by Everly Frost
I find a jutting rock, choosing to turn my back on the wastelands and face the sun’s warmth instead. I peer up at the heartstones floating around me like a halo, wondering how to trigger them individually. When I first tethered them to me, I thought I heard them speak as if they each had voices. Closing my eyes, I try to block everything out including the sunlight flaring beyond my eyelids.
Incorruptible’s chill is by far the strongest, drowning everything else out. I try to listen beyond her, but she buzzes even louder in my ears. I shake my head, trying to dislodge the noise. So impossible. I can’t even sense the other heartstones over her increasing shriek—
Pain explodes in my shoulder. A sharp object rakes across my shoulder blade, lodging in the bone and lifting me upward, tearing through sinew and muscle.
My eyes shoot open and a scream burns through my lungs as sharp feathers slice across my cheek.
12. Grayson Glory
The Rath and Mercy heartstones are laid out side by side on a soft cloth on top of my desk. My palms hover over them, and I take a breath before I touch them, preparing myself for pain.
Gannon Glory waits at the side of my room, a tall, lanky form plastered up against the golden wallpaper. He stands as far away from me as he can get, static causing his hair to spread out across the image of golden vines that decorates my wall.
I’ve been searching for Marbella Mercy for a month. Now I finally have the means to face her.
Gannon’s lips are pinched. “Are you sure this is the best course of action?”
My answer is a narrow-eyed glare. Gannon was Baelen Rath’s advisor, but Baelen was smart enough to see through Gannon for the spy he is.
Gannon tries again. “The Elven Commanders—”
“Agree with my plan!” I snap. “Now make yourself useful and bring a talon crow. The largest we have. Place it in a cage outside my room.”
“Yes, my lord.”
I wait to hear the door close before I lower my hands to grip the edge of the desk. He’s not wrong to question this plan. This is possibly the most dangerous step I could take, but I couldn’t find Marbella while she was vulnerable. Now that she controls the gargoyle heartstones, it will take all my power to fight her.
Before I can think about it, I take hold of both heartstones.
I jolt at the emotion that flows through me, completely unexpected.
Pure love rockets from the Rath Heartstone to Mercy’s—and back again. It races through me as if I were a mere conduit.
I thought I understood what love is, what it looks like. But I’ve never felt anything like this. It’s beyond anything I ever imagined possible.
Gideon was the only elf to show me love, so I only know one kind—that of a guardian to his ward. The power streaming between the crimson and purple heartstones is multi-faceted and rips through me like a hammer cracking all my defenses, chipping away at them. Baelen Rath used this stone to pledge his life to Marbella. He pledged to love, protect, and honor her until death, the purest vow he could make.
I wrench my hands away.
How can two elves who murdered Gideon have the capacity to feel such an untainted love for each other?
I shove the question aside, ignoring my doubts, and focus on the memory of Gideon’s dead body. I couldn’t protect the one elf who showed me any empathy. Now all I can do is avenge him.
I reach for the stones again, this time to cleave them apart.
When I’m finished, I’m racked with pain, burning the entire length of my spine as if hot pokers have speared through each vertebra. I use the pain, harness it to power my actions, striding across the room and throwing open the door to reveal the talon crow in its cage.
Its black eyes dart to me, its talons stamping the bottom of the cage as it screeches at me. Its instinct is to tear me apart.
It will give me the wings I need to test my new power.
13. Marbella Mercy
The talon crow drops me and I fall to my hands and knees, trying not to vomit while my bloody shoulder gapes open at the edge of my vision. The bird soars upward and circles back. Its body is as big as a shadow panther, its wingspan at least eight feet wide and its talons are curved daggers, dripping my blood across the ground as it dives toward me again.
Power surges through me. Incorruptible bursts into life. Light burns through my torso and arms, my palms shoot outward with the force riding my body, spearing icy death across the distance.
Right before my power would slam into the bird, it hits a shield. The crow pulls up sharp only three paces away, settling to the ground, wings still spread. Incorruptible’s light hits a point right in front of it, but the light splits and curves around a protective force. The two forces hiss and spit against each other. I push harder, drawing more power from the stone, but the shield doesn’t give way. The bird is completely protected.
It’s sorcery. It has to be.
The bird cackles. Its beady eyes stare at me, unblinking, an eerie white substance swirling across its pupils like smoke building on the inside. Its beak opens, emitting a low moan. It’s hard to tear my eyes from the tusks rising on each side of its bottom jaw. Talon crows have some of the same attributes as a boar and can use their beaks and giant tusks to maul their victims. I can’t let the bird get any closer.
“Marbella Mercy,” the crow says as the smoke swirls in its eyes. “I’ve been waiting to meet you.”
I might never have seen one of these beasts up close before, but I know for sure that they can’t speak. There is definitely sorcery at play here. “Who are you?”
“I am Grayson of the House of Glory. Gideon was my great-uncle.”
An elf! Eli Elder had told me that there were two new members of the Elven Command who had filled the vacant positions after Teilo Splendor escaped and I killed Gideon Glory.
Grayson must be my age if Gideon was his great-uncle. It’s very unusual for someone so young to claim a place in the Elven Command. As the last Rath, Baelen had that right but the Command prevented him from taking up his rightful place. The shield that Grayson is placing around the bird tells me he earned his place because of his mastery of sorcery. If he can withstand Incorruptible’s power, then he’s more powerful than Gideon ever was.
I shudder so hard the line of icy power hitting the shield wobbles. Sorcery derives its force from death, which means Grayson is a murderer.
“I assume you have taken his place.” Pain rakes through me. I’m still losing blood. All of my energy is being channeled into keeping the bird at bay. My vision is beginning to blur and if I pass out, I won’t survive. Virtuous! Heal me! Please!
Blood continues to flow down my chest, warming me in the worst way. I’m not healing and I don’t know why. Virtuous!
The smoky mist that swirled in the talon crow’s eyes spreads into the feathers around its beak and back over its head. Grayson must be drawing on the bird’s life to sustain his sorcery so he can speak with me from his true location far away in Erawind. He’s slowly killing the animal. This gives me hope. I just have to hold out long enough for it to die. Then I’m getting the hell off this mountain.
“You are not as powerful as they warned me,” Grayson says. The bird tilts its head, one eye looking me up and down. “But you are much more beautiful.”
The bird takes a step forward, its talons digging right into the rock. The shield moves with it, only two paces away now. I push back but my arms are screaming and fear creeps into me. What if I can’t hold out long enough?
“It is a shame that I will have to kill you,” Grayson says. And in the next breath: “We will give you a month to prepare the gargoyles for surrender. If you do not give yourself up by then, we will begin killing your friends, starting with the head of your Storm Command, Reisha.”
The bird takes another step, its wings slowly turning white, its talons scrabbling at the ground. There must be some part of the animal trying to fight back, trying to stay alive.
I scream with the effort of maintaining Incorr
uptible’s power. My arms shake. My breathing is ragged. Why can’t I heal?
“Nothing can save you from me—”
An arrow shoots from the edge of the clearing, piercing the bird’s side. It explodes into a cloud of white dust. The shield disappears and Incorruptible’s power shrieks to a stop. I collapse to the ground, my arms shaking so hard I can’t lift them.
The bird’s remains settle gently over the rock, its dust lifting and wafting into the breeze. I cover my nose and mouth, scooting backward, trying not to breathe it in.
A young female emerges from the pathway at the side of the mountain. “It was about time he shut up.”
I can barely focus on her. I need to figure out what was wrong with Virtuous. Searching for the emerald stone above my head, I discover why I can’t sense it.
It’s not there.
I cry out in fear before I can stop myself, desperately searching the air and ground for it. I find it several paces away, lying on the ground, its glow diminished. Grayson must have knocked it away from me when the talon crow first swooped. But how is that even possible? How is any of this possible? Everyone told me that the Queen’s heart was the most powerful heartstone. Were they lying? Were they wrong?
I scramble toward Virtuous’s heart, catching it up in my hands and clutching it against my own heart. Dull emerald light returns to the stone, but it’s very pale. Luckily, it’s enough that the pain in my shoulder stops and so does the bleeding. I don’t really want to look but a quick glance tells me that my skin has healed over. It’s not perfect though: it’s fragile and red beneath my torn clothing.
The girl reaches my side. She doesn’t pay homage to me, looking me square in the eyes. “I was told to bring you this,” she says, handing me a cloak made of thick, black fur. “But I think you have bigger problems.”
I pull the cloak around my shoulders but keep Virtuous close to my heart. I’m starting to shake, but she’s right: it’s not from the cold. “Thank you. For the coat and for killing the bird.”
“The crow was only shielded in front. He didn’t think you’d have friends.” She positions herself on my undamaged side to help me stand.
I’m in danger of going into shock. Only the warmth of the coat keeps me in the present as I force my legs to move. “You’d think with all of this…” I wave my hand at the stones. “I’d have figured out basic things like how to keep myself warm.”
Her response is blunt and forthright. “You’re drawing power from the wrong stone.”
“I’m sorry?”
She points as we leave the clearing. “You probably can’t see because they’re above your head, but you only ever draw power from Incorruptible’s heart. Since you got here, I’ve only seen Virtuous shine once after your fight with Indira. The moon is icy, so using Incorruptible’s power will only make you colder.”
“So… which one will make me warm?”
A secretive smile breaks across her face. She keeps one eye on the steep path and the other on me. “Prime’s of course. He was Incorruptible’s opposite: fiery, passionate. Some gargoyles think they were lovers.”
I ignore that statement. I know for a fact that they weren’t but their hearts belonged together. “What about Lightsworn?”
“Conceited. Totally full of himself. But he was an amazing warrior. If you draw on his power during battle you will fight better.”
“Better, huh?”
She ignores my sarcasm. “Then there’s Virtuous who was some sort of healer. Her heart is complicated: sad, lonely. You shouldn’t draw on it too often or you’ll screw up your emotions.”
Well, good thing I’ve got Virtuous pressed right up against my heart right now then. I sigh, but it’s worth the risk that my emotions will go haywire because I need Virtuous close while my shoulder is still healing. And I need to figure out how it got knocked away from me. “How do you know all of this?”
She scoffs. “Because I grew up with it. It’s the first thing Grievous children learn: the power of the heartstones. Where do you think Howl got his obsession?”
“Which one of the heartstones will give me the power to fly?”
She shakes her head. “Sorry. That would be Hideaway’s heart because of his powerful wings, but nobody found that heartstone and besides… gargoyles don’t need the power to fly.”
“I guess not.” I’m disappointed. I thought I’d at least be able to try. We walk in silence for a long time, finally passing Indira’s home, but the girl doesn’t stop there.
“Where are we going?”
She points along the street but all of the buildings around us are shuttered and closed. “You’re coming with me to see Gretel. She sent me to find you. She can tell you everything you need to know about the heartstones, including how to use them properly.”
“I take it she told Howl everything too.”
She shrugs. “Not by choice, but that was the way with Howl. I didn’t really know him mind you. Before my time and all.”
She’s so young, maybe only fourteen years old, but she seems like an old soul. “I don’t know your name.”
“I’m Bethany.”
A little while later, we reach a house on the outskirts of the village. Like Indira’s home, this one also sits on the precipice of a cliff. A small balcony has been built into the roof and a sentry sits huddled under a fur coat topped with a shadow panther skin: an excellent disguise to make it look like the girl huddled under it is a much larger male.
Bethany waves to her before pushing through the front door. Welcome heat rushes to greet us and I sigh with relief. Like many times before, I only realize I’ve been drawing on Incorruptible’s power when I don’t need it anymore. The cold evaporates along with the tension in my body.
The room is sparsely furnished with a table and chairs, a small kitchen off to the right, and a stone fireplace on the left. An old female sits hunched under a layer of furs on a wooden chair beside the fire. Her silver hair is tied back in a loose bun at the nape of her neck. She immediately shifts and acknowledges me with a hoarse whisper. “Supreme Incorruptible.”
One of her eyes is glazed and white. The other is a delicate blue. I miss a step before I realize how rude it is to stare.
She points at her glazed eye. “Howl.”
Of course. He may be dead, but the deeper I dig, the further his cruelty extends.
Bethany pulls a chair from the table, positioning it beside Gretel, gesturing for me to sit. Then she sets about putting a kettle on the stove and gathering teacups.
Gretel’s gaze slides from my face up to the stones. Her bony finger twitches as she counts them. “Incorruptible, Prime, Lightsworn. But where is Virtuous?”
I open the coat and my fist. “Here. She was knocked out of my control.”
“Ah.” Her hand lands on my arm, giving me a comforting squeeze. “You can tell me all about that in a minute, but for now, let’s focus on what you have, not what you don’t.”
“What I have?”
“The four most important heartstones: strength, heart, strategy, and immortality.”
Is she talking about the same stones? “You missed destruction.”
“Destruction? Which heart is that?”
I point to the Queen’s.
“What?” She is shocked, her mouth dropping open. “Incorruptible was strong, faithful, and wise. She sheltered her people when they needed courage.”
Gretel takes stock of me before she leans forward to peer into my eyes. She tilts so far forward I’m concerned she’s going to slide out of her chair. She clicks her tongue, exhaling a disappointed sigh. “I don’t need the power of a Sighted One to see that you are deeply fearful of the power you hold.”
“Of course I’m afraid. I have the power to destroy anything I want.”
“There it is again. That word: destruction. Destroy. Where did you get this from?”
“Well… the Priestess told me that all the good of our ancestors went into creating our world and all the bad was left in
their hearts.”
“Pfft! That Priestess! She’s all goodness and light. All flowers and meadows; sunlight and twinkling stars. She doesn’t see the beauty in a raging thunderstorm or the value of a hot flame to keep us warm. She doesn’t understand that the heartstones are neither good nor evil. Their nature is determined purely by the choices of the one who controls them.”
Choose. Choose life or death. The memory of Incorruptible’s voice returns to me. She’d asked me to choose one or the other, but she hadn’t told me which. She left that choice up to me.
I say, “When I first touched Incorruptible’s heart, I needed her to kill Howl. Then when I held her heart in my hand… they said I could have killed everyone.” Even Baelen had risked his life to stop me.
Gretel nods. “It’s true. You could have. But only because you weren’t aware of what you were doing. That doesn’t mean you have to be afraid now.”
“But I am.” The admission leaves me relieved.
“Acknowledging fear is the first step to overcoming it.” She smiles. “Now, tell me, when you think of the stones, how do you describe them to yourself.”
“Well… That is Incorruptible’s heart. Her power—”
“No! Wrong!”
I blink at her. “What?”
“It is your heart, your power. Each power is yours. But each one makes up a different part of you.” She points to the stones. “Incorruptible is your strength. Prime is the fire in your heart. Lightsworn is your battle strategy. Virtuous is your immortality. Yours.”
Bethany appears with cups of tea, handing one to me and then to Gretel. The scent of rose petals wafts up to me. Heavenly. I take a sip and the warmth eases all my tension.
Gretel’s hand flutters at Bethany. “Please, dearest, will you bring me my mother’s tiara?”
“But that’s your most precious possession—”