsed, tremors tearing through her limbs. Gurien gripped her tighter.

He ran back into the castle. Kara kept close behind him, Flick still on her shoulder. They tore through the now-empty throne room and back down the hallway Kara took to find it. Gurien stopped at a sconce halfway along.

He tapped his elbow on one of the stones. “Push that!”

Kara obliged. The stone slipped back into the wall at her touch. The wall groaned. A section of the stones split apart from the rest with a hiss. This hidden door pulled backward about three feet—barely wide enough to slip behind.

Gurien raced in, and Kara followed. As soon as she slipped through, the door hissed again and inched shut.

More sconces lined a curving stairwell with no windows. Gurien trotted down the steps, Aurora still whimpering in his arms. Kara hadn’t realized how painful being made Blood could be for an Heir. It reminded her of her own awakening as an isen, of the paralysis that froze her body as Stone drowned her in the hotel bath tub.

She shuddered. Never mind. She didn’t want to remember.

A doorframe appeared beyond a curve in the stairwell. Gurien darted in. Kara followed. As she entered, yet another door slid from the stone walls behind her to seal off the room in which they now stood.

Yet more sconces lined the walls. Fire raged within them, giving the room more than enough light. A red couch lay not far off, a square table on either end of it. Aside from that, the small room had no other furniture. Not even portraits or artwork.

Gurien set Aurora on the couch and brushed the hair out of her face. She sobbed. Sweat poured down her face and drenched the edges of her gown.

The general turned to Kara. “You’re a force to be reckoned with, Kara Magari. It is for that reason alone I must ask you protect Aurora. You are the last defense between Blood Carden and the last remaining royal of Kirelm. Please keep her safe.”

Kara nodded. “Where are you going?”

Gurien stood up straighter. “To protect my home and my love, like I promised.”