Treason: Book Two of the Grimoire Saga (a Young Adult Fantasy series)

by S. M. Boyce

  “No, that was you,” Adele said. “The Vagabond is a ghost with no physical power. He tapped a wealth of potential within you that has previously gone unused. You could have moved mountains, Kara, and nothing alive could have stopped you. The Vagabond only released his hold when he knew his point had been made. He didn’t want to use any more of your energy than he already had, most likely to protect you from others discovering just what you can do. It is always safest for the powerful to go underestimated.”

  Kara ran her hand through her hair. Back at the Gala, Deirdre had said Kara was more than she knew. Apparently, she could even make stone grow. She’d scared dominant rulers into submission. She was powerful.

  “But how, the Grimoire?” she asked.

  “No book can grant that much power, not even the Grimoire. It can only teach you to use that which you already have. No, your gift is yours alone.”

  “I don’t understand how, though.”

  “Nor do I, my girl. I suppose only time will tell.”

  Kara sighed again. She was doing that a lot, lately. “So they let Braeden go?”

  “Yes. He has to return with the kidnapped Heirs.”

  “I must have been convincing if they trusted him with that.”

  “The Bloods have nothing to lose at this point.”

  “I guess that’s true. Oh well. It doesn’t matter. I’m going to help him.”

  Kara stood and teetered on her feet. Blood rushed from her head, and it was all she could do to not fall back onto the mattress.

  “As intimidating as you are right now”—it was easy to hear the sarcasm in Adele’s voice—“you need rest. Your body wasn’t used to channeling such a strong spirit or using so much of your inner gift. Though you’re healing quickly, you’re not ready yet.”

  “But Braeden—”

  “—is strong. You have to trust that he’s capable of doing this alone.”

  “Of course he is. That doesn’t mean I shouldn’t help.”

  “That’s exactly what it means. You—”

  “We’re going and no—”

  “Child!”

  “What?!”

  “You. Will. Sit. Down.”

  Adele tightened her fists. Kara sat down.

  The muse continued as if their little row never happened. “Garrett is distracting the drenowith Council from my sudden absence. I need to protect you.”

  “Me? Seriously? No, go help Braeden. I’m sitting in a bed! I’m fine!”

  “No, you are not fine. Gavin’s face when you strode into the room terrified even me. Aislynn, Frine, and Ithone were rightfully scared, but not Gavin. He looked greedy. I’ve kept him at bay this long by moving you to a new room every hour or so. I don’t know when he’ll find us, but now that you’re up, we can leave for the village as soon as you can move.

  “No”—Adele interrupted Kara before she could protest—“you may be able to walk, but that doesn’t mean you can fight Stelians. You’ll just get in Braeden’s way if you go to him right now. I can help you, but you have to do as I say.”

  “Adele, Braeden is incredibly strong. I’ve never met anyone more focused. But the Stele is his weakness. If he goes there, he’ll be drawn to it. If Carden captures him, there’s no way he’ll escape again. Please understand why I have to go!”

  “My girl—”

  “Please, no more arguing. I’m going to the Stele.”

  “But you don’t even know where it is!”

  “Right. That’s why this would be so much easier if you would just help me get there.”

  A voice boomed in the hallway, nothing more than a mumble until the speaker shouted a single phrase:

  “FIND HER!”

  “Gavin,” Kara said under her breath. It was involuntary, like a gasp; there was no stopping it, however much it didn’t help the situation or ease the dread.

  Adele nodded. “Come, we can move into another room. The next empty one is two floors down, where they’ve already searched.”

  Kara hesitated. “If we’re still going to bring peace into Ourea, I’ll have to face him sooner or later. It would be better to dispel whatever half-conceived plot is running through his head than to let it simmer.”

  Adele opened the window and paused, her hand limp and forgotten on the latch. “You would still help them?”

  “It seems like they need help now more than ever.”

  “They only fear you for the moment. I doubt they will help you when the need arises. You are still very much alone in this.”

  “I don’t want them to fear me. I just want them to see reason, and even the selfish can change, Adele. I’d be a pretty useless vagabond if I gave up on them. Besides, I’m not alone. I have you and Garrett. I have Braeden. That’s why I have to find him, to make sure he comes back.”

  “Three allies can’t fight an army.”

  “Look, I can’t run forever. None of the Bloods can control me, so—”

  “Check every room!” Gavin called through the door.

  The next few seconds were a blur.

  The knob turned. Kara stood at the foot of the bed, leaning against the bedpost for support. Hinges creaked as the door opened. Gavin loomed in the doorframe, head turned to peer over his shoulder as he barked another command. Aislynn walked behind him, looking past Kara. The queen’s furrowed brows relaxed into awe.

  A whoosh of air danced through Kara’s hair, sending strands into her face. A finch landed on her shoulder, and she didn’t have to turn around to know that the little bird was Adele. But the muse hadn’t moved fast enough. Aislynn had apparently seen her change.

  “You heard m—” Gavin turned and stopped abruptly when he saw Kara.

  “You are very loud,” Kara said simply.

  Her chest tightened, and she tried to hide the fact that breathing had become difficult. Adele wasn’t a secret anymore. Sweat formed on her temple, but Gavin seemed to misinterpret the nerves.

  “Kara, we were worried. I’m sorry for what I’ve done. You don’t have to be afraid of us,” he said.

  “I wasn’t—” She cut herself off with a deep breath. No use letting him know about the muse on her shoulder as well.

  Gavin arched his back. “We underestimated you, and we won’t do it again. You moved stone like it was water! You proved yourself, Kara, and we couldn’t be more grateful to have you as an ally if you’ll still have us. It’s clear that you still need to learn to control it, but with power like yours, we can destroy the Stele forever! I—”

  “Stop,” Kara said.

  Aislynn, Gavin, and even the little bird on Kara’s shoulder turned to look at her. She took a deep breath as her jaw tensed on its own.

  “What?” Gavin finally asked.

  “You heard me. Stop! You’re selfish, ignorant, and absorbed in your own little world. I’ve had enough!”

  “How could you possibly—”

  “You haven’t learned a thing. You were going to kill Braeden, and you act like I’ve forgotten that!” she said.

  Gavin narrowed his eyes. “Yes, it seems you’ve taken quite an interest in the traitor.”

  “Don’t twist this into something it’s not. I simply know an honest man when I see one, and I protected someone who needed me.” Kara tasted the lie and suppressed all thought of it, choosing instead to glare at the Hillsidian king in her doorway.

  Gavin took a step closer. Aislynn grabbed his arm. He shook her off, but didn’t continue. Instead, he leaned in with a glare that should have made Kara shiver. Before the Gala, it would have worked.

  But Kara was a different person now. She had more than just a book to protect herself.

  Gavin spoke under his breath. “I’m trying to help you. Let me do that.”

  A tickle ran up Kara’s arm, and it wasn’t until it stopped on her head and barked that she realized it was Flick.

  “Enough, all of you!” Aislynn shouted.

  “This doesn’t concern you!” Gavin shouted back.

  “It certainly does.
This is my kingdom, and I will banish you from it if you say one more traitorous word! You have gone too far. If the Vagabond won’t help you, it is because you are unworthy. When you find it in yourself to do as she says, you will be worthy of the help she gives. Until then, out!”

  Gavin turned back to Kara and paused, glancing to the sparrow for the first time. He grumbled and stalked from the room, shouting orders at the guards in the hallway. He spoke so quickly that Kara couldn’t even make out what he said.

  Aislynn closed the door behind him. She rested her head on the wood as she took a deep breath. “Vagabond, I wish circumstances were different. It seems you and I are met with opposition at every turn.”

  “Thank you for standing up for Braeden. That was brave,” Kara said.

  “And foolish, it seems. They think of me as weaker, now, though surviving the Stele’s prison is no small feat. Compassion is so often punished. I simply wish—”

  Aislynn peered over to the sparrow on Kara’s shoulder and paused, as if she had forgotten what she was going to say.

  The queen continued after a moment. “There’s no need for me to beat around the bush. I know a muse when I see one. She doesn’t need to hide from me.”

  When the muse didn’t change form, Kara took it as a cue to play dumb.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I saw her shift, Kara, so there’s no need for games. But it’s all right. She doesn’t need to change form for me. I just want the muse to know I am grateful that she saved Braeden from the Stele. He told me the true story of how he met you, Kara, and I cannot thank either of you enough for saving him.”

  Kara wanted to feel relieved. She wanted to think Adele’s secret was safe. She wanted to laugh it off and have one more powerful ally in this dangerous world, but her gut twisted with dread. The hair on her neck stood on end, and every fiber of her being screamed, liar!

  Aislynn nodded in the silence that settled between them. She left, and the door clicked behind her. No lock slid into place. Kara could leave if she wanted, though she wasn’t sure that was in her best interest.

  Flick settled on her shoulder and purred into her ear. A gust of wind blew through her hair again as the muse shifted back to her human form.

  “It seems you have yet another ally, Kara. This is good,” Adele said.

  “I don’t think we can trust her,” Kara answered.

  “Why not?”

  “I—I don’t know. I can’t put my finger on it, but something was wrong with that entire conversation.”

  “Don’t reject kindness out of fear. You don’t have many friends here, Kara, and Aislynn helped you many times over, has she not? She vouched for Braeden without knowing you would save him. No one could have expected that.”

  “Even I didn’t expect that,” Kara admitted.

  “Aislynn is an ally. Be careful not to push her away.”

  “I still don’t think you should show yourself to her.”

  “It’s a bit late for that. They opened the door much too quickly. I was too involved in trying to talk sense into you. I was unprepared.”

  “Speaking of which, we need to go—”

  “Precisely.”

  “—to the Stele.”

  “No! You are infuriating.”

  Kara caught Adele’s eye. “I’m not leaving Braeden.”

  Adele sighed. “Very well. But you are only to help him escape if there is an issue, is that clear? You will not go into the Stele.”

  Kara nodded. It was a lie. She knew it and figured the muse had already guessed as much.

  Adele shook her head and climbed out the open window. She balanced on the window ledge, only her foot and fingers still inside the room, and shifted into a silver creature with a thin body and four legs. Its wings glistened in the sunlight like a dragonfly’s. As Kara watched, the wings began to flutter until they were nothing but blurs. Adele let go and hovered just outside the window, waiting.

  Kara grinned and threw her satchel over her shoulder as she marveled at the beautiful creature—whatever it was. Flick scampered into the bag, apparently guessing what would come next.

  She slipped through the window and climbed onto Adele’s back. Scales broke apart the light and reflected it like prisms. Their edges tickled Kara’s palm as she wrapped her arms around Adele’s neck.

  Adele pushed off the window and soared into the sky. Kara’s gut twisted from the momentum. A fleeting worry pushed into her mind—guards might try to shoot them down. Kara had, after all, not been formally released. Aislynn had not said she could leave.

  Kara shrugged and hugged the muse’s neck a little tighter. It wasn’t as if any yakona alive could stop a muse, anyway.

  Chapter 10

  Aurora

  Braeden led Aurora past the tables in the still-empty Stelian break room and sighed with relief when none of the cabinets creaked open. The guards still hadn’t come to.

  He might just make it out of this.

  Aurora walked a step behind and followed him into the spare closet that hid the secret exit. Green light shone through the clothes disguising the still-open door. Braeden pushed aside a shirt and gestured for Aurora to wait. He needed to make sure it was safe.

  She nodded, and he slipped out into the bushes. The tangled branches cast sunbeams on the ground. Braeden didn’t see the other royals for a moment, but took a calming breath when the prince of Losse walked by, pacing in the stillness beneath the low trees. The Lossian’s steps crunched the leaves, and Braeden flinched when the prince stepped on a twig.

  His fists tightened. It was as if they wanted to get caught.

  A screeching wail rang through the small grove of trees. Braeden covered his ears. As Daowa and the prince followed suit, Braeden turned to see Aurora with her hand on the now-closed door.

  “Oye! You heard it this time, too, yeah?” someone yelled to another soldier on the battlement.

  Braeden peered through the gaps in the short trees’ leaves and watched as the guard from earlier leaned over the edge of the wall. He stared at the bush to Braeden’s left, but it was over.

  “Get someone down there!” the guard said. He leaned back and disappeared from the edge of the roof.

  “What are we going to do?” Daowa asked. She wrung her hands and looked at her son.

  Braeden answered instead. “Plan B. Run like all hell is after you because soon, it will be.”

  He grabbed Aurora by the wrist and bolted along the tunnel of trees. He ran into the forest, pausing only long enough to glance over his shoulder and confirm that the prince had likewise grabbed his mother and followed.

  Shouts rang across the castle walls and some even came from the woods to Braeden’s right. He cursed beneath his breath and turned toward the stables.

  Aurora stumbled along behind him, barely able to keep up. The prince and Daowa ran close behind. Guards yelled to each other, their voices muted as they fanned out to search the woods.

  Fighting was not an option. Not against this many soldiers. Not when his only accomplices were a queen who kept tripping over her dress, a princess who had likely never held a sword in her life, and an exhausted prince. He doubted the Lossian prince would go down without a fight, but he knew they would all be captured again if it came to that.

  The stable roof appeared through a gap between two trees. Braeden sighed with relief. Its back entrance faced the woods. Only a ten-foot wide stretch of grass stood between him and a barn full of horses, drowngs, and assorted other mounts. Of course, his only hope was a horse. These drowngs had been trained to only let Stelians ride them and would kill sooner than let any of the royals get close.

  Braeden shot a cursory glance over the small field near the stables before he darted in and dragged Aurora with him. Horses pawed in their stalls, but no one stood in the aisle. He glanced back into the woods and waited at the door until the Lossians followed him in.

  Clumps of loose hay stuck to the edges along the empty aisle. A set of tall double doors at the
other end stood open, tall enough for mounted riders to charge through. Good. That was the closest thing to a plan Braeden had left.

  “Grab horses!” he ordered.

  Someone gasped. Braeden turned to see a stable hand peeking from one of the adjacent stalls. A fully saddled horse peeked out with him, a comb stuck in its mane.

  The groom bolted from the stall and ran out the door.

  Braeden rolled his eyes. “We have to leave NOW! Do any of you need a saddled horse?”

  “Hardly! The only thing I need is a boost,” Daowa said from a stall. She stood by a bridled horse with a stocky build, her left hand holding the reins and a bit of the horse’s mane as she waited for a lift.

  “Mother! This is not a time for pride. Get on the horse!” the Lossian prince shouted.

  Braeden looked over to the prince, who stood in the aisle with two white horses wearing black bridles. He offered Braeden the reins to the larger of the creatures. Its shoulder came almost to Braeden’s eye. He didn’t know horses that large even existed.

  He nodded to the fully saddled horse in the stall. “I guess that one is yours, Aurora.”

  She nodded and pulled herself onto its back, sitting sidesaddle. She hesitated, eyeing her leg for a moment before she slipped it over to the other side. Braeden nodded, grateful she’d done so. She would have fallen off otherwise.

  Daowa managed to hop onto her mount without a boost, so Braeden grabbed the reins to his horse and jumped onto the behemoth’s back. Without hesitation, he kicked the horse’s side. It flicked its tail and bolted, running through the aisle more quickly than he’d anticipated. The three royals followed suit and galloped from the stable with him, their escape violating every safety rule Braeden had ever learned.

  As he burst into the sunlight, a stream of fire blazed past him and just missed his arm. The heat seeped through his clothes. He looked over his shoulder. His stomach churned.

  The ground dipped into a hill, and a horde pooled at the bottom. Most of the Stelian soldiers ran toward him on foot, but a good number of them turned toward the stables, no doubt to grab their own mounts.