This was the Alex I was only beginning to know, since I'd missed out on the last three years of his life, so I devoured everything Myez said about him—even when he said it was no secret that King Darius had sent Vera to serve in Alioth with Alex, because my grandfather thought it would make a suitable match. I remembered the dance at the festival, Vera in that voluptuous red dress, and, thanks to Lord Cethin, the memory was very clear. I didn't like remembering Vera in that way, especially after all we'd been through together. She'd become a good friend, one I trusted with my life, but hearing this from Myez struck a sour note in me. Because at the end of the day, Vera had been there for all of Alex's victories and I had not.
I asked Myez if my grandfather usually busied himself with aegis' love lives, to which Myez replied, emphatically, "no," and we both knew why my grandfather had busied himself with Alex's. Actually, according to Myez, the whole kingdom knew, though they pretended they didn't. When I asked Myez how the whole kingdom had known, when I'd been such a dolt about the whole thing, all he said was, "King Darius's beautiful granddaughter arrives, and he sends his most talented, promising aegis as far away as possible. You do the math."
I didn't need to be very good at math to solve that one.
Myez also added that when I arrived on Gaia, he didn't know if the kingdom's sudden infatuation with me was because I was a long-lost princess, or because I was the "girl who'd caught the eye of Aegis Alexander Del Conte." Apparently, the whole kingdom had been obsessed with catching Alex's eye, even though he'd never expressed interest in the kingdom. This made my heart feel a little fuller.
Myez let me stand up as long as I put most of my weight on my good ankle. He even let me walk around some, as long as I didn't walk very far or for very long. My ankle throbbed, but it wasn't nearly so bad now. All that rest had helped me heal. I still couldn't lace my boot all the way, but at least I could put it on—even with our feeble bindings. I was even able to explore some nearby sections of the valley.
I'd used more pumice stones to tag my path so I wouldn't get lost, even though I never walked very far. After that last venture, I wasn't taking any chances. There'd been a huge patch of huckleberries about a quarter-mile from the stone trench, and I'd gotten pretty good at hobbling my way from our cave and through the trench to that particular patch of berries. So good, I didn't have to look at my stone markers very much. The berries and bark helped stave off total starvation, but we were still famished. I even started dreaming about food. Strangely, those dreams revolved around hamburgers and French fries—which I hadn't eaten in forever. In fact, they were starting to feel like nightmares, since I'd wake even hungrier and more miserable than before. All those years I'd taken In-N-Out for granted. I wondered if the people of Gaia had ever had a hamburger and French fries before. If not, maybe I'd suggest a new business venture for Myez once this war was over.
We were well in to the second week, and I'd had it with the berries and decided to go hunting. Myez had suggested we do this sooner, but being that I'd never hunted before, the idea hadn't sat very well with me. I liked animals. I wasn't a vegetarian by any means, but I often thought that if I'd had to kill my own food on a regular basis, I'd probably become one. When I'd first come to this world, the Del Contes had done all the hunting along the way. I hadn't been the one to deliver that killing blow. I hadn't had to watch the life drain from that animal. I hadn't had to feel its pain or watch the glow of life die in its eyes.
But almost two weeks on a diet of berries cured me of my hesitation, and after I helped Myez construct a makeshift spear out of sharpened pumice and a tree branch, the two of us set out through the trench and into the vale. I knew there were small animals out here aside from the crow. Along my berry-picking escapades, I'd seen a few of what looked like rabbits with short ears, something else that resembled a fox, and another creature that looked like a squirrel with a tail the size of a feather duster. Of course, at the time, their sudden presence had almost given me a heart attack, as I'd remembered those shadow demons I'd seen, but now I was thankful I might have something to eat besides a berry.
Myez and I found a little patch of shrubbery to hide behind, and both of us crept into position, and we waited.
And waited.
For hours.
I was starting to doze off when Myez nudged me in the ribs. I lifted my head to look in the direction where he was pointing, and I saw a large rabbit there, nibbling on blades of grass.
I took a deep breath. We'd gone over this. Over and over again. Though Myez was undoubtedly the expert here, I had the benefit of two good arms (well, one good arm and one mostly good, post-tattoo arm), so we'd decided I'd make the kill. I'd had years of training, and my coordination was sharp, minus the bad ankle. I'd also had the more recent misfortune of witnessing death, so how hard could this be?
I crept closer, careful to keep my steps silent. Crouching low, slow and stealthy, as I raised the spear. And then, sensing me, the rabbit went still. It turned its head in my direction, unable to see me but watching the bush I was hiding behind with that glossy black eye, that blade of grass hanging halfway out of its mouth. And then I thought of Thad, chewing on grass as he smirked and smiled without a care in the world. I thought of my father, too, the moment he died, and then I thought of Stefan. Stefan, who'd been caught like this rabbit, unaware of the blade that would end his life.
Myez's hand squeezed my good heel, urging me to move before it was too late. Urging me to strike. The rabbit blinked. I raised the spear. I took a deep breath and clenched my teeth. And then I threw the spear.
It arced low and fast and impaled the bush behind the rabbit, and the rabbit took off into the fog. I exhaled, feeling disappointed and relieved, but mostly relieved, and Myez cleared his throat behind me. I looked over my shoulder to find him frowning.
"Did you want to keep eating berries, then?" he asked.
"I…I couldn't do it."
"I can see that." He nodded toward the bush.
I pinched my lips together and hobbled over to the spear, and when I returned to him he held out his hand for the spear.
"But you said your arm—"
"Never mind what I said. You can watch me today." He made a cupping motion with his hand, and I gave him the spear. Within the next thirty minutes, and even though he'd used his off hand, we had three squirrel-like creatures impaled and swinging from our spear, and apparently, they weren't called squirrels but scuriols.
Myez asked me if I was feeling up to making a fire while he skinned and prepared the scuriols. Up until this point, we hadn't made a fire because we weren't sure what other sorts of creatures it might attract, and we hadn't really needed one anyway because the nights weren't uncomfortably cold. However, if our presence here was going to draw any predators, like those shadow demons, it would've done so by now—fire or not. So tonight, we were going to have a fire, and I was going to make it.
Since we couldn't use magic, and since no one on this cursed planet had ever heard of a match, I was forced to make one the hard way—with grit, muscle, and sheer will power. Meaning, I'd have to use a bow drill, which, luckily for me, didn't require the use of both feet. There were other ways to make a fire, but this was the only method I was familiar with, though to say I was familiar was generous. I'd done it once, with Alex, in his backyard in Yosemite.
First, I needed something to use as a spindle, so I broke the end off Myez's spear (he wasn't very happy, but his hands were covered in blood so he couldn't do anything about it). I found a small rock to use as a socket, and for the bow, I broke off another slightly curved branch from the tree outside our cave entrance, and I used one of my bootlaces for the cord. I grabbed another piece of wood from the tree to use as a fireboard. It wasn't as dry as I thought it should be, but I didn't have a lot of options out here. I used a rock to carve a small notch out of my fireboard and to shave off bark and more wood to use as tinder, and I placed some of the tinder beneath the notch in my fireboard. Then, I looped my spi
ndle in the bowstring, used one hand to apply pressure to the end of spindle with my socket, set my boot on the fireboard to hold it down, and with my other hand I started sawing. I sawed and sawed, back and forth, faster and faster until the board started smoking. Once I was satisfied I had a hot coal, I carefully removed my fireboard, lifted my now-smoking tinder and moved it to the larger pile of tinder, and blew gently on it until small flames sparked to life. I set the flaming tinder pile on the ground.
"Good work." Myez looked pleased as he observed my little fire.
"Thanks." I wiped my sweaty palms on my pants. "Honestly, I'm a little surprised you trust me with a fire."
"That's why I waited almost two weeks before suggesting it." He grinned. His grin had taken some getting used to, since only one side of his face could do it, but now I found it charming. In a way.
I grinned back at him, and within the hour, we had three scuriols cooked and charred. It was our first meal in almost two weeks, if you could call it a meal. The meat was tough and dry and bland, like jerky without any flavoring, but having something other than berries in my belly felt like heaven, and I was so satisfied I fell asleep even before the fire died.
***
I stood in the middle of an endless desert, or what looked like one. The landscape was barren in all directions and the sun was hidden beneath a blanket of thick, black smoke. I'd seen this before, in my dreams when I'd first entered Gaia. I'd seen this very same scene when I'd stumbled into the fiori, and it had haunted me afterward, but now bodies lay everywhere, bleeding and suffering and dead after a great battle, and then I felt the pain. Sharp, overwhelming pain, as if every soul in the world were slowly being ripped from their bodies.
And then I saw Alex, just as I'd seen him before. Lying on the ground, dying, while his life seeped out of open wounds, soaking into the dry, dead earth. I fell to my knees beside him, sobbing, but it was too late. He was gone and there was nothing I could do to save him.
"There shall be much violence in your future, young daughter of Alaric and Aurora," said the same whispers from before, and they seemed to come from everywhere. But this time they went on to say, "You are the only one who truly understands the choice before you. You are the only one with the knowledge and the heart to make the right decision, and you must be prepared for it, or all you see now will come to pass."
28
ALEXANDER
I kept my breaths shallow to ward off the burning pain in my ribs. My jaw and temple throbbed, but I stumbled along after Theon, trailing my hand on the wall for support. Sometimes Thaddeus would grab hold of my arm to steady me, and this was usually followed by a quiet string of threats aimed at Denn.
Soon, the low light melted into darkness, and I had a visibility of two feet. Theon must have had the tunnels memorized. We'd been walking in the darkness for about five minutes when Theon stopped. Magic tingled on the back of my neck, and I heard a soft rumble. The rumbling stopped, and Theon whispered, "Watch your step."
A hidden passage. I tested the darkness with the toe of my boot. The floor dropped into a staircase that led deeper into the earth. I followed Theon inside, and the air turned musty and frigid, and it smelled like an old tomb. He waited for all three of us to enter before closing the door behind us.
"Hey, Theology…how 'bout a light?" Thaddeus whispered as we descended.
"Not until we're farther from the door," Theon said. "The entrance isn't completely sealed, and the light could seep through the cracks."
"So help me," Thaddeus said, "after everything we've been through, if we die from falling down a staircase…"
"How'd you end up with him?" Theon asked me.
"It's a long story," I said.
"And I'd prefer it if that story didn't end in the next two minutes," Thaddeus said.
Theon paused and let out a soft whistle.
"Oh, so they'll see a light but they won't hear a whistle?" Thaddeus smarted off.
Another whistle echoed from deeper in the darkness, and a light bloomed at the bottom of our stair, where three men waited for us. They wore the traditional Nordic garb, and when they saw Theon, they looked relieved.
"The blazes is going on? Who are they?" Thaddeus asked. He'd stopped descending the stair and held his arm out, prohibiting Vera from walking any farther. Vera scowled, but I didn't know if it was because of the Nords or Thaddeus's arm.
"The guards were still preoccupied with the ravens when I left." Theon addressed the men at the foot of the stairs. "We left Gaff sleeping in front of their cells, but it won't be long before Denn finds out."
"And no word from the others yet, so I assume it's safe to go on," said the largest of the three Nords.
Theon nodded. "Good."
"What happened to him?" asked one of the men, gesturing toward me.
Theon's gaze hardened. "Denn."
"Since you brought it up"—Thaddeus moved down the stairs to stand beside me—"think we can stand here for two minutes while I take care him?" He nodded toward me. His question had sounded more like a threat.
Theon looked to me.
"I'm fine—" I started.
"Hellfire, Del Can't, I'm about ready to give you another black eye. You're not fine. You look like you've been through a meat grinder. Let me help you. You know I can."
I did know. Vera gave me a look that dared me to argue.
Thaddeus didn't wait for my reply and placed two fingers on my jaw. Magic tingled through my skin, numbing the pain in my jaw like a salve. I had to admit: My jaw felt infinitely better.
"Anywhere else?" Thaddeus asked.
"I think he cracked a rib."
"Fine, huh?" Thaddeus gave me a look. "You're as bad as she is." He nodded back at Vera, who looked proud of this accusation. Thaddeus felt along my ribs, and when he pressed over one in particular, I flinched. He frowned. "It's cracked, all right. I don't have potions to heal it completely, but I can help speed up the process and numb the pain."
"Go right ahead," I said, resigned.
Theon and his men watched. More tingling bled into my left side, slowly numbing the sharp cramp to a dull ache.
Thaddeus pulled his hand away. "The bruises will take some time to heal, but this shouldn't slow you down too much. I mean, you won't be operating at Del Can't speed, but you might be somewhere near V speed."
Vera jammed her elbow in his side and he chuckled.
I rolled my shoulder then took a full breath. My rib still pinched a little, but I could manage with this. At least it didn't hurt like the demons every time I breathed. "Huh. That’s much better, thanks."
Thaddeus snorted. "Don't act so surprised."
"Is Thaddeus a healer?" Theon asked. The people of Alioth prized their healers. But Thaddeus was no healer. He just happened to be the son of, perhaps, two of the most powerful people on Gaia. Of course, I couldn't tell Theon that.
I eyed Thaddeus with a slight smile. "Of sorts."
Thaddeus grinned back.
Theon looked at Thaddeus with new respect, then turned to address his men. "Aegis Alexander Del Conte…Todd, Bendik, and Niko." He gestured to each in turn. The Nords grunted in greeting, sizing me up in a way that gave me the impression they'd heard of me. "The other two are Aegises Thaddeus Mendax and Vera Neci."
The men also looked at Thaddeus with respect. With Vera, the men seemed intrigued, but then her expression grew murderous, and they all quickly averted their eyes.
Theon waved for us to continue, and we followed him down a long tunnel while the little light floated overhead. I still limped a little, but at least I could take full breaths.
"We're right beneath the town," Theon said to me as we walked. "According to my father, these tunnels were constructed as a place of refuge in the event of an attack from the skies."
The only enemy that had attacked from the skies had disappeared generations ago—up until recently. "These must be centuries old, then," I said.
"Aye," Theon replied.
"I'm assuming Den
n and his men don't know about these tunnels?" I asked, noting a rotted wooden crate blanketed in thick cobwebs.
"Not yet." He made a right turn down a new tunnel. "They've been keeping a closer eye on the dungeons because they keep losing prisoners." Theon winked at me, nodding at our escort.
"Ravenshelm's occupied by shadowguard, then?" I asked.
Theon nodded. "The human ones." I was about to inquire about his father when I noticed our path ended in a stone stairway, where a few more Nords were seated around a table with a burning lantern. They glanced up, and one of them stood.
The one who stood started for us. "Took you long enough."
"Denn made a visit, and I had to wait for him to leave," Theon said. "Everything okay upstairs?"
"Far as we can tell." The Nord looked me over, then stuck out a hand. "Jenvald."
I took his hand, careful not to shake too hard. "Alexander Del Conte."
"Thought you looked a little familiar." He released my hand. "Met you once a few years back. You were with Lord Tosca. During the Rhyke's Campaign, I believe."
"Ah, yes. I remember," I said.
Wood creaked as Theon climbed the stair, which ended in a wooden hatch. He rapped three quick times, waited a breath, and then knocked three more times. There was a heavy scrape, as if something was being dragged across a floor, followed by a series of clicks, and then the hatch swung inward, casting us in honeyed light. A thick paw of a hand with an equally thick forearm reached down. "We'll be back," Theon said to his men as he grabbed hold of the thick hand and climbed out, and then the arm reached back down for me.
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