Of Ice and Shadows

by Audrey Coulthurst

  “I have an idea about how to stop the dogs,” Evie said. “Has the wind been steady out of the north?”

  “Sure. It usually is this time of year,” Harian said with a puzzled expression.

  “That’s what I thought,” Evie said. “I can bore holes through rocks with my magic and create a chorus of pitched whistles to drive them off. I still have a little energy left.”

  “I may not have enough energy to shadow walk, but I think I could help with the distraction,” Tristan mused. “Were many people killed in the riot?”

  Shazi nodded grimly.

  “Then I’ll give them a brief second chance at life,” Tristan said.

  I shuddered at the thought of the dead rising to walk the streets of Kartasha but knew there would be no better distraction. Best of all, it would pose little risk to us.

  “Then let’s go,” I said. “The longer we wait, the more danger Alek and Mare could be in. I have to get to them as soon as possible.”

  “I don’t feel good about you going into the city by yourself,” Evie said. Tristan’s frown was as deep as hers, and their loyalty warmed me.

  “I might be alone in the city, but I won’t truly be by myself,” I said. “I wouldn’t have been able to get this far without both of you.” I met their eyes in turn. “But I have to do this. Mare is in danger. It’ll be easier to sneak through the city myself than to try to get a group past the Sonnenbornes. If worst comes to worst . . . well, I’m close enough to fluent in their language that I can probably trick them long enough to escape.”

  “I’ll come with you to the edge of the city,” Kerrick said. “You need someone who knows a way to get close without being detected.”

  As tired as I was, having a plan reinvigorated me, and we were back on the road in very little time. We walked toward the city at as brisk a pace as we could manage, and it was there, in the silence of the road, that I quietly let down my shields and cast my mind to the north.

  Your Majesty? I projected the thought, wondering how distance would affect our connection.

  I knew you’d come back to me. The voice felt too intimate inside my mind, too close to feelings and thoughts I didn’t want to share. The physical distance between us apparently meant nothing.

  I’m not coming back. I hoped she could feel my certainty as strongly as I did. The only things that mattered were getting to Mare and Alek before Zhari did and letting the queen know the important information before slamming my shields back into place. Something is wrong in Kartasha. Zhari was lying to you—there are no countermeasures being taken to fight the Sonnenbornes. The city is under their control and everyone here thinks Zhari was taken prisoner. I thought you should know.

  There was a long pause that made me wonder if she’d heard me, or if perhaps I was imagining the conversation entirely. And then a response finally came:

  I’m already flying south, little bird. I’ll see you soon.

  TWENTY-SEVEN

  Amaranthine

  GETTING INTO KARTASHA MADE USE OF EVERY STEALTH skill I’d ever developed and would have been easier if not for Alek, who had the subtlety of a bear crashing through the woods. Fortunately, his magic made up for it. He used it to create distractions and draw enemies out of our path on our way through the city back to the Winter Court. We entered through Alek’s childhood slums, which he navigated easily even in the near dark. The area closer to the tower was more difficult to traverse, and somehow the silence of the streets made it seem more sinister than when it had been bustling with people. We got through the walls of the Winter Court thanks to an irrigation canal supplying the horse pastures, which Alek was able to stop with his water magic long enough for us to slip in undetected.

  My pace quickened as we walked up the pasture hill to the barn. I wiggled open the latch on the back door to the stall where Flicker had been stabled, nearly crying with relief when I saw him crane his neck around to investigate the people intruding upon his nighttime meal.

  “Thank the gods,” I whispered into his mane. I had hoped the Sonnenbornes would consider him valuable enough to feed and keep safe, and it looked like for now, they had. Unlike before, the stable was full of horses, mostly Sonnenborne desert breds.

  “There’s someone in the tack room.” Alek put a gentle hand on my shoulder and motioned for me to get down behind the stall door, where it would be harder for me to be seen. Then he took Flicker’s grain bucket off the hook in the stall and hurled it down the barn aisle. I peered through a narrow gap to see what was happening. Footsteps immediately came racing out of the tack room to reveal a young Sonnenborne man. Alek slipped out of the stall and hit him over the head, dropping him to the ground like a sack of grain.

  “There’s a servants’ tunnel from the barn to the inner courtyard,” Alek said.

  I followed him to the northernmost end of the barn, which abutted another building, and we entered the passageway. Alek towered ahead of me, blocking most of the light.

  When we reached an exit into what appeared to be the kitchen of a residence hall, Alek pushed through the door. A few seconds later came the crash of pots and pans hitting the ground.

  “All clear,” he said a few moments later.

  I crept around the unconscious Sonnenborne cook on the floor. Just past the blisteringly hot ovens, several doors led to different paths into the residential hall.

  “Now, there’s a problem,” Alek said. “There’s only one way into the tower—through the front door.”

  “Then we go through the front door.” I drew my sword. In spite of my pretended confidence, my stomach clenched with nerves. To walk through the front door of the Winter Court’s tower, we were going to have to take out a lot more Sonnenbornes. It was only a matter of time before someone caught on to our trail of unconscious bodies, and I didn’t want to still be there when they did.

  Alek drew his weapon and gave me a nod of confirmation before leading the way out of the residence hall. On the opposite side of the courtyard, four guards walked the perimeter of the area in orderly patterns, moving with the grace of trained fighters. There was no way to avoid detection with all four of them on patrol, and I wished like the Sixth Hell I’d brought my bow instead of just my sword. Instead, I was going to have to trust the weapon—and Alek.

  Without warning, Alek leaped out of the shadows and took down one of the four fighters with a swift blow. In seconds, the other three soldiers, including one warrior who easily matched him in size and strength, converged on him. I said a silent prayer to the Six and let my sword carry me into battle. Not in a thousand years had I thought I would ever be a warrior, but as I followed the guidance of my blade and knocked another fighter to the ground, I realized that I felt as much like myself as I did on the back of my horse. It wasn’t about hurting people—it was about standing up for what was right and doing my small part to protect the people I cared about. A few minutes later, the courtyard was silent again, and the way to enter the tower was clear.

  “Where do they keep prisoners?” I asked Alek.

  “Tower dungeon,” Alek said, as though it was the most logical thing in the world.

  “Is that the only place?” I asked, not sure the answer could be that obvious.

  “It’s the only place secure enough to hold anyone with an Affinity as strong as Laurenna’s or Zhari’s. The cells are insulated to prevent magic use.”

  “Great. A magical dungeon.” Zumorda would never cease to be full of unpleasant surprises.

  Alek opened the tower door. I expected to walk into a room filled with destruction, but the interior of the tower seemed untouched by the riot that had filled Kartasha’s streets. Laurenna stood at the center of the grand receiving room with her arms raised. A hailstorm swirled around her to form an icy shield that looked as if it could just as easily be turned into offense.

  “I thought you might be coming,” she said.

  Alek raised his weapon. “Laurenna, what are you doing?”

  “Serving my kingdom.” She
raised her hand and a bubble of water formed around my head.

  “Help!” I tried to scream, but only ended up with a mouthful of water. I clawed frantically at my face, but no matter how hard I tried to fight off the water, it re-formed itself around my face. Through vision blurred by the water, I could barely make out Alek and Laurenna fighting. She hurled spell after spell at him while he came relentlessly at her with his sword.

  “Where’s Fadeyka?” he demanded. His voice sounded like it was coming from underwater, and my vision had begun to swim with dark spots. I fell to my knees.

  From behind me, a sudden blast of heat exploded as a wave of flames rushed past me toward Laurenna and Alek. I flattened myself on the ground, certain I was about to die. Instead, the flames parted around Alek and slammed into Laurenna with physical force, knocking her to the ground. The water around my face fell away, and I gasped for breath.

  “I suppose it was my turn to help you breathe again,” a voice said, and I looked up to see Denna standing over me. How had she gotten to Kartasha? The sight of her was like the first soothing rain after a long, dry summer. Even in her travel-stained cloak, she no longer looked convincingly like a lady’s maid. She stood tall, her chin at a proud angle and her eyes gleaming with strength. When her gaze met mine, there was tenderness and worry in it that nearly broke me in half. I had never seen anyone so beautiful. But as swiftly as my joy had risen at the sight of her, our situation shattered it. Laurenna had already nearly killed me, and no matter how powerful Denna had become, both of us were now in mortal danger.

  Laurenna had already staggered to her feet, now with an iridescent bubble-like shield of water locked in place around herself. Denna took a defensive stance in front of me and cast another spell, helping Alek hold his ground. I couldn’t let them fight alone. I forced myself back to my feet. I didn’t have magic, but I did have a secret weapon. I pulled the small pouch of peaceroot that I’d nicked from the homestead out of my pocket and poured the powder into my palm. Then I brandished my sword with the other hand and headed into the fray. I just had to get close enough for one blow.

  I made my way around the edge of the room, trying to determine a pattern in the battle that would allow me to get within striking distance of Laurenna. Denna’s fireballs dissipated against Laurenna’s shields, making hissing clouds of steam billow into the room. Alek’s and Laurenna’s water magic seemed to have trouble being at odds, instead combining into new shapes. Finally, I got close enough that Laurenna spotted me.

  She whirled in my direction. The temperature seemed to drop in the room as her watery shield grew opaque, crackling as ice formed. She shoved it toward me and I raised my sword, knowing it wouldn’t be enough to stop her but hoping it would give Alek and Denna enough of an opening to take her down if nothing else. But then my sword lit up with fire as the shield hit it, and Laurenna’s defenses shattered into thousands of icy shards. Before I could think about it too hard, I lunged forward and flung the handful of peaceroot powder into her face. She immediately fell to the ground, screaming, the magic in the room seeming to collapse in on itself.

  Alek’s boots crunched over melting ice shards as he approached.

  “What did you do?” he asked me.

  “Peaceroot,” I said.

  Laurenna wheezed and choked, swiping the rust-colored powder out of her face, but it was too late. Her powers had been sealed away from her. Her entire demeanor changed in just a few heartbeats, her viciousness giving way to a growing look of panic. “Fadeyka,” she finally murmured.

  “Where is she?” I demanded.

  Laurenna looked up at me with pure terror in her eyes. “She’s not safe.”

  Denna came up alongside me, and I felt her presence so acutely I could hardly breathe. She touched my forearm tentatively, almost as if she were checking to make sure my body was real and solid under her hand. I held my breath as a shock traveled through me. I wanted to gather her into my arms right then and there, smother her with kisses until she couldn’t breathe. I wanted her to remember all the most amazing moments we’d had together, and felt the need to grovel at her feet to apologize for the ways I’d failed her. I didn’t know what it meant that she was here, or that she’d helped save us.

  “What do you mean Fadeyka’s not safe?” Denna asked.

  “Zhari had me under her control with mind magic,” Laurenna said. “She has Faye, and we have to get her now!”

  Laurenna struggled to get up until Alek held out a hand, which Laurenna regarded with the pleasure most people reserved for an offering of a long-dead fish. Still, she took it and let herself be heaved back to her feet.

  “Who’s guilty of treason now?” Alek asked.

  Laurenna angrily shook her hand free of his. “Zhari,” she spat back at him before turning to stalk out the door.

  “You can’t go after her by yourself,” Denna said, hurrying after Laurenna. “Not without your powers!”

  “Powers or not, I would do anything for my daughter,” she said.

  “Then let us help you,” I said. “We care about Faye, too.”

  “And Zhari must be stopped,” Alek added, bringing up the rear.

  Laurenna didn’t slow down. She led us out a side door in the tower and through the halls of the Winter Court at breakneck speed, leaving Alek to knock down the few Sonnenbornes who tried to stop and question us. Without knocking, Laurenna burst through the doors of Zhari’s chambers.

  “Faye!” Laurenna screamed.

  Fadeyka lay on the table at the center of Zhari’s receiving room, her expression vacant and glassy. Zhari stood over her, breathing deeply as faint trails of glimmering light rose from Fadeyka to enter Zhari’s nose and mouth. The necklace Fadeyka always wore had been torn from her neck, and the broken chain dangled from the edge of the table. I would have thought she was dead except for the way she convulsed when Zhari looked up at us.

  Zhari’s face was flushed with color, but her normally amber eyes were black as a moonless night. She raised her hand and, with a simple gesture, flung Laurenna into the wall from across the room. Laurenna crumpled to the floor.

  “You’re too late,” Zhari said. “I am fed, and I am whole, and I am ready for the fight.” The blackness in her eyes retreated slowly, and Fadeyka’s breathing grew shallower.

  I swallowed hard. Laurenna had been difficult enough to defeat, and I didn’t have any more peaceroot powder.

  “We don’t have to fight,” Alek said, moving slowly toward Fadeyka.

  “Don’t come any closer!” Zhari snapped. “You fools are inconsequential. Fighting you is not the challenge for which I’ve been preparing.”

  “Then what is it?” Denna asked.

  “The one in which I destroy Invasya just as she destroyed me,” Zhari said.

  I glanced at Alek to see if what she was saying made any sense to him, but I might as well have consulted a rock. The only signs that he was reacting in any way to her words were the tension in his jaw and the stance he’d taken with his sword in front of him.

  A small moan escaped Fadeyka’s lips, and my fear for her rose. Could we even save her, or was she already doomed by whatever Zhari had been doing to her?

  “Why don’t you attack me?” Zhari asked, her tone teasing. “It may not be particularly difficult to fight you, but it might be entertaining. After I defeat you, you’ll make useful reserves of power for me, far more powerful than the weaklings I’ve drained in your pathetic little camp.”

  “How could you do that to your own people?” I asked. Apparently it wasn’t an illness after all—it was this giant leech draining away their magic to keep them under her control.

  “They’ve done nothing but use their Affinities for the betterment of their families and their kingdom,” Alek said.

  “You don’t know that, you moralistic buffoon,” Zhari scoffed. “Now, why don’t we fight a little? You go first. It’ll be fun.”

  “You have a multi-Affinity and we’re not stupid,” Denna said, her stance as
defensive as Alek’s.

  Zhari laughed. “After all this time, even the gods-worshipping Mynarians don’t recognize a god when they see one. What a curse it is to live so long.”

  “A god?” My confusion was absolute.

  “Or a demigod,” Denna said, her eyes widening.

  “I always knew that one was the smartest,” Zhari said, nodding at Denna.

  “There aren’t supposed to be any of you left in Zumorda,” Denna said. “The queen said as much.”

  “The queen doesn’t know everything,” Zhari said. “For example, she doesn’t know that I’ve been planning this day since she took the throne. She doesn’t know that I had almost achieved my goals when her little coup against the boar king ruined everything. I was going to return to the desert. I had the power and the means to free my parent, the god of confluence.” She paced around the table to stand between Fadeyka and us. “Fortunately, you lot are not even remotely capable of standing in my way.”

  Alek traced a symbol, but Zhari only laughed as ice climbed up her robes. With a simple flick of her hand, the ice disappeared, seeming to only give her more strength. She hurled a bolt of raw power at Alek, knocking him to the ground as easily as she would have a green trainee. I screamed as she did the same to Denna, then threw myself in her direction with my sword in front of me. A blast of power smashed into me, tearing the cutlass out of my hands and slamming me to the ground under the table where Fadeyka was lying. The last thing I saw was Faye’s hand weakly closing around her star charm, and then my world went dark.

  I woke up freezing cold, propped awkwardly in the corner of a stone cell. The chill of the rocks had sunk completely into my bones, and I ached from head to toe. Dim light revealed nothing in the cell but a chamber pot, two narrow cots, and one other person, who was standing up and pressing her face against the bars. Denna. My profound relief at seeing her still alive warred with the rest of the facts, namely, that we were well and truly sarded.

  “Denna,” I said, barely louder than a whisper.