by Elise Kova
The words raced from her with an anxiousness Vi hadn’t felt in some time. She couldn’t place the source of the feeling. Her mind was a dark lake, smooth and glassy. Perhaps Yargen had heard her request and this was exactly what the prince needed to see and hear: a panicked young woman, unassuming, innocent, and ready to flatter him.
Two armor-clad feet appeared in her vision, followed by knees. Vi brought her gaze up to the prince who had knelt across from her, making a clumsy attempt at folding a towel.
“Forgive me, your highness,” she murmured. “Not only have I ruined your return… but you are now doing a servant’s work.”
“There’s nothing to forgive.” He handed her the towel with a roguish smile. “Every time I return home, I hope a lovely woman is here to greet me. Really, I should be thanking you.”
“You’re truly incorrigible,” a man Vi recognized as Craig muttered as he shut the door.
“I think what the prince is trying to say… is that you have nothing to worry about.” The other man was at Vi’s left, and passed her a much more carefully folded towel.
She paused, taken aback by the familiar face.
I know these eyes.
Daniel. Vi had seen him in the North, but only ever at a distance. This was the first time she’d been close enough to him to see Jayme in his features.
Her stomach twisted.
“Thank you,” Vi murmured, collecting herself and the towel from Daniel’s hands. She was here on a mission. Vi cleared her throat. “My prince, I understand if you need to report me to my superiors for not having everything prepared for your arrival.”
“You don’t really think I’m going to do that, do you?” He chuckled and stood.
Vi finished the last of her folds, standing as well. “I don’t want to assume the will of a royal.”
“I’m not my brother.” Baldair shrugged. “Though, perhaps you could do me a favor?”
“Anything!”
“Help me out of this armor?” He knocked his breastplate.
“Really, Baldair? You’re not here more than an hour and you’re already trying to get some woman to undress you?” Craig said over a mouthful of food. He’d wasted no time in heading right for the spread laid out on the table.
“The task requires an extra set of hands,” Baldair insisted.
“Mother forbid we’re the ones to help you.” Daniel chuckled, strolling over to the table as well.
“If you think I can help, then it’d be my honor.” Vi smiled up at the prince.
“Then, follow me—”
“Wait,” Craig interjected. She and Baldair turned. “Do… do I know you?”
“I don’t know. Perhaps our paths have crossed in the palace,” Vi said. “I’ve been here for a few years now,” she lied deftly.
“Have you ever been a soldier?”
“I know the eyes of a soldier when I see one,” Baldair proclaimed. He rested his thumb on her chin, knuckle underneath, and turned her face toward his. The prince made a show of studying her eyes. Vi supposed this would be the part when the young woman he flirted with would swoon. But she still floated in that glassy, dark lake of her mind. “These eyes are soft, tender. They haven’t seen the trials of combat.”
Vi smiled sweetly and batted her eyelashes, keeping her laughter at bay.
“I could’ve sworn I saw you in the North,” Craig insisted, unrelenting. “I know your face from a battle.”
She knew of the battle he referred to. It was in their first year—a night filled with fighting and fire, a night when Vi had helped Craig save Raylynn.
“My apologies, my lord.” Vi kept her eyes down, the smile falling into an expression that resembled distress. “I really don’t think—”
“Oh you’ve gone and upset her again. Don’t mind him, Miss…”
“Ivy,” Vi said hastily.
“Ivy, a lovely name.”
“And possibly poisonous,” Craig mumbled. Baldair shot him a glare.
“Follow me, Miss Ivy.” Baldair led her into the bedroom.
“Yes, my prince.”
“‘Baldair’ is fine.” He stood in front of an armor stand, arms out.
“You’ll have to tell me what to do, Baldair.” Vi said the name as though it were a new pair of shoes—uncomfortable and not yet broken in. Her attempt seemed to delight him.
“Start with the sides, there are clasps there—yes, you found them.”
Of course she did. Vi fought the urge to roll her eyes. It wasn’t as if she’d seen every type of armor known to the continent. Vi diligently worked on getting the prince out of his armor, refraining from being too hasty or skilled but not allowing his instruction to carry on for too long. She didn’t want to hamper their conversation.
“How is the front?” Vi asked as she continued to undo the buckles and clasps. “Will the war be over soon?”
“You didn’t hear my father’s declaration at the Sunlit Stage?”
“I was busy.”
“Oh, right, well, we expect the North to fall soon.”
“You don’t sound happy about that.” She helped hold the armor as he slid out of the main breastplate. Vi waited as the prince situated it on the armor stand.
“I’m happy the fighting will be over.” Genuine conflict shone in his eyes. She realized this was the first time she’d ever had the chance to really talk with the man.
“You don’t like war.”
“What?” He roared with laughter as Vi helped him out of his chainmail. “I’m the creator of the Golden Guard, the most illustrious fighting force in all of Solaris. War isn’t something I shy away from.”
“I didn’t say you did,” she said thoughtfully. “I said you don’t like it.”
Baldair focused on the chainmail that pooled in his hands for a long moment. “Who likes it, really? Other than madmen.” His voice was soft and somewhat distant, his expression oddly vulnerable.
“I agree with you.” Vi knelt down to unfasten his greaves. “You’re right. Who would say they liked war? War is awful and the longer it goes on, the uglier it becomes.”
“You’re not wrong.”
“You know, I grew up in Oparium.” Vi shifted the topic.
“You did?”
“Yes. When I was growing up, we didn’t have many stories of war, but we had plenty about pirates.”
“I bet you did.” He chuckled. Vi stood as he stepped out of his greaves.
“That summer… when you and Lord Jax and Lord Erion came to Oparium, that was what made me want to come to the castle.” Baldair faced her. “My prince—”
“Baldair.”
“Baldair,” she repeated, glancing away as if still modest about using his name without title. “May I ask you something?”
“Anything, fair maiden.”
“I heard a rumor you found the treasure. Is it true?”
Fear flooded his blue eyes. “I—”
“I’m sorry. Even if you had… I know, you can’t say.” Vi physically took a step back as she distanced herself from the topic. Baldair relaxed visibly. “I only thought of it now because of a story my grandmother told me when I was a girl.”
“A story?”
“A tale of a vortex, of circles, of things repeating time after time—life and death, suffering and sacrifice, all hung in this vortex,” her voice went soft and ominous. Baldair hung on every word. “She said there was one relic that could stop this vicious cycle of pain. It was the crown of the first Solaris king, bestowed on the true ruler of this land. That true king could command any loyalty, even loyalty from fate. He could bend destiny to his command.”
His eyes widened slightly.
“Though, knowing granny… they were nothing more than stories from her softening mind.” Vi shrugged and gave him a conspiratorial smile. “I merely thought, if such a power does exist… that you, a man of honor, would be the one I would want to wield it.” She paused, allowing him to be enamored with her words for one more long moment. “If you di
d find it, then perhaps it’s your destiny to use that power and save us all from war itself.”
Baldair continued to stare at her before quickly plastering on a fake smile. “It’s a wonderful story indeed. But I’m afraid you’re right about it being nothing more than a story.”
“No doubt. Now, is there anything else I can do for you?”
“No, thank you. My stomach insists on food in short order.” He laughed lightly as they reentered the main room.
“We were getting worried.” Craig’s tone was the exact opposite of the sentiment.
“I gladly return him to you.” Vi gave a bow.
“Gladly?” Baldair balked.
“Gladly.” She winked and Craig and Daniel roared with laughter. “Excuse me, my lords.”
Vi stepped out of the room and practically bounced down the hall. She’d put the crown in his mind, and Baldair would feel the need to go and check on it, if nothing else. But perhaps he’d also want to test if her words were true.
The prince was going to lead her to the crown. Now, all she had to do was—
She stopped in her tracks.
Victor crossed the main atrium, oblivious to her presence, and headed up to the Imperial quarters. Vi didn’t know what business he had with the Emperor. But whatever it was, she could be certain of one thing: it wasn’t good.
Chapter Twenty-Five
She was being irrational.
There was no reason to think Victor’s mere presence was a foul omen. Perhaps, when the Emperor returned, he summoned all the ministers one by one to give him updates on happenings in the palace. That seemed just as logical as the next thing.
Logical.
But not accurate.
In the years she’d traversed this world, across time and back, Vi had learned to trust her gut. More often than not, it was right. Sometimes, she had the wrong response—but the gut had the right sense.
Vi gripped the golden banister, staring up the staircase that led to the highest point of the palace. Without a second thought, she continued onward. Her brain tried to wander. The stubborn organ wanted to daydream about her parents living here and her being a girl, in this palace, rushing to meet them—all the trimmings of the happy childhood she never had.
Vi pushed away the thoughts and kept herself in the moment as she entered the Emperor’s chambers behind another servant.
“Victor,” Tiberus said from a nearby room. Vi followed the flow of servants and staff into an open antechamber, where the Emperor stood among weaponry and military fanfare. “You know I am very busy right now with the festival starting soon.”
Victor’s visit wasn’t expected, then.
Vi kept her head angled away as she rounded the room to Tiberus. She held her breath as she accepted a piece of ornate plate from one of the servants undressing the Emperor, much as she had done for Baldair minutes ago. Tiberus didn’t even so much as glance her way.
“I know, my lord.” Victor’s voice was deeper than she remembered it. He was still a boy in her mind. But the person before her now had the gaze of a man who’d set his sights on a prize. “But you told me to come to you with the results of my research on your future campaigns.”
“Give that here,” a woman hissed at her.
“Sorry,” Vi mumbled.
Two blue eyes met hers. The woman tilted her head. “I don’t know you.”
“I’m new,” Vi said hastily, turning away and going back for another piece of plate. She kept her focus on the conversation.
“You have found something useful?” Tiberus continued.
“Very useful. But tell me first, where is your eldest son now?” Victor said with a gleeful note. Vi was shocked he wasn’t bouncing on his heels.
The Emperor turned to face the minister and arched a single brow. “Leave us,” he commanded.
Servants filed out of the room with their heads down. Vi had no choice but to follow or be discovered. She trailed toward the end though, letting others go before her so she could listen as the Emperor continued to speak.
“Were it not for your manner, I would presume he would be making the necessary preparations for our court dinner for the start of the festival of the sun.”
Vi rounded the corner as Victor said, “What do you know of the common girl named Vhalla Yarl?”
She barely resisted the urge to charge back. Pushing away the memories and daydreams of her own creation was one thing. Vi could keep herself focused. But hearing her mother’s name on this man’s tongue lit the spark in her like nothing had in years.
She’s not your mother.
Vi knew that. She did. But the fire in her gut did not.
“Vhalla Yarl?” Tiberus repeated. “The name is not familiar. I usually make little effort to remember the names of the lowborn.”
Vi continued to hover just outside the doorway. She folded her hands and kept her eyes forward. She was as still as a statue, even while the spark was an inferno within her.
“He has not sent one report to you about her? I’m sure it just slipped Aldrik’s mind.” Victor paused and Vi could almost imagine his wicked grin widening. “I am sure her name will be well known by you soon enough.”
“Why?” Tiberus asked cautiously.
“Your son is with her now.”
Why was Victor doing this? Vi kept her thoughts level. Was this to spite Aldrik out of a vendetta he’d long held against the prince for being the magical favorite? Or could it be more?
Victor knew by now that Vhalla was a Windwalker. Taavin’s reports on the whisperings of the Tower had told Vi that much. All the sorcerers of the palace were abuzz with the presumed presence of a Windwalker.
If Victor was mentioning Vhalla to the Emperor, it could mean that he was trying to convince Tiberus to go hunting crystal weapons now that they had a Windwalker in their pocket. Victor was trying to make Tiberus the next Jadar, and convince him to use Windwalkers to get the crystals.
Vi had to switch the crown as soon as possible.
“Aldrik?” Surprise was apparent in Tiberus’s voice. “Aldrik is not one to fraternize with—”
“Just what do you think you’re doing?” The blue-eyed woman was back, grabbing her elbow and yanking Vi away from where she hovered in the doorway.
“I was waiting to see if the Emperor needed anything,” Vi said, wrenching her arm away.
The woman’s fingers snapped back around Vi’s arm and she yanked again. They were back in the main room. Several curses nearly flew off Vi’s tongue. Cursing the woman was better than splitting her in half. “You were eavesdropping.”
“I was not.”
“Foul girl!” The woman was a blur as she slapped Vi. She blinked, dazed. Vi had taken worse strikes, but this one was utterly unexpected and caught her off-guard. “I know what it looks like when one of your ilk is eavesdropping. It’s why I don’t have the likes of you up here.”
“The likes of me?” Vi rubbed her cheek. Clearly, this woman was the mother hen of the Imperial domain. She’d been lucky not to run into her sooner.
Her eyes raked over Vi. “Dirty shoes. Windswept hair. Basic robes. Tell me and tell me honestly, were you appointed up here today or is this some clever little attempt to see the Emperor and his family up close and personal?”
“I was appointed,” Vi said. As if anyone would be honest in this situation.
“If you’re lying, I will have the guards cut out your tongue and hang it with the laundry.”
“The guards won’t do that,” Vi blurted before she could stop herself. The woman only seethed further.
“Tell me who appointed you and you won’t have to find out what the guards will and won’t do.”
“I was appointed by—”
“She was appointed by me,” Victor said from the entrance to the Emperor’s personal armory. “She’s attending me today, to assist me in getting ready for the Imperial events this evening.”
“Minister.” The woman stepped away from Vi and bowed her head. “I am co
mpelled to regretfully inform you that I caught her listening in—”
“Surely you were mistaken,” Victor interrupted in a tone as icy as his magic. “She is one of my most loyal servants in this palace.” He approached her. “Isn’t that right?”
“Yes, my lord,” Vi ground out, bowing her head.
“Good, come along then.” Victor started for the door and Vi was helpless to do anything other than follow. She kept a few steps behind him on the stairs. Magic sizzled on her fingers, on her tongue. Even though there was a good distance between them, she felt ensnared; she was looking for the most immediate escape. Victor startled her when he spoke. “They hate us.”
She kept silent, which forced him to glance over his shoulder.
“They hate us, sorcerers, because they don’t understand. And what they don’t understand, they fear. And what they fear, they seek to snuff out of this world.” She pursed her lips, letting him soliloquize to his heart’s content. “But I’m not like them. I do not fear what I don’t understand.” He reached the bottom of the stairs and stopped, turning to face her. Vi looked down at him, remaining a few steps away. “I do not understand what you are. But I do not fear you.”
“You should,” Vi whispered ominously.
A smirk cracked his lips. “No… you’re like me, just a few steps ahead on this journey, aren’t you?”
“More than a few.” Vi’s chest tightened to the point of quivering. He saw her. Somehow, out of everyone, Victor had been the one to see right through her. He could see she wasn’t like the rest. Until now, Taavin had been the only one to peer into the corners of her that no one else could see. Vi hated that Victor, of all people, would be the second to do so.
Let him see your sharp edges, a voice whispered to her. Let him see you have achieved what he can only dream of—an evolution from the shell of humanity that holds him back.
Vi’s hand tightened around the banister.
“As far as I’m concerned, you work with me, or you are against me.” He took a few steps back, giving her additional space. Vi didn’t move. “The choice is yours.”
At that moment, Baldair emerged from the side hall, nearly stumbling right into Victor. “Oof—Excuse me, Minister!”