Swallowing his fury, he forced himself to stand and stretch. “How many demons have you brought with you? Ten? Twenty? A hundred?”
“There are no demons here,” Ethan insisted. “I released them all after—”
“Liar!” Jason hissed. “I can see the taint clinging to you. I can feel the corruption seeping through the entire camp!”
Ethan eyed his son carefully, as if trying to decide whether or not he was bluffing. But before he could reply, Selvhara slid over next to Jason and placed a calming hand on his back.
“No more lies, Ethan,” she whispered. “We know about Lyebel and Solaria. We know the truth.”
“Do you?” he asked, crossing his arms. “Do you really?”
“You led Kyle and Ria to their deaths, and your demons butchered an innocent family in Celenest,” Jason said. “If Tevek or Elade were here, they would cut you down.”
“The vaeyn might, but we both know Tevek never had the courage to follow through with his convictions. And now he’s dead, disgraced by his precious order and cut down in a futile defense of a worthless king.”
Jason clenched his jaw as a boiling flood of rage suddenly welled up inside him. “He died defending an innocent man against a monster. He died a hero.”
“But he died nonetheless,” Ethan replied matter-of-factly. “He spent his life coddling a nation of craven fools, and now his ashes cool even as the Alliance burns. Tevek refused to accept the truth, and in the end it destroyed him. Just like I told him it would, many times.”
“Please let me hurt him now,” Tam pleaded from his perch in the corner of the tent. A puff of flame blazed in his outstretched palm. “I’m already sick of listening to his prattle.”
“You won’t distract us that easily,” Selvhara said, her voice calm even though Jason could see her arms trembling. “This isn’t about Tevek—this is about you, Ethan. Tell us what you’ve done. Tell us whatever it is you’re planning.”
“Or what?” Ethan asked. “You can’t intimidate me. You should know better than that.”
Tam stepped forward, and the puff of flame leapt back and forth between his palms. “We can certainly try.”
Ethan snorted. “Please. The moment I so much as cry out, you will all be damned. The cousin of the hated King Zharrs and the man carrying around a divine spark…if Clan-Lord Halfren knew you were here, he would order his entire army to subdue you.”
“Which is precisely why I shielded the tent inside a sound-proof bubble,” Jason said. “It’s a little trick I learned from the goddess living inside me, and trust me: there’s more where that came from. I can rip what I need from your mind if you don’t cooperate.”
His father stared at him for what felt like a small eternity before an all-too-knowing grin tugged at his lips. “So you are strong enough to control the spark, after all. Good. At least its power hasn’t been wasted. Galvia needs an Ascendant now more than ever.”
“Tell us why you’re here, Ethan,” Selvhara repeated. “Now.”
Ethan shrugged. “My plan is the same as it has always been: I will retake Ashenfel and drive the Crell out of Galvia once and for all. Everything I’ve done has been a means to that end.”
“Right,” Jason muttered. He let out another deep breath and forced himself to relax. His father had always been good at worming his way beneath people’s skins—it was one of his best negotiating tactics. Angry people didn’t think clearly, and Jason scolded himself for being baited so easily. Thankfully Selvhara was here to keep him grounded. “So how did you dupe the Asgardians into helping you?”
“I didn’t ‘dupe’ them into anything. I presented them with an opportunity for conquest, and they took it.” Ethan glanced back over his shoulder to Sarina. “I see you still keep your pet barbarian around. Surely you know how easy it is to goad her people into a fight.”
“If you goad too hard, she’ll break every bone in your body,” Tam warned. “Not that I’d mind the entertainment.”
“What about the Solarians?” Jason asked. “From what I’ve heard, the war is going badly, yet the Alliance was willing to commit priests and dragons all the way up here? Why in the Void would Queen Krystia agree to that?”
“Because despite her naivety, the young queen understands that liberating Galvia is the key to winning this war,” Ethan explained. “The death of Sovereign Verrator will make the other Sovereigns nervous. The Crell will suffer a significant blow to morale, especially their Imperators.”
Jason frowned. “Wait a minute—you’ve been in contact with Krystia? She knows you’re alive?”
His father smiled. “She knows a lot of things. We’ve been planning this for a long time, you see.”
“What do you…?”
Jason didn’t gasp or faint or do anything else normally associated with a blinding epiphany, but in that single terrifying moment, he finally understood. The demonic attacks in Lyebel that had initially brought the Solarians closer to war, his father’s presence in Celenest just before Areekan’s assassination, and now Jason’s inability to sense even the most basic surface thoughts from the man sitting just a few feet in front of him….
“Krystia,” Jason breathed, the punched-in-the-gut feeling returning in full force. He stumbled backwards, and if not for Sel’s hand on his back he might have lost his balance completely. “She’s been a part of this all along…”
“Uh, what in the Void are you talking about, Jace?” Tam asked, glancing nervously between the others. “Krystia has been a part of what?”
Jason tried to swallow but nearly choked instead. It was all so obvious he wanted to smack himself for not putting everything together earlier. “Her Ascension wasn’t a fortuitous accident,” he rasped. “She’s the one who killed him—she’s the one who killed Areekan.”
A grim silence settled across the tent, and Jason had to bite down on his lip to keep from screaming. It was hard to believe. No, it was impossible to believe. Yet the truth was sitting there staring him right in the face. The little girl he had rescued at Fort Isen all those years ago—the full-grown woman with whom he had reconnected just a few months earlier—had conspired with his father to start a war with the Crell and murder the king of Solaria. And she had managed to completely conceal the truth from him even while their minds had been linked.
“Jason,” Sarina said, her voice cutting into his reverie. “What the hell is going on?”
“Krystia and my father organized this whole war,” he whispered. “The demons in Lyebel were meant to provoke a response from the Alliance Council, which they did. They sent soldiers into Lyebel, which further antagonized the Sovereigns and ultimately pushed them to invade. Krystia knew the king would be vulnerable during the battle, and she took the opportunity to murder him and claim his divine spark.”
“It’s a little more complicated than that,” Ethan said, his smile widening, “but you’re more or less correct.”
“But why?” Tam asked, shaking his head. “Why in the hell would she do that? Just to steal the king’s power and Ascend?”
“Men have done far worse for far less,” Selvhara murmured.
“True, but Krystia didn’t really care about the spark,” Ethan said. The old smug, self-satisfied tone had returned to his voice. He might have started this conversation on the defensive, but he was once again in complete control. “She believed that eliminating Areekan was the only way to free her fellow Unbound from their prison…and she was probably right. Areekan was a tired old fool with little courage and no vision for the future. Solaria needed a fresh start.”
“And you needed the Aether back,” Jason said, his eyes narrowing. “You can channel again, can’t you? That’s how you’re blocking me out.”
Ethan smiled. “Yes.”
Tam leapt backwards, and a sphere of flame appeared in each palm. “The instant you try to channel, I’ll roast you alive.”
“Which would bring the entire army down upon you,” Ethan commented, shaking his head. “I had assumed my
son would surround himself with more competent allies over the years. Evidently, I was mistaken.”
Jason hissed between his teeth and forced himself to concentrate on the present. Whatever Krystia had or hadn’t done, he could worry about her later. Right now they had an even more pressing issue.
“So you’re here on Krystia’s behalf trying to retake Ashenfel,” Jason said. “But you never answered my first question: how many demons are here with you?”
Ethan stared at him for a few seconds before shrugging. “There is only one demon in this camp right now. I dispatched the rest to Ashenfel in order to undermine the city’s defenses.”
“Then banish them,” Selvhara demanded. “Now.”
“I can’t.”
Jason’s eyes narrowed. “Can’t or won’t?”
“I can’t banish them if I can’t see them,” Ethan explained, “and releasing control would only leave them free to rampage across the city. I doubt you want that.”
Jason shared a glance with Tam and Selvhara, but they both just shrugged in response. No one here was an expert on Void-summoning techniques, and that combined with his father’s resistance to telepathy meant they had no way to argue with his assertions. At least not for the moment.
“All right, fine,” Jason said. “Then let’s start by releasing the one here in camp.”
Ethan shook his head. “I can’t do that, either. Not unless you want this entire army to descend into chaos.”
“What do you mean?”
“Why are we even listening to him?” Sarina interrupted with a snarl. “You know he’s just going to sit here and lie to us over and over again. Let’s just kill him and be done with it.”
Ethan sighed and shook his head at Jason. “Of all the noblewomen you could have married, what possibly compelled you to choose an Asgardian troll with—
Before Jason could move—before anyone in the tent could move—Sarina lunged forward and punched his father right in the face. Ethan’s nose crunched like someone had stepped on a twig, and he tumbled several feet across the hard ground before he regained his balance and swore viciously.
“You illiterate barbarian cunt!” he hissed, spitting blood from between his teeth. “You have no idea what you’re doing.”
“I know that it felt good,” Sarina said, cracking her knuckles. “And I know I wouldn’t mind doing it again.”
Ethan growled and hauled himself to his feet. “Put a collar on your bitch before she ruins everything. Unless you want the Crell permanently standing guard over your mother’s grave, we’re going to have to work together here.”
Jason winced despite himself. “We didn’t come here to make an agreement—we came here to get answers.”
“And you’ll get them,” Ethan said, spitting out another glob of blood. “But whether you like it or not, you’re going to have to help me. My minion in the camp is currently in possession of the Clan Lord’s top advisor, Warmaster Jorgir. If you kill me, he’ll murder Halfren and turn this entire camp into a bloodbath.”
“That’s how you did it,” Selvhara whispered, her lip quivering in disgust. “That’s how you manipulated the Asgardians into helping you.”
“I gave them the push they needed, nothing more. And before you spew nonsense about possessing an innocent man, Jorgir is a known monster who murdered and raped his way into Halfren’s good graces. He deserves your scorn, not your pity.”
“I don’t care if he’s the High Sovereign’s executioner,” Tam put in. “No one deserves to have a demon stuck inside him. We have to warn the other Asgardians.”
Ethan snorted. “And what exactly do you think that would accomplish? They would kill him and Halfren before turning on each other.”
“Or they’ll just go home,” Jason said. “You tricked them into coming here and fighting your war.”
“As usual, you prattle on about things you do not understand. Halfren has already defied the High King by sending his troops across the border. Every man and woman in this camp is already a traitor. This is a one-way trip, and the only way it ends is with their death or the sacking of Ashenfel.” Ethan’s eyes flicked back to Sarina. “Ask your troll. These are her people.”
For a few tense heartbeats, Jason wondered if Sarina might throw her axe right into his father’s skull despite his warnings—and for another few heartbeats, he wondered if he would care. But then instead she hissed between her teeth and nodded.
“He’s right,” she whispered. “They won’t turn back—they can’t turn back. Halfren must believe that he’ll gain enough glory sacking Ashenfel to draw other warriors to his banner. With a victory like this, he might eventually be able to challenge my cousin’s authority.”
“We can’t just allow a man to remain possessed by a demon,” Selvhara said. “It’s abhorrent.”
“That is exactly what you have to do,” Ethan replied. Despite his rapidly-swelling cheek and nose, he looked calm to the point of being smug. “You can’t kill me, and you can’t tell the Asgardians the truth. The only option is to press forward and attack Ashenfel together. Once the battle is over, you can tell them anything you want. You can even kill me, if your conscience demands it. By then Galvia will be free, and that is what matters. That’s the only thing that has ever mattered.”
Jason sighed and glanced away. Now that he had mostly managed to control his rage, despair threatened to take over. He hadn’t known what to expect when they’d planned this confrontation…but this definitely wasn’t it.
“Hate me all you want, son,” Ethan said softly. “But if you care about Galvia, there is only one choice. Help me fight the Crell—help me drive them from our home once and for all.”
“You’re mad,” Tam whispered. “You’re absolutely barking mad.”
Ethan shrugged. “I am also right. Like it or not, war is upon us. And it’s finally time for you to choose a side.”
“Let me hit him again,” Sarina said. “Better yet, let me stab him and be done with this.”
Jason closed his eyes and tried not to be sick. “We can’t,” he breathed. “He’s right—we don’t have a choice. We have to help him.”
“You can’t be serious, Jace,” Tam stammered. “He’s a monster!”
“I know,” Jason whispered. “But right now he’s also Galvia’s only hope.”
***
“In a lifetime of bad ideas, this is easily his worst one yet,” Tam grumbled as he slid into the newly propped-up tent and tossed his bedroll onto the near-frozen ground. “You need to go and beat some sense into him. Galivar knows he won’t listen to me.”
“Keep your voice down,” Sarina admonished. She closed the tent flap and then dropped her own pack. “We’ve already drawn enough attention to ourselves as it is.”
“Yeah, well, I’m a lot less worried about an army of Asgardians than I am about the maniacal warlock we’ve evidently decided to help. I’ve half a mind to burn down the whole camp and save him the trouble of stabbing us in the back.”
Sarina sighed and flexed her left hand. Her knuckles were already swelling after punching Ethan, but she would have gladly broken skin for the privilege of walloping on him a few more times. Jason, Sel, and Gor were all still with Ethan right now, and she was tempted to take Tam’s advice and just attack before they got themselves in even more trouble. But she knew they couldn’t, and thankfully no one else in the army had shown any interest in bothering them. Ethan had told the officers that they were “Galvian resistance fighters” as well as old friends, and miraculously the cover seemed to be working. At least for now.
She probably shouldn’t have been so surprised. Keeping track of several thousand soldiers was difficult enough, and Clan Lord Halfren wasn’t in a position to turn away help. Her main concern was that someone would recognize them, especially Jason. Rumors about his exploits with a divine spark had surely crossed into Asgardia by now, and if they heard his real name they would quickly realize he was Ethan’s son. The situation could turn very awkward very quic
kly.
And then, of course, there was the trifling little fact that she was the cousin of the High King. Off-hand, she wasn’t sure if Halfren would be more interested in getting his hands on her or the divine spark…
“Jason said you could leave if you wanted,” Sarina muttered into the silence. “No one’s forcing you to stay.”
“That’s what he always says because he knows full well I have nowhere else to go,” Tam replied sourly. “Galvia was his home, not mine. I barely ever lived here.”
“Maybe not, but you are still Galvian. You should still care what happens to your people.”
He shrugged. “Orphans rarely have cause for patriotism. Especially when they’re Unbound.”
Sarina turned and frowned at him. “I thought you trained at the Lyebel Aether Academy for a while.”
“Sure, right up until the Crell trashed it during the war,” Tam said. “But that was a long time ago, and I never lived in a fancy castle like Jace. I don’t owe these people anything.”
“So what exactly do you want us to do, then?”
“I want us to do what we came here to do: kill that withered old bastard and then get the hell out of here.”
“Except that killing him would set his demons loose and unleash a wave of destruction,” Sarina said. “You heard what he said.”
“I heard him just fine—I just don’t understand why we’re all so willing to believe him. He could be making this shit up for all we know.”
She raised her eyebrows at him. “What if he’s not? Are you willing to take that risk?”
Tam waved his hand and groaned in disgust. “All I’m saying is that we shouldn’t take him at his word. He’s using us to get what he wants, and when this is all over he’ll just disappear again. It’s what he does.”
“In this case, what he wants is the same thing we do,” Sarina said. “Are you seriously going to tell me that you’d rather have the Crell in charge of Ashenfel?”
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