“Of course I’m coming with you.” I don’t remember when I rushed out of bed, but I don’t need to stop to consider it for even a moment. Ardin is my husband. But even if we weren’t married, he’s the person I want to be around more than anyone else in the world.
I take the baby from his arms and smile at him tremulously. “When do we leave?”
He stares at me for a moment, speechless, before taking my face between his hands and kissing me deeply. “Have I mentioned how very, very lucky I am to call you my wife?”
“I believe it was implied,” I say, with another weak attempt at a smile as my nervous stomach flips.
He grins. “We leave now. Dress warmly. It’s cold outside.”
The Winter of my Twenty-Third Year
Beginnings
It’s about the time of year that Ardin and I would be making the trek from Secan to King Langdon’s winter palace, I think as I deftly remove a nappy that Bree has soiled.
We’d tried a few different names for her, once the mad dash from the palace was at an end. At first, I’d just called her Aleta, but the name was so unique in Egria. People would remember it, and we could ill afford to be remembered. We’d tried Lettie. Tess and Nanette, for the family I wouldn’t see again. Therese, Susanne, Serena, Diana... Nothing fit.
And then one night, we’d slept by a river and followed it to a tiny town called Abeline. It would barely make a dot on a map and was next to a wood that shrouded the edge of it. We couldn’t get further from the capital if we tried. And that is really where the King spends the bulk of his time—where we need to keep our distance from.
And listening to the gentle babble of the water, I remembered a name I’d once heard. A name that belonged to the river. “Breena,” I whispered into the crook of Ardin’s neck. “Let’s call her Breena.”
❄︎
This year, instead of spending time inside a frigid carriage, I loop a scarf around my neck and trail a finger down Bree’s sweet cheek. “I know this isn’t the life of a princess,” I say softly. “But your da and I do love you.”
“What are you telling our girl?” Ardin swoops in and lifts Bree from the bed, giving her a little toss into the air for good measure. She giggles delightedly and scrunches her little fists toward him.
He’s done well with keeping his Air Elemental abilities in check since we left. He walks at a normal speed, and when a cold breeze blusters by, he shudders with the rest of us, instead of spiraling it away. We’ve let a tiny (cozy, I’d corrected him) room and he’s found work tending bar in a small pub with a terrible name near the woods.
“What would you call the pub? If it was yours to name?” I asked him after we celebrated his finding the work with a laugh at the name. Truly, though, we'd been thrilled. The fact that Ardin had found work meant a fresh start. A beginning to this new life.
“Oh, I don’t know.” He sighed and seized my hands, twirling me in a lackadaisical waltz around the bed. “How does anyone name a pub? I’d need two things, I suppose? The… Rose and Sword? No, we can do better than that, I think.” He changed the steps of our dance and dipped me. “I’d name it for you. The… something and Duchess.”
“I like it.” I’d grinned as he righted me.
Now, I don my coat and button it. “Well, I must be off. You’ll be all right with her? It should only be a few days. Just long enough for them to laugh me out of there for thinking I could be an apprentice—”
“You’ll get it,” he says confidently. “Just tell them all about your whirling buttocks—”
“—Flying buttresses.” I’d caught sight of the flier in the village, tacked onto a tree trunk and hadn’t been able to dismiss it. I’d never been able to finish our designs at Secan. Father had never implemented a design of mine at the march.
At least, not one that I’d get to see.
But an apprenticeship designing buildings in nearby villages… it was perfect. I’d enjoy the work and we could use the money, even if I wouldn’t, of course, make a name for myself. Our safety depended upon our anonymity.
I kiss him. “I love you. If it doesn't go well... if there aren't any details to work out... I'll simply find lodgings for the night and do my utmost to return tomorrow.”
“I love you, too. And I'll see you in a few days when they're finished discussing exactly how lucky they are that you stumbled into their laps. Just as I am.” He catches my hand, pulling me back in for another kiss, this one longer. Deeper. He grips one of my braids in his hand as if he can keep me tethered to him by keeping hold of it.
Gently, I pull it free. I must be on my way. I’ve promised the farmer who agreed to take me to the town where they’re seeing people for the position that I wouldn’t be late in meeting him in the town square. If he leaves without me, I have no alternative means to get there.
“Hurry back.” He grins as I pull away. "I have some flying buttress plans of my own."
With one last hand trailed down Bree's sweet little cheek, I press a kiss to my fingertips and send it toward the both of them before I'm on my way out the door.
I make it to the farmer and his horse-drawn cart before they leave. The ride is freezing, but it’s only a few towns over. I can bear anything for that small stretch of time. It’s not any more unbearable than the journey to the winter palace.
I compose myself outside the building where they’re holding interviews. “Excuse me,” I say. “I was looking for—”
“Lady Corrine.”
Ice drips down my spine. No one out here should recognize me. Much less know that I'm of the nobility.
And that voice... Makers, I know that voice.
Slowly, I turn to see Katerine and a cold fist wraps itself around my heart. She curls her fingers into her palms and a gust of wind slams the door shut behind me. With my exit cut off, I swallow hard, waiting for her to make the first move. My mind turns over what she may do— and what response I could make that won't get me killed.
She stalks toward me, like a feline predator stalking her next meal. “You didn’t bring dear Ardie with you?”
“Afraid not,” I say, heart pounding as I tread backward to the door, hand groping blindly behind me for the knob. “Busy time of year in Secan, you know. What brings you here, Lady Kat?”
Her eyes flare and I know I’ve made an error. Ardin always called her that, but I hadn’t realized she hated it.
“Let us not play this game,” she says. “We both know you haven’t been to Secan in some time. Just like we both know that I am here for you.”
For me?
It strikes me as suddenly as a blow and I have to close my eyes, cursing my own foolishness. Of course. The interviews were a sham. My fondness for architecture was no secret at court.
How many towns, I wondered, had she concocted this same scheme in? How many rooms had she taken the use of, lying in wait for me, hoping that I’d lead her to Ardin… and to Bree?
The thought of Kat finding them terrifies me. But it steels something within me, too. I won’t do it. I won't let her use me to find them. The farmer and his cart had continued on and the snow still falls outside, covering our tracks. There’s nothing to tie me back to my little family or our village. Except for me. If I keep my silence for them, they'll be safe.
Even if I can't say the same for myself.
I take a deep breath, seeing no other course of action available but to brazen my way through with a lie. “Yes, well… It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Ardin. Or Secan.”
She laughs, the sound pure and full of mirth. “You honestly expect me to believe—”
I bite my lip and nod slowly. Solemnly. Praying that my expression is selling the story I am telling. “I left him. We had a terrible quarrel just before he left on that mission to Nereidium and he— he struck me.”
The lie stings my tongue. Ardin would never raise a hand to anyone except in battle. I am so sorry, Ardin.
“I’m barren,” I say with a crack in my voice. “He wanted an
heir and grew frustrated with my inability to provide one.” I shrug, trying to look helpless. Not as much of a struggle as it might have been under other circumstances. Katerine isn’t blinking as she looks at me and I certainly feel helpless.
She nods, then, as if she's come to a decision.
And suddenly, I can’t breathe.
Literally. I don’t mean to say that I am short of breath, or that my breathing is uneven. Air refuses to enter my lungs.
“Try again,” she says, and gestures. Air rushes back to me, but now, despite a fire warm in the hearth, I’m wrapped in a tundra, an icy whirlwind thrashing around me.
“I l-l-l-left him,” I say stubbornly.
She laughs, sounding almost proud. “I have to admire your determination, Lady Corrine, but we both know that you’re lying to me.”
Using two fingers, she jerks her hand from side to side and I cry out, pain lancing itself across my cheeks as the wind whips me. Stunned, I lift a dazed hand to my face.
“Where are they?” she demands.
I glare, and the wind increases to a frigid tornado. My teeth chatter. “I d-don’t know.”
“Where are they?”
She’s going to kill me. But I’ll die protecting my husband and daughter.
“Your guess is as good as mine!” I snarl, squinting into the cutting air.
Makers, I am so cold.
Suddenly, the wind stops. I stagger in the sudden stillness, fighting to catch my breath. “You truly refuse to give them up, don’t you?” she says, looking amazed. “Why? You know that I may let you go, if you give them to me.”
I pant, relishing the air in my lungs for what may be the last time.
Good-bye, Bree. Good-bye, Ardin. I love you. All the time in the world would not have been enough for me.
“I don’t know who they are,” I say, around a hard lump in my throat. “But I haven’t seen my husband in nearly a year.”
Her eyes glint. “Don’t fret, Lady Corrine,” she whispers. The air tightens its grip around me once again. “I’ll find them soon enough, I’m certain. And I’ll be sure to see that Ardie joins you. Now, just… breathe in, dear.”
I choke.
I still.
...And I know no more.
Endings
The Threats of Sky and Sea series:
Book 1: Threats of Sky and Sea
Book 2: Riot of Storm and Smoke
Book 3: Fall of Thrones and Thorns
Prequel short stories in the Threats of Sky and Sea world:
“Sisters of Wind and Flame”
“Defining Justice”
“Breathe In”
Dear Reader,
Thank you so much for taking the time to read my work. Word of mouth and readers like you are an author's greatest asset and enable me to keep on keepin' on with this author gig, so if you enjoyed reading Breathe In, I hope you'll take the time to drop me a short review!
And thank you very, very sincerely, from the bottom of my heart.
-Jennifer Ellision
About the Author
Jennifer Ellision spent a great deal of her childhood staying up past her bedtime with a book and a flashlight. When she couldn't find the stories she wanted to read, she started writing them. She loves words, has a soft spot for fanfiction, and is a master of what she calls “the Fangirl Flail.”
She lives in South Florida with her family, where she lives in fear of temperatures below 60 degrees Fahrenheit. She makes her Internet home at www.jenniferellision.com. You can also find her on Twitter @JenEllision and Facebook as Jennifer Ellision. You can stay up to date on Jennifer’s books through her newsletter.
Breathe In (Threats of Sky and Sea Book 6) Page 3