The King's Imposter (The Raven Bringer Saga Book 2)

by C. A. McHugh

  Nyssa caught up to him. “So you sense it, too?”

  “I more than sense it.” He rounded a corner and pulled his friends aside. “Nyssa, I know you probably hate the idea of having a roommate, but I need you to find out all you can about her. She’s most likely nothing more than a social climber sent here by her family to find a rich husband, but if Master Binnius asked you to befriend her, then there’s probably more to her than just a pretty face.”

  “Of course, Aerrin.”

  “Leandros, I need you to stop thinking with your dick and use your head. If Nyssa and I both have a bad feeling about her, you should probably stay away.”

  “But—” Leandros gave one silent plea before slumping his shoulders. “Fine, I’ll stay away, but if Quinn gets her, I’ll never hear the end of it.”

  “I unfortunately need to address some royal matters.” He didn’t elaborate. Now that he’d revealed some of the truth to his friends, he didn’t need to say anything else.

  “Good luck.” Nyssa pushed Leandros in the opposite direction. “In the meantime, I’ll explain to him why falling for a pretty face could get him into trouble.”

  “Now I know who the jealous one is.” Leandros waved at Aerrin over his shoulder before allowing Nyssa to guide him back to the common room.

  Aerrin turned on his heel and headed for the library. It was time for him to learn how to vanquish a demon.

  Chapter 6

  Seroney prowled the length of her bedroom. Two weeks and nothing. Not one step closer to doing what she had to do. Her novelty had quickly worn off as lessons started. The king and his friends paid no more attention to her than they did to anyone else. Why were they being so difficult? Most of the boys were falling over themselves to win her attention, but not Aerrin or Leandros. And Nyssa had remained coolly distant since she’d accidentally upstaged the other girl in class last week.

  Seroney was just waiting for the moment when it would all explode in her face.

  “You’re going to wear a trench into the floor if you keep that up,” a voice said in her mind. Bhasha lazily bathed herself on the windowsill, one paw getting that area behind her ear thoroughly clean.

  “Well, what do you suggest I do, oh wise one?” She heaved an exasperated sigh, not bothering to keep her end of the conversation silent since they were alone.

  Instead of answering, Bhasha continued her languid grooming ritual. Stupid cat! She hoped she got a hairball.

  At last, the familiar stopped bathing long enough to say, “You’ve been here two weeks, and you still don’t know? Really, Seroney, I thought better of you.”

  “I’m supposed to befriend Nyssa and Leandros, and through them gain Aerrin’s trust.”

  “Exactly. That seems simple enough.” Bhasha paused to clean the tip of her tail. “Too bad you’re not bright enough to figure out how to do that.”

  Seroney stopped pacing and tried to come up with some new ideas. So far, she’d tried offering to help Nyssa practice her spells and even to let the girl borrow a dress, both of which earned her a dismissive sneer. As for Leandros, he might’ve been easy to manipulate if she stooped to flirting with him, but the age gap between them made her nauseous every time she considered it. She might have had to disguise herself as a teenage girl to gain admittance to the Academy and get close to the king, but inside, she was far too old to even feign a romantic interest in any of the students.

  Bhasha sighed and jumped from her sunny windowsill to the pile of books by Nyssa’s bed. “The answer is as plain as the nose on your face, although I will say that there is nothing plain about you, my dear. I don’t think you look human enough, judging by all those boys hassling you. Why couldn’t you disguise yourself as a plain human while you were at it?”

  “What are you getting at, Bhasha? Have I made Nyssa jealous because I’m too pretty?”

  Bhasha yowled and went back to the sun-warmed windowsill. “I don’t know what your uncle was thinking when he thought you could carry out this mission. In fact, I told him so yesterday. You’ve always been too wrapped up in yourself to pay attention to other people. You’re nothing more than a silly, spoiled little girl. I don’t know why I even bother wasting my time on you. I should’ve just ignored your summons and saved myself years of frustration.”

  “What do you mean, ‘I told him so yesterday’? Have you been talking to him behind my back?” If it wouldn’t deal a blow to her own powers, she would strangle the cat. But, since Bhasha was her familiar, the bond between then meant that Seroney suffered whatever Bhasha did.

  “I do enjoy some civilized conversation from time to time, seeing how little of it I get with you. Do you expect me to sit up here all day by myself while you’re in class?”

  And just like that, it clicked. The books! Why hadn’t she thought of that earlier? Leave it to a stupid cat to point out something so obvious, even if it was unintentional. Nyssa didn’t value things like gems and fine clothes, but she always seemed to have her nose stuck in a book. If she wanted to gain the girl’s trust, she needed to cater to her interests.

  “Fermosh!” A thin line of blue magic leapt from her finger to her trunk, and the lid creaked open. Seroney got on her knees and began to rummage inside, silently cursing that she’d brought a bottomless trunk. She was on the verge of falling into it herself when she popped up triumphant, clutching a small brown leather-bound volume. “This might interest her.”

  “It would, but first you’d have to teach her Elvish,” Bhasha replied with a sarcastic drawl.

  With a growl, she tossed it back into the trunk and frantically searched for another book. It had to be something the Academy didn’t have in the library, something that no one would’ve read before. Of course, as Bhasha pointed out, it had to be in human. And it couldn’t be about Oudesta. There were some things best left undiscovered by Nyssa’s inquiring mind.

  “Where did this come from?” She pulled out another nondescript book.

  Bhasha stared down at her paws, focusing on the webs between each toe. If a cat could whistle, her familiar probably would’ve done so. “Don’t you remember throwing that one in?”

  “No, I don’t”

  “Ah, well, uh-hum, I suppose I threw it in as a bit of light reading. After all, I do get bored.”

  Seroney leaned closer, her eyes narrowed. “You don’t know how to read.”

  Bhasha sat up, feigning offense. “How dare you say such a thing? Of course, I can read. What you know about me, you can fit on your little finger.” She hissed and turned her back.

  “I’m sorry, Bhasha. I suppose you were only trying to help. So, what’s this book about?”

  “You can read, can’t you?”

  For a cat, Bhasha could be incredibly sarcastic.

  Seroney flipped through a few pages. “At least it’s in human. And it doesn’t appear to mention anything about Oudesta.”

  “It’s a brief history of magic from the human Homelands. Ancient history, to be precise. Well, ancient as far as humans are concerned. It belonged to your ancestor, Gregor Meritis. This book is the only copy of that text in existence, so take care you don’t lose it.”

  “Yes, this seems like Nyssa’s kind of entertainment.” Seroney quickly surveyed the book, making sure there were no markings on it that would give her identity away. Part of her feared giving it to Nyssa, considering how precious it was, but she’d seen how Nyssa practically revered ancient books. The girl would treat it with care, and more importantly, maybe it would give Seroney a chance to infiltrate the king’s group of friends. “Now, what about Leandros?”

  Bhasha’s tail twitched. “He hates cats.”

  “So offering you as a gift is out of the question, eh?”

  “That was rude.”

  “Touché.” As soon as she said the word, it hit her. “Bhasha, Leandros likes fencing. I doubt he’ll appreciate a book on the matter, though. And they won’t let girls fence over here in this backwards kingdom.”

  Or handle weapons of any
sort, really. And it was only a few centuries ago that they even allowed girls to practice magic in Elgeus. Before then, any girl with the gift for magical arts was executed.

  “Don’t let that stop you. Go ooh and ah over his skill as a fencer. Act like the teenage girl you’re pretending to be. Stroke his ego. Compliment his form. You get the idea.”

  Seroney rolled her eyes. Nyssa would be more than just a little perturbed if her roommate started flirting with Leandros. She suspected Nyssa harbored a secret crush on the young noble, but for some reason, didn’t act on it. Besides, the last thing she needed was one of these children thinking she was interested in them.

  No, flirting was out of the question, but Bhasha did have a point about fencing practice. Perhaps she could even disguise herself as a boy and show off her skill with a sword. Or maybe just offer him pointers outside of class. The gods knew she was more agile than most humans. It should be simple enough to do. “Good idea, Bhasha. I’ll give it a try. Now, Aerrin—”

  “Let him come to you.” Bhasha stretched in a downward bend and yawned. “From what we’ve both observed, he’s not the type to be followed around. If you try to smother him, he’ll just push you away even harder. Do as your uncle suggested, become friends with Nyssa and Leandros first, and through them, Aerrin will come to trust you. You need to learn to be patient and give it some time.”

  “I don’t have time. I keep getting this sick feeling in my chest that we’re running out of time, and if I don’t complete my mission...” Her voice broke on her as she pictured the consequences of her failure. Too much was at stake. She couldn’t afford to fail.

  “Is that all?”

  Seroney both cursed and laughed. The damn cat knew her better than she knew herself. “I’m tired of hiding who and what I am. And dealing with all these boys who are half my age. Sometimes, I wonder what the Oracle was thinking.”

  “The Oracle knows more than all of us, so we must trust her judgement.” Bhasha hopped down and rubbed her head against Seroney’s hand, purring loudly. “Remember, you’re not in this alone.”

  ***

  Seroney offered the book to Nyssa the instant she returned. With the fury of whirlwind, Nyssa devoured its contents and thanked her over and over again for lending it to her. There was a certain gleam in the girl’s eyes after reading the book, which implied that she now was the master of some new, unknown knowledge. Seroney even began to wonder if Nyssa sought knowledge the way some men sought gold or power. To her, it was the ultimate conquest.

  The book seemed to serve its purpose, though.

  It began with the simple sharing of a midnight snack while studying. Then it progressed to helping each other with assignments. By the end of the week, they were up late at night, sharing news from the day’s events with each other.

  Unfortunately, the seedling friendship didn’t extend outside the room they shared.

  Seeing she’d hit a wall, Seroney turned her sights toward Leandros. She’d already made a point of dropping in on the boys’ fencing lessons several times, ignoring her admirers while studying the king’s best friend. He had skill with a blade—she wouldn’t deny that—but he also had plenty of room for improvement.

  She had always enjoyed duels, where the action was non-stop and the air rang with the clash of sharp steel. Every moment was intense. For either duelist, the next move could be the last. One minuscule mistake was all it took for the tip of a blade to find its way into soft flesh. But, this was fencing practice at an academy for young spoiled nobles, not a real duel. The blades were tipped with buttons, not venom, and the duelists wore thickly padded coats to protect them from bruises, not bloodshed.

  This afternoon, when Leandros entered the circle at the end of the warm-up session, she prepared to mentally record his every movement, to note his weak spots. All she had to do was exploit them. A few suggestions here and there, perhaps teaching him a new move, and he would become a better fencer thanks to her. And, more importantly, maybe he’d mention her kind assistance to his friend, the king.

  Leandros was quick and agile, and he used his long, thin frame to his advantage over his stockier opponent. He easily deflected the other boy’s blade over and over again, but no matter how hard he tried, he could never land a blow. Parry. Parry. Thrust. Clang. The matched stretched on.

  Then something shifted in his attitude. She didn’t know if it was from frustration or cockiness, but Leandros appeared to let his guard down for a moment, and his opponent capitalized on the lapse. With a quick maneuver, the other boy disarmed Leandros and delivered the victory touch.

  Head hung in defeat, Leandros yielded and slowly rose to his feet. One by one, the rest of the fencers-in-training trickled out until only he was left.

  She seized the moment and approached him. “That was a rather impressive match.”

  He jumped and jerked his head toward her. “Thanks,” he replied with the sullenness that only a teenage boy could master. “I lost, though.”

  Seroney shrugged. “Even the mightiest of heroes lose from time to time. It teaches them to recognize areas that need improvement and what mistakes not to make again. So you lost one match. No big deal. There will be other matches, and you’ll know better next time to guard your outside edge more closely.”

  He blinked several times as though he hadn’t heard her correctly. “You know about fencing?”

  “Of course I do. I’ve tried my hand at it from time to time. Next time, I suggest you try this move.” She reached for one of the foils in the practice rack and demonstrated a disarming maneuver in slow motion. “You take the tip of your blade, make a loop around the outside, then catch the rim of the hand guard at the bottom and disarm your opponent in one swift motion. Observe.”

  Before he could blink, she sent his sword flying. The foil clattered across the floor and rolled to the stone wall, and he was left at her mercy.

  “That was amazing.” Leandros retrieved the weapon and assumed the en guard position. “Show it to me again. It’s outside, under and—”

  She easily plucked the foil from his hand again, but there was no shame in losing this time.

  “Wow! You have to teach me that move.”

  “I’d be happy to.”

  Again and again, they practiced the maneuver until Leandros could perform it in his sleep and Seroney’s arm was a collection of bruises from all of his misses.

  At the end of their session, he smiled at her. “I can’t wait to pull that move out at practice tomorrow. They won’t see it coming! Thanks, Seroney.”

  “You’re very welcome, Leandros. I’m glad I could help you out.” As she turned to walk out the door, she silently counted the seconds. One. Two. Thr—.

  “Seroney, if you ever want to, you know, spar a bit, I’d be happy to, um, help.”

  “That sounds like fun. You’ll have to show me some of your favorite tricks. I’m sure you have a few of them up your sleeve.”

  “Ah, well…” He ran his finger along the neckline of his tunic, his cheeks and ears growing redder by the second. “I suppose I do.”

  “Great. Well, I need to do some studying. Our first block of challenges are only a couple of weeks away, after all, and I want to make sure Master Binnius doesn’t catch any grief for placing me in your class. Good night.”

  She’d gained access to the king’s inner circle, which should make her job that much easier.

  After all, it was just child’s play.

  Chapter 7

  After everything Aerrin had heard from his friends over the past few weeks, he still couldn’t come to a conclusion about the new girl. Nyssa raved about the books Seroney had lent her, how they contained information that couldn’t be found in the library. All Aerrin could think about was how and where the new girl acquired these books. Based on what Nyssa had told him of the contents, some of the information would best be kept under lock and key—things like potions that could hasten death—while other information should be shared with the whole kingdom. How h
ad it remained secret over the centuries?

  Leandros’s relationship with the new girl was a little easier to deduce. He was a boy, she was a girl. Enough said, right?

  It did seem odd that she knew so much about fencing, he had to admit. And some of the moves that she was showing Leandros were not exactly textbook. In fact, some of them seemed slightly underhanded. And, equally puzzling, why didn’t Leandros mention these private fencing lessons in front of Nyssa?

  Seroney was going out of her way to befriend his two best friends. It could be simply because Nyssa was her roommate and that Seroney had a crush on Leandros. Except, aside from the fencing, she never showed any more interest in him than any of the other guys trying to flirt with her on a daily basis.

  Right now, though, Aerrin had more important things to worry about. New reports from Edensdowne indicated more demon attacks, although no witnesses had survived. That was all Aerrin had been able to wrestle from Master Binnius. A letter from Ceryst indicated the same. A few raids. A few scorch marks. And a handful of singed bodies. To any outsider, it would look like the result of a simple house fire, but Ceryst trusted Raimel’s assessment that the damage had been done by demons.

  All the more reason to learn as much as he could so he’d be prepared when he met the Raven Bringer. He’d been able to find information on how to spot demons in the library, but so far, he’d been unable to learn any spells to vanquish them.

  But none of that mattered if he failed out of the Academy. The first block of challenges was a week away, and Aerrin still had yet to master the mist form spell. He was certain there was going to be some obstacle where he would have to use it during his challenge. The problem was that every time he attempted to cast it, he failed. The magic fizzled out before he could fully assume a gaseous form. At least he knew he was not alone in having trouble with this spell. Leandros couldn’t even call upon the magic to begin to cast the spell, much less direct it.