Hearts & Minds

by Gwynn White

  Nicholas’s certainty sent chills through Lynx. Either Dmitri had communicated the inner workings of Xipal’s boy soldiers’ minds to him, or he had discovered it himself. Either way, it was more than a little scary.

  Nicholas turned back to the boys. “The rest of you will get what you seek. Food. Clothes. A future.” He dipped his head at Chad. “The Trevenites are a brave, ferocious people.”

  Chad smiled. “That we are, Light-Bearer.”

  Nicholas didn’t return that smile. “You are also stuck up, self-righteous, and far too attached to your height and the color of your hair. Red. The color of blood, I’m told.”

  Chad blanched. “That is not entirely fair, Light-Bearer,” he protested. “We are a proud nation, that I don’t deny. But we have much to be proud of. We have survived what few others could.”

  Nicholas waved his hand dismissively. “That part was easy. I’ve spent plenty of time with Farith. A daughter of a king… yet she is maligned by everyone because she is different. So, if you want to prove me wrong, then take these children to heart. Give them homes. Educate them. Let your people share your religion with those who seek after one. In time, allow them to marry your daughters. If you and your people do this, I will believe your claims of Trevenite greatness.”

  Lynx caught Axel watching her. He smiled knowingly. She smiled back at him. What Nicholas demanded was perhaps more difficult than any trial the Trevenites had yet faced.

  Chad gulped. He hesitated, then dropped down onto one knee. “I will see it done.”

  Her father’s hand landed on Chad’s shoulder. He squeezed it tight.

  Nicholas’s otherworldly glow faded. His shoulders slumped. He turned to Axel and her. “It’s probably time to get some food. I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.”

  Lynx gaped.

  Axel cleared his throat. “I hate to intrude with more pesky details—” A sardonic smile. “But what about Xipal and the rest of his Blades? And we left a full-scale battle raging in the Main Tunnel.”

  Nicholas looked at Axel blankly. Then he snorted. “Right. You won’t know.” Another airy hand wave, this time in the direction of the charred airships. “Xipal’s dead. And his Blades… Well, they won’t go far.”

  Lynx looked at where Nicholas pointed. Focused on the discussion with Chad, she hadn’t noticed that the smoke had cleared. It gave her an unhindered view of Xipal.

  Or at least his remains.

  She sucked in a breath.

  Charred and broken, Xipal smoldered next to a burnt-out airship. He had been alive when the fire had been doused. Had Dmitri burned him?

  There was no sign of Flight Commander Aideen and his pilots.

  Dmitri must have opened the door. She didn’t doubt for a second that the fighting in the Main Tunnel had ceased too.

  Cricket was right. There were new influences in Nicholas’s life. Ones that didn’t just include Anna and Farith.

  She wondered if she’d manage to keep up.

  Nicholas took her hand. “We’ve got this,” he whispered. A smile. “Now feed me before I pass out with hunger.”

  Thirty-Five

  To Lost Friends

  Axel’s neck muscles were stiff from all his head shaking. He filled his and Lynx’s mugs of apple cider from a flagon on a table groaning with food.

  “To Jerawin and all our lost friends,” Lynx said. “They died heroes.”

  “To lost friends.”

  They chinked mugs.

  He ached for Jerawin, but his friend had chosen his ending. King Jerawin of Lapis could never have died in his bed.

  He leaned in and kissed her. “Incredible day.”

  By the time they’d made it back into the mine, the battle in Main Tunnel had been over.

  It seemed he’d underestimated his mercenaries. When the chips were down, instead of following the lure of Xipal’s gold, the majority of them had fought beside his true defenders to defeat the thousand Blades Ferret had let into the mine.

  He sighed. Not that it helped that he had almost ten thousand hardened, battle-ready soldiers to call on. He only had eighteen airships in his fleet. He would fly to Cian with a mere eighteen hundred soldiers.

  Lynx nodded. “A day to remember.” She glanced over at Nicholas.

  He and Farith huddled together laughing about something.

  She sighed.

  Anna sat next to Clay on the other side of the table. They were deep in conversation.

  It seemed neither of them had gotten exactly what they’d wanted.

  He leaned in and whispered, “Somehow we’ll make it work.”

  “Aye,” Dmitri said. “That you will.” He took a swig of his cider, then wiped his mouth on his sleeve. He put his mug on the table. “Fine party. But if you will excuse me, I have somewhere to be.”

  Axel had been surprised that Dmitri had even joined them for the dinner—or rather breakfast. The sun had long since risen. “See you in Cian.”

  Dmitri bowed. “I will be waiting.” He flickered, then vanished.

  Axel yawned. It wouldn’t harm to wait a day while everyone rested up before boarding their airships for Cian. He offered Lynx his hand. “Bed. Are you joining me?”

  “Try and stop me.” She stood, blew Nicholas a kiss, and walked with him to their cave.

  Thirty-Six

  A Throw of the Dice

  The first night in the caves had passed. Felix wondered how many more he would have to endure. He had come up with a plan to get information out of Treygan, but the captain hadn’t stopped by his door again. Apart from a Trevenite soldier who’d brought in breakfast, no one had visited him.

  Although Felix had pressed the soldier for information, the man had merely placed a tray of creamy porridge, steaming eggs, bacon, and toast on the table before leaving.

  Felix hadn’t been able to get Katrina to eat a bite.

  Desperate for a diversion. he fiddled with the tiles in the box Malika had left for him. It gave him no solace. What good was a game of strategy if he had no one to pit his wits against? Katrina had never been interested in the game he loved so much. Not that it would matter now. She flitted in and out of lucidity. At times, she was his and he could see himself unlocking her cuffs. At other times, her mind belonged to Lukan. And there was nothing he could do about it. For the first time in his life, he was utterly helpless.

  “That must be tough for a man who spent his life in the thick of it.”

  He didn’t bothering looking up. “Come to gloat, Dmitri?”

  “Hardly. We are old allies, are we not?”

  Felix snorted. He reached for a fresh handkerchief off the pile. “If you say so.” He blew his nose hard. Then gave it a good wipe. With any luck, the confounded seer would be gone by the time he was finished.

  It was not to be.

  In fact, Dmitri had spread the strategy map and was busy laying the tiles. “If I recall correctly,” the bastard said. “Last time we played, you had Nicholas, Meka, and Grigor.” He flicked three tiles onto the map. “As we agreed so many months before… a diamond for Nicholas. A ruby for Grigor and an emerald for Meka. Do you care to concede?

  Felix snarled. “You gloating bastard! Concede? Never.” But he swept the three tiles into Dmitri’s territory on the map. It left him with precious few tiles, and none of any worth.

  In the other room, Katrina moaned.

  He buried his knuckles in his eyes sockets. They felt more sunken than usual. “What would you have me do? Crow over my defeat?”

  “Who said anything about defeat? The game is just starting, surely?

  He looked up at Dmitri for the first time. The confounded seer still glowed like a sunburn on a hot day. Worse, he still wore the provocative Norin blue flag with the hideous Light-Bearer constellation. “Don’t you ever change?” he demanded, perhaps churlishly. He was rather attached to his olive-green cloaks.

  The seer laughed. “You wish to discuss accoutrements when I am offering you the most thrilling game of your
life? Very well.” Dmitri sat on the chair opposite him. “That is a charming waistcoat you’re wearing. Katrina knitted it, I assume.”

  Felix chucked a cushion at him. “I do not wish to discuss waistcoats.”

  “Good.” Dmitri propped the cushion behind his back. “Comfortable. Thank you. You had me worried there. So… about our new game.” The bastard made a show of looking at Felix’s tiles. He tsked. “You managed to lose all of them? Lynx, too? My, to lose one royal tile is an irritation. To lose two is vexing. To lose three is a grave misfortune. But to lose four? That is sheer carelessness.”

  Felix plucked up his handkerchief. “Say your piece or leave.” Stress was making his nose drip. He gave it a couple of good wipes.

  Dmitri watched him. “You do know that there are no handkerchiefs where you will be going?”

  He shrugged. What did it matter? He was already in hell.

  “Oh tut, Felix. Dry up. I have something for you.” The seer’s glowing hand slipped into a pocket in his robes. “Call it your ticket back into the game.” He pulled out an informa and held it up for Felix to drool over.

  The Dragon would cough up a hair ball before that happened. He sat back in his chair and folded his arms.

  “You don’t want it? How astonishing?” Dmitri’s face brightened like a light bulb had gone off in the dolt’s brain. “Ah! Right. You think it’s another fake. Allow me to assure you that this one is very real.” He pulled up the light.

  Drawn like a moth to a flame, Felix couldn’t stop himself leaning forward. He sat back, cursing himself for his weakness. No good would come of this.

  Unless…

  He wiped all emotion off his face and shuttered his eyes. “I’m listening.”

  Dmitri pulled up a screen.

  This time tomorrow, I’ll be on a stealth ship, heading for Cian. And Lukan.

  “Those are Nicholas’s thoughts,” he said sharply. “Why is there no image?” He lunged across the table to snatch the informa.

  Dmitri dodged. “Good question. Where is the image? While you snoozed, Tao and Axel have taken over your Hive.”

  Felix’s mouth dried. “Why are you telling me this?”

  “As I’ve already said, it seems you’re out of the game. Axel has… How should we describe it? Handed you your hat and your gloves.”

  He didn’t want to think about Axel. Or Malika. Doing so gave him indigestion.

  “Axel was boasting that he’d plucked your eye out. Quite the smirk.” Dmitri dangled the informa. “I think it’s time you showed your son a thing or two, don’t you?”

  “Nothing would give me greater pleasure.” He held out his hand for the informa.

  Dmitri dropped it into his palm.

  Felix’s shoulders almost caved with relief. He’d get started on Katrina’s ice crystal right away. He spoke a few familiar commands.

  Nothing happened.

  He blinked, then tried to pull the screens up manually.

  Still nothing.

  “Did I forget to mention the little restriction I’ve placed on the device?”

  Felix’s lips pursed. He wasn’t going to grace that with a comment.

  Dmitri chuckled. “My dear Felix, you could hardly think I’d give you the palace. You did manage to lose four royal tiles. Now you have to earn them back. Starting with the diamond.”

  “Nicholas.”

  “That has always been our definition of the diamond.”

  “I only have access to Nicholas? Nothing else?”

  “Isn’t that enough to be going on with?”

  “What stops me killing him?”

  “A simple program. Threatened the diamond’s life and you lose your sapphire.”

  Felix’s sinuses rattled. “You threaten my Katrina?”

  “She wears a sapphire? Of course. How could I forget?”

  If ever there was a lie, that was it.

  “What have you done to her?” he demanded, dreading the answer.

  “Nothing too… grave, if you’ll forgive the dreadful pun.”

  Felix thumped his hands onto the table and pushed up out of his chair. “What have you done to my wife?”

  Dmitri’s familiar stern face replaced his insufferable, patronizing banter. “I’ve linked her life force to my Light-Bearer.”

  Felix’s breath froze in his lungs.

  “Kill Nicholas and Katrina dies.”

  All the olive-green cloaks in the world could not have warmed him.

  “And… and,” he stuttered. “What happens if someone else kills him?” He stood dead still, waiting for the answer.

  “You had better hope he survives.”

  The light gathered around Dmitri.

  Knowing he was leaving, Felix begged, “Not Katrina. Take my life. But spare my wife.”

  “Felix, the love you have for your family is your only redeeming feature. Your strength and your burden. Remember, Nicholas is your family, too.”

  The seer vanished.

  Felix slumped back in his chair. He turned the informa in his fingers as he waited for his breathing to calm.

  Its beguiling light winked invitingly to him.

  It was an informa. And he was Felix Avanov, the finest spymaster of any age.

  A small grin tugged. If he couldn’t make this informa sing, then no one could.

  Still holding the device, he creaked out of his chair and ambled over to make a cup of hot chocolate. Then he’d sit and work out exactly how to use Nicholas to defeat Dmitri and his hateful curse.

  * * *

  Thank you for purchasing this book. If you have come this far in the story, I know you are a true fan. Although I don’t know your name, or where you live, or what you do, I feel I can confide in you.

  Never before have I struggled to write a book as much as I did with Hearts & Minds. I have always believed that writer’s block is a form of plotter’s block… a simple failure to see where the plot threads lead. For almost six months I struggled with plotter’s block. Part of the problem was that, in my mind, this was the final book.

  The words didn’t agree. They refused to flow.

  I created a pre-order and told my reader group that the book would be released in January 2018 in the hope that a bit of pressure would get things moving.

  It didn’t.

  It was only a couple of days before Christmas that I finally accepted that this wasn’t the final book. There is another eighty thousand words to tell before this story reaches its natural end. If I’d had the time, I would have written them as part of this book. I didn’t have that luxury. As it was, I worked through the night to finish this.

  But, no matter my excuses, I feel that I have failed you. To make that up, please sign up for my reader group. As soon as the next book is ready, I will gift you a copy for free.

  If you’re already a member of my reader group, please sign up for this as well. In addition to the free book, you’ll receive a Reader Treat of inside secrets about Hearts & Minds.

  Axel, Lynx and the gang agree… I owe you that.

  Even more, I owe you the next book as quickly as possible. I am already working on it.

  Finally, I asked my reader group for name suggestions for characters in Hearts & Minds. In exchange, I promised to mention them here. So a big thank you to:

  Alison Mann for ‘Blue’

  Ellie for ‘Gallen’

  Arielle Bailey for ‘Ivarr’

  Carmen Moss for ‘Treygan’

  Alan Jeffery Shalless for ‘Aljesh’

  Until next time,

  Gwynn White

  About the Author

  I’m a USA Today, New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of science fiction and fantasy novels set on distant planets. All my stories have an adventure at the heart mixed with a liberal sprinkling of romance and intrigue. To confuse things, I also write adventure travel books set firmly on planet Earth. Weird, I know, but it makes me tick.

  I live in Western Australia with my husband, Andrew
, my three daughters, a yapping Toy Pomeranian, and a fantastic farm cat called Pixel.

  When I’m not writing, I’m reading, traveling, herding kids around, taking dogs for walks, and avoiding all cooking. You can contact me at gwynn@4xoverland.com or via my website.