She managed to catch Sadira’s gaze, only to find her own shock mirrored in her friend’s face. Had Sadira known about Eris’ plans? Raw fear coursed through Kali’s veins, relentless as the river below. Two mages killed… If not Eris, then two people Kali knew were dead. Two people who wanted nothing more than freedom. Something dark and hot burned within her throat, but she swallowed it down.
“Thank you for the information,” Stonewall was saying to Lieutenant Faircloth. “But we’d best be on our way back.”
Faircloth stepped aside. “Good luck.”
“We’ll need it,” Flint replied as the sentinels rode past him.
No one spoke while they crossed the bridge, heading for the inner gates. Whitewater City loomed ahead, mist-shrouded and blotting out the sky. The White River’s rush filled Kali’s ears and damp air was colder than the chill within the forest. Frost’s hooves clopped gently on the stones and Kali fought the urge to dig her heels into the mare’s sides. She wanted to rush to the bastion and learn what had happened; she wanted to turn Frost around and flee with Stonewall. Was she a fool to have returned?
“You knew about the escape.” Stonewall’s voice was quiet, only meant for her ears.
Kali swallowed but said nothing.
“You didn’t tell me,” he added.
“It wasn’t my secret to tell.”
“Yesterday…when I came to the bastion to bring you to Parsa. Would you have gone with Eris if I hadn’t?”
Tears pricked at her eyes, made hotter by the contrast of the winter wind. “I wanted to. I thought …” She took a breath to try and regain control of herself. “I thought it would be easier if I didn’t have to be near you, after…” She trailed off, unable to voice the thought.
“Can’t say I blame you,” he replied after a second too long. “Will it make you angry if I say I’m glad you didn’t leave? Only because I know you’re alive.”
Despite everything, Kali managed a smile. Together. “I’m glad I didn’t leave, either.”
They were almost across the bridge. Even now, the inner gate guards were stepping forward to assess these new travelers. Soon they would be back at Whitewater Bastion. Another wind bit through Kali’s cloak and she shivered.
“Whatever happens when we return,” Stonewall whispered in her ear. “I love you.”
Kali twisted to try and look at him, pulling the hem of her hood aside so he could see her face as well. Behind his helmet, his expression contained its habitual sternness, but his gaze warmed her from within. “I love you, too,” she replied.
*
The silence blanketing the city grew more oppressive as the group drew closer to the bastion. Although traces of last night’s revelry still littered the streets, no one stirred, save a few hastily drawn curtains when Kali and the others passed. When they turned a street corner and Kali spotted the garrison’s gates, the knots in her stomach tightened and her better sense urged, Run.
But she’d tried—twice—to convince Stonewall to leave this place. Admittedly, the first time had been in jest and the second had been the product of desperation, but she knew him well enough by now to realize he would not turn his back on his duty. Stonewall had built a life here, as had she. And in truth, she had to know what had happened last night. She had to know if Eris was dead.
A sentinel squad met them at the garrison gates. Their cured leather armor, dyed a dark gray and embedded with hematite, seemed dull in the wan midmorning light. Beneath their helmets, their gazes upon Kali and Sadira were suspicious. Little wonder, given the events of last night. Even so, Kali tried to keep her expression neutral and nonthreatening; perhaps through compliance she could gain information.
At a wordless gesture from the nearest sentinel, Stonewall and the others reined in their mounts. “Sergeant,” the new sentinel said as she strode forward on long, lanky legs. “We were starting to get worried.”
“We ran into some trouble at Parsa, Vigil,” Stonewall said. “I must speak with Cobalt immediately.”
“That’s Captain Cobalt,” Vigil replied. Kali rolled her eyes before she could stop herself, and the sentinel glared at her before looking at Stonewall again. “Where’s the carriage?”
“Long story,” Stonewall said. “I’m sure Captain Cobalt will be interested to hear it.”
“If it’s so important, you ought to tell the commander.”
Stonewall tensed. “Aye.”
Vigil frowned at him, but nodded to the guards at the garrison gates. As the gates swung open, she stepped aside and regarded Stonewall and his squad. “Everyone’s just got back from the search. You lot missed all the fun over Heartfire.”
“We had our own fun, Vig,” Beacon replied as they entered the garrison’s courtyard. “But we heard some of what happened here. Are there any injured?”
“Nothing hematite won’t fix,” Vigil said. “Assuming we get more.”
“One of the city guards told us two mages were killed last night,” Stonewall said.
Vigil shook her head. “We only found one body. The other one…” Her frown deepened. “Well, the river could have claimed her, but only the One knows what moon-bloods can do to save their skins.”
Kali’s breath caught. Vigil must be speaking of Eris. No other mage in this bastion could have saved herself from a fall off the bridge. Perhaps Eris had shifted to her crow from in the last second…
Or perhaps Vigil spoke of Adrie or someone else, because if one mage could shift, then surely all of them could – at least as far as Vigil was concerned.
“Which mage’s body was found?” Kali asked.
Vigil stared at her, but did not respond. “Get them inside,” she said to Stonewall. “The captain’s waiting.”
The gates closed behind them with a clang that resonated within Kali’s chest, leaving the garrison’s courtyard to stretch between her and the bastion gates. Her heart was racing again. She took a breath to steady herself as they crossed the yard.
Flint exhaled. “Feels like a sodding tomb in here.”
“Don’t speak of such things,” Milo replied. “Besides, you’ve never even seen a tomb.”
“Neither have you,” Flint shot back.
More tears stung Kali’s eyes and she ducked her head, clenching her fingers around Frost’s mane until her hands ached. Stonewall cleared his throat. “Stop the bickering, burnies. For Tor’s sake, now’s not the time.”
The twins fell silent, thank the stars. Kali exhaled and Stonewall rested a hand briefly on her side. Though he said nothing, his touch was enough to bring a sliver of calm, of courage. By the time they reached the bastion gates, Kali found the strength to raise her head and meet the waiting sentinels. As at the garrison gates, two sentinels stood guard on either side. Through the iron and hematite bars, in the bastion’s courtyard, Kali could make out more sentinels and a few mages. The mages were…digging?
Her heart stuck in her throat. What in Seren’s light is going on?
“Why are they not bound?” Captain Cobalt strode up, one hand on his sword, fury in every step. “And where’s the sodding carriage? Answer me, Sergeant.”
Only because Kali was so close to Stonewall did she hear how he sucked in a breath. But his reply was calm. “It’s a long story, ser. I’ll go into it more once we’ve gotten them settled. The short answer is the carriage got damaged and I didn’t see any reason to bind the mages on our return journey.”
More sentinels broke from the main group overseeing the digging mages and joined their captain. Cobalt spoke to the sentinels at the gates, and then these opened as well, allowing the arrivals to enter. The resulting slam when the gates closed echoed through the bastion.
“Get them down,” Cobalt replied, gesturing to Kali and Sadira. Some of the sentinels with him stepped forward and Kali tensed.
“We’ve handled them this far, ser,” Stonewall replied as he dismounted. “We can–”
“Collar them,” Cobalt interrupted.
Barely before Kali had
a chance to register what was going on, one of the other sentinels shoved past Stonewall, grabbed her waist, and pulled her bodily from Frost’s saddle. No sooner had her boots touched the flagstones had another sentinel come forward to take her arms. By Kali’s next breath, a leather collar, embedded with hematite, tightened around her throat, leaving her world gray and dull.
Eris had been forced to wear one of these before her escape, so Kali knew without having to look that the clasp contained a tiny lock made of hematite. The blazing thing was supposed to keep her from manipulating particles. But Kali had proved that her magic, at least, could work on hematite when she had used magic to break Eris’ collar, over a month ago. Calm down, Kali told herself. You can break this one, too. Just not right now. Be patient.
Even with this knowledge, the collar stole all color and life from Kali’s world. She gasped at the loss, but couldn’t take a proper breath.
Kali glanced at Sadira to see her friend had received the same treatment, with the collar fitted above the hematite torc that Sadira wore—by her own volition—to bind her powerful magic. Sadira’s blue eyes met Kali’s, and even the normally calm woman looked frightened. More sentinels, unfamiliar to Kali, closed around her, shoving Stonewall aside. Kali’s heart was in her throat as she tried to peer between the gray armored figures, who all blended together in a haze of hematite.
Even Stonewall was lost in the mass, until he shouldered through the new sentinels, causing them to drop Kali’s arms, and placed himself in front of her. Leashed fury laced his words. “Captain, these women were on a mercy mission and had nothing to do with the escape.”
“Aye,” Flint added. Kali thought she and her squad-mates had all dismounted by now, but it was difficult to make them out between the surrounding sentinels. “In fact, they were–”
“Not another word out of you, burnie,” Cobalt broke in. “Sergeant, step away from the mage.”
The day was fine, but clouds marred the horizon and the wind brought another promise of snow. Kali shivered as she tried to see between the armored figures surrounding her, to the center of the bastion’s courtyard, where she could hear shovels scraping against the hard ground. But she was too sodding short and couldn’t make out what the mages were digging. Something told her that was for the best.
Stonewall trembled. “With respect, ser, let me explain what happened at Parsa–”
“Explain it to Commander Talon,” Cobalt said. “Step. Away. From. The mage. Now. Or I’ll throw you down with the dreg in our cells.”
Stonewall’s hands tightened into fists. Kali’s thoughts were sluggish—either from fear or hematite, she couldn’t say—but it would do no good to have both of them imprisoned. Again, she tried to take a deep breath, but the collar dug into her skin.
“It’s all right,” she whispered. “I’ll be fine.” More than that, she could not say.
He inclined his head toward her, but did not move any more until his shoulders sank and he stepped away. Though he wore his helmet, she could read the thin line of his mouth better than any book.
“Lock them in the dormitories with the others,” Cobalt was saying to his sentinels.
Someone grabbed Kali’s arm again and began to haul her toward the large building that housed the dormitories. But Kali dug her heels in and looked at the sentinel captain. “Please tell us what’s happened here. Who was killed?”
Cobalt stared down at her. “You and Eris were friends, were you not?”
Oh, no. Sweet Seren’s light, no. A strange lightness filled Kali, as if her soul itself had detached from her body. Her reply was no more than an indrawn breath. “Yes.”
The captain gave a silent signal. The sentinels who had blocked Kali’s view stepped aside to reveal five mages at the center of the bastion courtyard. All wore collars like Kali and Sadira. Four wielded shovels and pickaxes. They had broken through the hoarfrost and now flung hard ground back up beside the pit. The fifth mage, Foley Clementa, stood to one side, hand and hook clasped, head bowed beneath his gray cloak. More sentinels surrounded the mages—of course—and two more stood beside a prone figure on the ground, where a thin sheet covered the distinctive human form. At another silent signal, one of those sentinels bent to draw back the sheet.
Gideon stared at the sky, face ashen, features fixed into a look of terror. Dead.
Kali tried to clap her hands over her mouth, but one of the other sentinels held her arms in place with a grip like iron. A cold unlike any Kali had ever known swept through her and she nearly collapsed; she was strangely thankful for the grip that kept her upright. Stunned, she looked away from the grim scene and her gaze fell upon Rook. Tears streamed down the petite sentinel’s face, beneath her helmet.
Too overwhelmed to consider what Rook’s weeping might mean, Kali looked away as tears stung her own eyes. If Eris was alive, she would be devastated. If she even knew. Or was she dead, too?
Kali bit her tongue to redirect her thoughts and then looked at the sentinel captain again. “What happened to Eris?”
He met her gaze steadily, his scarred face hard as any mountain. “Gone.”
Anger swept through Kali, so cold it burned as it beat behind her ribs in a wild tattoo. “Dead?”
Cobalt ignored her and looked at Stonewall. “Twelve mages tried to escape the bastion last night. As far as we know, ten—possibly eleven—succeeded. We will find them in short order. As of this moment, the bastion is on lockdown. No one is to enter or leave without express permission from Commander Talon or myself. There will be no missions of any kind until further notice.”
Sadira had gone still upon seeing Gid’s corpse, but now she looked back at the captain. “But what about–”
“No missions until further notice,” Cobalt ground out, glaring at the Zhee mage. He nodded to the sentinels who held Kali and Sadira. “Get them inside. Now.”
A sentinel tried to wrench Kali forward, but she refused to be moved. Not yet. “But…a burial? Not a cremation?”
Cobalt’s expression darkened. “I said, get them–”
“His spirit will be adrift forever,” Rook broke in, making everyone look her way. Her brown eyes were wide and wet. “His soul will be lost. Ser, how can you condone this?”
“He’s a mage,” Cobalt replied through gritted teeth. “He doesn’t believe in the gods. And what does it matter to you, anyway?”
“It’s barbaric,” Stonewall said. Beacon and Flint nodded, echoing his words. Milo’s face was white and he looked to be on the verge of tears.
The captain took a deep, shaking breath, but his voice was firm. “We have our orders.”
That familiar anger filled Kali’s heart. Even Stonewall fell out of her thoughts as she focused on the pale-eyed, scarred sentinel who regarded Gideon’s body with maddening indifference. Fury roiled within her, writhing into a hate so sudden and strong, she gasped. Despite the collar, despite the presence of sentinels and their hematite-laced blood and blades on all sides, her hands itched for magic.
Yes, sweet blood. Kill it.
“Gods or not, this is wrong,” she managed. “You know this is wrong.”
Cobalt gestured to the other sentinels. “Get them out of here.”
Five
White filled Stonewall’s vision as if he were caught at the center of a snowstorm. It was like being in battle; his body moved of its own accord. Only when a strong hand grabbed his shoulder did he realize he was stepping after Kali as the others took her and Sadira to the bastion. Beacon’s touch snapped Stonewall out of his haze, though his hands hovered over his daggers.
“Something wrong, Sergeant?” Cobalt asked. The sentinels that the captain had gathered moved closer, blocking both Stonewall’s view of Kali and the mages digging Gideon’s grave. His grave.
What a mess to have come back to. But somehow, it paled in comparison to the mess they had left in Parsa.
Tor help me. Blinking, Stonewall lowered his hands. Behind him, someone exhaled. Although Stonewall couldn’t ma
ke out Gideon’s body, the sound of shovels scraping against dirt made his skin crawl. “Captain, I understand you have…other matters on your shoulders, but I must tell you what happened at Parsa – and after.”
“Fine, but make it quick.”
On their journey here, Stonewall had worked out how much he ought to disclose. “There were thralls at Parsa,” he began.
“I know,” Cobalt replied though clenched teeth. “I was there before you. I have the sodding stitches to prove it.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Stonewall caught Flint’s mouth opening, but he shot her a warning look. To his surprise, she snapped her jaw shut, though she still glowered at the captain. He gave the others a similar look, willing them to be quiet.
Four pairs of eyes met Stonewall’s from beneath their helmets; four armored sentinels stood resolutely at his side. Some of the unease in his guts relaxed as he glanced back at Cobalt. “The thralls appeared after the mages healed the villagers. One moment, everything was normal; the next, a group of villagers had changed into thralls. They injured one of our mages. It was a battle to get out of there in one piece. We fled until we deemed it safe to stop, and made camp for the night to tend to the injured mage. More thralls found us that morning. We…” He swallowed. “We took care of them.”
Cobalt frowned. “Were they Canderi?”
“No, ser. Parsan.”
“Is there anyone left in that blazing village?”
“I don’t think so, ser.”
Cobalt ducked his chin. “Poor bastards.”
“We had to leave the bodies.” Stonewall gave the location as best he’d been able to reckon, and added, “Someone should...gather them.”
“I’ll send a message to the Circle.” Cobalt regarded him. “There’s more.”
Before Stonewall replied, he injected as much calm confidence as he could into his tone. “One of our mages believes she can…cure thralls.”
“Cure thralls?”
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