Land of Strength and Sorrow

by Cassandra Fear

  If he doesn’t know how much Uncle Meical helped me, he’s an idiot, Jovi thought with scorn. I won’t let father send him away again. I don’t care what he does or what he says. I won’t.

  Bastien pointed between them. “It’s starting.”

  The women stood at the front of the room like statues, their eyes wide and eager. Malador went to each one and held a container filled with the cure out. Each Mage woman drank their fill, then moved to the side to wait. But they didn’t wait long before their men came to claim them and hurriedly started toward the exit.

  Malador handed the last container to one of his Mages and turned toward the couples. “Wait. We don’t need all of you to go off at once. First, one couple will leave this room, and when the deed is done, you will return here so your woman can be tested by me.” He pointed to the couple closest to the door. “You two, go to your room, and find me when you finish.”

  In Jovi’s eyes, leaders put their people above themselves. She had a certain amount of respect for Malador. Even though he’d attacked the place she lived, she understood now why he’d done it. To never have a child would be a horrible thing to experience. He wasn’t only trying to save himself or produce heirs. No, he wanted his people happy. And she found she quite admired that.

  Malador stepped back, standing beside Jovi. “And now, we wait.”

  Jovi squirmed. She hadn’t wanted to sit here and wait, knowing what was happening in the other room. Thank goodness she couldn’t hear anything because if she had…her cheeks heated. She might have thought about laying with a man, but she would never act on it until she was married. Knowing two people were together in that capacity right now…it made her struggle to breathe. And she didn’t have a clue what to say. So, she stood there and held Cappa’s hand while she tried to stand up straight.

  “Princess Jovi, I’m sorry we have to have proof the cure works. It isn’t my intention to make you uncomfortable.” Malador rubbed his forehead.

  Jovi tilted her head. “Uncomfortable? Me? No. I’m perfectly fine.” The words sounded good, but her voice cracked as she said them. Surely Malador hadn’t believed her.

  Malador released a chuckle. “For some strange reason, I have a feeling you’re trying to make me feel better. And why would you do that?”

  Jovi shrugged. Was that what she had tried to do? For some reason, she didn’t see Malador as a bad guy, only a leader trying to do what he could to ensure his people survived. So, maybe she did want to make him feel better.

  There’d been enough bad feelings thrown around for a lifetime, in Jovi’s eyes at least.

  So she let go of Cappa’s hand and faced Malador. “I don’t know why. But I see you. I know what you are trying to accomplish here. And there’s no malice behind it. So, I guess that is why.”

  “Good to know.”

  Just then, the couple reappeared, happy and glowing. Jovi groaned, but only in her head, and looked anywhere but at them.

  Malador stepped forward. “Come here, Shaya. Let me see if the cure did, indeed, work.”

  Jovi came to his side. “But what if the…uh…seed didn’t take?” Her cheeks were so hot she could have fried an egg on them.

  Malador smiled. “Our kind does not have the same problems as humans. If we want to have a child, we use our magic to ensure it happens. As Cain would have done, right, Cain?”

  The muscled Frost Mage nodded. “I did.”

  “Good, then all we need is the test. Give me your hand, Shaya.”

  Shaya reached her pale hand out and her long fingers wrapped around his palm. Malador pressed his lips together as creases broke out along his forehead, magic glowing around him to cast a golden hue over him. Jovi wondered why it wasn’t blue, but she didn’t want to ask the question now. Instead, she kept her eyes on Malador, even as Cappa came forward and gripped her hand like she’d become his new lifeline. She squeezed him back but didn’t tear her eyes away. Magic was divine and something she didn’t see every day.

  The glow went on and on, and her stomach shrank. Something had to be wrong. It shouldn’t have taken this long, right?

  Malador released Shaya’s hand. The silence that followed was deafening.

  Jovi’s heart galloped in her chest so hard she could feel it at the back of her throat.

  Malador faced her, a storm raging behind his beautiful icy green eyes. Meical moved in front of her and Jovi hadn’t a clue where he’d come from. The Frost Mage touched her uncle, the fierce warrior and the biggest man she’d ever met, and a layer of ice grew from the floor, wrapping around his feet. He hadn’t only touched Meical, though. He’d done the same to Bastien and Cappa as Jovi had focused on her uncle.

  A lump formed in the back of Jovi’s throat and made her feel like every time she swallowed, she choked on a ball.

  Malador took her by the elbow and yanked her away from her protectors, her warriors.

  Her fingertips were so cold they felt numb. She could barely move her feet to keep up with Malador, but it wouldn’t have mattered since he pulled her so forcibly. She cried out against the pain in her ankle more than once, but he didn’t take notice. He marched her up the stairs and threw her on the small chair beside her father.

  The place this had all started.

  Chills swirled down her spine, then spread over her entire body, but somehow she raised her chin and met his eyes, even as she rubbed her ankle. If she were going to die, she’d at least face him. The cure hadn’t worked. He didn’t have to say the words. She knew the truth by the look in his eyes and on his face.

  The cure should have worked. Why didn’t it work? Jovi screamed in her mind.

  She’d followed the directions. Everything had been done according to the recipe. The color even came out exactly as it said it should have. So, what happened?

  Malador paced back and forth in front of her.

  She straightened her spine. “Malador, I—”

  He stopped pacing, cutting her off. “No! You will not speak. Not now. If you speak now, I will kill you. I do not want to act so hastily, so please, keep your mouth shut.” He started pacing again.

  Every so often he stopped, looked at her, and then moved again. If he didn’t gaze at her, he stared at her father, or occasionally her mother.

  It went on and on with no sign of stopping anytime soon.

  She licked her lips and tasted salt from the sweat that dripped down them. She wiped her brow and drew back wet fingertips.

  Leaning back in her chair, she gripped the edges. Her heart raced, thumped, and threatened to fly right out of her chest.

  It might be her, but the room appeared to shrink in on her.

  I don’t know how much more of this I can take, she thought.

  Every one of her thoughts led back to the same question. Why hadn’t the cure worked?

  Malador said something she didn’t understand to his army and one by one the women were led from the room.

  The real show was about to start, and Jovi could do nothing to stop it. Not that she wanted to. She’d been so confident in thinking she could get the cure, that she could fix everything herself. How wrong she’d been. Now, she’d endangered not only her life, but also the lives of everyone she cared about the most.

  Malador wouldn’t let any of them walk away. Not now. Not when she’d failed.

  Her shoulders fell as she slumped in the chair. It had finally hit her. She’d bombed it all up and worst of all, she’d signed the death certificates of her whole family.

  She wished she would have told Cappa she loved him because she did, but she’d been too scared to admit it, even to herself. There would be no changing it now. She’d never tell her father how she’d hoped he and her uncle could have salvaged their relationship. How important family was and how much she wanted Meical to be a part of theirs.

  She’d never be able to bring the Mammoth Riders to the castle as the King’s army.

  And least of all, she’d never rule Kingsperch. She’d never help the Fairies rebuild
their village. Never would she release Bertson from his stone prison to be reunited with his children. Catsin would never have another visitor. So many promises she’d made, and she would never be able to see any of them come to fruition.

  Not now. Not ever.

  Today, she’d die, here in this small chair that she hated so much.

  Ironic, wasn’t it?

  Lifting her chin, she peered over many heads to meet Cappa’s eyes, trying to put all the words she wanted to say to him in her own. She had no idea if he understood, but she hoped he did.

  Not that it mattered. Cappa would die here too. All of them would.

  Malador faced his people as he raised his voice. “Today, a great injustice has occurred. The Princess promised a cure for our people, but instead delivered a potion that did nothing but quench a thirst. It is unforgivable.” The Frost Mages roared their agreements. “However,” he started, then paused, waiting for the cheers to quiet. “I fear killing them will not solve our problem. Killing them will not give our women back their ability to have children. We need another solution.”

  Jovi held her breath, afraid of the direction of this speech. A sinking feeling swarmed her stomach, and she sat on the edge of her seat, leaning forward so she wouldn’t miss a word.

  “Kill them. There’s no other solution,” one Mage shouted.

  Others followed suit and a chant of “kill them” rang out through the room.

  Malador sliced his hand through the air. “Silence.” Quiet came, and he continued. “As I’ve said, killing them won’t fix our issues, but if I marry the Princess, it will solve so many things. Not everything, but…” He paused. “We have always been a pure race, loyal to each other and have never mixed with others. But, today, that will change. It will do so much for us. We will once again have children running around. Those children will grow and marry, perhaps not another Mage, but even still. They will never be full-blooded Frost Mages, but our power will still run through their veins.”

  Jovi stiffened. Did he just say marry him? I can’t marry him now. Not when I love Cappa. I want to have his children, not some Mage’s.

  The room remained shrouded in silence, so Malador kept going. “We do not age the same as humans. We used to, but no longer. We will remain alive for a long time. My children will grow, and I will provide women for you to marry as well, one day, when they come of age.”

  Jovi screamed inside her head. No! That won’t happen. I will never agree.

  Her wide eyes met Cappa’s again, but he stared at the ground. She could only imagine what his mind screamed at him. The words floating through her own were bad enough.

  Jovi’s father wouldn’t look at her either. He knew this was his fault just as she knew, no matter how much she refused this union, it would happen. There’d be no stopping it now. At one time, she’d been fine with it, but not now. How could she marry a man she didn’t have any feelings for when she finally knew real love?

  Malador could never match Cappa for her, and she could never be what he needed her to be.

  She had to stop this. She had to say something, but she couldn’t say anything because she couldn’t breathe, couldn’t even draw air into her lungs.

  The room blackened from the outside in as she struggled to stay awake, but failed at that too, fainted, and fell to the floor.

  When her eyes opened, she shot up, remembering what had happened. No longer did Frost Mages surround her. She now laid in a soft bed with a feather pillow under her head. A blue satin blanket tangled in her feet as she rolled from the bed and landed on the floor. She groaned, having forgotten about her ankle.

  “Sit.”

  She froze. Her eyes roaming the room until they landed on Malador sitting in the corner. She narrowed her eyes.

  “I said sit.”

  Jovi hadn’t the energy to argue so she did as requested. Well, demanded.

  Malador stood and pulled his chair across the wood floor. The scraping sound pierced her ears. When his chair sat directly in front of her, he planted himself onto it. “I take it your fainting indicated how you feel about our union.”

  Jovi pressed her lips into a thin line because she didn’t want to answer him. Especially since he already knew exactly how she felt about it.

  Malador leaned back with his legs stretched out in front of him, until his feet touched hers. She shrank away from him. He chuckled. “Princess. I am sorry it has come to this, but we are out of options. You told us you’d bring the cure, but that wasn’t a cure at all.”

  Jovi gritted her teeth. “You would have known if you let me explain before, that it should have been a cure. Belisandre herself gave me the recipe. Of all people, the sorceress who cursed you should have got the cure right, don’t you think?”

  Malador shrugged. “I don’t know what to think; I only know what is right in front of me. The cure didn’t work. We are in the same spot as when this war started, and I cannot see continuing it. My people want to go home. They don’t want to stay in this foreign land where they can’t be comfortable. They want their snow and ice.” He paused. “You and I marrying will give my people the hope they need to survive. Perhaps if our union does well, we can find others to marry my men off to, from here and perhaps even Lyenhaus.”

  “I will not marry you.” She spoke through clenched teeth. “I cannot marry you, not when my heart belongs to another.”

  Malador nodded. “Ah, the young man you arrived with, the same one who held onto you so hard when I attempted to pull you away from your little group?”

  Jovi crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back.

  Malador laughed, the sound harsh to her ears. “I could kill your young man if you’d like.”

  A pain stabbed her chest. “No. Please. Don’t hurt him.”

  He came forward, his face inches from her own. “Then, do as I say, and marry me. We will have the ceremony here, in your home, but you will live in Frostspher with me. Your father will continue to rule, and you can still visit and see your family. In fact, I will come with you any time you’d like. We will have peace between our lands, for the first time in history. This marriage will bring so much to both of us if you open your mind enough to see it.”

  Jovi didn’t disagree. The peace their union would bring was worth the heartache, but she still couldn’t go through with it. Not when her heart belonged to Cappa. How could she place herself, willingly, into a loveless marriage when she could have so much more?

  The answer whacked her in the face so hard she almost fell out of her chair. She would go through with this. She had to. If she fought him, Malador would kill everyone she loved, including Cappa. If she agreed to this marriage, they would all live. Tears filled her eyes, but she held them back, somehow.

  She had no choice, and she knew it, even if she felt like she just got pummeled in the gut.

  With a forced dignity, she raised her chin. “Fine. We will marry, tonight, before I change my mind. But, before we do, I want to see Cappa.”

  Malador nodded once. “Done. I will send him here post-haste.”

  Once the Frost Mage left, Jovi couldn’t stop the tears from flowing. They still stained her cheeks when Cappa came through the door and rushed to her, dropped to his knees in front of her, and embraced her.

  He drew his hands up and wiped the droplets from her face. “Did he hurt you?”

  She shook her head as she ran her fingers through his hair. “No, not physically.”

  Cappa stood, pacing in front of the window while his hands curled into fists at his side. “I’ll kill him. I swear I will.” He dropped in front of her again and took her hands. “He can’t do this. He can’t make you marry him. Not if you don’t want to.”

  Jovi traced every feature on his face. His eyes. His nose. The stubble covering his chin and wrapping above his lip. She memorized every feature. Then, she looked into those big gray eyes—eyes she would never, could never forget. The same ones she’d picture every time she looked upon her new husband.


  Taking a deep, shuddering breath calmed her. “He can make me, Cappa. Don’t you understand? If I marry him, he will keep my parents, my Uncle, safe. He will keep you safe. If I refuse him, he will kill all of you and still make me marry him. I can’t refuse him. All of you are too important to me.”

  Cappa just stared at her for what felt like minutes. His bottom lip quivered, then he slammed his fist against the wall. The sound of the impact made Jovi jump. “No! I refuse to accept this. I never thought to find someone like you. I won’t let you go. Not now. Not ever. What if I could protect you and your Kingdom?”

  Jovi scrunched her eyebrows toward her hairline. “What are you talking about?”

  “I’m the Prince of Lyenhaus, the rightful heir to the throne. I can protect you. Marry me. Choose me, and I will help free your kingdom from the Mage's power.”

  A prince? Of Lyenhaus? Which meant his father was King? He’d lied to her. All this time. Why? Did he think it would protect her? No, that made no sense. She dug deeper but couldn’t think of a single reason why he would have lied to her. Unless he hadn’t wanted anyone to know his true heritage…perhaps so the sorceress who killed his mother could be found.

  Prince or not, it didn’t matter. While her heart belonged to him, she still couldn’t marry him. If she did, the Mages would kill her family, and she knew, whether she wanted to admit it or not, that they couldn’t fight magic. It would destroy each and every one of them. And not only them, but it would destroy the whole kingdom.

  Jovi sighed. “Cappa, you mean so much to me. I’m glad you told me, but it doesn’t change anything. My duty is clear. I must marry Malador to save my family.”

  “Jovi, can’t you see? It changes everything!” Then his lips were on hers, and she couldn’t think. Heat boiled as goose bumps traveled down her arms, over her shoulders, and down her back. She met his lips, wrestled them with her own, and came out the winner. She thrust her tongue into his mouth, and before she knew it, she’d shoved him to the bed and stretched on top of him. Her hands tucked under his shirt and she touched bare skin, breaking the spell.