“She’s dead.”
He furrowed his brow. “What?”
She relaxed her stance. “She died in the battle of the Den’tari Foothills.”
“You were there?”
She nodded.
The news seemed to hit Cadrin hard. His struggles to maintain an unmoved countenance were obvious.
“How did she die?”
“She died defending Lahara,” she replied.
He stared into space. “I barely escaped. I tried to find her, but she was gone. I figured she’d left with someone else. That was the case with her, you know… Always with someone else. When I finally escaped from that horde of… whatever they were… I found myself not caring where she was. Maybe I felt that way all along.”
“She was a… complex person.”
“No need to make excuses. She was a terrible wife. Her desires were insatiable, and she didn’t care who fulfilled them. I put on a good façade, but I knew of her infidelity. The more time that passed, the easier it was to see her for who she really was and not what I pretended her to be.”
She wondered if he knew of her affair with Narelle. She dared not mention it.
Cadrin turned to her. “You knew her well, Olivia. Tell me… Did the woman who shared my bed all those years truly love me?”
“Yes,” she answered in all honesty. “She spoke of you on numerous occasions and expressed how much she cared.”
He sighed. “I know she cared. She cared for her friends. She cared for you. She even cared for our dog. That’s not what I mean. Did she love me?”
“She told me she did.”
“Did you believe her?”
“Yes.”
Cadrin paced and folded his hands behind his back, a trait she had witnessed many times in Lahara. She almost felt sorry for his slight limp.
“I know she hurt you, Cadrin. But this is no reason to wage a war.”
Cadrin stopped. “This war is not about Narelle. But in a way, it is about what she represented. Fear… superstition. They rule this continent, Olivia. They have brought death and destruction to every corner of this cursed land.” He pointed above. “They’re here for the coal. That’s it. That’s all they want. Materialistic, to a fault.” He pointed to himself. “But I’m here to stamp out that fear and end the ruin magic has caused Selandis for centuries.”
“You can’t end magic, Cadrin.”
He clenched his fist. “When we crush this insignificant resistance and dominate this land, we will abolish it.”
She chuckled. “It doesn’t work like that.”
“Oh, I’m no fool. I know you can’t legislate away something like that. But you can forbid the mere mention of it, not through law, but through carefully orchestrated social pressure. In a generation, maybe two, the practice will be taboo.”
“People will speak and perform magic at home, away from the prying eyes of your scheme. You can’t inject us all with that green chemical!”
“You see, Olivia, we don’t have to enforce a thing. Once you successfully label a practice forbidden and shame beyond repair anyone who dare mention it, such practice will vanish. No one will speak their foolish incantations nor read their vile books. And when the subject has left the lips of our people, it will leave their minds.”
She shook her head in disbelief. “It won’t work. They don’t see magic as shameful or forbidden.”
“They will when we remind them the pain and misery it has wrought for centuries and expose how the poor and downtrodden are kept from its secrets. We’ll show how the High Priestess and her chosen elites have locked this knowledge behind gilded doors of initiation. So, you see, my dear friend, it will work. Knowledge not freely spoken is not freely thought. Soon, it will die—locked in the minds of the elders who remember its common practice.”
“Your wife practiced magic,” she said. “If she were living now, would you have her silenced, too?”
He snarled. “Magic never brought Narelle, and me for that matter, anything but pain and misery. She would have been better off without it.”
“How can you decide that for others?”
“They have lost their way,” he replied. “We will free them of their madness and restore order to this continent.”
“And you will fail,” she said. “You underestimate our spirit.”
“You’ve already failed.” He checked the timepiece on his wrist. “Ahh… It’s later than I thought. A raiding party has already put an end to Niv’leana and her pathetic group of rebels.” He stood uncomfortably close. “How does it feel to be at the end of an era?”
Chapter 28
Niv and her companions hunkered down behind the wagons.
“Where are they?” she asked.
Lilly approached from another barricade. “We’re flanked on both sides.”
“The road heads east,” she said. “Let’s head there.”
“It is an obvious escape route,” Farius said.
“A trap?”
“Likely.”
“Magic won’t work on them, but can it work on us?” Lilly asked.
“Defensive magic?” Shareis asked. “We’ve already tried that.”
“No. Something that doesn’t involve them or their senses,” Lilly replied. “Like teleportation.”
“I know the spell,” she said. “But I’ve never tried it. Besides, we have almost two dozen people with us!”
“Can you do it?” Shareis asked.
She looked at Farius. His face drew an immediate incredulous frown.
Lilly looked over the edge of the wagon and barely dodged incoming fire. “We don’t have a choice.”
“Help me,” she said to Farius. He nodded. “Get everyone as close to us as possible.”
Everyone gathered around them. As she joined hands with Farius, she saw Aiden carrying Frasie. Frasie lay unconscious in his arms, his hand, red with blood, pushed firmly to her neck.
She wanted to rush to her friend’s aid, but she knew her divided attention would mean their doom. “Hurry,” she told her father.
She closed her eyes and recalled the spell from the Book of the Arcane in the Temple of the Ael’Shanar library. Rather than mere astral projection, which involved imagining yourself in another location while in a deep meditative state, teleportation required transporting the body as well—a feat that carried the sternest of warnings.
Outside the sanctuary of her mindscape, she heard faint weapons fire, but the combined anxious energy of those surrounding them proved a most palatable distraction. She excluded it as best she could and envisioned a grand circle enveloping them all. A bubble of white-blue arcane energy rose from the ground and covered their entire party.
Niv reached out to Farius and immediately felt the lunar power within him. She welcomed it into her own and offered her energy to their cause. Intense strands of power flowed between them, surging through and over their joined hands, warming their skin.
She held her breath, focused on the symbol for teleportation, and envisioned them in the streets of Ashmar. Suddenly, everything in her mind’s eye went white, then a furious vibration enveloped them. The weapons’ blasts—and their furious yells, drew closer.
“Surrender!”
She leaned her head back and screamed as she put every bit of her focus toward her goal.
Now.
The vibration intensified to the point of pain, and her body started to shake itself apart. Searing heat enveloped her, and then total, frigid darkness.
Where did they go?
They were just here.
Check the surrounding forest. They couldn’t have vanished.
Their words faded. She opened her eyes and saw the inn at Ashmar where they’d met Aiden. It was her strongest memory and thus served as guidepost in their magical travel. They made it.
Weakness permeated her entire being. She wanted to sleep for days. Her eyelids barely stayed open, and she almost drifted off as she sat on the cobblestone street, only to be jolted back to real
ity.
“Niv!”
Aiden approached with Frasie in dire condition. Her color had faded, and they were covered in blood.
“I can’t lose her.”
She thought nothing of herself. Her best friend lay in his arms, and she would not permit death to take her. She laid her hands on her friend’s neck and used the remaining energy she had to heal Frasie.
Others cried for help. Several had serious wounds. Farius put his hand on her shoulder. “I have them.”
Focus was not her issue, though. Sleep-deprived and exhausted from constant use of magic to heal and save them from ambush, there was little left to give. She dug deep into her soul and delivered all the healing power she thought she could send, and then more.
She opened her eyes. “She will live, Aiden.”
Aiden removed his hand from the wound. A clot had formed, and her color gradually improved. His eyes misted, and he smiled.
Farius approached and eased Frasie from Aiden’s arms. “Let us move her and the rest of the wounded to the inn.”
Aiden took his blood-soaked hand and touched Niv’s face. “Thank you, Niv.”
She hugged him. “I would do anything for her.”
Shareis took her hand. “You don’t look well.”
She struggled to remain standing. “I’m not.”
Aiden and Shareis stood on either side of her and bore her weight as she staggered to the inn.
Chapter 29
Adrious and Aja left Valdea, a small hamlet between Ashmar and Gray Oak, riding hard to take advantage of the gentle, wide-open terrain. By the time they had to stop for the evening, he calculated they were only a day away from Ashmar if they could continue their pace.
They camped right on the roadside near a small creek. He watered the horses and started a fire while Aja warmed some biscuits and made some tea. He took a small jar of honey he purchased in Gray Oak and drizzled some on the biscuits.
He savored every bite. “These are the best biscuits I’ve ever had.”
“That’s because we haven’t eaten much today,” Aja said.
“I am not good with provisions…camping…traveling.” He sighed. “I’m not good at a lot of things.”
“You’re an excellent scholar,” Aja said. “I admire your work.”
“And I admire your superb healing skills.”
Aja shrugged. “Fat lot of good that does us both, doesn’t it?”
He chuckled. “It pays our way.”
“I get paid in apples and laying hens,” she said. “If I want meat, I have to buy it.”
“Can’t you eat the chickens?”
“There’s no way I could bring myself to kill one of them.” She frowned. “Besides, I name them.”
“My mother told me never to name anything you might eat.”
“I wouldn’t eat them even if someone else did the butchering,” she said. “The customers that pay in coin take care of my bill at the market.”
He applied honey to his third biscuit. “I should be handier. I grew up on a farm. You’d figure tending to a homestead would have sunk into me.”
Aja smiled. “I think you do fine.”
“If you say so.”
“I do say so. I—”
“What is it?” he asked.
She put her finger over her lips. “Someone’s coming,” she whispered. “I hear hoofbeats.”
The roads were usually safe, but he remained on guard as he listened. It took a while, but he heard them, too.
I wish I had brought a sword.
He lit a torch and stood at the edge of the road. A woman on horseback stopped next to him.
“Good evening.” As she approached the light, he saw her elaborate shimmering blue dress. She must be someone quite important. “Are you from Selandis?”
“Yes. Or rather, I used to be.”
“I’m Adrious.” He pointed to the campfire. “And that’s my friend Aja.”
She nodded. “Pleased to meet you both. My name is Maeva.”
He noted her horse had built a lather. “Well, Maeva, your horse is exhausted. If it were any warmer, he might not be standing.”
“I’ve been unable to find a spot to rest for the evening.”
“You’re welcome to join our camp,” he said.
“You are most kind,” she replied.
He extended his hand and helped her to her feet. “I’ll brush him down and tie your horses with mine by the water. Aja will get you settled.”
After he tended to her horse, he joined them by the fire. He sat next to Aja, and Maeva sat on a log on the opposite side of the fire.
Maeva took a cup of tea and a biscuit. “I appreciate your generosity.”
“It’s no bother,” he said. “Travelers on the open road are all kin. Where are you headed?”
“The Jeweled Woods,” Maeva replied.
“We’re headed there ourselves,” Aja said. “Have you ever been?”
“Many times,” she replied.
After Maeva finished a biscuit, she opened a small traveling bag and produced three cookies. She handed them each one.
“Thank you.” He took a bite. “Cranberries and oats. Delicious.”
“What a lovely treat,” Aja said.
“I wish I could claim credit for making them, but I’m not much of a cook. They are from the bakery in Gray Oak. My younger sister received all the culinary talent in my family.”
“I love your dress,” Aja said.
“Thank you,” Maeva said.
“It looks so magical.” She approached. “May I?”
Maeva nodded. Aja ran her hand over the material. “Exquisite. Only the finest clothing shops in Selandis would sell something like this.”
“It was a present from my elder sister.”
“She must be rich,” Aja said.
He cringed as he waited for Maeva’s disapproval at Aja’s presumption.
“She had no personal wealth but was quite powerful and was owed a favor by a member of the Varesh. This dress was a birthday present.”
“Your sister has excellent taste,” Aja said.
“Had,” Maeva corrected. “She died several years ago.”
Aja’s enthusiastic smile melted. “I’m sorry.”
Maeva’s story stirred a memory. “Your sister… Was she High Priestess Vella?”
“Indeed, she was,” Maeva replied.
“So… You’re Niv’leana’s mother, correct?”
“Yes.”
Aja’s eyes widened. “You’re the High Priestess’s mother?”
“In the flesh.”
“That’s… well, wow…” Aja shrugged. “I don’t know what to say.”
Maeva chuckled. “There’s nothing to say.”
“You’re headed to Niv’leana’s wedding, aren’t you?” he asked.
“That has likely already transpired.”
Aja tilted her head. “Transpired?”
“It’s already happened,” Adrious answered.
Aja frowned. “I’m sorry you missed it.”
Maeva took a deep breath and pondered her words. She stopped herself from speaking several times.
“What is it?” Aja asked.
He couldn’t help but to grin at Aja. Her innocent, playful demeanor and inquisitive nature could draw the truth from anyone.
“I wouldn’t want to trouble you with my family’s problems,” Maeva said.
Aja sat on her hands. “It’s no trouble. I’m Masola’s healer. People tell me all kinds of problems. I can help them, usually.”
Maeva smiled. “If it weren’t for your dark hair and brown eyes, I would swear by the stars you are related to my daughter’s best friend.”
“Frasie?” he asked.
“You know her?”
“Yes, but not well,” he replied. “I will say, though, she has the reddest hair in all the land.”
“She does. How did you meet?” Maeva asked.
“I met them in Selandis when me and my mother went to vi
sit Shareis.”
“Forgive my many questions, but how do you know Shareis?”
“She is my half-sister,” he replied.
She stood. “Are you a Proctor?”
He motioned for her to be at ease. “Oh, no, Maeva. I’m a full-blooded human. Shareis and I share a mother.”
Maeva gradually settled. “My apologies. I… I don’t trust Proctors.”
“I’m well versed in Proctor lore,” he said. “Some humans distrust Proctors.”
Maeva looked away from him. “Yes, well… I feel more at ease that you know my daughter.”
Aja awkwardly flexed her shoulders and scooted closer to Maeva. “Now, tell me what is bothering you.”
“What if I’d rather not?” Maeva asked.
Aja grinned. “Do it anyway. It’s not good to keep all that bottled up inside you. Leads to indigestion, heartburn, and death.”
Maeva raised an eyebrow. “That’s quite a terminal progression.”
“Nasty stuff,” Aja said. “So… As you were saying…”
He’d seen Aja’s interrogative assistance at work many times, sometimes directed toward him. He couldn’t help if she’d met her match.
“I wasn’t saying anything about it.”
“Yet,” Aja added. “Fair enough. I know you don’t want to talk about it, so let’s make this short and skip the beginning. Why did you miss your daughter’s wedding?”
“It was my choice,” Maeva replied.
Aja looked to the stars. “There is bad blood between you.”
“You could say that.”
“You don’t like her new wife.”
Maeva shook her head. “Shareis is… She’s fine.”
“Maybe,” Aja replied. “But you don’t approve of her.”
Maeva took a long time to answer. “No.”
“So, you are going to the Jeweled Woods to apologize to your daughter?”
“Well, not quite,” Maeva said. “My concerns were valid.”
“They aren’t now?”
“It’s not that simple. I tried to explain this to Niv, but she wasn’t having any of it.”
“And she won’t,” Aja said. “You disapprove of her love.”
Maeva swallowed hard. “I know.”
Aja extended her hand. “May I touch you?”
Maeva hesitated but agreed. Aja placed her hand on the back of Maeva’s neck and closed her eyes.
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