The Trevi of Torvain

by Kelly Carr

  “Come on,” she said, pulling him over to a shadowy space between two houses.

  “What?” James said. “Don’t you like it?”

  Liana glanced at the bracelet on her wrist and flashed him a brief smile. “It’s lovely, thank you,” she said, but then her face grew serious again. “But we’ve wasted enough time. Tell me what’s been going on up at the castle. Have you found out what Katya is up to?”

  James felt his cheeks flush and hoped Liana couldn’t see it. “Oh yes,” he said. “She shared her aim in coming here quite clearly on the morning after the ball. She met with my father. You know that alliance she suggested?”

  “Your father hasn’t agreed to it, has he?” Liana said, horrified.

  “Well, yes and no. She proposes to ally our kingdoms through marriage.” James heard Liana draw in a sharp breath, but she said nothing, waiting for him to continue. James grimaced. “My father approves of the idea, but as it’s me who would have to marry the woman, he can only do so much. He’s invited Katya to stay as long as she pleases, so she can try to persuade me. I’ve spent the last three days avoiding her, but I can’t hide forever, and I have no good options here. I won’t marry Katya for a whole host of different reasons, but my father is threatening dire consequences if I don’t.”

  “Like what?” Liana asked.

  “Like disowning me and making my sister his heir. Being the future king is a heavy burden, but I was brought up to it. She wasn’t. I wouldn’t wish that on Susan. Besides, I still hope to be a good leader to my people someday.”

  Liana took his hand in hers and squeezed it slightly. “I’m sure you will be. We can figure this out. I know we can. Come on, let’s go find the others and ask what they think.”

  She turned to go, but James drew her back into the shadows, pulling her close. He hesitated at the last moment, waiting to see how she might respond. She smiled and closed the distance between them, pressing her lips to his.

  chapter twenty-five: liana

  When Liana stepped back to take a breath, James let out a low chuckle.

  “What?” Liana said, the color rising in her cheeks.

  James shook his head slightly. “It’s not you. It’s just, can you imagine my father’s reaction if I told him that one of the primary reasons I refuse to marry Katya is because I’ve fallen in love with you instead?”

  Liana pictured the king’s expression and laughed, then gasped as a familiar power washed over her.

  “I see,” said a cold, threatening voice from behind them.

  Liana turned slowly, already knowing who it was by the icy crackle of the Vorshi across her skin.

  “Ah, Katya,” James said ruefully. “I didn’t see you there.”

  “Clearly not,” Katya replied haughtily. “I take it you have been deliberately avoiding me then?”

  “Well…yes,” James admitted. “You’ve put me in a rather awkward position, you know.”

  Katya smiled, and Liana felt a chill run down her spine that had nothing to do with the cold. “Not at all,” she said. “The decision to unite our kingdoms should have been an easy one, but obviously you’ve been distracted. That can be taken care of.” She made a casual gesture, and Liana lifted her arms just in time to block a blast of raw power that would have torn her apart.

  “James, run!” Liana said, gritting her teeth with the effort of maintaining the stone shield she had raised.

  Katya laughed cruelly. “I won’t hurt him, you silly girl. This body’s mind is weak, but it has an unusually strong attachment to Prince James, and he’s of use in my plans as well. You, on the other hand, are only in my way!”

  The flow of power intensified and Liana felt her shield shudder. She looked around for any form of retreat, but suddenly the assault ceased. Liana cautiously peered around her shield and saw James, the blade of his sword held level with Katya’s throat.

  “You’ll let us leave,” he said firmly.

  Katya only laughed. “Rip this body apart if you think it will help, but I’ll only find another.”

  James appeared to consider this and then took a step back and redirected his blade, holding it to his own throat. “I’ll kill myself then. You’ll never have me.”

  Katya’s face twisted with rage and she growled, but her hands shook as she tried to raise them to attack again.

  Liana couldn’t seem to look away, but James seized the opportunity and, grabbing her hand, dragged her out into the street and through the crowd. Her pulse pounded in her ears as she struggled to catch any sound of pursuit. People cried out as she and James stepped on their toes and knocked them into one another in their mad dash to get away.

  When they reached the opposite side of the market square from where they had started, they stopped to catch their breath, looking around wildly for any sign of danger.

  “I think we lost her,” James said.

  “I’m not sure we should have run,” said Liana. “I’m the Mother of Magic. I should have stayed and faced her.”

  “You weren’t prepared,” James pointed out. “She caught you off guard.”

  Liana’s mouth twitched, despite the grim circumstances. “I suppose she did, rather,” she said.

  James caught her mood and pulled her in for another kiss. Liana allowed it for a moment, then pushed him away. “Come on, we need to find the others and make sure they’re safe.”

  Just then, the shrill scream of a child rose above the sound of the music and excited voices in the square. Liana felt the blood drain from her face as she glanced around for the source of the disturbance. Nearby, a little boy stood cringing in fear as a Genvu towered over him, reaching for him with one clawed hand.

  Liana was by his side at once, sword drawn. She swept the boy back into James’ arms and, wincing as she sliced her hand on her sword, plunged the blade through the creature’s midsection. It shrieked and reached for her as it fell to the ground, but she leapt nimbly out of the way.

  As the Genvu’s howl faded, Liana realized that the music around them had ceased. All attention had turned to her, James, and the monster. No one had noticed the eight other Genvu who had just crept into the square. She shouted a warning, but it came a second too late. The creatures dove into the crowd, swiping this way and that with their lethal claws. Screams from further away indicated that the rest of the city was also under attack.

  Liana glanced around for Valeria and Elias, but they were nowhere to be seen. Several of the Trevi of Torvain came to her side immediately, however. Their eyes were wide as they faced the reality of everything she had warned them about.

  “What do we do, my lady?” asked an Undine whose name she couldn’t recall.

  Liana’s mind raced. How could she best protect the city and the people? “Protect the royal families!” she said as a thought occurred to her. “At all costs!”

  The Trevi darted away, reaching for weapons they had hidden between buildings and under wagons, never genuinely believing they would need to use them.

  Liana looked back at James. His face was white, and his eyes gazed at the chaos around them as though he didn’t really believe what he was seeing. She grabbed his hand and dragged him across the square to where she had last seen the royal families.

  “Liana!”

  She turned and found that Valeria and Elias had joined them. Tears of relief sprang to her eyes, but she forced them back. No time for that.

  “Where’s Susan?” she asked.

  “She went to find a bow and arrows,” Valeria said, her pace never slackening as they fought their way through the horde of people frantically running in the opposite direction.

  Liana made a low sound of frustration. “I can’t see a thing in all this. Where are they?” She unfurled her glider and jumped into the air, then just as quickly returned to the ground when she saw every Genvu’s eye turn on her. However, that brief glimpse of the scene around her had been enough. “Come on!” she said.

  Without waiting to see if her friends would follow, she tu
rned in a different direction and a minute later, they burst through the crowd. The kings and queens of Torvain and Marakai were backed against a wall, their eyes wide with fear and confusion, as five Genvu advanced on them, their teeth and claws bared.

  Without a thought, Liana launched herself at the nearest Genvu. She hacked at its neck with her bloody sword as it flailed in every direction, trying to tear her off. Nearby she heard the sounds of similar struggles and knew that her friends had joined the fight. At last, the creature’s head tumbled to the ground, its body collapsing underneath her.

  Liana wiped her bloody hands on her cloak and took in the scene around her. Three more Genvu lay crumpled on the ground, James, Valeria, and Elias standing over them, panting, their eyes fixed on the fifth. It crouched over the bloody, lifeless shapes of a man and a woman, their expensive furs sodden with blood. She barely had time to recognize the woman as the queen of Torvain before James threw himself at the monster with a yell.

  It turned towards him, one clawed hand reaching out to tear him apart, but Liana saw it. Her own sword came down on the creature’s arm in a single decisive motion. It howled as the limb fell to the ground. The sound abruptly cut off as James brought his blade down on its neck. Kicking its head away, he fell to his knees at his mother’s side.

  It was too late. Liana had known it from the moment she saw the bodies. The queen’s eyes stared blankly up at the clouds, her mouth slightly open in surprise and shock. Beside her, King Haku lay trying to staunch the flow of blood from a wound on his stomach. It was no good. Liana knelt beside him.

  “Did you get it?” he gasped.

  “Yes,” Liana said, “but there are many more.”

  King Haku nodded, his teeth clenched with pain. “Then you’d better go deal with them, my lady. I must admit to feeling some regret that I didn’t help you when I had the chance.”

  Liana shook her head but said nothing. A movement at the edge of the square caught her eye. Only the royals, Liana, Valeria, Elias, and the Trevi of Torvain remained. The Trevi held their weapons at the ready, as the sound of low snarls met their ears.

  “We need to move,” said Elias.

  “Go,” King Haku said firmly. “Protect Queen Saya. She’ll be needed to guide my son. He’s only ten. Only ten…” he murmured, as if to himself.

  “I’m sorry,” said Liana, though she wasn’t sure exactly what for.

  Queen Saya looked as though she would have liked to say something to her husband, but he shook his head.

  “Go, Saya.”

  Liana gave her no choice. She grabbed the woman’s arm, and James took his father’s. Together they went to join the Trevi of Torvain, just as dozens of Genvu came bursting from between the houses, eyes bright with anticipation at the feast before them.

  “Come on!” Liana said. “We have to get out of here!”

  “We’re abandoning the city?” James said.

  “We have to,” Liana yelled, blocking a blow from one of the Genvu and knocking the creature into the air with a blast of wind. “We don’t have the numbers to hold out against them!”

  Even as she said it, she knew there were already too many. Their way out was blocked by a host of monsters too powerful for them to defeat. She felt a scream of frustration and hopelessness forcing its way up her throat.

  At that moment, a flurry of arrows came flying down into the confusion. Looking up, Liana nearly let out a hysterical laugh. Susan had attached a glider to her feet and was hanging upside down in mid-air, firing arrows at their attackers. It didn’t look particularly graceful or comfortable, but it was effective. The Genvu retreated just enough for the Trevi to force their way out of the square.

  There wasn’t enough room for everyone to keep together in the streets. Liana raised her voice to let everyone know where she was and what direction they were going. She didn’t know what she said, but she shouted until her voice was hoarse.

  The Genvu were hot on their heels. As they approached the edge of the city, Liana sent Valeria and Susan ahead of her, taking her place as leader while she, Elias, James, and to her surprise, the king, stayed behind to defend them from the rear. The king seemed to be in a daze, but his fighting skills were undiminished. Liana had never seen him wield a sword before, but now it became clear where James got his talent with a blade. However, the king had never been taught how to fight the Genvu. He seemed bewildered that each of his blows had only a temporary effect.

  “Come on!” Liana said and, taking James’ hand, she turned and made a mad dash for the forest, Elias and the king right beside them, but the Genvu were too fast. In desperation, she reached for her glider. She had never attempted to carry anyone with her when she flew. She knew it was possible, but she looked at the fabric with a sinking feeling in her stomach. It might bear the weight of one extra passenger, or even two, but not three. Still, she had to try. She drew together her power to call the wind to lift them, but just then, she felt James’ hand yanked from her grasp.

  “No!” she gasped, whirling around, sword raised to cut down the offending monster, but it wasn’t a Genvu. It was Queen Katya. She stood further back than Liana would have guessed. One of her arms was wrapped around James’ waist, the other held a jewelled dagger at his throat. She met Liana’s eyes and smiled triumphantly.

  Liana took a step towards her, then fell to the ground as a blast of power knocked her off her feet. When she got up again, Katya was gone, and so was James.

  “No!” she yelled again. She gripped her sword tighter and gritted her teeth as she prepared to run into the army of Genvu now gathered at the edge of the city.

  “Liana!” Elias said sharply.

  She ignored him and took another step, then suddenly found herself caught in an iron grasp. She struggled fiercely, trying to free herself, but Elias held too tightly.

  “Let me go!” she said.

  “No,” Elias said firmly. “It’s too late. The city is taken, and the prince is gone, but your people still need you. You can’t abandon them even to pursue someone you love.”

  Tears of frustration and anger poured down Liana’s cheeks, but she knew he was right. She relaxed slightly, and Elias cautiously let her go. She and the king gazed back at the city. Heavy snow was beginning to fall. Liana could practically taste the Vorshi in the air. The Genvu seemed in no hurry to leave. They had won their prize. In a single evening, Torvain had been lost.

  Liana felt Elias tug at her sleeve. Reluctantly, she turned her back on the city and followed him out into the darkness, the snow quickly covering their tracks behind them.

  Book Three

  chapter one: susan

  Susan stood atop the Cliffs of Kerval, staring out towards the sea. In the distance, she could just see the walls of Corralis. Nothing moved in all the space between except for a lonely falcon, searching for some small creature to keep starvation at bay.

  The wind picked up, stinging Susan’s cheeks. She shivered and wrapped her furs more tightly around her shoulders. It should have been spring by now, but winter seemed to grip Torvain more tightly than ever. Months had passed since Katya took the city, and still the fields below lay cold and lifeless beneath a thick blanket of snow. It was as though the whole world beyond the Erean Forest had been erased, wiped out by the queen who now ruled from the throne that rightfully belonged to Susan’s family.

  A twig snapped next to her, and Susan turned to see that Liana had joined her. Neither of them spoke. It wasn’t necessary. Their eyes fixed on the same spot at the edge of the western woods, eager to catch the slightest movement. Valeria had left on a raid the previous day. Over the past few months, it had been necessary to send small parties of Trevi into the city. A handful of Humans who had managed to resist the Vorshi's influence remained trapped there. The raiding parties had attempted to rescue them and retrieve supplies for those sheltering in the forest.

  Neither Susan nor Liana were permitted to join the raids. They were judged too important to risk on such dangerous missions. H
owever, Valeria and Davu were nearly always amongst the raiders, and it never got easier waiting for them to come back. The Genvu’s numbers were growing as the Vorshi’s power permeated the city, turning weak-minded Humans into monsters. They were now so numerous that it was common for the raiders to come back injured…or not at all.

  There was a cough from behind them, and Susan looked back to find Elias just reaching the top of the cliffs.

  “Two hundred more soldiers have arrived from Marakai, Liana,” he said.

  Liana turned away from the edge of the cliff with a sigh. “That’s fewer than we had hoped,” she said bleakly.

  “It’s been a hard winter everywhere,” Elias replied, leaning over to catch his breath. “The other kingdoms need to protect their own borders now. They can only give us so much help without putting themselves at risk.”

  Susan looked away to hide the pitying expression that crossed her face. In the short time she had known Elias, the man’s hair had gone from silver to white. His face, too, was beginning to show the years as lines appeared on his forehead and the sides of his mouth. Whatever magic had kept Elias alive for millennia appeared to be failing at last. They could all see it, but no one ever spoke of it, though she saw Liana staring at him sometimes with a look of concern in her eyes.

  “How many does that make in total?” Liana was asking.

  “Perhaps two thousand who will join us to fight. Of those, only about half can use magic or weapons with any degree of skill. The rest will do their best, but…”

  He didn’t need to finish the thought. The rest were unlikely to fare well against the Genvu.

  “Do we have enough food to feed them all?” Liana asked.

  “We may have enough to last us another—“

  Elias stopped as there was a shout from below. They all looked towards the woods. A flash of movement caught Susan’s eye, and a moment later, the raiders burst from the trees, hotly pursued by ten Genvu.