Besides, in the end, he had to give the most prestigious position in Cymmera to the man who deserved it, the man who’d proven his loyalty time and time again. Damn. He really was going to have to ask Noah.
Noah entered, bowed with respect, and refrained from any sarcastic comments or looks, for once. “Your Majesty.”
Apparently news of Lucas’s betrayal had already spread.
“Noah.”
He stood. “Sir?”
“I am taking the Death Dealers to Argonas in search of our missing citizens. Then we are going after Thaddeus.” He hesitated. Was he doing the right thing? He would be leaving the Queen’s Army short a soldier. But what else could he do? His decisions had to be based on keeping the majority of his citizens safe. Of course, he had no clue where the majority of his citizens even were. “You’ve heard Vaughn was injured?”
“Yes. I’m sorry, Jackson.”
Jackson nodded his acceptance of the sympathy. No matter their differences, Noah would understand the devastation of losing a teammate.
“I would be honored if you’d ride in his place as Ranger’s partner until he’s back on his feet.”
Noah’s mouth fell open. “Uh…I mean, of course. I’d be honored. Thank you.”
Chapter 10
Ryleigh stood beside the frosted glass pedestal the divination stone sat atop. The stone had belonged to Queen Dara. It offered wisdom and guidance, two things Ryleigh sure could use at the moment.
The stone shifted through a myriad of colors—blue, green, yellow. Hypnotic. She knelt and ran her fingers over the image of three men etched into the pedestal that had appeared right after Ryleigh had seen the exact image silhouetted deep within the stone. Jackson and Dakota? King Maynard slung over Jackson’s shoulder? She hadn’t wanted to believe it at first.
But then the second image had etched itself into the smooth, glass surface moments after appearing to her in the stone. A dragon, wings spread. Two men astride him. Jackson had emerged first. The second man slumped to the side in front of Jackson, Noah White.
She hadn’t been able to deny the stone’s power after that.
The rest of her room lay in shambles, but the pedestal holding the Divination Stone sat untouched amid the destruction. There had to be a reason for that. But she couldn’t even guess what it might be.
She twirled the stone between her fingers. Its weight had surprised her at first, but now it brought comfort. Red light spilled from the stone as it heated. Black smoke swirled in its center.
Ryleigh brought the stone closer. The churning smoke grew larger, swirled faster, began to form into a shape. The silhouette of a woman emerged. She stood atop a mountain. Arms raised. No mistaking the form or the wild mane of hair. Mia.
A funnel of black smoke swirled around her, concealing all but her head and arms, as if swallowing her.
Light shot from the stone, burning Ryleigh’s hand, and transferred the image onto the pedestal.
She threw the stone down and blew on her hand, the black scorch mark dead center in her palm burning as if a thousand hot needles prodded her. This was one time the stone would be wrong. No way that image would ever come to be as long as Ryleigh had breath in her body.
The stone once again began its shift through the rainbow.
“Ryleigh?”
Startled by Mia’s voice, she jumped and spun toward the door where Mia had poked her head in.
“Mia? Is something wrong?”
“No, everything is fine. I just wanted to let you know Vaughn is doing better. Cyenne is amazing. She’s teaching Kiara and me a lot about magic and how she’s healing Vaughn.” She frowned, pushed the door open wider, and entered the room. “Are you sure everything is okay? You seem… I don’t know…weird.”
Ryleigh forced a smile. “Thanks.”
“You know what I mean.”
“Yeah.” She closed her fist, the burning finally starting to subside. She didn’t need Mia asking questions. “I’m fine, just tired.”
She studied Ryleigh another moment, then let it go. “The Death Dealers are getting ready to leave.”
“Thank you. I’ll be right there.”
Mia spotted the stone on the floor, her attention drawn by its traitorous color shifting. “Is there anything I should know?”
“I imagine if there is, you’ll see it.”
“Yes, that’s probably true.” She grinned. “That being the case, is there anything you want to talk about?”
There was nothing to talk about. Mia would never be put in harm’s way. “No.”
She closed the door softly behind her, crossed the room, and lifted the stone, then placed it back on the pedestal. “You know, Elijah said for the most part our destinies are already laid out. But, occasionally, it’s possible to…alter the course of fate.”
“Is that what he did when he sent Jackson to Argonas?”
Mia folded her hands in front of her. “Yes.”
“So why is it okay sometimes?”
Tilting her head, she studied Ryleigh. “I don’t think it is. He said it’s possible. He didn’t say it was okay.”
“Did he know about Lucas?”
“He knew someone trusted had arranged for the scroll to be delivered.”
“Did you know?”
“Only in the end. I told Darius and Tatiana, and they detained Lucas. Then I summoned Kiara before I told Jackson.” She shrugged. “So, I guess, in my own way, maybe I altered the course of fate as well. It’s a difficult line to walk. How do you know when to interfere and when to let things be?”
“What did Elijah say?”
“He said, ‘we never alter the course of fate.’” A sad smile touched her eyes. “Right before he sent Jackson to Argonas and died in his place.”
She was crazy if she thought for one minute Ryleigh would allow her to risk her life. “And what do you believe?”
“I believe everything we’re shown is revealed to us for a reason. We must listen to our hearts, and if we absolutely cannot accept an intended outcome we can…manipulate events. But only if it’s not going to hurt someone else. You can never cause harm to one person in order to save another.”
She knew more than she was saying. The certainty slammed through Ryleigh with as much force as the vision had earlier. Ryleigh nodded, too confused to argue any of this with her right now.
“And where does your destiny lie, Mia?”
“At your side, of course.” This time, her smile was genuine. “I love you, big sis.”
Ryleigh laughed. “Love you too, little sis.”
“Now, go see Jackson before he leaves.” She pulled the door open and held it for Ryleigh.
“Come on, Max.” The wolf scrambled to his feet and took his place beside Ryleigh as she strode down the corridor with Mia.
Mia had grown so much. And Ryleigh couldn’t be more proud. “So Vaughn is really doing better?”
“He is. Cyenne expects him to make a full recovery. I wish we’d known about the faeries when King Maynard was injured.”
“Yeah, me too.” How different would their lives have been had King Maynard lived? She and Mia might not even have stayed in Cymmera. She shook the thoughts off. No sense wasting time on what ifs.
“I’m going to see if Cyenne needs anything else. I’ll catch up with you later.”
“Sure, see you later.” Ryleigh left the castle, jogged across the courtyard to the stable, and entered the open doors.
Quiet surrounded her. The dragon pens stood empty. The curtain was drawn on the small room Jackson used to prepare.
“Wait here, boy.” She patted Max’s head, then lifted the curtain aside and peeked in.
Jackson stood at the table along the back wall, his back to her. He lifted his shirt over his head and tossed it onto the table.
Ryleigh moved up behind him and laid a hand on his shoulder.
He stiffened.
“I just spoke to Mia. She s
aid Vaughn is doing well. They think he’ll recover.”
He relaxed into her touch.
She massaged the bunched muscles in his shoulders. “Is Ranger riding with you?”
“Yes.” He spread his hands apart on the table and leaned forward, lowering his head.
She rubbed the knots in his neck, tried to relieve some of the tension. “Without a partner?”
“No.” He tilted his head back and forth, stretching his neck from side to side. “Noah is riding with him.”
Ryleigh’s hands stopped moving. Noah? “I don’t understand. He’s had no training as a Death Dealer.”
“His training is adequate for this mission.”
“You’re sure?” Death Dealers trained for hundreds of years. How could Noah’s training possibly be adequate enough to ride with them? “You wouldn’t take him into battle unprepared, would you?”
Probably a stupid question, but the history between Jackson and Noah was unusual.
He faced her. “I don’t know who else to trust.”
What could she say to that? Nothing. At least, nothing that would ease his suffering. Sending him into a possible battle with men she wasn’t sure she could trust was just as hard. She ran her fingers over the tattoo marking Jackson as a Death Dealer. The elaborate symbol formed a sleeve around his upper arm and shoulder. Two swords crossed each other in the exact center. She traced the red slash bisecting the swords. The mark of the king.
His breath caught.
She smoothed her fingers over his lips, up the line of his jaw, then twined them into his hair.
He leaned closer to her, brushed his lips along her neck.
She wanted so badly to beg him to stay.
“I love you, Ryleigh.”
“I love you too.”
He pulled her closer and hugged her tight.
Wrapping her arms around his back, she laid her cheek against his chest.
His heart beat strong and steady.
No words could convey the depth of her feelings for him, so she simply held him. She inhaled deeply. His rich, earthy scent comforted her as nothing else could.
When he released her and stepped back, cold jolted through her. Regulating her temperature did nothing to relieve it.
“I have to go.” His husky whisper made her smile.
“I know.”
“I’ll be back as soon as I can.” He tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
“I know that too.” She lifted his black shirt from a hook on the wall and slid it over his head. “Have you decided what you’re going to do?”
He stuffed his arms into the sleeves and smoothed the shirt down until it hugged his tight form. “Do about what?”
“About Lucas.”
His jaw clenched. “No.”
He fitted his breastplate into place, and Ryleigh secured the straps. Then he pulled an arm-guard onto his left forearm and stepped into high, armor-plated, black boots.
Ryleigh lifted his bow from the table and held it out to him.
He placed his hand on top of hers. “I know you don’t understand our ways, but treason is not tolerated here. It can’t be. Especially not after Kai and Chayce.”
He shook his head, took the bow from her, and slung it onto his back. “All the betrayal has to end.”
“I know.” She handed him the two daggers from the table.
He shoved them into his boots. “But?”
“I guess I just wish it wasn’t Lucas.”
“Yeah. Me too.”
No sense sending him away with this between them. There would be plenty of time to argue when he returned.
A horn sounded in the distance. If someone was already summoning the dragons, it was time to go. “Be careful.”
He cradled her cheek. “I will.”
She covered his hand with hers. “Come back to me.”
He laced his fingers through hers and squeezed. They both knew that was a promise he couldn’t make. “Take care of things here while I’m gone. Trust Darius and Tatiana. No one else.”
She nodded.
He pressed his lips against hers, then pulled back. “As soon as I find our people, we’ll end this once and for all.”
She smiled at him. “Yes. We will.”
He pulled on his black leather gloves, tucked his helmet beneath his arm, and strode toward the dragon pens.
* * * *
Jackson landed Ophidian on an icy plateau in Argonas, a couple of miles from the mountains where he expected to find his people. He slid from Ophidian’s back and lifted off his helmet.
The other Death Dealers set their dragons down beside Ophidian and jogged toward him.
Ranger yanked off his helmet. “Anything?”
“Nah. Nothing at all.” He hadn’t seen any sign of movement, never mind evidence a large group of people had been transported through the endless miles of mountain chains.
Noah stood at Ranger’s side, hands propped low on his hips as he scanned the mountains. “I don’t understand how they could move the number of people you’re talking about without leaving any sign of them passing.”
Jackson couldn’t, either. That’s what scared him. “Cymmera has already been searched. Repeatedly. There’s no sign of our people there.”
Noah glanced at the others and shifted from one foot to the other, then looked down.
“What’s up, Noah?”
He shrugged and took a shaky breath of the frigid air. Vapor plumed when he exhaled. “Do you really think they’re still alive?”
Jackson bit back the urge to snap at him. The same concern had been nagging at him.
“It doesn’t make sense, Jackson.” Ranger kicked a loose rock and sent it sailing over the cliff at the edge of the plateau. “You’re talking about hundreds of people. They didn’t all just disappear.”
Noah stiffened. His eyes went wide. “Maybe they did.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, you guys all take transferring through portals for granted. You’ve been doing it so long I guess it’s just second nature. The first few times I saw someone use one, it really freaked me out. It was like watching someone disappear into thin air.” He scanned the horizon near the mountain where they’d found Thaddeus last time.
They’d already been over that land ten times. Jackson didn’t hold out much hope of finding anything there.
“What if they opened a portal directly from Cymmera to the caves? Is that possible? Would there be evidence of it anywhere outside the caves and tunnels?”
Ranger pulled off his gloves and rubbed his hands together for warmth. “No. There wouldn’t necessarily be evidence of the transfer on this end, if they opened the portal underground.”
Dakota frowned. “There should be evidence in Cymmera if they corralled hundreds of people in one place, though.”
“But what if they didn’t?” Noah asked.
Noah’s theory was beginning to intrigue Jackson. “What do you mean?”
“What if they scattered them? Allowed them to flee, then rounded them up a few at time and transferred them into the tunnels.”
Jackson hadn’t thought that way. He’d assumed they rounded everyone up and held them in a central location. Thaddeus’s army was certainly large enough to handle something like Noah suggested.
Ranger held up a hand. “Or what if he made them go through on their own?”
“You think they just went willingly? Why would hundreds of people do that? Are you suggesting all of Cymmera pledged loyalty to Thaddeus, or Chayce, then left their homes and their lives and disappeared?” Jackson wouldn’t believe everyone in his kingdom had suddenly turned traitor. Although not so long ago, he’d never have believed it of Lucas, either.
The wind whipped snow and ice crystals into his face. He wiped them away with one ice-coated glove.
“That thing in the tunnels.” Ranger shivered. “The smoke creature that got into your head.
Could it have made you follow a…suggestion to walk through a portal?”
“Without knowing where I was going?”
Ranger shrugged. “Maybe. Actually, all they’d have to do is make someone take a few steps.”
Dakota jumped in. “They might not have even realized they were moving through a portal. At least, not until it was too late.”
The possibility loomed over Jackson.
The mountainside Thaddeus had used to create his army was riddled with tunnels, hundreds of them. More than they could possibly search. Yet, it was the first plausible scenario they’d come up with.
But he was also going to have to concede his people might have been killed, though he couldn’t see the purpose in killing them. What was the point of taking charge if there was no one left to control? “We’ll search for any large swatches of disturbed land. Anything that could possibly be a mass grave. Then we’ll begin our search of the tunnels.”
Jackson swung onto Ophidian’s back and lifted into the storm.
Heavy snow impeded his vision as he skimmed the surface in search of any evidence his people had been buried in Argonas. He didn’t expect to find anything. The more he thought about it, the more he thought Noah might be on to something.
He guided Ophidian toward the side of the shattered mountain. This time, he didn’t have time to play games. They were going in with the dragons, searching for their people and getting out. He didn’t want to be away from Cymmera any longer than necessary.
Ophidian landed and tucked his wings back to squeeze through the tunnel entrance.
Jackson stayed low against his neck, searching the tunnels as Ophidian ran.
Dakota, Ranger, and Noah followed behind him.
The other Death Dealers circled the mountain from the air.
As they moved deeper into the mountain, the tunnels widened. They’d already gone farther than they had the first time they entered the caves and tunnels to destroy the army of ice creatures Thaddeus was creating.
Battle for Cymmera Page 19