Tellus

by Tyffany Hackett

  Jyn tilted his head. “You all right, Princess?”

  “Nervous.”

  He stepped forward, gripping my shoulders. “We’ll be okay. I promise you. We were fine with Wulfric, we’ll get through this too.”

  “I’m glad you’re here, Jyn,” I murmured, my eyes welling with tears.

  His fingers tightened their hold. “Always, Princess. I’ll go get Raye.”

  I inclined my head. He stepped away and closed the door behind him. I tugged the purple gown free, almost dropping the corset in the piles of silk. The heavy pieces were draped loosely around my frame when Raye entered, Jyn tailing close behind.

  “Change of plans,” Jyn said.

  His lips were pressed into a thin line, Raye’s expression pale. Her hands fidgeted with the apron tied at her waist. My chest clenched.

  “Jyn?”

  “The Council isn’t coming.” He paused, casting a wary glance at Raye. “Devlyn wants to see us immediately, but the guard he sent didn’t clarify why.”

  “Only you and I?”

  Jyn nodded, jaw flexing, his gaze flitting uneasily around the room. “For the moment.”

  “I’ll change.”

  I raced into the bathing chamber, slipping into a clean, oversized shirt and dark breeches. When I returned to my room, Raye was already gone and Jyn had taken over the route I had been pacing.

  “Jyn, why isn’t the Council coming?”

  He shook his head, tugging unconsciously at the point of his ear. “I imagine that’s why Devlyn wants to see us. I can’t see a good side, though. Not like this. Come on. Stay close.”

  We hurried from the palace, but even in our rush I noted the extra guards lingering around the halls, the foyer. As though Devlyn was preparing for an attack by doubling the guard presence yet again. I saw no sign of my sister or Raul, no Wulfric either. None of the servants. Maybe they were already with Devlyn? Or in their rooms? My head throbbed, my shoulders coiled tight.

  Jyn pounded on the door of the guard barracks, startling several of the men who loitered around in more casual attire. Devlyn cleared them out with a couple of yelled demands and then tugged us inside hastily. He checked the rear entrance, making sure all his men were well cleared before he turned to face us. His close-cut black hair seemed a bit grayer today, his green eyes wide.

  “Devlyn, what’s going on?”

  “You need to leave the palace, Your Majesty. Now. Go north, to Wydus. You’ll be safe there.”

  My heart pounded in my ears, the air sucked from my lungs.

  “You need to explain yourself,” Jyn growled. “You can’t tell her to leave for no reason, and I won’t take her from her family without an explanation.”

  Devlyn ran a hand through his hair, sighing heavily. He looked older, more tired than I had ever seen him. “One of our spies returned today. I sent him to check the progress of the Council, to see if we could get a more affirmative word on their arrival. He couldn’t find them, though, not in Falmar nor anywhere in between. When he couldn’t find any trail at all, he did some digging.” Devlyn took a long, slow breath. “They’re dead. They’re all dead. The entire Council was slaughtered, found in a pile, covered in drying blood, and now I can’t find Wulfric. I’m not positive if he knows I’m aware. But considering he’s the one who informed you of their delays every time . . .”

  “And him who said they would be here today . . .” I murmured.

  “You think he planned this,” Jyn stated, no question in his tone. His jaw clenched, shoulders trembling. I rested my hand on his arm.

  “I think he’s not as loyal to your crown as he claims to be. You need to run like the wind. Go somewhere safe until I can find him. Go to Wydus. King Drask and Queen Kathryn have the means to protect you. I need to secure the palace.”

  “I can’t leave Annalea,” I said, panic hitching my voice. “Or Meryn, or Camion.”

  “I’ll get Annalea out safely. I’ll send her north too. You can’t stay with her. If anything happens to one of you, the other has to survive. Thrais needs to have a ruler.” He inhaled sharply, scrubbing his palms over his cheeks. “As for Meryn and Camion, if you want to take them too then move with haste. You have to go.”

  “But—”

  “Natylia.” Devlyn grabbed my arms. Jyn tensed beside me, tilting his head in warning. “I’m only going to say this one more time. Go to your rooms. Pack what you need, as quickly as you can, and go. Please. I’ll send word as soon as I’m sure you’ll be safe.” He paused, his throat bobbing. “I can’t watch another member of your family die. Please.”

  I nodded, hesitation still tugging at me. Holding me in place. Jyn grabbed my arm and I moved, following him out the door with little resistance.

  “I’ll get Meryn. I’m faster. Get Camion. He isn’t to leave your side, do you hear me?” Jyn’s words were quiet, barely a whisper in my ear. My chest rose and fell rapidly, my eyes burning, but I jerked my head in acknowledgement. He followed me to the armory door before bolting for the tiny cottage.

  The wooden door groaned under my hands. A wave of heat met me, choking me. My cough drew Camion’s attention from across the room, where he stood scribbling rapidly on parchment next to a chest brimming with daggers.

  “Tyli?”

  Tears threatened to spill over. I bit them back and tried to calm my unsteady heartbeat. “We have to leave. Now.”

  Camion dropped the quill, stepping around the table. His eyes narrowed as he searched my face. He gathered my hands into his. “What’s wrong?”

  “One of my spies found the Council dead. Slaughtered in cold blood. All but Wulfric, anyway, who Devlyn can’t find.”

  “But he’s the one who’s been giving us—”

  “Updates, exactly. Devlyn is worried he might have tampered with the palace. Or worse. Devlyn is doing what he can, but he wants us safe until he knows for sure that none of us will be harmed here.”

  “Annalea? Jyn? Meryn?”

  “Devlyn swore Annalea would be safe. Jyn ran to get Meryn. You and I need to go pack.”

  “All right.” Camion glanced around. “Should we take any of this?”

  “No, we still have all our weapons in my rooms. We’ll be okay with what we have.” When he still hesitated, I added, “Cam. Please.”

  His eyes fell to my face, lingering where my lips trembled. He released my hands and pulled me to him, holding me fast against his chest. “You’ll be all right, Tyli. Jyn would murder anyone before they got near you,” he murmured. Softer still, he said, “I’ll keep you safe.”

  “I’m not worried about me,” I whispered. A small part of me calmed at his words though, even as my arms tightened around his waist.

  “I know.” He brushed a kiss to the top of my head. “We’ll all be okay. Annalea too. Let’s go find Jyn and Meryn.”

  ***

  None of us spoke. Our bags were strewn across the backs of our saddles, our cloaks tied in knots around our shoulders. I tried to ignore the tears that streamed down my cheeks as I clicked my tongue, steering my horse away. Annalea had left before us, Raul her only companion. I had seen them leaving through an upstairs window, and then watched as Devlyn closed the gates behind them. He hadn’t given me a chance to say goodbye. The thought gnawed at my stomach. Regret settled in before there was anything to truly regret.

  Meryn had grabbed as many books as she could carry. She wasn’t sure she had pulled the right ones. Even if she had, she didn’t know if they held any information that would help us get to the next Scepter.

  Because we weren’t going to Wydus.

  We hadn’t discussed the change of plan with Devlyn, instead insisting we would head immediately north. The lie ate at me. But we had spent two weeks seeking an excuse to get away from the palace and resume our search. One had fallen into our lap. We couldn’t ignore it. Annalea would know; she would understand.

  Besides, if there were truly traitors within our walls, I couldn’t jeopardize our chances of finding a Scepter. A
whispered word could earn us a tail and, with the Shadows an ever-possible threat, I didn’t care to decrease our odds farther.

  I still couldn’t fight the sinking feeling that I should have said goodbye.

  Our horses’ hooves crunched over the path. I reached up, pulled my hood down over my face. Cast my silent tears into shadow. Hid my identity, from the townspeople who no longer paid any mind to strangers in hoods. The noises of town, of ongoing daily life, left me feeling detached. A stranger, indeed.

  After we broke past the village’s far side, I pulled my horse to a stop. The road spread before us, a vast field of green edged in the far distance with the dark silhouette of a tree line. I had only ever left Thrais to visit Wydus. Now . . . now we were leaving, with no clear picture of where we needed to go. Or how far. The thought terrified me.

  “We’ll go to Dalbran,” Jyn said under his breath, turning his horse to return to my side. “No one will expect you to go to a rat-infested port city. Dalbran is a trade hub, though, and if anywhere is likely to have rumors, that will be our mark. Maybe we’ll find something about the Scepters.”

  I nodded. “Probably wisest.”

  “We’ll be okay, Princess. Annalea is going to Wydus. You know Raul will protect her with his life.”

  “I know,” I said quietly. I wasn’t for a second convinced, though.

  Camion sat at my other side in silence. When my voice wavered, he reached for my hand and traced a soft pattern over my palm. The small gesture was comforting, and he didn’t release his grip even when we clicked the horses forward.

  I was grateful, then. Grateful for friends who would leave their worldly comforts because I asked. Grateful for a man who, without words, knew how to help.

  I peered over my shoulder toward the village one last time.

  A wealth of material behind, a fortune of immeasurable value at my sides.

  Chapter 6

  We hit the line of trees by nightfall, after pushing the horses to exhaustion. Jyn insisted we set up camp—Dalbran was at least another day or two on horseback, faster still if we rode through tomorrow night. Which meant we needed to catch as much sleep as we could tonight, and in a spot close enough to the palace that anyone seeking us might pass by without too thorough a search.

  I offered to take first watch, but Jyn refused. “I won’t be able to sleep anyway,” he insisted. “I might as well make myself useful.”

  Meryn sat with Jyn for a while, quietly chatting about our options. I knew, because I struggled to sleep on the hard ground. My mind raced with everything that had been said, the links I had missed. We had trusted Wulfric—too much, perhaps. I was almost grateful our searches had been fruitless. If we had offered him any real information, he likely would have sold us out, maybe to Valdis himself.

  Maybe he already had.

  The soft shuffle of turning pages told me I wasn’t the only one feeling slightly panicked. Desperate. Meryn had to find a lead, and fast, otherwise we were no better off than we were at the palace.

  Camion snored beside me, the quiet sound almost muffled by the consistent crackle of the small fire Jyn had built. His hand loosely wrapped mine. Every so often his fingers would tighten, in perfect time with a hitch in his otherwise steady breathing. I wondered what haunted him tonight.

  I pretended I was asleep for a while, until the conversation died off and Meryn’s snores joined the chorus of night sounds around us. An owl hooted in the darkness, nearby. I rolled to my back and stared up at the sky, at the few stars that twinkled above the canopy of branches. The sense of familiarity was more unwelcome than expected—perhaps because I had assumed that the next time we left Thrais, we would be doing so with the blessing of the Council. Or at least on our own terms. I had considered bringing Annalea, especially after she had seemed so forlorn three days ago. I could have at least told her where we were going.

  Instead, I had been forced from my home by a man who may or may not be a real threat. I didn’t want to believe the betrayal. Wulfric had always been so kind . . .

  But I knew Devlyn too well. His gut instincts were always accurate. In all the years I had known him, he had never been wrong.

  Other thoughts spilled over too. I wasn’t sure what the Council’s murders would mean for Araenna. Were the three kingdoms to rule themselves, with no one to keep them in check? Our relationship with Kalum had always been precarious, but not as much as the one between Kalum and Wydus. Without the Council to hold peace, who would hold them from each other’s throats?

  Besides, no one stood to gain from their murders, not really. I couldn’t find a connection between them, the Titans, and the Scepters.

  None except me.

  I knew the chance was small, but the timing was too convenient. And where had their murderers gone, after committing mass slaughter unseen? The only ones I knew capable of such killing were the Shadows, but they were always contracted. Did their employer have other work for them now?

  Were they lurking in the woods around us?

  I rolled onto my side, squeezed my eyes closed tighter, and buried my face in the roll of clothing I used as a pillow. My chest clenched painfully, guilt and fear churning in my stomach. I took long, deep breaths and tried to conceal my growing panic from Jyn, who had grown awfully still.

  They weren’t in the woods.

  If they were, no one alive could stop Jyn.

  I hoped.

  I didn’t really want that theory put to the test, though. My head began to spin, darkness creeping in at the edges. No, I couldn’t think like this. These thoughts would send me spiraling, and I needed to have my wits together.

  Breathe in for four seconds.

  Hold for seven.

  Exhale for eight.

  Repeat.

  Again, and again, until the darkness faded and the clamp on my chest loosened. My breathing evened out. The fear eased and, when it tried to return, I shoved the emotion down, tamped out the panic that threatened to return alongside. I continued the routine and tried to shake the thoughts that lingered by clearing my mind. Slowly, my eyelids began to droop.

  When I woke in the morning, Camion was no longer beside me. Jyn sat bleary-eyed by the fire. I rubbed at my face, yawning, stretching muscles that were stiff from the hard ground. “Where’s Camion?”

  Jyn spared me only a brief look while poking at the dying embers with a long stick. “He went for a run. I’m not sure he slept very well.”

  I frowned. His nightmares weren’t new, but I had to wonder what Jyn sensed that I didn’t. A knot rose in my throat. I swallowed. “Did you sleep at all?”

  He shook his head, black hair falling to frame his face. “No, Princess. But I’m fine.”

  “Jyn—”

  “I’ll rest after we get to Dalbran. Right now, I want to get you farther from the palace. Anyone who managed to take out the entire Council is a threat I’m not sure I want to deal with. Or even can.” He paused. “The fact that they waited until the Council was coming to Thrais makes me think you’re next on their list.”

  “I considered the same. But you still need to rest.” I met his gaze.

  He averted his eyes. “I’m fine.”

  I groaned, laying back on my cloak. Meryn murmured incoherent words in her sleep and grunted as I tugged one of her books toward me. Propping it on my stomach, I started flipping pages. The Stave of Thanatos was mentioned in several places. Nothing specific, though. I had to wonder if the Elves had destroyed the more definitive evidence of where the Scepters had been hidden. Or maybe the humans had.

  Then again, someone had retrieved the Imber Scepter before us. The Elves had long memories, they wouldn’t need to write down their history unless they chose to. They weren't inclined to go after the Scepters though, from what I knew. Humans, however . . . humans were greedy. They didn’t learn from the mistakes of their past. I couldn’t believe that not one person had written down the locations of these Scepters.

  We just had to find where.

 
My eyes were locked onto a map of Araenna when Camion pushed through the tree branches, his hair drenched, face dripping with sweat. He tugged up the bottom of his shirt. The smooth skin of his stomach peeked out, glistening in the early morning light. I looked away, my cheeks warm, and focused back on the map.

  “Morning,” he said by way of greeting as he dropped to the ground beside me. He scanned the image for a moment, then pointed to a spot down in Emeryn Marsh. “What’s that?”

  A tiny, perfectly round dot sat in the marsh one that, on original inspection, I had thought to be part of the design. I tracked the river north, the one that crossed by Thrais—

  There.

  Deep in the Emberlyn Forest was an identical black spot. I jerked upright, eyes widening.

  “Princess?” Jyn asked, head tilted in concern.

  “I think Camion found the Scepters,” I said eagerly, scaling the map for the third dot. Sure enough, in the far north, past Lake Myria, the final dot hid. I sought others, but there were no more, only three black circles identical in every way. The marks were so obscure, I would never have given them a second glance. Jyn sprang to his feet to crouch beside us and examined the page. His eyes flicked to the map key, but the dots weren’t noted. They were very small too. If not for their perfect diameters, on an image filled with brush strokes, I might have waved them off.

  Camion watched me intently for a moment, then peered back at the map. “So . . . Emeryn Marsh? And north of Wydus?”

  “Yes.” I met his gaze. “I wasn’t positive, but this dot”—I pointed to the one in Emberlyn Forest—“correlates almost perfectly with where we found the first Scepter. Or well. The fake.”

  “I have to admit, this seems likely,” Jyn agreed.

  “What are you all gawking at?” Meryn asked thickly.

  “Your map.” I pushed the book toward her. She sat up, lifting the image closer to her face as I went on. “Camion noted that strange little spot in Emeryn Marsh. And its two siblings.”

  “Oh, spirits.” Her voice was low, awed. “How did I miss those? I studied this map for hours yesterday.”