The Myatheira Chronicles: Volume Three: Crown of Ice

by Melissa Collins

  “Why did you and Moinie fear the Vor’shai men would not return to Nahedu?”

  Oh, more questions! Why did he have to press the matter? Could he not see she was in no condition to handle an interrogation? “Father, please,” she whispered, letting her head turn to the side with a grimace. “Can we not discuss this another time?”

  “We will discuss it now,” he stated firmly, the sound of his fist slamming against the table echoing throughout the spacious room. “Why would the Vor’shai men not have made it back?”

  “Because we thought Ewei intended to kill them,” she sighed, defeated. There was no arguing with her father. He would never let her rest until he had the answers he sought. But why he was so insistent to know these things now… there had to be more than he was letting on. “He attacked the Captain while we were in Isavo when he questioned the truth of the orders Ewei presented. I thought the men would kill one another then, but it seems Ewei realized his mistake. Truthfully, I am not convinced Ewei could defeat the Vor’shai Captain in hand-to-hand combat.”

  “Yet you feared for his life under Ewei’s command during their return to Nahedu?”

  “It was not only Ewei against them, Father. Surely you have taken note of the discontent our people suffer at the Vor’shai presence. Our warriors are angered that you have brought foreigners to our aid. Moinie and I had no way of knowing how much control Ewei had over his men. A single command and the Captain and Prince would have been killed instantly at the hands of our warriors. It would have been simple enough for them to then claim it an accident. Stage an attack which would make it easier to send the unfortunate news of their deaths to the Tanispan Queen.”

  “You speak with significant conviction on the matter.”

  “That is because I no longer have any doubt,” she sighed. “Your surprise at hearing the orders for me to conduct the track of the Avaern tells me that the Vor’shai Captain was right to question Ewei. He played us all for fools – and I am the biggest one of all. I disregarded the warnings of the Prince when he tried to convince me not to go. And now look at me. I have disgraced you and Onuric.”

  Okivra stepped back, nodding at nothing in particular, as if coming to a conclusion in his mind. “You have not disgraced us. At least not in this,” he nodded. “The accusations against Ewei have already been brought to my attention. My hope was that you might be able to provide a report of the events which took place in Isavo and help put into perspective what was truth and what was fiction. The fact that you have been unconscious and unaware of what has been shared makes it more likely that you tell the truth. There has been no time for you to determine a shared fabrication of events with the others in hopes of attaining a specific goal against Ewei. This leaves me in a very difficult position.”

  She stared up at her father, unsure if she should be offended by what he said. He thought it possible they would create a lie simply to turn him against Ewei? Such a thing might be considered in regards to the Vor’shai but to assume Moinie and herself were involved… the mere thought was traitorous. “I would never lie to you, Father. You know that. How could you possibly think we would lead you astray?”

  “Because I have no means to verify the truth behind some more unsettling rumors which pass from the lips of our people.” Okivra’s eyes narrowed, returning their steady gaze on Neomi. “Word throughout the camp indicates there to be more between you and Moinie’s relationships with the Vor’shai men. Claims have been made of impropriety between their Captain and your brother’s wife –”

  “That is ludicrous…”

  “Is it?” Okivra’s face hardened. “A similar tale has surfaced regarding you and those men as well. It is my hope that these stories are nothing more than lies, much the same as everything else has come to be. Now, you say you would never lie to me. Let me put you to the test.” Leaning forward he positioned his face directly in Neomi’s line of sight, preventing her from looking away. Her heart skipped a beat. She was trapped. If she lied to him, he would be able to tell instantly. There was no getting around it if he demanded the answer she feared. “The Vor’shai men are the only reason you were returned to me. Without them, you would have perished. Their General and Prince Edric assisted in tending your wounds, which is the only reason you survive, so I am willing to overlook this slight – but not completely. Do not tell me the name of the perpetrator but answer me this, Neomi. Have you involved yourself with the Vor’shai men beyond the role of their leader while in Isavo?”

  No words formed on her lips. Not that he required them. The sadness in her gaze would be all he needed to know the truth. She had let him down. She was a disgrace to the It’aryn family. Okivra was within his rights to disown her for the insult she presented through her actions. Yet somehow she still could not bring herself to regret it.

  Lowering his face closer her father searched her eyes, gritting his teeth angrily. “I want to hear you say it! Did you or did you not?”

  “Yes.” Her voice trembled. She hated the timidity which was so obvious in her tone. She was afraid of her father. There was no telling what he would do to her in his rage. She had never pushed him in such a way before and it had been her hope to never cause him the distress she laid upon him now.

  “Damn you, Neomi! How could you?” he hissed, rising once again to begin a furious pace across the room. “I could see you banished for this! Were I not in a position which requires the assistance of the foreigners, I would demand the traitor’s identity and see him killed immediately. When the Avaern has been defeated, I may yet act upon my rights to do so.”

  “No! Father, please, you cannot!” she begged, an agonized cry resounding through the room as she fought to sit up. She couldn’t let him do it. He had spoken of being indebted to the Vor’shai for their assistance. His words now were no doubt spoken out of rage in discovering the rumors to be true. But he couldn’t act upon them. To do so would only risk another war. One that they couldn’t afford to take on in their current state. “The stories you have heard cannot be accurate. I assure you Moinie is innocent of any claim of adultery and my involvement is not… it is nothing,” she lied, nearly tumbling off the table in pain. Her father was at her side instantly, helping to guide her down onto her back, the anger in his eyes quickly replaced with an expression of utter grief to see her suffer.

  Squeezing her hand he closed his eyes, averting his gaze from her desperate stare. “It is nothing?” he asked. “Can you give me your assurances on this? Tell me – if I allow the culprit to live – it will never happen again.”

  “Father…”

  “Tell me!” he shouted, unfazed by her reflexive flinch at his raised voice. “I will find out who it is, Neomi. If it continues, I will strike the man dead. Do you hear me?”

  “Father, please –”

  “Do you hear me?”

  Instinctively she cowered from Okivra, wishing she could somehow sink through the table and escape his piercing gaze. His eyes struck fear into her in a way no one else could. When he made a threat, she knew he would keep it. And to hear the warning from his very lips made the truth unavoidable. Her continued affection for Edric would be the death of him. It was already a miracle he was willing to ignore the initial rumors. “It will not continue,” she whispered, her voice barely above a mere breath, afraid of saying or doing anything which might come across as a challenge to her father. She knew better than to challenge him. An act of defiance might cause him to retract his decision of mercy.

  With a sharp nod Okivra straightened his posture, content with her submission. The lines on his face eased somewhat, relaxing his muscles, the anger quickly fading in a single, long, satisfied breath. “Speak nothing of this to your brother,” he stated coolly. As if his earlier anger had never been. “He need not know of your behavior. It would crush him to know that his sister holds such little respect for our family. I will do what I can to deter attention from the rumors for the sake of our dignity. Perhaps there is still a man among our warriors who may
be convinced to accept you in marriage for the sake of your reputation.”

  Her fear instantly resurfaced, reminded of Ewei’s mention of a union between them. Okivra couldn’t possibly be considering that match. Not after everything Ewei had done. “You are not contemplating Ewei’s offer…”

  “Of course not!” he snapped. “But if I do not match you with someone, this stigma will haunt our family until your dying day. A marriage to a relatively respectable Ovatai warrior might be enough to avoid the whispers. It is possible I could convince Mevuk’s brother to accept you back into the Onepa’i family.”

  “Enapo?”

  “Does that not suit you? He is younger. Not quite as reputable, but sufficient for what we require the union for. If you could do your duty and provide a child, the unfortunate rumors may become old news amongst the gossip, allowing our family to move on and forget the stain you have left on the It’aryn name.”

  She wasn’t familiar with the emotions Edric spoke of when he tossed about the word love, but she wondered if such feelings were capable of creating the pain which stabbed at her chest; as if a full quiver of arrows had been unleashed into her heart. The thought of walking away from Edric, after everything they had been through – everything she experienced at his hands – was too much for her to bear. A stinging sensation in the corners of her eyes signaled the formation of some salty liquid she wasn’t accustomed to feeling there. Tears? Was she going to weep over this man? No. She couldn’t. Her father had taught her to be a stronger woman than this. She had never shed a tear in her life that she could recall. Now was not the time to begin.

  “If Enapo will have me, then I will accept his hand,” she replied calmly, swallowing hard to choke back the tension which built in her throat, threatening to push forward the tears she fought so desperately to keep hidden. If marrying Enapo was what she had to do in order to protect Edric from death at the hands of her father then she was willing to make the sacrifice. She only hoped he would understand.

  “Good,” Okivra patted her shoulder gently. She took no comfort in his attempts to console her. In that moment she felt only hatred toward everything. Everyone. If not for the inability of her people to accept the foreigners, she would not be in this predicament. Why did they have to be so closed-minded? She didn’t love Enapo. She could never love him. Deep in her heart she wondered if she could even be convinced to let him touch her. If only her father knew the contempt she held for him in that moment. The contempt she held at the heritage she claimed.

  Avoiding her father’s steady gaze she closed her eyes, relaxing against the table at the feeling of Okivra’s fingertips lightly sliding up the side of her face to rest over her temple. She longed for him to bring the induced slumber upon her again. It would offer some reprieve from the chaos which had become her life. The pain in her body was nothing compared to the torture she felt in her heart to realize that her brief period of happiness with Edric was over. She had known from the start that it could never be and yet she had foolishly plunged forward. In the end it had become exactly what she feared. But the gods had offered her a chance to walk away without causing harm to him. Telling him goodbye would be less painful than watching him killed at the hands of her father.

  Slowly the darkness began to creep over her. The thoughts in her mind became sluggish. Broken. Detached from any coherent pattern. Her discomfort faded with the sound of her father’s voice gently coaxing her to relax. She would only need to sleep a little longer. Her wounds would heal soon. Yes. The physical injuries would come to pass. But when she awoke there would be no healing the scars which would forever be left on her heart.

  Edric wiped the moisture from his brow, surprised to discover that it was still possible for him to sweat in the Ethrystan climates. They had been in battle since before the sun rose that morning, the beasts coming from every direction, seeming to have no end in their merciless barrage, multiplying faster than the warriors could cut them down. As the day progressed their numbers finally started to wane along with the energy of the soldiers, leaving them exhausted and weakened, yearning for a break to recover their strength.

  With a hard pull he removed his blade from the chest of the creature at his feet, staring down at it in awe and confusion. He had given up asking what the beasts were. Every day it was different, the sizes of the animals varied; some large and some small. Over the weeks he had come to discover why the Ovatai feared the veswar which had nearly taken Neomi from them. A single wave of their kind destroyed the front line defense before archers were able to seek a perch to fire from a distance. Since then Callum had given commands to keep men armed with bows on watch at the camp towers. They didn’t have the numbers to risk another hit with the severity of those creatures.

  Today they had been lucky not to see the horned beasts amongst the animals on the battlefield. Many of the creatures resembled familiar animals from Tanispa. His most recent conquest reminded him of the bears he hunted with his father in the Sivaerian woods. Its gaping maw hung open, locked in the snarl which had been its final act in life. Hanging his head Edric turned away, paying no mind to his success. There were other animals left to kill. He couldn’t waste time gloating silently over a single victory.

  To his relief the numbers were dwindling. After nearly two months it was like a giant weight lifted from Edric’s shoulders to see Callum and Gadiel back on their feet. Though Callum refused to let his broken arm keep him from the fray, Gadiel had been left with no choice but to sit out of the fighting for the sake of his ankle. Gradually his condition began to improve, allowing him to rejoin the soldiers and provide commands from the sidelines. Today’s battle was the first in which he had been allowed to physically participate. From the looks of things, he was enjoying every minute of it.

  A blood-spattered Ehren stood a few feet away, shaking his blade to clear it before returning the weapon to its sheath. Edric let his eyes search his figure with concern, checking to make sure the blood was from the enemy and not some terrible wound afflicted upon his brother. Content to see Ehren in good shape he nodded his head, smiling proudly. “You are getting better with that thing,” he gestured toward the sword at Ehren’s hip. “Have you been working with the General when I’m not looking?”

  Ehren chuckled to himself. “When the General is away, I have taken to asking Father to teach me. On occasion I have even convinced Sidonie to join us. It’s my hope to one day be as skilled with a blade as you and Callum.”

  “It is a handy skill to know,” Edric nodded. At the mention of Callum’s name he felt a sudden flutter in his chest, fearful for having let his eyes off his friend. Peering into the remnants of battle he squinted, barely making out the familiar helmet of Callum’s armor on the other side of the field. Gadiel was with him, their blades lowered, examining the corpses strewn at their feet. It was coming to an end. If they were lucky, they would have an hour or two before another attack came. “Let’s head back to the village, shall we?” he asked, clasping Ehren firmly on the shoulder. “Might as well take advantage of the lull while we can.”

  “I will walk back with you but I promised Sahra a game of dice to get our minds off the fighting. She will be expecting me, I’m sure.”

  “Sahra?” Edric frowned. He wasn’t comfortable at the thought of leaving his brother in that woman’s clutches. She couldn’t be trusted around men and especially not one so young as Ehren. The thought of the two of them being alone together made him more uncomfortable than he liked to admit. “Ehren,” he started, unsure of how to state his concerns. He realized just how little he knew of his brother’s experience with women. It only added to his discomfort to consider the possibility that Ehren might have arranged the meeting with Sahra intentionally. “In my experience with the lieutenant, I have to advise against spending time alone with her. She has a – reputation – which is less than fitting for a lady. A good number of the soldiers here can vouch for that.”

  The smile on Ehren’s face faltered. He seemed surprised by Ed
ric’s warning, stepping in closer to avoid being overheard by anyone else on the field. “It is just a game of dice, Edric. What is so harmful in that?”

  “Everything,” he sighed. “You are old enough to have conversed with women at court. While I like to pretend you are innocent of having fallen prey to the games they play, I have to assume you know more about what they are capable of than you let on. I was younger than you when I first became aware of their wiles.”

  “I’m too young to worry myself about women. What need do I have of them? It isn’t like our grandmother is breathing down my neck to produce an heir.” The smile returned to his face, patting Edric on the back with a lighthearted chuckle. “That is one of the joys in being a Levadis son. And the youngest on top of that. More time to enjoy the freedom of single life without feeling as if I am creating turmoil for our family. Surely you understand, Edric. The days are more enjoyable when you don’t have to worry about business meetings and children.”

  “Women don’t care if you’re interested in them or not. I worry Sahra is ingratiating herself with you for just that reason. She has an interest in the royal family and failed to garner my affection. While I appreciate that she brought Ewei’s ulterior motives to our attention, we might have been more inclined to believe her if she wasn’t so damned untrustworthy around men.”

  “She cannot be nearly as bad as you claim.”

  “No. She’s worse.” Shaking his head Edric nudged Ehren to move forward, anxious to be away from the field. “She has a history with these men, Ehren. She has attempted to seduce the Captain in the past, succeeded in seducing the commander – and this is not including the numerous tries she has made to find her way into my tent. To make matters worse, she has also bedded the traitor Ewei. And these are only the men I know of she has attempted to beguile. From what I hear she has quite a list.”