Isadora

by Charlotte McConaghy

  I closed my eyes, gave a huge scream of fury. How could he?

  ‘Don’t do this, Da, please! I must help! My wife is there, and Ambrose and Falco and you! Let me fight with you!’

  But he was already gone, to battle.

  Falco

  Night fell.

  Find your fury. Find your outrage.

  The wings of sparrows beat in my ears as I kicked my horse forwards and galloped down the hill towards the wall. I heard distant shouts atop it. I saw fire-arrows sail through the air at us. I felt the rumble of hundreds of feet following me.

  And as I reached the wall, my wall, I didn’t need to find my fury. It found me.

  Chapter Thirty-two

  Isadora

  It took us most of the night to reach the tunnel, and a few hours to climb up through it. Penn and I were both much smaller than the average citizen who’d escaped through this nightmarishly tight hole, so for us it was easier. We talked to distract ourselves from the dark, though, because it was a heavy dark that infused the whole world and made it small small small, and for once we each needed words to make it bigger.

  ‘Have you always known you could do it?’ I asked him.

  ‘Sort of.’

  ‘But when did it occur to you?’

  ‘Never really thought about it.’

  Fair enough. ‘Have you ever used it on me? Is that why … I feel so good when I’m around you?’

  Penn gave a trickle of laughter and I imagined his face behind me. ‘I don’t use it on people I love, silly.’

  It made me flush warm, crawling up and up until we emerged at last into the fish coolroom Falco had discovered. The city was in chaos. Troops of soldiers were running in formation towards the wall, huge lines of them, what had to be hundreds. Citizens were sprinting out of the way, trying to get to the relative safety of their homes. Penn and I wore cloaks with the hoods drawn over our faces as we made our way through the streets. It took a few hours to reach the outskirts of the royal district, and there we hid, biding our time, waiting for the streets to clear. Warders rushed in and out, presumably between here and their temple to the east. Urgency made me jittery – it was an almost physical pain to sit here and wait for the right moment. Every second pulled us closer to Falco’s attack on that gate.

  I spotted an opening in the rush of people, a rare moment of quiet. ‘Ready?’ I whispered.

  ‘Hands steady,’ he sang.

  ‘You know where you have to get to?’

  ‘Just go, Iz.’

  I burst out from behind the merchant building and sprinted straight for the palace. Arrows fired at me as I scaled the gate, but I cut them out of the air with the blade in my left hand. The second I was over eight soldiers were coming at me. And there – there were the warders sweeping down the front steps. Two males and Gwendolyn the Viper.

  I was frozen by their wards and beaten to the ground. ‘I’m here to offer Dren and Galia a deal,’ I gasped, meeting Gwendolyn’s faded eyes. ‘Tell them the Sparrow has information for them.’

  She gazed at me and in her stony face I could read nothing of her thoughts. She nodded, gesturing for the soldiers to bind and escort me inside. My eyes scanned everything they could, noting the hurried footsteps and rushed conversations. The people in this palace certainly knew they were about to be attacked.

  I waited in the main hall for the Mad Ones to take their thrones. There were dozens of corpses scattering the floor, left to stew in their own blood and rot. It was horrendous, the stench unbearable, and I forced myself not to look at or think of them.

  They strode into the hall quickly this afternoon. No amusement or delight coloured their faces. ‘Pet’s returned to us,’ Dren commented.

  ‘How did you escape the cage, little one?’ Galia asked me as she sat. They didn’t seem keen to waste any time.

  ‘Look for yourself,’ I said.

  ‘You have a shield,’ Dren reminded me. ‘Breaking through it wasn’t pleasant, if you’ll recall.’

  ‘I’ve learnt how to lower it.’

  ‘Why would you want us to see in your mind?’ Galia asked, hawk-eyes watching me suspiciously.

  ‘I’m no good with words.’

  ‘How about you try, and we shall see if you can speak the truth.’

  My hands clenched impatiently. If I had to seduce them with my tongue this could go very badly. ‘I’ve come from the army that is preparing to attack you. They will move with nightfall.’

  ‘We know of the army. We’ve been entertained by its progress – sent a few minor obstacles of our own.’

  ‘We do love drama,’ Dren agreed.

  I curbed my anger at the thought of the fire Radha died in. There was no place for anger right now: it blurred the mind. Coldly, I said, ‘But do you also know of the tunnel they will be entering through?’

  ‘The tunnels are destroyed.’

  ‘That’s why they built a new one, right under your noses.’

  Both their gazes narrowed. ‘Where?’

  ‘East cliffs. I’d send troops to guard it, were I you.’ They didn’t move, so I shrugged and continued. ‘That’s one piece given freely. The rest you will need to trade for.’

  ‘Very well. Keeping your life seems a sufficient bargain for whatever trifles you think worth a damn to us.’

  I shook my head, smiling a little. ‘I’m not altogether fond of my life. There are other things I’m more interested in.’

  ‘Such as?’ Galia seemed amused now, thought she was toying with me. She couldn’t imagine I had anything worth bargaining for, believing she had all the power in the world with which to torment me.

  ‘I want ward-bound contracts that free my realms – Sanra, Ora and Querida – and their citizens from any warder influence or law. I want a contract naming me as rightful ruler of those three realms, and I want a peace treaty with you that spans at least fifty years.’

  ‘Why would we give you more than half of Kaya?’ Dren laughed.

  ‘Because my first act as ruler will be to kill Falco of Sancia, and help you take Pirenti.’

  There was a silence as they stared at me in surprise. I could see swift calculations going through their minds. Warders lived a long time – fifty years would be nothing to them, and with the rest of the world under their power they could easily take my three realms after the treaty ended.

  ‘Your bondmate,’ Galia said slowly. ‘You expect us to believe you’d kill him? Betray those friends you’ve made?’

  I met her eyes and asked softly, ‘Have you any understanding of how much I hate that man? Loathsome humiliation, to be bound to him, and I will take great pleasure in doing what I was born to do: destroy him. As for the friends, has any one of them looked at me as more than the demon girl? The witch? The ice creature?’ I shook my head, letting my lip curl. ‘They’re no friends of mine. My friends are from the south forests – they’re the ones I’ll protect with my life.’

  ‘Indeed,’ Galia mused. ‘For all of that, Sparrow, you must have something very special to offer us.’

  ‘I do. I know how they’re going to beat you.’

  ‘Why would you prevent that?’

  ‘I would prevent mass slaughter on both sides. I can stop this battle with a deal, and with the death of one man, simply by revealing the truth.’

  ‘Go on then.’

  ‘Fear,’ I said. ‘It renders you impotent.’

  Dren scoffed, waving his hand in dismissal, but I saw a flicker of concern pass through Galia’s eyes. ‘Not a problem, child, if you feel no fear.’

  ‘And if you do? If you and every single warder were reduced to a mass of terror? How would you fight the berserkers beyond that wall? How could anyone?’

  They studied me, giving no sign that they were nervous. But I knew they were. ‘How would that happen?’ Galia asked slowly, knowing the answer, fearing it above all else.

  ‘Because your son Penn is outside with Falco, and he is an empath,’ I answered simply.

  Silence fell.


  ‘Here’s what will happen. Penn will cloak your warders with fear, making them powerless. You and I both know he has enough power to do so – it’s why you’re so frightened of him. That gate will be attacked, and without any magic it will be breached, and then there will be a good old-fashioned battle raging in the streets, during which thousands will die, and you will lose. The city will be taken by Falco and his Pirenti family, and my lands will also most likely be reclaimed. You’re dead, I’m dead, and he wins.’ I let that sink in for a moment. ‘Or.’

  I went on to describe the plan, and it was the logic of it, in the end, that ensnared them. Not my clumsy words, but the cleverness of the idea, the outcome of which would mean complete victory for them without having to lose a single life.

  Well. That wasn’t quite right. There would be one life lost.

  But thanks to the breaking of our bond, it would remain only one.

  Dren and Galia picked through my mind to discover if all I’d said was true. I showed them only snippets: the discussion with King Thorne about using a warder’s fear, and my last conversation with Falco took the main stage. I also showed them Ava’s mistrust of me, Osric’s attack when he first discovered who I was. And I showed them how strong both Finn and Osric’s magic was. They needed to believe that Falco had an army of formidable opponents, and that I didn’t belong with them.

  The rest of the truth I kept hidden beneath the lake, where there was no fear, only ruthlessness. I didn’t think about it, and they didn’t see it. And I certainly did not think about the little boy hiding within the city walls, biding his time.

  Falco

  They knew we were coming. That much was obvious. The wards on the gate were incredibly strong, Osric informed me as the night wore on. He had yet to break through, but he was trying. By gods he was trying. All of my warders were working tirelessly to protect him from attack, but the enemy warders on the wall were far more powerful. It was Jonah, it turned out, who was deflecting almost all of the magic raining down on Os.

  The rest of us were busy trying to breach the wall. Berserker ladders went up and the mighty men climbed as high as they could before arrows or magic sent them back down and they started again. Some reached the top and fought there, but most were shoved off before they could do enough damage to get us inside. Inga and I had been moving up and down the wall, shields raised against the hail of fire-arrows from above. She was using small bursts of power to crack the stones of the thousand-year-old wall, leaving spots vulnerable to the heavy Pirenti hammers. It wouldn’t hold out much longer – I knew we were nearly inside. But it was within the grey light of dawn that things changed.

  ‘Majesty,’ a breathless runner gasped, pulling attention from the wall. ‘Enemy forces approach from behind!’

  I whirled in time to see smudges in the distance. ‘Who are they?’

  ‘Don’t know, but there’re soldiers and warders both, a whole lot of them from either side of the marshes.’

  As they drew closer I could see their armour and recognised the colours of Limontae. The two contingents didn’t attack; rather, they blocked us in, pinning us with our backs to the wall and then stopping to wait for something.

  ‘Turn!’ I called atop my horse. ‘Turn and hold!’

  Ava swung Isadora’s forces around. Ambrose took the other flank, while King Thorne turned the berserkers to take the brunt of the central flank, which was always hardest to hold.

  ‘Keep at the wall!’ I ordered Osric and Jonah.

  This was about to become a huge, bloody mess – we couldn’t face warders in open warfare. I had never wanted us to engage in that. My heart clenched with shock to see that one of them was Lutius himself. Traitorous head warder of Kaya, the man I had trusted to protect my city but who had instead handed it to Dren and Galia. Fury exploded within me and I drew my twin swords. His blood was mine: I’d vowed it on the night it all fell apart.

  That was when a voice called from atop the wall – louder than a voice could be without magic. ‘Cease fighting. We have a proposition.’

  I peered up and was shocked to see Dren and Galia standing on the wall, right there, right above us, vulnerable to attack. My eyes darted to my fighters – King Thorne and King Ambrose to one side, Ava to the other. Osric was still at the gate, but he found me and shook his head, indicating his power had been exhausted.

  ‘No one here wants countless casualties today. So before bloodshed begins, we will offer you a chance at mercy or victory.’

  I rode closer and kept firm hold of my swords.

  ‘In ancient times battles were avoided by naming two to meet in single combat. We propose that both armies choose their best fighter. If our champion wins, you will surrender. All those from Pirenti will leave Kaya, while any Kayan soldiers will be shown mercy under our reign. If your fighter wins … well. My husband and I will come down from this wall and face you alone, and you may do your best to destroy us without having to go through an army.’

  The Pirenti brothers came to my side. ‘It’s a good deal,’ Ambrose breathed.

  ‘That’s what I’m concerned about,’ I said. They’d been about to annihilate us. Why intercede and risk their victory?

  ‘I will fight,’ King Thorne growled, and I nodded.

  ‘This feels like a trap, Fal,’ Ava said.

  ‘Do we have an agreement?’

  I hesitated. Ava was surely right, but what choice did we have? I failed to see who could beat King Thorne in single combat. If they tried anything after he won, we would just have to face it then. ‘Aye, a deal!’ I shouted. ‘Send your soldier out.’

  ‘Call your people away from the wall. Any use of magic will immediately void the deal.’

  I motioned for Osric and the rest of my soldiers to pull back alongside me.

  The gate opened, not all the way, but a little. Enough for a single soldier to ride out onto the grassy plain. A small pale woman, calm and unafraid as she held her head high.

  My heart plummeted into my stomach and my pulse rushed. What the fuck was she doing? Casting a swift look at my companions, they all looked aghast.

  King Thorne looked at me, confused. His axe went a little limp in his hand. ‘I’ll not kill that woman,’ he said. ‘Not her.’

  My mind raced. Why was she …? It couldn’t be that … that she had actually joined them, could it? My soul revolted at the idea, but I could no longer cast it off so easily. If she was willing to fight to the death for Dren and Galia, then how could I think she hadn’t joined them? And if that was true, if that was the case, there was no one who could do this. No one who could beat the Sparrow.

  Except maybe me.

  Breathing heavily, I swung to the ground.

  ‘What are you doing?’ Ava demanded. ‘Get back on your horse.’

  ‘Falco!’ Osric snapped.

  ‘Wait, Fal,’ Ambrose said. ‘It shouldn’t be you.’

  ‘You can’t fight, Falco!’ I heard Ava shout in panic. Then, ‘Stop him.’

  ‘Hold, boy,’ King Thorne ordered, placing himself in front of me.

  I looked up at him, this giant of a man. Surely he’d be the better pick. Surely he could kill such a tiny girl, if one of us had to. Surely I was a madman, walking to my death and the deaths of thousands. Walking to our defeat. All of that was in his eyes.

  ‘She’s my mate,’ I told him again. ‘This is my land, my country, so it shall be my burden.’

  ‘But you can’t do it, kid,’ he tried. ‘You haven’t learned to fight.’

  I let my eyes shift scarlet for fury and for blood and for the woman I loved. With these bleeding eyes I said, ‘Get out of my way.’

  He did.

  I walked and walked to meet her. My boots crunched on the early morning grass. The trill of a bird reached my ears, strangely, and I couldn’t imagine in those long moments where it might be coming from. I was desperate to know what kind of bird it was. Desperate, too, for this to be one of her dreams, one of her terrible, terrible dreams. />
  I reached Isadora. She had dismounted and was waiting for me as the sun rose.

  ‘Tell me this is part of a plan,’ I begged her. ‘Tell me, little Sparrow, that this isn’t what it seems. Because if it is – if you’ve really betrayed me and all of Kaya – I’m going to have to fight you, and one of us is going to die, and I’ll have to do whatever I can to make sure it isn’t me.’

  Looking into my eyes, Isadora said very clearly, ‘Fate’s fools no longer, Emperor Feckless.’ And then she attacked.

  Chapter Thirty-three

  Isadora

  The idiot wasn’t getting it. Still. Which was frustrating because he was meant to be the smart one in our pair. I supposed he would know soon enough, and to be fair, my whole plan was designed to make him think he had to fight me to the death.

  It came down to this. I couldn’t get Penn into the palace without getting him killed, so I had to get Dren and Galia out to him. I also had to stop two armies from slaughtering each other, because no matter who won I couldn’t live with that much death, when I alone could fight and die instead. Getting the Mad Ones to agree to this was trickier, but when they heard that the risk was minimised to the possibility that Emperor Feckless – worst fighter in the realm – could beat the Sparrow in single combat, they believed it was a pretty safe bet. I kill him, his army surrenders, my soldiers are loyal to the Mad Ones and they proceed to conquer the world. The only reason they’d believed this, I knew, was because they had so little faith in the human capacity for love.

  What was actually going to happen was quite different, if I had any say in it.

  And so here we were. Falco with his drawn twin swords, begging me to tell him that this was part of an elaborate plan. As though I could just blurt out that yes, it was, while gods-damned Dren and Galia stood above, listening. You really are an idiot sometimes, Falco.

  All I could give him was one giant clue. ‘Fate’s fools no longer, Emperor Feckless.’

  Ava

  Five seconds ago I was sure he was about to die. The Emperor of Kaya was a dead man walking, this whole realm was going to fall under warder reign with no hope of escape, and the rest of us were likely to die here, massacred by magic. Not one of us believed for a second that the offer of mercy handed down by the Mad Ones was anything other than bullshit.