“What was the point of that?” I rounded on Morkai. “So, you can destroy the castle you call home. What good is that doing you?”
“Power, Cora. You fail to see the power.”
“I see the power. It is a power you don’t deserve. A power you have no right to. You have no right to destroy my home. To enslave my people. To hurt my friends. You have no right to rule Lela!”
“I do have a right.” Morkai’s eyes bulged as he brought his face close to mine. “My blood is the blood of the Ancient Ones. My blood is the blood of the rightful King of Magic. The rule is mine by right, and I will reclaim it.”
I refused to falter under his glare. “If you really believed that, you wouldn’t have gone through all the trouble of inheriting the crown from my brother, and trying to convince me to be your queen. If you were the rightful heir of the land, the magic would know, wouldn’t it?”
Morkai stood tall, backing a few slow steps away from me. “There’s nothing wrong with being too careful. I am now the rightful heir by rule of magic, blood, and succession.” His face looked confident, but I could sense a flicker of doubt. “Moving on.”
Morkai turned back toward the field and again raised his staff. This time, the wraiths returned, filling the field with their slow, transparent bodies. With a mumbled incantation from Morkai, the wraiths stood at attention.
“Attack!” Morkai shouted, planting his staggered feet as he faced the horde of wraiths racing toward him.
I watched with confusion as the wraiths neared Morkai, hoping that somehow his plan had gone wrong and he’d accidentally brought their wrath upon himself.
However, it was no accident. Morkai raised his palms toward the oncoming horde. As he thrust his arms toward the wraiths, an invisible force sent the entire mass reeling back.
The wraiths fell, still and defeated. Dead.
It was moments before they got back up and returned to their original positions. Again, Morkai demanded their attack, and again they were defeated in one swift motion. Again. Then again.
My mouth felt dry as I imagined his power being used on mortal beings. Beings who would die once and never get back up again. Beings who had no defense against such a power.
Once Morkai seemed to grow bored of the demonstration, he sent the wraiths away and returned his attention to me. “You see? There is no fighting me.”
“No matter how much power you have, we will still fight. The kingdoms of Lela will fight you. I will fight you. You may be able to kill an entire Force of wraiths at once, but you are no match for Lela’s fighters.” I wasn’t sure how much I believed my own words, but I couldn’t give in to the fear that threatened to unhinge me.
Morkai’s sickening grin spread over his entire face. “Orin,” he called, without taking his eyes from mine.
Orin stepped out of the shadows and came to Morkai’s side. “Yes, master.”
Morkai faced him, placing his hands on his shoulders. “You have been very obedient. Do you wish to serve me to the end?”
“Yes. You will teach me your power.”
“Of course.” Morkai looked down at Orin indulgently.
The two stood still, eyes locked for a few quiet moments. Orin began to tremble, subtly at first, as if he was simply nervous or excited. Then his eyes began to roll, and his entire body became racked with convulsions. Just when I thought he would fall from the force of his body’s jagged motion, he went rigid, eyes wide as blood trickled from his nose. Morkai lifted his hands away from Orin’s shoulders, and the boy crumpled to the ground in a lifeless heap.
I stared at the body at Morkai’s feet. “Why?”
Morkai laughed. “Don’t tell me you feel bad for the boy!”
“I don’t. It was just…senseless.”
“No, Coralaine. It was to give you a sense of my power. I can destroy an entire Force in one motion. I can kill a living being within moments by my touch alone.”
“Are you trying to intimidate me? This doesn’t change a thing. I will never follow you.”
Morkai stepped toward me and reached his hands toward my shoulders. I sprung back, and his hands grasped only air. He came toward me again and I felt a fire ignite within me. Every fiber of my being burned with it, flowed with it; it coursed through my blood and my veins. My mind felt suddenly clear, as if the fire had burnt all fear and hesitation from it.
“No!” The fire erupted in the form of a shout. My palms struck Morkai’s chest, sending him reeling backward as if I’d struck him with the force of a galloping horse.
Morkai quickly recovered his footing and looked at me with the closest thing to fear that I’d ever seen in his eyes. His face twisted with rage as he reached his hand toward me. He wasn’t near enough to touch me, yet I felt his grasp. I felt it in my throat as I struggled to breathe. The air escaped my lungs. My gut wrenched as if I had been punched. My eyes closed as I struggled to find consciousness through the agony of my mind.
I felt the ground shake below me and heard Morkai shout as his hold on me released. Gasping for breath, I took in the scene before me; the Roizan was pounding off toward the line of trees as Morkai stared after him with his mouth open.
“It’s your damn unicorn, isn’t it!”
Valorre! The thought brought me both terror and elation. I hadn’t any clue what had happened to him or the horses after I’d been captured by Morkai. Teryn couldn’t tell me anything of use, as all he remembered was that Valorre disappeared before he and Lex were captured. I was happy to think of Valorre alive and well, but terrified to think of him drawing attention from the Roizan.
“Get her to the dungeons!” Morkai shouted.
* * *
Teryn
I heard the dungeon door creak open and ran to the bars of my cell door, hoping it was Cora returning unharmed. The sound of feet approached, followed by shouting. “Get back here,” I heard a male voice call.
Cora appeared outside my cell, wrapping her hands tightly around the bars as she pressed herself against my door. “You’re safe.” She was nearly breathless. “I was worried. Did you feel the shaking?”
The brief shaking of the dungeon walls was the last thing on my mind as I saw the frantic look in Cora’s eye and what appeared to be bruising around her neck. “What did he do to you?”
“I told you not to run,” the guard said, catching Cora by the elbow. I recognized him as the man I’d heard Cora refer to as her brother. Since that first day Cora had been brought past my cell and into her own, Dimetreus had returned only to alternate keeping watch with the other guards. He seemed to have no tender feelings for his sister at all.
“Dimetreus!” I shouted, as he roughly pulled her away from my door.
Dimetreus cocked his head as his eyes met mine, as if he wasn’t sure the name I’d called was his.
“Do you see those marks on her neck? Did you do that or did he?”
Dimetreus looked at Cora as if he were seeing her for the first time. He shrugged. “Morkai. He can do what he wants with her. She’s bad. He told me not to trust her.”
“But he didn’t tell you not to trust me. She’s your sister. You should be protecting her.”
Dimetreus stared blankly at me in response.
“It’s no use, Teryn.” Cora glowered at her brother. “He’s not in there. Dimi is gone.”
Dimetreus pulled Cora away from view. I heard the door to her cell open.
“She is your sister!” I yelled, even though I knew it was useless. “You have to believe me. She needs your help and your protection! Do you want him to kill her?”
I heard Cora’s door slam shut. A moment later, Dimetreus struck the bars of my cell, and I jumped back from his angry glare. “I don’t have to believe anyone.” He left with a sneer and then stomped off out of sight.
25
Confession
Mareleau
I sat in the dark room, lit only by the flames of a dying fire. My eyes darted toward the door again and again as I sat huddled for warmth am
ongst the cushions of the couch. Anxious moments passed, hours perhaps. But I would not budge. I would wait. I would rather freeze than be ignored.
Footsteps approached the door, followed by fumbling of the handle. I took a deep breath and straightened myself; chest, shoulders, and head held high.
Larylis entered the room, his footing unsteady.
I stood. “Hello, Larylis.”
Larylis jumped. I could see him blinking into the light, searching for my face. I stepped closer to the fire. Larylis remained where he was.
“What are you doing here?” he asked after a pause.
“Waiting for you.”
“Why? How did you get in here?”
I looked behind me at a tapestry at the far end of the wall. “Back door. Servant’s hall. This is my castle, you know.”
Larylis walked toward me with uneven steps. I held my breath as he stood before me on the other side of the hearth. His eyes met mine for a moment before he turned toward the hearth, grabbed the fire iron, and began stoking the meager flames with more force than necessary. “You didn’t answer why.”
“I need you to let me explain.” I hoped he hadn’t heard the slight tremble that accompanied my words. “I don’t want things to end the way they did. For you to go to war and never know…” I swallowed a lump in my throat. I could have done it for dramatic effect, like I’d done many other times to get my way, but this time it was real. This time, I fought back tears that stung my eyes like a thousand angry bees.
He let out a sigh that ended in a grumble, dropped the fire iron with a clatter, and went to the desk to pour a goblet of wine. I wondered how much he’d already drank that night. He looked at me and raised a second goblet inquiringly.
“No, thank you. This conversation is important to me. I’d prefer to remember it in the morning.”
Larylis narrowed his eyes at me and then slammed the goblet on the desk. “Fine. Let’s have a conversation to remember.” He filled the new goblet from a pitcher of water and drank from it deeply. Leaving the wine behind, he walked back toward the hearth and took a seat across from me.
I watched him, waiting for him to meet my eyes. He looked everywhere but at me. Despite my composure, I began to feel nervous.
“Go on. Tell me all about your love for me.” Larylis rolled his eyes and then settled his gaze on the fire.
“I do love you, Larylis. Even when you make it difficult to do so.”
Larylis shook his head and took another drink of water.
“I’ve always loved you.” I felt my cheeks get warm. I wasn’t used to this sort of conversation. It was a wonder I’d managed to say as much as I already had. “First, it was the love of a friend, a playmate. I loved you as my favorite companion with the innocence only a child can have. Over time it developed into more. I hardly realized it until the day you were taken from me.
“I was twelve. My father called me into a council meeting to discuss my future marriage prospects, which was a great honor for me, being not only a woman, but also a child. It meant my father respected me and deemed me mature enough to discuss political matters amongst his councilmen. But things went far from expected.
“It wasn’t a meeting to discuss prospects with me. My husband had already been chosen. The meeting was a charade to make me feel important, and even at twelve that was obvious to me. It was still an honor to be blessed with such a charade, but I didn’t see it that way at the time.
“A contract was placed before me with the name of your brother written next to mine. I erupted with the fury of my adolescence, my innocence, my feelings of being betrayed by my father, and my need to protect myself all culminating in my declaration that I would never marry.
“Father’s fury matched my own. My two uncles, the most respected men of the council, looked at me with disgust. Little did I understand at the time, I had shown weakness in front of the very men who could take my throne, should I prove to be unworthy.
“My father quickly yelled me into submission, and assured me I would marry. My rage turned to fear and pain. I cried, begging him to let me marry you instead. Before I realized what I was saying, I blurted out that I loved you. It was the truth.
“Again, I met my father’s rage and the disdain of my uncles. ‘The runt? She wants to marry the Runt Prince?’ they taunted. They didn’t see you the way I saw you, as who you really were. They only remembered you as the second, sickly son. It didn’t matter that they were wrong. What mattered was that, again, I had shown weakness in their eyes.
“I was banished from the council with every admonition that I, a spoiled child, would not get her way. I would marry Teryn, like it or not.”
I paused, watching Larylis as he considered the fire in silence for countless moments, eyes slightly out of focus. Finally, he spoke. “Teryn never told me you were promised as children.”
“I doubt he ever knew. I didn’t let it get very far.”
Larylis set down his goblet and leaned forward with his hands on his knees, now fully looking at me. His face was full of question.
I continued my confession. “I may have been youthful, brash, and angry, but I knew enough to calm my emotions and redirect my motive. I knew I had to use my strengths and appeal to my father’s love of power if I were to turn the situation around in my favor.
“After days had passed and we’d both cleared our heads, I approached my father, apologizing for my behavior with all the grace and maturity I could muster. I asked for a second chance to discuss my marriage prospects, telling him I’d thought it over and was ready to let go of my childish ways.
“He agreed, although I wasn’t allowed back on the council. We spoke alone. I told him I would marry, but not Teryn. Wealth, power, and influence were now my aims. I convinced him Sele wouldn’t benefit from a marriage with a kingdom we were already allied with. A wealthy prince from a powerful kingdom would surely solidify Sele’s position.
“My father was intrigued and agreed to open my prospects. While I was saddened that I would never be with the one I truly loved, there was a naive part of me that thought I might be content if I married a man who could provide me wealth and freedom.
“But wealthy men have greedy hearts and greedy hands. I was engaged to one man after the other and I was repulsed by each one. They spouted their undying love for me. Me! A child, stranger to their eyes. Some made promises. Others made advances.” I crossed my arms, hugging them tightly over my chest at the memories. “I saw through their loving exteriors to the lustful beasts within. Again, I decided no marriage would suit me. I grew disenchanted with love all together. Love had lost me the respect of my father and his council. Love had brought me heartache. Love had gotten me pawed over by strangers.
“Years went by as I destroyed every engagement I had, yet men still pursued me. My parents were confounded. I finally held the power. When I could see my parents were growing desperate, I changed my motive yet again. I insisted I must marry for love, for only love could bring my engagements to fruition. Neither knew the meaning of the word, so my idea for the poetry contest and Quest seemed a likely solution.
“All the while, I have continued to love you. Since I couldn’t be with you, I would be alone for as long as possible. Yes, I’m selfish. Yes, I’ve been cruel. To you, to your brother, to every man. I’ve made a mess of things, I know. But it was the best I could do for myself.”
Larylis put his head in his hands, running his fingers through his hair. “Why didn’t you tell me long ago?”
“What would have been the point? There was nothing to do about it. Besides, I knew if I told you, you’d try to do something heroic. And that would have failed. You’d pine for me always, knowing I loved you. You’d never move on.”
“I pined for you anyway! Tell me, what’s the point now?”
“I don’t know, Lare.” I let out a sigh. “I don’t always think things through. I just knew I couldn’t bear it if you died in battle thinking ill of me, never knowing—”
�
�So, that is what it all comes down to?” Larylis sprung to his feet, throwing his hands in the air. “This is all about you. How you would feel if I took ill thoughts of you to my grave. Not because you can’t stand to be without me. Not because your love is so strong you can no longer hide it.”
“You expect too much of me!” I stood, placing my hands on my hips. We were nearly eye-to-eye. ”You’re the one with the dramatic declarations of love, not me. I’m not controlled by my emotions, I survive them and create the best situation for myself in any given moment. You let your passions eat you alive and then blame your circumstances on your unfair lot in life.”
Larylis opened his mouth to argue but no sound came out.
“I love you, Lare.” My voice softened. I look a step toward him, fighting the urge to place a hand on his chest. “I love you and your passionate fire. I love your stubbornness. I love you in all your melancholy. You’ve hardly changed a day since you were young. But I have. I’m not the same little girl I was. And I’m not even close to the girl of your imagination whom you think you love.”
“What do you mean think? I know I love you.” Larylis’ voice was quiet, strained.
“You hardly even know the real me. What’s my favorite color?”
“Pink. It’s always been pink.”
“No, it isn’t. It’s a deep crimson red. You see? You still think of me as my child self.”
“Are you saying my love for you isn’t true? Where does that leave us? What are we to do about any of this?”
“I don’t know. I told you, I don’t always think things through. With our kingdoms going to war, we don’t know what the future holds. I want to love you in whatever time I have. And if you’d like to take the time to know the real me, I’d like you to love me back.”
Shadows of Lela Page 18