“I don’t trust leaving you alone,” he confirmed, his eyes downcast. “The guards are sworn loyal to the King and Queen, and for now, you’re still a potential threat.”
“I’m grateful for your protection,” she said anyway, hating the words. “When my friends arrive, perhaps I can rely more on them for night duty.” She thought she could hold her own in a regular fight, but the unknown magic of alchemy taunted her, as did the suggestion of hidden Brujok spells or even simple poisons.
“You would have them stay in your chambers?”
She shrugged. “Isn’t that what you’re doing? Besides, since my banishment, I’ve always been alone with one or both of them. Sy and I protect each other. Together, we protect Resh.” Coren bit down a smile. Resh would chafe raw under such an idea. He wanted nothing more than his own shifter magic, but the Magi had not yet blessed his blood.
“And your brother?”
“He’s capable of protecting himself. Most likely he will want a fine room with servants and new clothes and entertainment,” she grumbled.
“Do you share powers?”
“We seem to have similar strengths. Weshen shifter magic is paired at each level. Single magic builds and takes apart.” Coren pointed his gaze to the carved wooden bedpost. She shifted it into raw sources and took apart the ornate flowers, creating a slim baton that Dain grasped from the air above his head. Closing her eyes to better feel the source of the wood and those of his skin, she shifted the sources apart again, coating his hand in a glove of wooden shavings.
He grunted when it hardened around his fingers, encasing them completely. “I can’t move them,” he confirmed.
She grinned. “I have a few tricks. Politics and people are my weak points.”
He knocked the wooden hand hard against the arm of his chair, and it cracked a bit. Coren shifted the sources back to the bedpost, mimicking the design of the others until the bed looked untouched again.
“So Single magic allows you to take apart the pieces of wood and put them together however you wish,” he reasoned.
“Yes, and if something is made of multiple sources, like salt water, I can remove the salt. Double magic is different, though. It comes from within, and it changes without.” She concentrated, remembering her reflection as a child. She felt her body shift smaller, her cheeks plump with youth.
“Amazing,” Dain murmured, and she opened her eyes to meet his.
“Double magic also allows me these,” she said, shifting to her own form, and then shaking loose her Vespa wings. She shifted a single claw and held its glistening, poisoned tip toward the General.
He hesitated then touched the claw. “Real,” he said, following it with a curse as he confirmed how sharp it was.
“I hope you didn’t draw blood.” She smiled because she knew he hadn’t. “These are real in every way.”
“How?” he managed, stepping around her to examine the four wings that crowded the ceiling and trailed the floor behind her, brushing both the bed and the far wall.
“The Vespa spirit still lives in me. I can call to it, and sometimes it calls to me. Its sources are hosted inside of mine, and what you see depends on the sources I shift to the outside.” She allowed the full Vespa form to shift into being for a few seconds, her sharp gaze noting the crinkle of fear at the corner of Dain’s eyes. She drew the form back into herself, leaving only the wings because it felt good to stretch them.
“Can your friends do this same magic?”
“Some,” she hedged. “Weshen who possess Double magic can merge with any MagiCreature, but only ever one, and some never possess the power.”
Dain didn’t question her further. From the corner of her eye, she saw his hand stretch toward her feathers, but before he could touch them, she shifted the wings away inside her body. Resh’s fingers on her feathers had always been very sensual - something only they had shared.
The last thing she wanted was for Dain to have the same effect.
“And the SoulShifter that Mara hunted? How does it fit into the magic?” he asked, taking his seat again.
Coren shrugged, leaning against the bed to tug off her boots. “No one really knows for sure. Triple magic hasn’t been seen in our time. There’s always a pairing in the magic, so some believe Triple would be able to take a soul from a body or add one to a body.”
“The power of immortality,” Dain said, nodding. “Countries have fallen for less.”
Coren watched him for a few seconds, debating how much to tell him. But she may need an ally, and when it came to this, Sy and Resh may not be enough. “I believe my brother has enough power to achieve Triple magic.”
Dain’s eyes snapped to hers. “And you?”
“Mara believed so. She guessed mine would come first. But Jyesh has been clipped for so long that he feels it’s his due. He’ll stop at nothing to harness what power he can.”
“Then I will be prepared to stop at nothing in order to prevent that.”
Coren added, “But I pray to the Mirror Magi that he can be redeemed. He’s my family, my brother, and that’s worth something. In a way, he already holds the power of immortality. He was half my soul that I believed dead, now suddenly alive.”
“Yet you agree he must be prevented from claiming the throne?”
“I do,” Coren admitted, finally allowing herself to crawl onto the bed and sink back onto the pillows. She didn’t know Jyesh well enough, and that pained her more than anything. “Do you think I answered enough of their questions tonight?”
She tried to hand him a pillow and blanket, but he waved it away. “You did well. They will always demand more.”
She’d answered vaguely about the husband matter and her plans for Riata. She didn’t want to give them any additional reason for dissent so soon. She’d promised to show her magic to those interested tomorrow at the soldiers’ training grounds.
“I think most of them believe Graeme is dead, for how else could you have the ring. But there’s resistance to the idea that Mara’s fled. It would be very out of character for her,” Dain said.
“Why don’t you send one of the palace Brujok to Rurok to confirm she is gone?”
“It was the first thing I tried to do,” he confirmed. “But I can’t find any of them. All the Brujok under Mara’s and Cusslen’s commands have vanished.”
Coren sat up to look at him. That was either a wonderful removal of a threat or the beginning of a new rebellion.
“It makes me very wary, too,” Dain said, reading her expression.
“And is it rare for both King and Queen to be gone from the palace for an extended time?”
He nodded. “Graeme returned for only a few hours between Weshen and Sulit. Mara must have summoned him because he hadn’t planned to join her there. I’m not even certain he knew of her plan to take the Wesh slaves.”
Coren felt sick at the mention of the children she had promised to help and failed to recognize in time. “Mara will return. I’m sure of it. But I don’t know how long it will take.”
“We’ll be ready for her,” he said, defiance hardening his voice. “Get some rest. In the morning, I’ll send soldiers into the woods to search for your friends.”
Coren drew the covers over herself, dress and all. Her whip was secure around her leg, and she had slipped a dagger beneath her pillow. But somehow, she didn’t think she’d need her weapons tonight.
Something told her she was exactly where she needed to be.
RESH STALKED BEHIND the two Riatan soldiers, hand on his weapon as they neared StarsHelm. The men had brought news that Coren was in the palace, unharmed.
Resh didn’t trust them, because he didn’t trust anyone who wore those burgundy leathers, but he’d rather not take his chances with that maze. Not after the stories Sy and Coren had told him. So, he’d followed but kept his hands loose and ready on his weapons.
“There’s a way through here that avoids the maze,” one said, ducking between two walls of shrubbery. Resh slid a
glance to Sy, who nodded. He was still pale, and he moved with a brittle strength Resh knew couldn’t last.
Jyesh sighed loudly, trudging behind them all. He’d said little on their journey, other than to complain of hunger or fatigue.
“I can’t wait for a decent bath,” the Lord of Witches muttered.
Resh didn’t deign to agree, but he would indeed be glad for the chance to freshen up, eat an excellent meal, and sleep in a real bed. He glared back at Jyesh, though, unwilling to admit they shared anything.
“This way,” called the other soldier, who was several paces ahead. Just past the secret opening was a vast training ground. Resh marveled briefly at the sheer size of the place containing Riata’s army. Across the bright grass, hundreds of soldiers were scattered, in pairs and groups as they engaged in exercises and practice skirmishes.
He eyed them all, wondering if any had been part of the charge against his home.
Ahead a crowd was gathered, and as they neared, Resh noticed these people were finely-dressed Lords and Ladies, plus dozens of burgundy-coated officers. The young pickpocket in him idly scanned their jewels and trinkets, sizing up the vast wealth of these people.
How Shanta and her crew would love slipping like spirits through this crowd. Resh smiled at the thought, almost hungry for that left-behind life of selling talismans and spending casual money in EvenFall. Life was not easy then, but at least it had been fun and free from the heaviness he felt now.
“The girl’s demonstration is beginning,” the first soldier said, pointing.
Resh sucked in a breath as he saw a slim form rise above everyone’s heads, four glistening wings holding her aloft.
Jyesh muttered a filthy, jealous word, and if Resh weren’t too busy ogling Coren’s power, he would have smacked the kid, brother or not.
“She’s incredible,” Sy said.
Coren shifted fully into Vespa form, wheeling above the crowd in lazy circles. Resh knew she could shoot into the heavens in a second and be gone from their lives forever.
Yet she stayed, and this was the most incredible part of all of it. She’d chosen them, even with her young siblings in Sulit.
“She is that,” the soldier agreed. “But know that every one of those Generals watching is calculating how to use that power, and every Lord is wondering if she could be tamed enough to marry.”
“Marry?” Resh repeated, his voice sharp as steel. He glared at the soldier, who held up a hand in apology.
“Aye, if she wants to be Queen. She’ll have to marry a Riatan within the year.”
“Weshen don’t marry,” Resh said, even as he wondered if they would now. Again.
Sy gave Resh a warning look, and Resh nodded. This wasn’t the right place or the right person.
But a second glance between the brothers affirmed that such an outcome would never work. Resh stared at the crowd ahead, vowing that Coren would never be forced to marry against her will, even to save Riata or her own people.
Once she had taught him to understand how cruel the Weshen hunts could truly be - how cruel he had been - Resh had promised himself change. He could be different. He was already.
And Weshen would change, too. If Sy led them, love would make the hunts pointless. If Riata were no longer a threat, there would not be such a thrust toward children.
Sy and Nik would open the way for all types of love Weshen used to practice, even marriage.
“She sees us,” Sy said, breaking into his thoughts as he waved at the sky. The giant Vespa wheeled toward them, plummeting toward the ground. Coren shifted at the last second, hitting the grass at a run. Even with tangled skirts, her two booted feet carried her as swiftly as her wings, and she barreled into Resh and Sy together, grasping her arms around their broad shoulders.
“Thank the Magi,” she breathed, burying her face in Resh’s chest.
He felt like his heart might explode, and he would have grasped her tight and pressed kisses all down her lips and neck, except she stilled against them.
Coren straightened, glancing at Jyesh and the two soldiers. “Thank you for your service in retrieving my friends. It adds to my trust of your General.”
Resh felt his eyes widen at the commanding tone her voice had adopted in the space of barely a day. He grinned, raising an eyebrow at Sy, who gave a slight nod. She sounded like a leader.
Coren turned back to them, looking each over in turn. She held Sy’s eyes for a long moment. “You’re okay?”
He nodded. She pursed her lips in doubt, but she kept quiet on the matter.
Resh glanced up at movement behind her, and he saw a young General making his way through the crowd. He greeted the two soldiers with a nod, and they moved back, absorbed into the troops watching nearby.
“I am General Dain Watersend,” the man said, holding a hand to Sy, then Resh, and finally, Jyesh, who grumbled at the slight of being addressed last. “I command StarsHelm’s Northern Army, and I was the first here to meet Corentine.” He stepped closer, lowering his voice. “Your situation here is precarious, but if it keeps Mara from the throne, I vow to protect our Princess with my life.”
“Thank you,” Sy answered, pleasant surprise in his voice.
“And what of your Prince?” Jyesh asked, shoving in front of Resh. “I have as much claim to Riata as my sister.”
Resh watched as Coren’s eyes rounded, fear swirling in their golden depths. But then her spine straightened, and she looked her brother directly in the eyes.
“No,” she said, her voice firm. “I am first-born, and while I live, you have no claim to this country, its people, or its throne. You have been raised by cruelty, Jyesh,” she added, her voice softening. “You have wounds so deep no healer could touch them. Riata needs more than that. Better.”
Resh sucked in a breath, marveling at the line she’d drawn. He hadn’t expected her to be so blatant. Her brown and gold eyes flicked to his, and he saw the worry there. He nodded to her, silently reminding her of his support. None of them wanted the Lord of Witches to grasp at the throne of Riata. All of them would stand by her decision.
“Don’t worry. You’ll be taken care of here,” she assured her brother. Watersend nodded crisply.
Jyesh huffed aside his embarrassment, words failing him, and Resh guessed the depths of his weaknesses. He was used to being coddled and pampered, but not truly obeyed. As Mara’s pet, he’d likely never had the chance to test himself as a ruler.
Without exchanging a word, Resh and Sy stepped slightly before him and toward each other, closing him off from advancing. Together, they would ensure Riata did not become that test.
“I need to return and finish answering the people’s questions. They’ll have more for each of you,” Coren added. She turned to Watersend. “Can we arrange for a third meeting, maybe after lunch, and allow my friends a chance to eat and rest before facing the court?”
“I’ll see what I can do.” He beckoned to the same two soldiers as before and leaned in to give them quiet instruction.
Coren began to walk back toward the crowd of nobility. One sour-faced man broke free of the others and strode to meet them.
“All Weshen?” he asked, looking them over as though they were beneath him.
Resh bristled - he knew this sort of man. “You have before you two nobles of Weshen and now two of Riata. Show your respect,” he snapped.
The man narrowed his eyes. “You must be the one who carries none of the Weshen magic.”
Something like a growl rose in Resh’s chest, but Sy stepped forward, placing himself fully in the man’s attention. “I am Syashin Havenash, General of Weshen, and two nights ago, I slit the throat of Zorander Graeme. So even if you have no respect for my country, I think it would be prudent for you to show it to the person who toppled your king.”
A general murmur swept through the pampered crowd as Sy’s words rang out, carrying much farther than the man before them. Resh listened carefully, hearing notes of anger, but also those of admiration and reli
ef.
As expected, Graeme had been disliked by his subjects as well as his enemies. This would make for a much smoother transition, indeed.
Chapter 9
DAIN BREATHED A SIGH of relief as Lord Gernant sniffed and turned away, leaving Corentine’s friends alone. The man was impossibly prejudiced against the Weshen people.
Dain called a soldier to him, giving instructions for the Weshen men to be taken into the palace.
“We wish to stay together, with Coren, too,” Sy said, and Dain nodded in agreement. Already, he sensed a common bond with the older Weshen - the one who also claimed General status. The one who now carried the King’s curse.
The King had never shown public evidence of the nightmare that had followed him for decades, but Dain remembered being a boy, scurrying around the castle like a mouse, unnoticed in his hunt for crumbs of information. Graeme’s screams had echoed through the halls many nights, sending servants and healers flying through the darkness to help their King.
“I’ll have you taken to the room Corentine has been using until the court approves her claim to the throne. Once that happens, she will be protected by the guards’ honor and welcome in any room in the entire palace, including the Queen’s private quarters. All of StarsHelm will be at her disposal.”
“We appreciate the gesture,” Resh said. “But don’t be surprised when we remain her primary protection.”
“Of course,” Dain agreed, holding in a smile as he remembered Corentine’s description of the Second Son.
Coren’s brother groaned. “Can we please go now?”
Dain managed not to roll his eyes as the three men were led into the palace. He beckoned to three soldiers. “Find Generals Cusslen, Noshaya, and Harben, and let them know our guests have arrived. Request that they not be disturbed for now. We can afford to let them rest a few hours.” The soldiers nodded and dispersed, and Dain hoped this would be enough for now. Noshaya and Harben would listen to him, but Cusslen was the wild card.
Coren had been called back to the group of court members near the palace walls, and Dain could hear her clear voice quieting their cries and questions.
Dream of Darkness and Dominion Page 8