Leena
The morning air was still, quiet, as we sat atop our Zeelahs and watched the assassins leave their home. For the most part, they were silent. Faces blank. As they reached the iron gate marking the edge of their land and the beginning of Kitska Forest, shadows swallowed them whole, carrying them a short distance away, where they’d continue to remain hidden in darkness, per Kost’s orders. Since our plans had changed and we were no longer using beasts to help transport them, the shadows provided better protection from Yazmin’s spies. And because Darrien’s attack had failed, Noc believed it would be some time before he recovered and would attack again. The best time to move was now, even though it was difficult to leave Cruor behind. I couldn’t imagine what it must have felt like to walk away from the only place that offered haven after their own people cast them out. When I’d been exiled from Hireath for crimes I didn’t commit, I’d found a home in Midnight Jester. If Dez had forced me to leave, I would’ve been devastated.
I gripped the reins of my mare tight. The move was only temporary and for their own protection, but it chafed just the same. Beside me on his mount, Noc was a statue. Whatever emotions brewed inside him were unreadable in his expression. Oz and Calem weren’t quite as skilled at burying their feelings. Or maybe they didn’t care to. Calem’s jaw was set tight, the mercury line around his irises flaring wide. Thick brows knitting together, Oz looked after his family with worry.
“They’ll be fine, right?” I asked.
“Yazmin is after you and me. Not them,” Noc said. “If anything, they’re safer without us.”
“I don’t know about that.” Kost manifested before us in a swirl of shadows. They disappeared as quickly as he’d appeared, and he ran an errant hand down his vest. “Iov and Gaige are leading the charge. Emelia, Astrid, and I will bring up the rear.” He gestured to a pair of assassins lingering near the gate. It was weird to see Emelia without her twin brother, Iov, but Astrid was still newly raised. She was fearless, though, with her perpetual grin and fighting spirit. She bounced on her heels next to Emelia, who stood with quiet authority and directed the assassins into the forest.
“You’ll make it to Hireath before we get to Tyrus’s Ruins. Send word when you arrive so we know you’ve made it safely.”
Kost nodded curtly. “Understood.” He gave us all one last look before pausing when his gaze met mine. “I have something for you.” He dove one hand into the satchel he’d draped across his body and extracted a thick book with archaic, bold font.
I took it from his extended hand and trailed my fingers over the title. “A Brief History of Wilheim?” I cracked the binding and thumbed through the pages. Gaige had used this very tome, along with one other, to unearth Noc’s hidden identity as the Frozen Prince of Wilheim. “What am I going to do with this?”
“Study, of course.” He frowned. “You’re an outsider who’s about to become the queen of Wilheim. A little knowledge of the capital’s history wouldn’t hurt.”
Gently, I closed the book before tucking it into one of my saddle bags. “The first act I’m going to do as queen is appoint you to be my adviser.”
With a strained smile, Kost nodded. “I’d be honored.” He gestured toward his brothers. “Look after them, will you?”
“Of course,” I said.
“We can take care of ourselves, you know,” Calem grumbled.
“I know.” He looked away, back to the train of assassins, and then off into the forest where Gaige and Iov must have been. My stomach squirmed. It was unusual to see Kost so…frayed. His typical composure was gone, replaced by fidgety limbs and uneasy glances. No doubt he was questioning his decision, wondering if he should have stayed with Noc, with us. But if he’d done that and left Gaige behind just a day after being raised…
“Hey, Kost?” I shifted my mount closer to him. “Ask Gaige to show you the prophecy in the throne room when you get back. I know you’ve already talked about it at length, but…maybe revisiting it will help.” Kost’s mind was built for solving problems, and I got the feeling he needed to be reminded of that. I hoped giving him some kind of purpose, something to hold onto until we got back, would keep him grounded. Especially if Gaige wasn’t himself anymore.
Kost met my gaze, eyes and voice soft. “I will.” And with that, he stepped backward into shadows, disappearing from my view.
“I miss prick Kost.” Calem frowned, his gaze tracking something I couldn’t see. Probably Kost.
“He’ll be fine.” Noc’s too-quick response spoke volumes, and for a moment, his stoic expression cracked. Eyes tight, he pressed his lips together before tugging on the reins of his Zeelah. Nudging my mount’s sides, I guided her after him with Oz and Calem on my heels.
“He will be fine.”
Noc let out a heavy sigh. “I hope so. I still don’t know if I did the right thing. If I caused more harm than good.”
I wrapped my fingers in my bestiary, savoring the flicker of power that warmed my fingers at its touch. Life without my beasts would’ve been unimaginable. And the look on Gaige’s face when he saw his mark…when his bestiary turned to ash… A chill crawled down my spine, and I dropped my hand into my lap. Still, Gaige had chosen to live. Perhaps only because of Okean—trapped or saved by his beast, I couldn’t say—but he was here just the same. He’d hung Okean’s key around his neck where his bestiary used to be. It was almost too painful to look at it.
“You may have raised Gaige, but I encouraged you to do it, and he made the ultimate decision to live—just like you did when Talmage raised you. Give him time to figure it out.”
Noc nodded and then fell silent, his gaze trained on the path before us. It would take nearly a week for us to reach Tyrus’s Ruins. Not to mention, we’d be entirely exposed for the length of our travel. The rolling plains that stretched from the Kitska Forest to the Gaping Wound, the massive canyon where Tyrus’s Ruins was located, was nearly devoid of trees. It made for easy travel, but even easier detection. And we had plenty of enemies who were all too eager to find us.
We didn’t even bother to make camp that first night, instead choosing to move forward and put more distance between us and the capital. Its gleaming walls were a beacon in the night, competing with the moon for brilliance across the frostbitten landscape. We gave Wilheim a wide berth, adjusting our route to avoid the city’s outskirts and the train. With Noc’s shock-white hair and crystal-blue eyes, there’d be no mistaking him now. The last thing we needed was someone sounding the alarm.
But by the following evening, we’d pushed our Zeelahs to their limit and were forced to rest. Wilheim was still there, a harbinger we couldn’t escape on these flat, endless plains. Noc stared at it, jaw tight. After a moment, he shook his head and then slid from his mount’s saddle. His feet crunched against the grass.
Oz followed suit, craning his neck about as if searching for something. “Here? There’s no cover.”
“There’s no cover anywhere.” Calem dismounted and scowled. He made quick work of removing his Zeelah’s saddle and our bags. She let out a soft whinny of relief and nudged her head into his shoulder.
“We don’t have a choice.” Noc unbuckled his mount’s saddle and gave him a gentle pat on the neck. “Fortunately, that means we’ll be able to see them coming, too.”
Unless Yazmin had a beast we couldn’t detect. I ignored the thought altogether, pushing it to the back of my brain. There was no use in speculating what creatures she did or didn’t have. We simply didn’t know. But Yazmin wasn’t the only one with beasts.
With a deep inhale, I focused on the well of power in my core and thought of my bestiary. Mentally leafing through its pages, I found a creature who could help. I called to him in the beast realm and felt him answer, eager to cross through the door and be by my side. A deep groan rolled over the quiet expanse just as rosewood light doused my hand. The door swung open in my mind’s eye, and Fig came soaring through, flapping his massive wings and chattering excitedly. I let the beast realm door shut and smiled.
Calem stilled, gaze tracking Fig’s erratic flight pattern. “That looks like a monster from the forest.”
“Oh hush. He’s not that scary.” My bat-like beast soared through the evening air, twisting this way and that. Soft gray fur covered his body, giving way to leathery wings that were almost see-through. Circular glass-blue eyes tracked insects as he flew, and he chomped at them with fervor. “Come here, Fig. Settle down.”
He landed beside me, head reaching my waist. Calem still didn’t move. “His name is Fig?”
I shrugged. “He likes figs.”
Oz grinned, dropping his supplies and strolling over. “What does he do?”
“He’s a Gulya.” I ran my fingers over his scalp and gave him a good scratch between his radar-like ears. “Once I tell him to stand guard, his power activates. He uses soundwaves to detect disturbances from miles away. I used him once before when I was first exiled. I wasn’t strong enough to keep him out for more than an hour, but now,” I eyed his branch on my Charmer’s symbol, “I think I can manage twelve hours, give or take. He doesn’t have an immense well of power like some beasts, so he relies heavily on our bond to stay in this world.”
Noc tilted his head to the side, studying Fig. “Can he sense shadows? What if Darrien comes instead of Varek’s forces or Yazmin?”
I frowned. “Never tested it out before. Shall we?” Noc nodded, and I jutted my chin toward Fig. I didn’t need to say anything—one look and he understood. I felt the flux of his power before he shifted. His gray skin gave way to an inky hide as soft fur transitioned to onyx flames that licked the sky. His eyes were fire-red pinpoints in the dark, and his ears stretched impossibly taller. Driving his claws into the ground, he rooted himself in place and became a protective statue on high alert.
Oz’s lips parted. “So cool.”
“Care to see if he can detect your magic?”
Oz obliged, calling forth shadows and masking his presence entirely from my view.
“Move somewhere. See if he can tell,” Noc said. Oz didn’t respond, but I assumed he listened. Calem and Noc didn’t track his movements, as if waiting to see if Fig could detect him without any outside help.
“Fig. Find the intruder,” I said.
It took less than a second. His head snapped around, red eyes glowing brighter, until his gaze snagged on a space a few feet to my left. His jaw cracked open and he emitted a bone-grating screech. Oz let his shadows fall away and clamped his hands over his ears.
A proud smile graced my lips. “Guess we can all sleep soundly, then.”
“I don’t know about that.” Calem let out a weak, nervous laugh.
“Calem, are you scared?” I couldn’t stop myself from grinning. Oz, too, regarded his brother with a wide, teasing smile. “He’s not going to hurt you.”
“He’s still a bat,” Calem mumbled. “Seriously, ‘Fig’? You can’t slap a cute name on it and think—”
Suddenly, Fig’s head rotated to the right, and he let out another piercing scream. I jumped, whipping around to see what he’d spied. A plume of dark tendrils appeared out of thin air. They began to take shape until Kost manifested, shadows forming and disappearing with the faint breeze. Wincing, he covered his ears and took a halting step back. I’d never seen one of them shadow walk, but Noc had described it to me before. Apparently, all members of Cruor could separate their consciousness from their physical bodies and travel in the form of smoky projections. With a sigh of relief, I signaled for Fig to stop, and he went back to standing guard.
Kost frowned at my beast. “Not exactly a pleasant greeting.”
Noc strode toward him, shoulders tight. “Is everyone safe?”
“Yes. We made it to Hireath a few hours ago. I wanted to get everyone settled before I contacted you.”
“Good.” Noc’s muscles loosened.
“How did you find us?” I asked, joining Noc’s side. He’d shadow walked to Midnight Jester once while dealing with my bounty, and he’d mentioned being able to do so because he knew the location. He’d simply willed himself there. But out here, there were no concrete landmarks. Just rolling plains that seemed to stretch on for eternity.
“I reviewed your travel plans before you left, so I had a faint notion of where you’d be. Plus, like calls to like. I could sense their shadows when I got close enough.” He gestured to his brothers before letting his hand fall to his side. “You’re farther along than I anticipated, though.”
“We didn’t camp last night. I wanted to put more distance between us and the capital.”
“Smart,” Kost replied.
“How’s Gaige?” I almost didn’t want to ask. But I had to know. Both out of concern for a fellow Council member and because he was my friend.
Kost stiffened subtly, but he managed to keep his voice level. “Not great. He hasn’t stepped foot inside a single building. Convincing the Kestral to let him through the barrier was…tough.”
My chest tightened. I hadn’t even thought about the barrier. That invisible wall was meant to keep monsters out of Hireath and protect Charmers. Just knowing that the Kestral had to be convinced to let Gaige enter, even though he was a member of the Council… I hugged my stomach.
“How?”
“He summoned Okean.” Kost’s words were rigid. “Fortunately, that was enough.”
Tension hung between us for a moment, none of us knowing exactly what to say. I wasn’t even sure there was anything that could be said. Everything I thought of, every apology or promise of a better future, felt flat. All we could do was move forward and hope things got easier.
“I see.”
Noc ran a tender finger down the back of my arm. Even through the layers of clothes I wore to protect myself from the chill, I still felt lingering warmth. “We’ll stop Yazmin before anything else happens.”
“Yes, well…” Kost hesitated, then shook his head. “I should get back. Raven promised to escort me to the throne room to inspect the prophecy.”
Raven. Not Gaige. A rock formed in my throat, one that took several swallows to force down.
“How’s she doing?” Oz asked.
Kost lifted a shoulder. “Fine. She trains in the morning with Emelia and Iov before running her Charmers through similar drills.”
Oz grinned. “Good. Tell the twins to sweep her legs. She’s not great on that recovery and needs the practice.”
“Noted. If there’s nothing else…” He stared at the horizon.
“Go,” Noc said. “I’m sure you’re needed.”
With only the slightest nods, he disappeared. Oz’s smile faltered as Calem sighed, and the two of them shared a long look before busying themselves with our bags. Rigid, Noc continued to stare at the space where Kost had been. My shoulders rolled forward. I wanted nothing more than to be there for Kost. For Gaige. For Raven. For all of them. But I couldn’t. Not with Yazmin, Darrien, and King Varek plotting against us. Not with both the assassins of Cruor and the Charmers’ lives at stake.
Charmers’ lives… A chill raced over my skin. Every damn time I thought of my people, my mind inevitably raced back to Yazmin’s words. What if there were Charmers trapped in the capital? It was my duty as the Crown to protect all Charmers, even those who might be held captive in Wilheim’s walls.
Rubbing the back of my arm, I moved to Noc’s side. He had barely blinked since Kost left. “Noc?”
“Yes?”
“Let’s say Yazmin wasn’t lying, that there are Charmers in the capital.”
He cut me a glance. “I know nothing, I swear.”
“I know.” I pressed my palms flat against his chest, and he deflated, loosely draping his arms around my waist. “I believe you. It’s just… Can I really blame her for wanting to save them?”
Noc’s smile was sad. “No. But that’s not the problem. The problem is her actions. Attacking her own kind in the name of saving them? Nothing justifies that.”
Closing my eyes, I buried my nose in his tunic and breathed in his honeyed scent. It soothed my nerves and chased away the doubts brewing in my gut. I needed to be strong. A figure my people could trust. And if there were actually Charmers in the capital, I’d save them, too.
“We should get some rest.” Noc lifted my chin up with his forefinger. “We still have a few days’ ride ahead of us before we reach Tyrus’s Ruins.”
Standing on my toes, I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him. We had a fight on our hands, but at least we had each other. But as we walked back to our camp, the gleaming city of Wilheim still glowed in my peripheral vision, a distant fortress where our enemies safely waited for the right moment to strike.