The Ice Diamond Cuff (Custodian Novel #4) (27 page)

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Faedra stood on the ridge overlooking the
valley. Her clothes flapped in the icy wind that whipped around
her. Her eyes watered as they strained against the bitter wind to
see Azran City in the distance. She pulled the hood of her coat
around her head a bit tighter and hugged the book to her body with
her other hand. To either side of her, lined up on the bluff, stood
all the otherworlders that had been taking up residence in the
cottage, except Etyran who was executing his part of the plan back
in the World of Men. Hopefully, the ruby staff was able to find the
lake without any problems. Allora and Faedra's human family had
stayed behind at the cottage in case there were any casualties that
needed medical attention. Ignis and Alaris were now in their dragon
form. Draconis had gone to fetch reinforcements, and Derian was
patiently awaiting his return so he could borrow the emerald staff
to bring his own men to help.

"I hope we're not too late," Faedra whispered
to Faen as she scanned the view below. Over the past couple of
years, this valley had seen its fair share of devastation. First,
when the book had destroyed all plant life and it lay barren and
desolate. Now everything was frozen, covered in a layer of ice.
Flowers were still perfectly formed, encased in their icy caskets.
Icicles hung from branches in the trees around them, the sound of
cracking echoed through the forest as they swayed in the wind,
cracking their ice coated limbs. In the distance, the castle
glistened like some glittery Christmas cake topper.

"May I borrow those?" Faedra asked Faen, who
was looking through the binoculars her uncle had loaned them.

"It is not pretty," Faen said, handing them
to her.

Faedra put them to her eyes. Faen was right,
it wasn't pretty. The city walls were lined with Zaven's men. They
stood bolt upright like surreal ice statues, no doubt ready to
unleash annihilation on any who should dare to breach its
walls.

Faedra shivered. The icy chill that now
suffocated her realm was boring deep into her bones.

"The dragons are here," Alyssa declared
behind her.

Thankful for the distraction, Faedra turned,
handing the binoculars back to her husband. She was greeted by a
group of exceedingly handsome men in dark designer suits, each one
with a hand wrapped around the emerald staff. They looked more like
they were heading for a business meeting rather than preparing for
battle. Draconis was standing in the middle of his men, dishing out
orders left and right. As each man got his orders, he let go of the
staff, paced several feet away and turned into his dragon form.
Within minutes, ten dragons were lined up behind the small group of
people already standing in formation along the ridge.

Draconis marched over to Faedra. "My men are
at your disposal, Your Highness."

"Thank you, Draconis."

He then handed the emerald staff to the water
king.

A little while later, green lights whirled
not far from where Draconis had appeared a short time before.
Derian had also brought with him ten of his men. When they were
fully materialized, they each let go of the emerald staff. Derian
walked over to Faedra and handed the staff back to her.

"Thank you, Derian."

Now that everyone was gathered, it was time
to execute their plan.

"Draconis, will your men allow those who
cannot fly to ride on their backs so that we can all get down to
the valley together?"

"Of course, little one. Any task you wish,
they will gladly perform."

Faedra nodded a thank you. "I'll never forget
this, Draconis. I owe you one."

Draconis inclined his head.

Faedra handed the emerald staff off to her
husband and took hold of the book in both of her gloved hands. She
stared at its elaborately embossed cover for a moment before
drawing in a long breath. "Right then. Let's get this show on the
road, shall we?"

She opened the book and let her eyes wander
over the words scribed in a fae language she didn't understand.
Closing her eyes, she imagined what she wanted to create: A vast
towering fog bank that would stretch the length of the valley.

Gasps reverberated around her. She opened her
eyes and sucked in a breath herself. Before her very eyes, clouds
of fog were materializing. As the eerie, undulating billows formed
they floated off the ledge and joined the already growing wall of
fog hovering above the valley. Just before Azran City was
completely screened off by the thick gray barrier, Faedra noticed
movement outside the city walls, more ice men spilled out through
the archway to join those already guarding the wall.

"Zaven's men are on the move," Faen said,
keeping watch through the binoculars.

They were obviously suspicious of the change
in atmospheric conditions. She doubted that fog was something they
would see on a regular basis in a realm made of ice. Faedra's
heartbeat hitched up a notch even though this was part of the plan.
Zaven's men had to come to them if they had any chance of success;
it didn't make her any less anxious about going down there to
fight. She continued to move the fog bank until it divided the
valley in two.

"Can you see Zaven?" Faedra asked.

"No, he is not with his men."

"Places everyone," Rowan commanded.

The vicar helped Todmus up onto Ignis's back
before climbing up behind him. The Messengers, Jocelyn, Janessa,
and Rowan dived off the ledge and glided down to the valley floor.
Derian's men climbed aboard the rest of the dragons who also then
launched themselves off the ridge. Alyssa climbed aboard her new
beau, Alaris, joining the others into the fray.

"Draconis, may I ride with you? Faen will
need his arms free," Faedra asked.

Faen let his hand holding the binoculars fall
from his face. He turned a disbelieving glare on his wife. "You are
not going down there."

Faedra wrinkled her brow at him. "But..."

"No!" Faen cut her off. "Absolutely not! I
will not have you risking your life, or that of our unborn child,"
he stated resolutely.

She shot Faen a defiant glare before turning
towards Draconis. To her surprise, Draconis stepped away from her.
Faedra shot the mighty dragon a look of question. "But, I'm your
queen...and I order you to take me down there," she said, although,
the authority she tried to impart in her voice wavered a
little.

Draconis gave her an apologetic glance. "No,
Your Highness. You are not
my
queen, and I need not take
orders from you."

Faedra blinked a couple of times. A hopeless
feeling sinking to the pit of her stomach. Draconis lengthened his
elegant neck until his face was just inches from hers. His emerald
eyes shone with sincerity. "Little one, in this, your husband is
right. You must not risk your life or that of your child. The
future of Azran depends upon it."

Faedra looked down at the ground and huffed
out a breath. He was right, of course. They both were. She had no
powers, and now she was pregnant to boot. It was reckless and
selfish to deliberately put herself in harm’s way. She just hated
the thought that everyone down in the valley below was risking
their lives for her, for their realm, and she was doing nothing to
help. She brought her disappointed gaze back to Draconis and placed
a hand on his sleek muzzle. "Be careful."

Draconis nodded.

Faedra turned to Faen and wrapped her free
arm around him. "You be careful, too," she whispered into his
chest. "Our baby needs a father, as well, you know."

Faen kissed the top of her head before
pushing her chin up with his fingers. Faedra met his intense gaze.
He smiled before leaning in and planting a tender kiss to Faedra's
lips. "I love you," he murmured against her soft skin.

"I love you, too."

When Faen pulled away, he handed her the
binoculars. "Here, take these."

"Thanks."

"Draconis, shall we?" Faen said, drawing his
sword from its sheath.

Faedra watched as her husband and the Lord of
the Dragons launched themselves off the ridge to join the others.
She put the binoculars up to her face and followed them as they
flew down to join the rest of the group assembled on the valley
floor.

The fog wall was holding well. From her
vantage point, she could still see what was going on to the other
side of it. More of Zaven's troops were marching out of the city to
investigate the strange phenomenon, but there was still no sign of
the man himself. Faedra prayed that Etyran was in position back in
the World of Men. She brought her focus back to her group of
'soldiers'. Todmus was laying the cypher wheel on the ground.

Faedra kept looking back and forth between
watching her people and keeping an eye on her adversaries that were
stalking closer and closer to the fog wall with every breath she
took.

"Etyran. I hope you're in place," she
murmured.

Her anxiety increased as she watched Derian
and his kind circle the cypher wheel. They were making the same
movements they had in her back yard, but nothing was coming out
from the ground.

Faedra chewed her bottom lip and adjusted the
binoculars. Zaven's men were getting closer.

"Come on, come on," she whispered, shuffling
from foot to foot.

Faedra looked back to the circle surrounding
the cypher wheel. Still nothing. Panic started to rise like acid in
her throat. It wasn't working. Zaven's men were only yards away
from her people who were sheltered only by a wall of vapor. She had
to get them out of there, or they would be slaughtered right before
her eyes. Her breath puffed out in ragged gasps as she looked down
at the book for answers. She had to do something. Another
distraction perhaps, but what would be strong enough to pull
Zaven's men away from their investigation of the fog bank?

A tornado? She shook her head. No, that would
put her friends in danger, too, and destroy their cover. A
hurricane? Nope, same problem. Flooding? Zaven's men would just
freeze it. Oh, God, Faedra. Think! She started pacing back and
forth along the ridge. What other weather could she use? Lightning?
Ineffectual. Rain? Ineffectual. There had to be something else. She
couldn't watch her people die, see more of her loved one's
slaughtered. Her breathing quickened as she comprehended just how
helpless she was. Tears pricked her eyes, then she heard it. A low
rumble at first, then seconds later, a loud, powerful roar.

Faedra brought the binoculars back to her
eyes.

"Oh, thank you," she breathed.

A geyser of water pushed through the earth,
spilling into the air and onto the ground. Hearing the loud roar
themselves, Zaven's men stopped in their tracks. They looked around
them, then to each other. Back on the other side of the fog bank,
Derian's men split up and made a line, forming the water into a
wall, wielding it along the valley, making it grow like a living,
breathing tsunami.

Faedra stared, awestruck.

Just a few more moments, and then it would be
time for her to remove the fog bank. She couldn't wait to see the
looks in her adversaries eyes when they realized what was about to
be unleashed upon them.

"Very impressive, Your Majesty," the icy
words grabbed Faedra by the neck and sent prickles of fear hurtling
down her back.

She whirled around, her binoculars falling to
the frozen ground. Faedra heard a tinkle as one of the lenses
shattered. Her heart nearly stopped.

"Zaven."

CHAPTER THIRTY

"You will stop your little charade this
instant, or I will snap your sister's neck like a frozen twig,"
Zaven hissed.

Faedra's eyes moved from the icy glare of the
Ambassador to the uncharacteristic, terrified eyes of her
half-sister. Zaven had her held by her hair with one hand, the
other was tightly wrapped around her neck, pulling Vivianna's head
back at an awkward angle. She was only wearing one of her silken
gowns and the wind whipped around her now skinny body, making the
sleek material cling to her. Her hands were encased in manacles of
ice, resting against her lower body. Shivers wracked her every
muscle. It looked like the only thing holding her up at that time
was Zaven's heavy handed grip around her neck.

In that moment, Faedra went numb. She threw a
fleeting glance over her shoulder, knowing the battle below could
only commence when she lifted the fog bank. Everyone was in
position now. She only had a few seconds to respond or the element
of surprise would be stripped away from them. Zaven's men would be
able to retreat and re-group.

"Now, Faedra!" Zaven spat, drawing Faedra's
attention back to him.

He tugged harder on Vivianna's hair, squeezed
her neck, making the woman whimper as her neck was bent back even
further. Faedra had never seen her so helpless, so defenseless.
What had happened to her? And, more to the point, why would she
care? She should be glad that Zaven was saving her the trouble.
Faedra held back her own shiver as warring emotions started to
battle within. An imaginary megaphone blasted her father's final
uttered words into her skull.
Rescue your sister...
s
he
is my daughter, too, and, for all her faults...I love her.

Faedra kept her face emotionless as
Vivianna's eyes pleaded with her.

"P-Please," she stuttered.

Adrenaline spiked in Faedra's system, the
mixture of fear and anxiety settling in her belly. Her eyes moved
from Vivianna's to Zaven's as the anxiety got pulled deep, soul
deep. Then she could feel it. Something was molding it, forming
into something she could use.

Faedra turned back to the battle waiting to
commence below. They were probably wondering what the holdup was.
She looked back to Zaven and barked a humorless laugh. "That's the
best hostage you could come up with? Do what you like with her, she
means nothing to me." Her eyes moved to Vivianna at the same time
she let go of the book. The fog bank evaporated.