“Why is it blasphemy to name a constellation after a person, but it’s okay to name the seas after the founders of the Order of the Great Canvas?”
“I don’t know. Maybe Laki could have told you.”
I shuffled a little closer, resting my head against Kestral’s shoulder. It felt easier to be affectionate now that our relationship had a walk-away date. I couldn’t be sure how Kestral felt about our ending being so near, but to me it was a relief. No more being hunted, no more worrying about family coming after me, no more being beholden to one person. This whole journey had just been too much for me. I wanted to get back to my simple, quiet life with dancing and drinking and the passionate nights with nameless lovers.
That’s not to say I hadn’t enjoyed some of it. Kestral had been a stalwart protector and a peerless lover. Getting to know Kila had been an experience. I looked forward to remembering each of them fondly, but I still looked forward to all of this being over.
Because one way or another, it would all end soon. Eagan and Velyn would be arriving shortly and either I would be dead, or I’d have the power of four of my siblings combined. As long as Reina kept to what she had said about waiting for only one sibling to remain before attacking, Kila and I could be safe. Relatively. There would always be mage hunters, but Kila could take care of herself and soon I would be able to as well.
“Reshi?”
“Hm?” I hadn’t realized Kestral had been talking. I had been mesmerized by the sea.
“Have you found any animals you could call on out here?” Kestral lifted one of his hands so he could twine his fingers through mine.
It was a little more intimate than I preferred, but I let it happen. I liked running my fingertips over his sword calluses anyway.
“No. The biggest animals here are all in the sea and they’re strange.” My mouth twisted as I remembered trying to converse with the large silver fish that kept leaping out of the water on the day we had first arrived. “Unless either of my brothers has a shellfish allergy, I don’t think I’ll be much help.”
Kestral tossed his head back in a loud laugh.
I picked my head up from his shoulder to watch him. I would miss that the most, I decided. Wherever Kestral’s travels took him next, I hoped he’d find someone to keep him laughing.
But that wasn’t my concern any more. I took a breath, pulling my hand free from Kestral’s. He let go, then wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me close. I sighed and put up with it. I was cold anyway.
“Something funny?” Kila asked, climbing over a rocky ridge, obscuring our view of the sea.
“Yeah, Kestral thinks we should invite our brothers to dinner and see if they have any food allergies. Just in case we can resolve this without fighting.” I expected Kestral to pull away from me as Kila approached, but his arm stayed wrapped around me. Well, that was fine with me. Kila didn’t seem to care one way or the other.
“We better not resolve this without fighting, or why the rust am I here?” Kila sat down on my other side, close but not too close. She drew her knees up to brace her elbows on as she looked out over the sea. “They’ll be here tomorrow, right?”
“Should be,” Kestral replied. “If they’re following the Whistling River as we expect, they should arrive tomorrow.”
“Does that river empty into the sea?” I asked.
“No, it ends in a fresh water lake near the fae wilds,” Kestral replied. “The northern part of the eastern army gets its supplies that way.”
“After this, do you think the western army would take me back?” Kila wondered aloud. “I mean, not as a soldier, but as a mercenary? I miss the war.”
“I don’t know, Kila,” Kestral said. “Can’t hurt you to try. The king only sent the southern army because you four were bunched up and his wife had just died. Maybe when more than half the mage-born are dead and the pain of his loss dulls, he won’t care so much about the survivors.”
Kila sighed, setting her chin on her arms, crimson eyes distant. I didn’t understand her longing to go back to war, but then, to each their own.
The sun set slowly, coloring the stone plains and the sea in pinks and oranges as it sank beneath the horizon. Kestral insisted we set up our campsite while we still had a little light, then turn in early. It all ended tomorrow, after all.
Thick, dark storm clouds rolled in over the stone plains early the next morning. Kestral had predicted that Velyn wouldn’t be able to use his fog due to the steam vents, but then sometimes when the vents were particularly active it was like the plains were covered in a warm, white fog anyway. Once again, Kila, Kestral and I awaited the approach of our brothers on a battlefield of our choosing. At least this time there wasn’t a nearby village full of commoners and soldiers all telling the crown exactly where we were. Hopefully, we could fight to the finish today.
It had to end today. Every extra moment spent by Kestral’s side made it harder for me to think about leaving.
Kila didn’t pace today. She stood in a wide military stance, her arms crossed, hands near the weapons at her belt. Her hair and eyes were red once again, her hair wrapped about her head like a battle crown. She wore only leather armor this time—a tight leather vest, leather pants, and her high-laced leather boots. Her arms, as usual, were covered in her leather-wrapped-steel arm guards.
Kestral was similarly armored in leather with the addition of his magic-grounding gauntlets. His sword and small crossbow were clipped to his belt, but he held his spear in his hand. I hadn’t seen him use it outside of practice drills, but he looked good holding it. His new boots helped the picture, too, rather than those old falling-apart sorry scraps of leather he called boots in our last battle with Velyn and Eagan.
I was dressed the same as ever—black sneak-thief clothes, low-laced boots, sheathed fae daggers. I wasn’t even wearing my throwing knives as a shift would just drop them. If not for my vendetta against Velyn, I would have felt out of place next to the trained warriors, but when my brothers came into view, I knew I would fight as fiercely as either one of them.
Eagan walked a little ahead of Velyn, a self-confident smirk on his face. His sheathed sword was slung over his shoulders, arms draped over it casually. I wished I had even a tiny bit of projectile magic, just to wipe the smug expression off his face. He wasn’t wearing any armor, just a flowing silk orange shirt over black leggings and embroidered boots. And people called me vain?
Velyn stalked along a pace behind, jaw set, brows drawn tightly together. He still wore the rough-spun loose clothing he always wore, pale blue vest over a cut-sleeved shirt and loose brown pants over sturdy, boring boots. His eyes flashed as he glared across the rocky field at us, cumulous hair moving in a phantom air current.
Eagan stopped well out of bow shot, Velyn stepping up beside him. We eyed each other across the rocky expanse, wondering what new tricks the others had come up with since the last time we had faced each other. I had a trick or two, but had they worked out something new as well? There was a plan, of course, but I expected it to fall apart the instant the fight began.
“Brother, Sister, it is a pleasure—” Eagan began a flowery greeting but Kestral cut him off.
“No pleasantries, Eagan. We just want this over with.”
“Fine.” Eagan didn’t lose his smile. “Did you meet with Reina?”
“We did,” I called back. “She’s on her own side in all of this.”
Eagan glanced over at Velyn. “I told you she wouldn’t come.”
“I remember. You said it half a dozen times.”
“But you said—”
“I know what I saw,” Velyn snapped. “What they say doesn’t mean anything.”
Eagan rolled his eyes at his partner then smiled jovially at the rest of us. “Well? Are we ready to start this?”
Kila grinned, drawing her longsword and settling into an attack stance. “I’m certainly ready to end it.”
Eagan lowered his sword from his shoulders, holding it low at his side. H
e held his free hand in front of himself, closing his eyes in concentration. At his side, Velyn faded to mist as the winds rose.
“Ready, Kila?” I asked, preparing a shift. “Just get me alone with him.”
“Just distract him, Reshi,” Kestral said, voice low.
“I’m going to kill him,” I growled. “This is it.”
“There!” Kila shouted, lifting and slamming her heel, causing a wide chunk of rock to crack and rise beneath Velyn’s feet as he reformed. I raced forward, shifting as I ran. Black wings carried me to the rapidly rising stone pillar, nearly the width of a city block. Velyn dropped to one knee as he fought to keep his balance. He looked up as I landed and shifted, stalking towards him with daggers drawn. Velyn grinned, then misted.
“Coward!” I shouted, spinning to look around for him. Instead of the mist dissolving behind me, it darkened and turned to smoke. I turned back slowly as Eagan stepped forward.
“Where are you going, Reshi?” Eagan asked, friendly smile in place.
“Uh . . .” I backed a step away. “Wrong dance partner. If it’s okay with you, I’ll just—”
The stone platform we stood on was suddenly ringed in flame. I sighed.
“You can try flying over it,” Eagan said, loosening his sword from its sheath before tossing the sheath aside. “I can make those flames jump startlingly high, though.”
“I guess I’ll just have to kill you, then.” I crouched in a low stance, a dagger in each hand.
“Big words from such a little brother.” Eagan held his sword before him, other hand back for balance, a duelist’s stance.
“We’re the same dusting height,” I complained. “The ‘little brother’ thing is getting played out, don’t you think?”
Eagan shrugged a shoulder. “Then become a contender. Until then, you’re the adorable baby of the family.”
“All of us are adorable compared to Reina,” I replied. “Did you know she can—” I darted forward without completing the sentence. Unfortunately, Eagan seemed ready for that ploy. He parried my first attack and dodged the follow through. He circled his sword down and up, taking a sliding step towards me. I leaned away from the attack, using one dagger as a guard, stabbing the other down at Eagan’s leg. He managed to pivot enough to earn only a scratch, then shoved his sword against my dagger, pushing me back.
Winds whipped through Eagan’s flaming circle but never enough to blow the fire out. Below the stone platform, I heard the thrum of thunder and the rumble of the earth. The plan had been for Kila and Kestral to overwhelm Eagan together while I distracted Velyn; that plan was reversed now. Hopefully, they could kill the younger brother while I kept the elder distracted.
After checking the cut on his leg, Eagan took a new stance and charged, trying to break through my daggers with his longer reach. I deflected the blade to the side, slashing out when I had the chance. We exchanged blows back and forth, neither gaining ground. Eagan never lost his grin. It was funny; I was grinning too.
“You have gotten better,” Eagan admitted, breaking away and pacing back a half circle. “I would have hoped to see something new from you, though. Particularly in regard to your magic.”
“I know it’s hard for nobles to accept, but you can’t always get what you want.” I rolled my daggers in my wrists, reversing my grips. “But sometimes—” I charged again, darting low, hoping to cut through the tendons in his ankles. Those boots were too ridiculous to be any real protection to him. Eagan drove the point of his sword down and slashed up, knocking one of my daggers free of my hand. I barely got the second one up to guard, dropping to one knee as I lost my balance. With a little fancy footwork, Eagan pivoted and thrust me backwards, putting himself between me and my dropped dagger.
“Sorry you have to die like this,” Eagan said, preparing another thrust. “But they were never going to allow a street rat like you take the throne anyway. Nobility always comes out on top.”
“I never wanted the throne. And I wouldn’t consider anyone who killed for a throne to be noble.” I smirked at him. “And rats aren’t the only things beneath the feet of nobles.” I dropped into my snake form, coiling and lunging for my brother. He yelped and slashed, but it was hard to hit a moving, sinuous object. Lucky for Eagan, his clothes were loose enough that my fangs missed his flesh, but I did wend my way between his legs to my dropped dagger. I shifted back, picking up my dagger as I stood.
“That was well done,” Eagan admitted, taking up a guard stance.
“Thanks.” I grinned. “For that honest feedback, I’ll tell you a secret.”
“Oh? What’s that?” He was too smart to lower his guard.
“I’ve been practicing something new.” I slammed the hilts of my daggers together, holding them both in one hand. I placed my palm over the blades, sliding my hand up as the silver elongated into a narrow, double-edged sword. I whirled it once before settling into an attack stance. “And I had some truly great teachers.”
I charged with a parallel thrust which Eagan nearly blocked too slowly. I turned the thrust into a slash, cutting a line through his garish orange shirt. As I prepared another attack, Eagan’s surprise turned to a determined anger. He parried before moving to attack in earnest. We continued trading blows long enough for my sword arm to become weary, so I switched hands. Kestral had been impressed at how quickly I learned the sword in either hand, but then, I had always preferred fighting with both hands anyway. Eagan darted in close, thinking I had switched the sword to my weaker arm. He locked the blades at the hilts, trying to shove me back.
I punched him in the face.
Eagan cried out, shoving himself backwards off my sword. It wasn’t that hard a punch, but it would leave a nasty bruise. “That’s against the rules!”
I laughed so hard I nearly cried. “Nobles and their rules! This is a death match, dear brother. Only winning matters, not how you win.”
Eagan snarled and charged, playful smile erased. The flames around our arena danced a little higher and burned a little hotter. I readied my sword in a guard position, preparing for another test of strength.
There was a resounding crack, one I didn’t just hear, but felt beneath my boots. Eagan skidded to a halt as our stone pillar began to tip sideways. It was slow at first, as if the line where the sky met the sea had decided to rotate around us then sped up as the pillar began to tumble in earnest. Eagan cursed, puffing away in a plume of smoke. I shifted to my crow form, spiraling down to see what was happening below.
Kila and Kestral looked wind-tossed and singed, but otherwise unharmed. Several puddles of liquid steel littered the stone plains like fallen stars. Kestral still had his sword sheathed at his belt but his spear was gone, as were several of Kila’s swords. Eagan materialized near Velyn, who was creating an ice bandage over his bleeding shoulder.
“All that and you couldn’t kill the lightning bug?” I asked, shifting to stand between Kila and Kestral.
“We could say the same of you,” Kila replied, gesturing to Eagan.
“I made him mad, though.” I grinned.
Kestral rolled his eyes. “You make everyone mad. It’s hardly an accomplishment worth bragging about.”
Kila laughed.
“Kila, did you bring the pillar down?”
“Yeah, Kestral was worried about you.” She smiled coyly. “He gets all cute and worried when he can’t see his little Reshi.”
Kestral glared at her but didn’t argue the point.
I laughed and twisted the hilt of my sword so that it broke into daggers once again. Eagan and Velyn were working on something together and I wanted to be ready for them.
Fire spouted from the nearest steam vent, making me jump. Kila tapped her toe, making the earth groan and snap, closing old steam vents and opening new ones. This plain would never look the same again after we were done with it.
The wind picked up suddenly, tossing about debris and steam to create a veil between us and the others. I squinted, attempting to see through it.
Kestral held a hand up to block flying debris, peering through the dust veil. As I watched, the color slowly drained from his face, his jaw dropping slightly open.
“Back,” Kestral said, voice hoarse. “Back!”
I shifted to my rat form, light and quick, scampering quickly ahead of Kestral and Kila as they retreated. I turned to look back, gaping in horror as fiery golems burst through the dust screen chasing after us. Each golem had to be twenty feet tall, made entirely of vortexed flames, shaping arms, legs and a head. I could guess what had shaken Kestral—these creations looked scarily similar to the slag he had described. I shifted to my crow form, letting Velyn’s winds carry me closer—but not too close. There were four of the monstrosities in all. As I flew past, one tracked me with his eyeless head. He stooped, peeling a chunk of rock up with an ear-aching screech, then hurled it at me. I dove out of its path, flapping wildly to catch up with Kestral and Kila.
“What’s the plan, here?” I asked, shifting human as Kila and Kestral paused to take up arms.
Kestral was panting, his eyes a little too wide, but he spoke calmly. “Kila, run the magic. Try to knock them down, crush them, whatever brings them down. Reshi, get behind them and try to engage Velyn. He’s hurt, he should be weak.” Kestral swallowed, eyes forward. “I’ll engage.”
“Kestral, that’s suicide!” I protested. “There are four of those monsters!”
Kila tapped her foot against the ground. Rocks sprang up around one of the fire-golems, making it stumble. Kila held her empty hands up, then clenched them into fists. The rocks crashed together, and the beast screamed, crushed between the stones. Kila sagged to the side, sweating, but she smiled proudly as she corrected me, “Three.”
Kestral nodded. “Go, Reshi.” He shoved me forward before sliding his sword free of its sheath. It could only be madness, but I followed his orders. I flew past the fire-golems, distracting one for a while as Kestral engaged the other two until Kila could recover from her magic use.
Sorcerous Rivalry (The Mage-Born Chronicles Book 1) Page 36