| |
“We took the train across the Continent to Pecia, caught a ship to Braddock, and rode almost nonstop to Fallstaff,” Brigette said.
“And the Council wasn’t a problem?” I asked.
“We kept a low profile,” Gideon said.
I snorted, uncertain how they’d managed to accomplish such a feat. A Fantazike, a Magician, a warrior, and a fierce girl from Agridan travelling together should have raised a few eyebrows along the way. But Brigette’s Magic had undoubtedly helped them remain incognito. I wasn’t as fatalistic as Jackie, but more than mere coincidence had brought Brigette into my life, and I was grateful for her presence.
“Where are Niffin and Malita?” I asked.
“They’re safe,” Brigette said. “We’ll catch up with them soon.”
Her answer raised more questions, but with Jackie’s sharp ears listening, I didn’t dare ask her for details. My companions had been scheming in my absence. I trusted Gideon would tell me their plans when the time was right.
Although the night shrouded us, the forest felt familiar. I had likely ridden through it countless times before. Perhaps the darkness should have intimidated me, made me fearful of all the things I couldn’t see. But I was home. I was where I was supposed to be. No monsters in the dark were going to chase me away again.
The rough terrain and gloom made it hard to judge distances, but we trekked at least another mile before Gideon raised his hand, silently calling us to stop. He slipped two fingers between his lips and blew a shrill, short whistle. Moments later, a similar whistle answered from somewhere deeper in the woods.
Brigette clicked her tongue, and Jackie marched forward, leading the way into a small glade. A stone hut hunched at the edge of the clearing, and warm yellow light spilled from the window. A wide, squat figure holding a lantern stood in the hut’s doorway.
My heart surged, and I raced across the glade. “Gerda? Is that you?”
My beloved nursemaid held her arms open wide, and I threw myself into her embrace. Tears burned in my eyes and swelled in my throat.
“H-How?” I stuttered. “Why?”
She stroked my hair and cooed soothing sounds in my ear the way she had when I was a girl and something had scared or upset me. “Don’t act so surprised to see me, my girl. You didn’t think I’d abandon you, did you? ’Specially not in your hour of need.”
“I only ever hoped you and your family had gone somewhere safe.”
“Oh, we did.”
“So what are you doing here?”
“I promised your father I’d always be here when you needed me. Right now, I don’t think you’ve ever needed me more.” She released me and tilted her head toward the door. “I have food inside. Drinks. Come in and have a rest. Sleep if you can. I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be a very long day.”
“Tomorrow?” I followed her inside and paused, struggling to master my emotions when I found Niffin and Malita inside, curled up on the floor in front of an empty fireplace.
Niffin winked at me, purple eyes glinting with mischief.
Malita waggled her fingers, offering a coy smile. “Surprise.”
I sank to my knees and threw my arms around them. “You don’t know how relieved I am to see you both here.”
A rustle of movement and a heavy footstep signaled Gideon’s entrance. He bent to keep from knocking his head on the low doorway. His hair was a mess of cowlicks, and he looked tired. At the same time, he’d never looked better because he was here, in person, with me.
He stripped off his crossbow and bandolier, dropped them on the dining table, then sank to the floor beside me and pulled me close. “Let’s hope this is the end of our long separations for a while.”
I relaxed against him, inhaling his familiar scent—leather, horses, and sweat. After all we’d been through, none of us smelled particularly fresh, but I couldn’t have cared less. “For forever, if I have anything to say about it.”
His grip tightened. “Forever?”
I blushed, realizing the implication of my words, but before I could explore my feelings about sharing forever with Gideon, Brigette and Jackie trudged into the hut. With a flick of her wrist, she sent him stumbling onto a stool in the corner. Anger and hatred blazed in his eyes, but Brigette ignored him. She tapped a finger against her lip as she inspected the platter of homemade turnovers on the small kitchen table next to Gideon’s pile of weapons.
The tiny hut barely offered enough room for all of us and the smattering of humble furniture. A single bed huddled in one corner, and a tattered old armchair squatted before the fireplace.
“Whose home is this?” I asked.
“A friend.” Gerda pushed the plate of turnovers closer to Brigette’s hand. She snatched a pastry and nibbled at one crispy corner. “He was your father’s gamekeeper until he retired just before your father’s death. I’ve been looking after him for the last few months.”
“Where is he?” I glanced around the room as if I might’ve overlooked an unfamiliar old man, but the hut’s only occupants were my companions, Gerda, one extremely hostile member of Le Poing Fermé, and me.
“He’s staying with my family for a bit,” Gerda said. “My boys love him. He’s been teaching them how to set traps and snares. I’m not sure they’ll let him leave when it’s time for him to go home.”
“How did my friends know where to find you?”
“I found her when I was here, before,” Gideon said. “When I was reconnoitering while you were in Varynga.”
I blinked at him, eyes wide. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“She asked me not to.”
I glanced at Gerda. “Why not?”
“It was safer for everyone if you knew as little as possible, just in case things went... badly.” Her face darkened. She removed a handkerchief from her bosom and swiped at her eyes. “There are a many who have been hoping for your return, my lady. Your people are going to be thrilled to welcome you back.”
“I’m not back yet.” I frowned and locked eyes with Jackie. “Not until Le Poing Fermé has been well and thoroughly removed.”
Gerda passed around the tray of turnovers, which turned out to be meat and gravy pies that tasted like home and paradise at the same time. She also uncovered a plate of sweet biscuits dotted with cinnamon and dried apples. We all ate until our bellies groaned. Then she cleaned up and promised to return with breakfast in the morning.
“We can’t stay here that long,” I said. “The Council has surely figured out that Jackie and I are on land now. They’ll be hunting for us.”
“They won’t find us here,” Brigette said. “I’ve warded this hut and clearing so it appears invisible to outsiders. If they happen to come by here, they’ll walk right past us.” She slipped off her spectacles and pinched the bridge of her nose. “It took a lot of Magic to do it, but I’ll stake my life on the quality of my wards. We need time to rest and recuperate.”
“How can I trust you won’t sell us out to the Council if there’s some benefit in betraying us? Or if things get hard, how do I know you won’t cut out and save yourself?”
She paused, brow furrowed as she seemed to consider my question. “I guess you can’t trust me, but what other options do you have?”
Though it made me uneasy, I agreed we should stay for the night. She was right. If we weren’t at our bests when we faced Le Poing Fermé, we’d lose the fight before it began. “If we’re lucky,” I said, “the Council will get to Fallstaff first and do some of the heavy lifting for us.”
I urged Brigette to take the bed. The purple circles beneath her eyes had returned, and her complexion was pasty. Dark curls sprang loose from the knot at the nape of her neck, and a smudge of dirt stained her cheek.
I wished we didn’t need her Magic, but perhaps I was greedy or selfish because I refused to ask her to go. At this point, I wasn’t sure she would go. Malita had said it was my right as queen to ask them to stay, and it was their right as individuals to refuse. I would give them the opportunity again to exercise those rights. If they wanted to leave, I would let them, even if it ensured Le Poing Fermé defeated me.
There was one person in my group, though, who would never refuse me, and the word “forever” echoed through my heart, warming it, making it feel a little less mechanical and a lot more human. The more I thought about it, the more I liked the feel of forever on my tongue. If we managed to survive the battle awaiting us, I vowed to speak the word aloud to Gideon and find out if he agreed.
Without offering a single argument, Brigette sank onto the bed, leaned back, and closed her eyes. She lit a djageesh cigarette, inhaled, and blew out a stream of blueish smoke. She flicked a finger, and Jackie climbed off his stool, slid to the floor, and stretched out his legs. He’d be tired and sore in the morning if he slept like that, propped up against the wall. Not that I cared.
I tapped Gideon’s shoulder, motioning for him to follow me outside.
Wallah, Kosha, and Adaleiz must have heard us and ambled closer, nipping at tall grass as they approached. I rubbed their velvet noses, feeling guilty for not wondering about them sooner, but I was glad to see they’d survived the trek from Isolas.
“What is it?” Gideon asked after we’d moved far enough beyond the hut to talk without disturbing the others.
“Nothing urgent... or perhaps it is.” I stepped against him. Reflexively his arms folded around me. “We might not have this chance again any time soon.”
“The chance for what—”
I pressed my lips to his, and he responded, turning soft and hard in exactly the right places at exactly right times. His grip tightened, fingers digging into my lower back, clutching me closer. His kiss was warm at first. Eager. But as quickly as his passion erupted, it receded.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“I can’t stop thinking about what’s to come and how everything will change.”
“How do you mean?”
“I’m the son of a poor, homeless drunk. I’m not even Inselgrish. You’re a goddess. When we win this battle, you’ll reclaim your throne and be queen.” His throat bobbed. “I’ll still be only me.”
A harsh sound of derision escaped my throat.
He flinched.
“Captain of the Guard isn’t good enough? We can find you a grander title if you prefer.”
“You are thunder and lightning, Evie. No matter what title you give me, it won’t make me anything more than just a regular man.”
My fists clenched as the cold in my veins heated into something volatile. “Do regular men do the things you’ve done? Sacrifice the things you’ve sacrificed? Given up everything to keep me safe and alive, working nonstop to ensure our survival?” I snarled at him, full of mockery. “Oh, yes, how very ordinary of you, Gideon. How mundane. How regular.”
He huffed. “I’m being serious.”
“You’re being ridiculous.” I slammed my fist into his shoulder.
Startled, he blinked at me, mouth agape. He was lucky I didn’t send electricity coursing through his idiot brain to shock some sense into him.
“A Stormbourne man has ruled Inselgrau for centuries without challenge,” I said. “But for the first time ever, a Stormbourne woman has been borne to the throne, and she’s had to fight tooth and nail, bone and blood, heart and soul to prove she deserves to wear that crown. What comes next will be something that’s never happened before, and that means we’re making it up as we go along. We’re writing our own rules, and we can make the future anything we want it to be.” I narrowed my eyes. “I refuse to do things the old way anymore. And that starts with you. Specifically, me and you.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“It’s a new world, Gideon. I want you to help me build it.”
He leaned his forehead against mine. “What if I’m not enough?”
“You said you’d risk everything for me. Time to put your words into action.”
He paused only a moment as if debating before he said, “If it’s action you want...”
This time when he kissed me, he was a regular man in the same way a tidal wave was a regular breaker on the beach, a shooting star was a regular spark of light, a hurricane was a regular breeze.
“So is this the reason you wanted me to come outside with you?” His hot fingers traced my spine through my shirt as he nipped my bottom lip.
“This and to discuss strategy.”
“What strategy? In a few hours, we march to Fallstaff.”
“Then what? Politely ask Le Poing Fermé to leave?”
Gideon nodded. “And if saying ‘please’ doesn’t work, we’ll ask again, but with a little lightning and perhaps a few of Sephonie’s arrows.”
“How are you on ammo?”
He pulled away, and night air blew between us, cooling my simmering blood. “We got to Inselgrau nearly three days before you, and we had some of Brahm’s money left. We’ve put it to good use.”
“Did you buy me an army?” In Isolas we’d had barely enough money left to hire a couple of good mercenaries, but perhaps Gideon had worked a miracle.
“We’ve tried to get you something better than an army.” He reached into his back pocket, tugged out a sheet of parchment, and unfolded it.
In the gloom I couldn’t make out the words, so I stepped closer to the hut to catch the light from the windows. In simple black lines Malita had rendered an accurate sketch of my face—I recognized the drawing as her style. But the Evie on the paper looked regal, brave, and confident. She wore a crown of jagged diamonds that resembled lightning. In bold letters beneath my countenance someone had printed the words:
ALL HAIL THE QUEEN
The Lady of Thunder has returned
Let your prayers be set before her like incense
Let your faith in her renew this land.
All believers worship
And your conviction shall restore her,
This Daughter of the Gods of Thunder
This Rightful Heir to the Throne of Inselgrau.
My breath seized in my chest. My mind spun as I tried to grasp the implications of what I was reading. They hadn’t been gathering fighters. They’d been gathering believers.
He cleared his throat and scrubbed his jaw, suddenly bashful. “Brigette helped me with the wording. I’m not very, um... poetic. We’ve distributed them everywhere we’ve been since we got to Inselgrau. Gerda has passed them through the surrounding villages. There are underground networks here, Evie—people still devoted to the Stormbournes. Gerda has been feeding their faith, telling them of your exploits on the Continent.”
“How would she know what I’ve been doing?”
He glanced away. “I... I might have been sending her regular communications.”
All my earlier confidence drained away. Building new worlds was a grand idea in theory, but in reality, every decision I was about to make would affect thousands of people. That was no romantic, heroic gesture, but hard, cold reality. “What if...?”
“What if what?” His brow crinkled. He grasped my arm, gaze scanning my face.
“What if they don’t believe? What if the people don’t want me?”
“I can tell you what the people of Inselgrau don’t want. They don’t want Le Poing Fermé. If you can take the cabal away, the people will be yours.”
“I can’t fail them, Gideon.”
“You won’t.” He brushed a kiss against my temple. “I believe in you too much for you to fail.”
By the time we’d returned to the hut, everyone had slipped off to sleep, even Jackie still sitting upright against the wall. I blew out the lamps, leaving a single flickering candle to light the room as Gideon and I squeezed together onto the rug beside Malita and Niffin and snuggled beneath a blanket from Adaleiz’s saddlebag. He stroked my back, and despite the calming influence of his touch, I couldn’t sleep.
Soon we’d march on Fallstaff.
Soon, win or lose, everything would change.
Dear gods, please don’t let me fail.
They’ve brought you this far, Grandfather said. Have faith that they’ll carry you the rest of the way.
