Bridge of Legends- The Complete Series

by Sarah K. L. Wilson

  “Was Allegra happy to see you when you woke up?” she asked as she pulled away.

  He still looked stunned by her embrace and even more so by the question.

  “What does that have to do with our goals?”

  She laughed. He was so dense about anything that wasn’t strictly logical and serious.

  “Nothing. I just thought she might be happy to see you.”

  “She was relieved by the help I could provide with the evacuation and organizing the logistics of relocating an entire populace,” Etienne agreed.

  Marielle laughed. “I bet she wasn’t happy when you chose to leave again.”

  Etienne shook his head as if she was being ridiculous. “I will go and fetch us dinner while you wash and dress. If we want to attempt entry to the palace tonight, our best chance will be if we are clean, well-dressed, and fed.”

  Marielle nodded, matching his serious with her own.

  “Thank you, Etienne.”

  He nodded and left her to the room to dress with shaking hands. She was going to see her mother tonight. Somehow the thought of that made her more nervous than waking a dragon did, but Etienne had given her hope again. She was not alone.

  21: Denials

  Etienne

  It had been painful to ask Avandre to arrange a meeting for him with Variena. Painful because if Tamerlan hadn’t ruined his plans months ago Yan would be in his hands right now, ruled by him, with people begging for audiences with him instead of the other way around. Humility was a painful dish to consume.

  He schooled his face to politeness and followed the guards through the palace with Marielle at his side, disguising the way he still hunched over the pain in his healing abdomen. Allegra’s cures were almost complete, but he still fought pain by the hour. Sometimes it took all his strength to hide the effort of masking it.

  Marielle had her veil up – not, he suspected, because she needed it up but because she was anxious about this meeting. She shouldn’t be. He wouldn’t have set the meeting if he didn’t think she could handle her mother. After all, she handled Tamerlan and he was far crazier than Variena. Probably.

  Uncertainty was the luxury of the weak.

  The palace was a ruin. Of course. A red door woman might be able to seduce the hearts and minds of a band of refugees, but that hardly qualified her to run a palace staff. Or a palace guard regiment, for that matter. He hadn’t seen a guard here at the palace that he wouldn’t have put on notice if they’d been in his palace at Jingen. The one leading them now had his swordbelt at a sloppy angle. His salute had barely sufficed. The guard he passed a moment ago smelled of alcohol and the guards at the gate had been missing their helms. It had taken all his self-control not to dress them down.

  Allegra had at least been able to run a city with aplomb. He missed her efficiency. Her certainty. She was going to be furious with him when he returned, but he liked her furious. It went hand in hand with her ambition.

  He smiled reassuringly at Marielle as she stiffened beside him.

  “Not much further,” he said in honeyed tones. But he felt tense like a spring under compression. The disrepair of the castle – the way it hadn’t yet been patched, the rubble merely cleared away – was a bad sign. Where was Zi’fen? Variena might not know how to run a palace, but Decebel did. It worried him that the man’s touch wasn’t present here. It suggested there was something going on that he didn’t know about. And that made him nervous.

  Subtly, he touched the sword at his side and glanced at the one he’d given Marielle. They were armed. For all the good that would do if things went wrong. Almost, he wished for Tamerlan’s unpredictability to unleash on this court. Almost.

  If Marielle was to be believed, he was dead. But there were plenty of other hells he’d already survived. He may have survived the wrath of Jhinn as well. Maybe he’d even fled that dragon in time. He had the ability when he was possessed. Etienne had seen him move so fast you couldn’t see the action.

  Funny that Jhinn had been so quick to strike him down after everything Tamerlan had done when his pathetic boat was stuck in that fountain. But unfaithfulness was as predictable as Spring.

  Spring. Which shouldn’t be here for months – and yet it was. Even the weather was reacting to the calamities that had befallen them all. No, Etienne, this is not time for speculation. Keep yourself alert.

  He purposely let his eyes note each cornice and column as they traveled through what had once been gleaming marble halls. If they’d come by water, they’d be in the Great Hall already. But they came, instead, by foot. And the guards had taken them to the Great Hall by the long way. Intentionally, he was sure. A show of force? A bit of drama? Or was there something they were meant to see on the journey? Maybe the disrepair was a ruse hiding something else?

  Marielle cleared her throat behind her scarf, and he gave her a bland smile. She was needed for this – and not just because she was his only ally. No one else had a better chance of throwing Variena off her game than her daughter brought back from the dead.

  He couldn’t wait to see the woman’s face. His lip twitched with eagerness.

  The guard opened the last door – an ornate gilt-covered travesty with dents and chips where fighting had taken place in the revolt – and announced them into the huge nearly empty hall.

  “The former Lord Mythos, Etienne Velendark and his companion.”

  Good. No mention of Marielle’s name.

  The guard withdrew and Etienne strode into the room, taking in the scene. She hadn’t filled it with trinkets. That was a small note in her favor. In fact, she’d cleared out all the decoration and curiosities and left only a large ivory carved throne on a dais. Interesting.

  She’d also opened the door to the dragon’s wound and left it open.

  An interesting choice. One that suited her violent nature and fuming resentment.

  He could use that.

  If he’d been anyone else, he might have been awed by her as she sat waiting for him on her throne. He might have been awed by her extravagant blue satin dress like a piece of night sky. She’d certainly kept the local dressmakers employed. It was garnished to an inch of its life. Exactly the dress a red door woman would wear to prove she wasn’t that anymore, high collar and all.

  “Variena,” he said when he was only halfway to the throne. He could hear Marielle’s boots behind him on the polished marble. “You kept at least part of the palace intact, I see.”

  “You will address me as Lady Legend,” Variena said, tension ringing in her voice and he almost smiled. Point one to him.

  On her head, sitting heavily in that dark curling hair, was the very crown they were looking for – a crown bedecked in diamonds and sapphires. How very Lila Cherrylocks. He recognized it from his reading and it brought a slight smile to his lips. Point two to him.

  “Lady Legend,” he said, drawing the name out to show her exactly how much he thought of it. “But where is your esteemed ally? Or has Zi’fen taken leave of you here to manage his own landhold?”

  Marielle was beside him now and he felt her stiffen at his words.

  A man he had thought was one of Variena’s guards stepped out from the wall behind the throne.

  “I am Daen Zi’fen,” the man said.

  Etienne didn’t gasp like Marielle did, but he was surprised. The son. The eldest son, if he wasn’t mistaken. Maybe fifteen years older than Tamerlan, but still young. The way he laid a hand familiarly over Variena’s was interesting, though. He looked very like Tamerlan, though more smug, a lot more boring, less raw, less insane – that part wasn’t difficult – there were people who foamed at the mouth who were more sane that Tamerlan.

  “My pardon,” Etienne said carefully. “I had expected Decebal Zi’fen.”

  “Unfortunately,” Variena said smoothly, “Decebel was killed in the fighting to take Yan. The former palace guard was shockingly tenacious.”

  Point one to Variena. There was no way Decebel had died by any hand but hers.
>
  “Shocking,” Etienne said, his eyes wandering to the glowing hole in the ground so very close to where they were. He could feel the power emanating from it. It called to him like wine to a drunk. And like the same drunk, he must keep that hidden. He let his gaze turn to the hand on Variena’s throne. “How lucky you were to have made a new alliance with his son. Shall I assume a royal wedding is not far off?”

  “Indeed,” Variena’s eyes narrowed in a shrewd way that belied the smug smile on her face. “And you’ve found a consort for yourself, as well. How fortunate.”

  The curiosity was killing her. Perfect.

  He glanced at Marielle. The strip of face he could see was pale, and no wonder. Her mother had just confessed to killing the father of her brand new husband and taking his brother as her new fiancé. It was enough to shock anyone – and Marielle hated injustice. She must know her mother was wielding power like a cudgel.

  “You keep the dragon’s wound exposed?” he said, turning her question.

  She frowned, watching him with speculation in her eyes. “It is an awful practice, sacrificing the daughters of the cities to the dragon, don’t you think? I’ve chosen to sacrifice my enemies there instead. Hardly a sacrifice at all, if I’m honest. I keep it handy at these meetings, in case it is required.”

  Oh, clever. A nice glowing threat. Point two to Variena, but he was not done yet.

  “And yet you were willing to take payment for the life of your own daughter. How ironic.”

  She hissed at his words and he smiled. Point three to Etienne.

  “You still haven’t introduced your companion,” she said through gritted teeth.

  “Haven’t I? Well, speaking of children sold, may I present my companion,” he said lifting a brow, his eyes lingering on the crown. “Who, I believe, you may already know. Marielle Velendark.”

  Marielle ripped off her scarf and now he couldn’t hide his quick flash of a smile at the shock in Variena’s eyes.

  “But you’re dead!” she said. And though she turned pale she made no move to stand or to embrace her daughter. She merely sat, idly holding the hand of Decebel’s eldest son.

  Cold, cold heart. He wouldn’t have been troubled to steal from her no matter who she was. But if he’d had a conscience it certainly wouldn’t bother him now.

  “I’m alive, mother,” Marielle said in a voice that hardly quavered. She’d grown in these last months. She was more than a match for her mother now. “We’re here to warn you. Your city is about to fall. You must evacuate it immediately to save the lives of innocents.”

  And that was so very in character for her. Direct. To the point. Fair.

  And completely unselfish.

  No recriminations. No hurt that her mother had clearly severed all affection for her. He admired that. If things had been different, if he hadn’t tried to sacrifice her himself, he might have been persuaded to love her – as much as he loved anyone.

  He’d always found respect to be a greater motivator than love, anyway. He respected Allegra. And he respected Marielle. They’d both earned it in their own way. Grudgingly, he even respected Variena, but that was more the respect you gave the crocodile – the respect of staying out of the range of its bite.

  “I will do no such thing,” Variena said firmly. “The people here are mine. As is the city. Mine in loyalty. Bound to me by blood. The riches are ours. The surrounding Landholds are ours. The laws support us. The coffers are ours to spend. We will not leave just because a disgraced fool and a city watchdog come with wild imaginings. My city will not fall. It has never fallen to anyone but me.”

  “The dragon is going to rise,” Marielle said, desperately. She cared so much. She even thought she could sway her mother – who clearly had no heart at all. “I’ve seen it happen four times now! Many will die – the innocent and the guilty alike! And the only way to save them is to flee this place!”

  Variena laughed. “It’s an inventive story. I’ll give you that, Mythos.” She spared him a knowing look. “And such a persuasive mouth you’ve put it in. Smoke, mirrors, and creativity. What a grand performance you’ve made. But look through that opening, daughter.” She gestured to the tear in the dragon’s scales through the door and Marielle flinched. Of course. The last time she’d seen a tear like that, he’d been about to slit her throat. “The dragon lives. And it is in our thrall just as always.”

  Variena’s hand trailed up to her crown and she brushed it lightly with her fingertips – almost as if she knew what it was – that it was the one key they needed to raise this dragon.

  “Not this time. Please, mother – ”

  “Don’t ‘please, mother’ me!” Variena snapped. “You found a comfortable life in the Scenters while I had to slave away for you. You have no idea what that’s like. How hard I’ve had to work. How much I’ve had to sacrifice. You have no idea and you still want me to give it all up! Ungrateful!”

  Marielle flinched as if she’d been slapped but her expression hardened.

  Etienne felt his heart harden even more. There was nothing that irritated him more than watching someone take out their frustrations at their own choices on someone else.

  “If you don’t listen,” Marielle said, weariness in every word, “then many will die for no reason.”

  “You’ve gone mad, child. And you bore me,” Variena said. She didn’t look bored. The look in her eye was pure cruelty. “You will begone from here and I will not see you again. Same to you, Mythos. I’m done here. Unless you would like to sate the dragon?”

  She raised an eyebrow. Point Variena. She’d won this round. Although in winning, she had lost everything.

  “We will accept your offer to leave alive,” he said with a sweepingly elegant bow. “In the spirit it was given.”

  Charm and a threat. It was always best when you could pair them.

  But now came the next problem. How would he warn the citizenry of Yan to leave when their leader refused to help?

  22: On the Wrong Foot

  Marielle

  She wet her face a second time with the cloth Etienne had offered her. She’d known she’d lost her mother when she saw the woman through Tamerlan’s eyes as Variena and her allies took the city – but what she hadn’t realized was that she’d lost not just her memory of a kind woman who raised her until she was eight, but also any shred of affection or loyalty that woman might have had for her.

  “Surely,” Etienne said from his chair beside the inn window, “you must have realized she was paid for your life.”

  “Yes,” Marielle said. Her voice sounded hopeless even to her.

  “So why did you expect loyalty now?”

  “I guess I didn’t really believe it. I mean, you were the one who was going to slit my throat, and now you are my most trusted ally.”

  “That’s different.” His words were kind despite their natural coldness. “You know that I always act for the good of my people – whatever that might be. Variena acts for the good of Variena. Her response today was predictable. What I hadn’t bet on was the loss of Decebal. I thought to turn them against each other, but the son is a puppet to her whims. Almost, it makes me miss your mad husband. He, at least, had a spine.”

  Marielle hid her choking half-sob in the cloth at the words ‘mad husband.’ Oh Tamerlan, why did it have to end like that? When it had only just begun?

  She felt his loss like her missing eye – no, worse! It ached and ached all the time and there was nothing she could do but go on without him.

  “The problem now, is how to warn the people without the complicity of their leader,” Etienne said, not noticing her emotional moment.

  Marielle strangled her burst of grief, schooling her voice to calmness. “The problem now, is how to get that crown.”

  Etienne waved a hand dismissively. “You saw how she stroked it. She will keep it close. In her bedroom, most likely. All you have to do is break in during the night and steal it as she sleeps.”

  “All?” Could he rea
lly think that was no issue?

  “Yes. You’ll go in by the secret ways. I can draw you a map. All these palaces are laid out the same way with the tower in the center. And the personal rooms of the ruler have all manner of secret entrances and passageways. It will be easy. You can sneak, can’t you?”

  “I’m no Lila Cherrylocks,” she said drily. If Tamerlan was here, he could do this.

  “No, you plan to end Lila Cherrylocks,” he said with a smile. At least someone found that part amusing instead of terrifying.

  “If she catches me in her rooms ...”

  “Then you’ll have to destroy the crown very quickly. Bring a hammer with you. A big one.”

  “Great advice.”

  He ignored her snapping tone. “My task is much harder. I have allies – friends who had meant to help me overtake the city. But many are likely dead or disenchanted with me since I failed them.”

  His forehead was lined, and his mouth screwed up as he thought.

  “Use criminals,” Marielle said.

  He looked up at her. “For what?”

  “To spread the word,” Marielle said. It was a good idea. An idea only a criminal or a Watch Officer would think of. “There are thieves and smugglers all over the city. They’ll have their own networks, their own ways of communicating. They’ll have people in the guilds. Speak to the right one and word will spread like wildfire. Criminals are interested in their own self-preservation. As are the guilds. Let that work to your advantage.”

  “Clever, Marielle.”

  His smile warmed her. She kept her shaking hands hidden. Now that she’d seen her mother and been rejected, her body seemed to be letting out all that ridiculous hope it had been holding onto in the form of shaking hands and a pounding heart.

  “And where would you go to find these criminals?”

  “A fence.” It was an easy answer. She’d dealt with enough thieves in her time in the watch. “Pretend you have a valuable piece to sell. Someone will bite. If you can manage to be more charming than you were with my mo – Variena – ” she stumbled over the name, “then you might convince them to take you to someone more important. I could do that part, if you want to sneak into the palace.”