The Ice Diamond Cuff (Custodian Novel #4) (29 page)

Something snapped in the Custodian at those
words. She whirled around, bearing down on the disgraced princess
with murder in her eyes. She grabbed her around the throat.
Vivianna's eyes widened.

"No, you don't," Faedra spat, holding her
adversary firm. She hardly even recognized her own voice, it was so
full of malice. "You think everything you've done to me, to my
family can be wiped clean with 'I'm sorry'?"

Faedra felt Vivianna swallow under her grip.
Their eyes were locked on one another. Faedra wished she had her
powers, that she could read Vivianna's energy to know if this was
just another ruse or if she meant what she said.

"Faedra!" A voice echoed through the fog.

Faedra tore her gaze away from that of her
half-sister to look into the fog. "Faen," she whispered to herself,
then called out, "Over here!"

The thick blanket she had created shrouded
everything, but she strained to see through it, nonetheless.

"Faedra!"

"We're over here, Faen!"

Faedra looked down and let go of her sister's
throat, as if it were burning the palm of her hand. What was she
thinking? She may have cause to despise the woman sitting before
her, some would even say she would be justified in killing her. No,
she would not resort to murder. That would only bring her down to
Vivianna's level, and that of Savu and Arawn. She was better than
that. So much better than that.

Before long, Faedra could hear the sound of
crunching. At first, her heart soared as the footsteps drew nearer.
She was about to call out again, but a cold shiver skittered down
her back. What if it was Zaven? If Faen had been able to follow
their tracks, Zaven could have quite as easily.

"What is it?" Vivianna whispered.

Faedra put her finger over her lips. "Shh."
She crouched down beside the boulder and peeked over the bush they
were hiding behind. Three shadowy figures loomed ahead. She could
see two of them had swords outstretched in front of them. All three
were scanning the area around them.

"Faedra," Faen whispered into the fog.

"Oh, thank God," Faedra uttered, as she
sprang up from behind the bush. "Over here." She waved her hands in
the air. Faen spotted his wife and sheathed his sword as he ran
towards her. Jocelyn kept her sword extended, her eyes still
checking the vicinity as she and Ignis followed after Faen.

Faen grabbed Faedra's face in his hands.
After planting a desperate kiss to her lips, he pulled back and
searched her eyes "Are you okay? I was worried sick. What
happened?"

"I happened." The voice was smooth,
calculating, and it sent chills throughout Faedra's body.

She turned and saw Zaven a split second
before she was ushered behind her husband's back by one of his
strong arms. The other was pulling his sword from its sheath with
the familiar sound it made when being pulled from its metal casing.
Faedra peeked around his shoulder.

"It's over, Zaven," Faen announced, sword
outstretched. "Your army is defeated, your men are
retreating...what is left of them."

Zaven's eyes narrowed at the Guardian and a
sneer curled his lip. "I'll show you defeat," he spat, as he
flicked out his fingers and ten arrows of ice hurtled towards
Faen's chest. Faedra's scream got stuck in her throat, strangled by
the knowledge there was nothing she could do, she had no power to
deflect them. The thought of losing another loved one ripped her
apart. She couldn't go on living without him.

"No!"

Faedra heard the defiant word just before
seeing a blur of blue jump in front of her husband. In her
periphery, she saw Ignis change. A roar of flame shot past their
group, hitting its mark straight on. A sickening scream echoed
through the fog. Faedra scrunched her eyes and buried her head in
Faen's back at the sight of Zaven's deforming body. She could hear
the roar of Ignis's fire. He didn't stop until there was silence,
until there was no chance his victim was left alive. Not only did
the dragon melt their aggressor, but he also made sure to heat the
water remaining until it had completely evaporated. The steam that
was once Zaven, floated up and mingled with the swirling fog.

Faedra heard a gurgle and felt her husband
shift in front of her. She opened her eyes as the figurative dust
settled and noticed he was holding something. She stepped out from
behind him as he lowered into a kneeling position, taking
Vivianna's limp body with him. Blood was seeping through her blue
gown turning the fabric purple.

Faedra's nostrils twitched as the smell of
warm blood wafted on the air and clung to the vapor swirling around
them. She kneeled beside her husband. They exchanged glances before
returning their eyes to the disgraced princess, who may very well
have just taken a step to redeem herself. Her eyelids looked heavy
and uncooperative as she tried to open them. Vivianna attempted a
small smile in Faedra's direction.

"Why did you do that?" Faedra murmured.

Vivianna started to talk but a wheezing
splutter was all that passed her lips. Faedra leaned in, angling
her ear towards Vivianna's mouth. "I have already taken so much
from you," she whispered. "I could not see you lose another. You
will make a just queen, Faedra. Azran is lucky to have you."
Vivianna closed her eyes as her head slumped against Faen's
chest.

Faedra let herself drop backwards a few
inches, planting her backside on the ground. She crossed her legs
and stared at her half-sister, her feelings a cause for confusion.
Shouldn't she be doing a happy dance around the forest right at
that moment? The person who had spent the last couple of years
trying to ruin her life was gone. Dead. No more. Why then did she
feel sadness and pity for the woman who lay limp in her husband's
arms?

"We need to give her a royal burial," Faedra
blurted a few moments later. She looked up at Jocelyn and Ignis.
"For all that she did wrong, she saved Azran's new king." She
turned to her husband. "She could have let you die, and I would
have lost you." Tears pricked behind Faedra's eyes at the thought
of seeing the arrows that were sticking out of Vivianna's chest
sticking out of Faen's, instead.

Faen rose and gently handed Vivianna to
Ignis. He leaned over, scooped Faedra's coat off the boulder where
it had slipped off Vivianna's shoulders, and placed it around his
wife's.

Faedra pushed her arms into it and zipped it
up, pulling the hood over her head. She shuddered. "I can't ever
remember being this cold."

Faen leaned over and picked up the book of
Anohs. "You do have the power to change that," he said with a wry
smile.

A look of realization swept over Faedra's
features, and she slapped her forehead with her palm. "Well, d'uh."
She pulled the book from Faen's grip and closed her eyes. In the
next moment, warm sunshine broke through the dreary gray clouds and
came streaking down through the trees. Having no one to challenge
the temperature, it ratcheted up within minutes. Faedra pushed her
hood back and lifted her face to the sun. She could hear drips
hitting the undergrowth as the ice on the branches started to
melt.

She turned back to Faen. "Were you telling
the truth? Did we really defeat Zaven's army?"

Faen smiled. "I would imagine Derian and his
men have vanquished every last one of them by now. Azran is yours
again, My Lady." Faen did a low bow with a sweep of his arm. Faedra
doffed him on the arm. "Stop that. It's yours, too. Or had you
forgotten that you are now king."

Faen smiled and put his arm around Faedra's
shoulder. "Come, let us get back to the others. I fear we have a
lot of cleaning up to do."

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

As they flew down to join the others in the
valley, Faedra could see the last of the salt water being siphoned
back to its rightful place. When they had finished, Derian picked
up the cypher wheel and handed it back to Todmus.

"We will forever be in your debt, Derian,"
Faedra said. "If it wasn't for you and your men, we would have lost
Azran. Thank you."

"Your father was a good man, Faedra. We could
not sit by and let this injustice go unpunished."

The group gathered together and wandered
towards Azran City. Once inside the walls, Faedra put her hands to
her mouth. Faen wasn't kidding. There would be a lot of cleanup to
do. Water streamed down the walls as it melted, flowing into the
alleys and lanes. What a mess, and what about the people? "Where is
everyone? Are they still alive?" Faedra wondered out loud.

Noticing the distress on the young queen's
face, Derian touched her arm. "Do not worry, Your Highness. Your
people will be fine once they have thawed out. We will help them
and clean this up. If you will permit me, I will bring more of my
people here so that we can return your realm back to normal as
quickly as possible."

"Would you?" Faedra said, relief washing over
her features. "Please, feel free to bring as many people as you
need."

There was a splash behind them. "Cor, blimey.
It's a bit soggy."

The group turned.

"Etyran!" Jocelyn squealed as she waded
through the water and threw her arms around him. "We did it!"

Etyran glanced around him before letting his
eyes rest on Jocelyn. "Looks like we did," he said, a grin
splitting his face in two.

"We will go and make a start on the castle,"
Derian said before beckoning his men to follow.

"Thank you."

Faedra looked at Ignis. "Would you go with
Derian and lay Vivianna down when they have dried out a room?
Afterwards, please, could I trouble you and Alaris to prepare
another pyre?" Ignis inclined his head and followed behind the
Umorians. "Draconis, could you please go back to the cottage and
tell everyone of our victory? I don't want them to worry about us a
moment longer than they have to."

Draconis inclined his head. "Consider it
done, little one."

"We need to find out if Tiernan and Ena are
alright," Faedra said to Faen. Her husband agreed. Faedra turned to
Etyran and Jocelyn. "Can you go to Alsius and find Tiernan and Ena?
If they are still alive, bring them back here."

"Sure thing, boss," Etyran said, bringing up
his hand in a salute.

Faedra rolled her eyes. Jocelyn smirked.

When they had disappeared within the vortex
of red laser lights, Faen lifted Faedra's hand and pushed back her
sleeve revealing the ice cuff. "You know, Adkara. If Tiernan and
Ena are unharmed, you will have a tough decision to make. They
likely know the magic used to forge this vessel and how to reverse
it."

Faedra looked down at the twinkling jewels
that graced her wrist. She wanted
her
powers back, there was
no doubt in her mind, but did she want Savu's? She doubted that the
two could be separated now, it was probably all or nothing. She
couldn't rule Azran without powers, how would she defend her
kingdom? She also knew the only way to stop anyone else from
getting Savu's powers and using them for nefarious intent, was to
keep them within herself. Anything held in a vessel could be
stolen, no matter how strong the magic used to protect it. Someone
who was determined enough would always find a way. She could not
risk that from happening.

Resigned to the fact that she would spend the
rest of her life fighting to control such power, she sighed and
looked up at Faen. "There is no decision to make, Faen. If I want
to make sure no one ever gets their hands on Savu's power, I have
to keep them within myself." Her lip curved, offering her husband a
playful smile. "Maybe I can hire someone from Umor to hold my hand
when I need a break."

Faen gave her a look which told her that may
not be a bad idea.

***

That evening, Faedra stood next to her
husband in a secluded corner of the castle grounds. Vivianna's body
lay on top of the neatly stacked pyre that Ignis and Alaris had
prepared. Jalia had been kind enough to prepare the body and had
dressed the princess in one of her more resplendent gowns. The
silken material of the skirt draped around her legs and tumbled
down either side of the pyre, rippling gently in the warm
breeze.

Faedra looked up at the body of her
half-sister. She looked peaceful now, no more hatred etched into
her beautiful features. Why did Vivianna have to be so jealous?
They could have been friends, she would have been the rightful
queen. Azran would be her realm now, and Faedra could have
continued living a normal life in the World of Men. The Custodian
drew in a breath and let her gaze fall to the ground. What a
waste.

She felt Faen's warm hand squeeze hers and
she looked up into his concerned blue eyes.

"Are you alright?"

Faedra gave him a barely discernible nod and
turned her eyes back to the pyre. "It's just such a shame," Faedra
mused. "Her jealousy caused so much pain and suffering. Look where
it got her." She sighed again. "I guess, in the end, she got what
she deserved."

Faedra looked over at Ignis, and then to
Alaris, who were waiting patiently at either end of the pyre. She
gave a definitive nod before turning towards the castle. Faedra and
Faen walked away. Heat warmed their backs as they left the roar of
dragon fire in their wake.

***

The next day, Faedra was leaning over the
balcony, resting on her forearms. The city of Azran spread out
before her. It was interesting to watch Derian and his people
manipulate the water away from the buildings and streets. They had
made a channel that led to the lake outside of the city walls.
Building by building, person by person, they were sucking away the
moisture and returning Azran back to its former glory.

Derian had been right in his assumption that
the inhabitants would fare just fine. They had been thawing out
quickly and with no signs of any adverse effects, other than
bemusement at what had happened. Once frozen, they had no
recollection of anything past that point. She wasn't sure how they
would take the news of her father being killed, or of her becoming
their queen. So far, she had not put out any kind of announcement,
but knew she could not put it off for much longer. Her people
deserved to know what happened.