03 - Sworn (61 page)

She lowered her head to the wind and flapped her wings harder, carrying us forward. Kel’s death had shaken her, and she’d vowed to do what she could to help. I suspected that seeing Murad again had only fueled her desire to see Severn taken down.

We were making good progress, flying through fair skies over quiet forests and towns, heading east toward Belleisle. We wouldn’t get that far, though. Just to the stone forest, near the first place I’d faced Severn.

He won’t escape this time,
I told myself.
If we meet, if we fight, if he tries to take what I love…

The thought was interrupted as a massive shadow passed over us, flying up from behind. Florizel shied sideways, and I gripped her mane tighter to stay seated. We dropped quickly, but my stomach seemed determined to stay aloft. I felt like it had climbed into my throat by the time Florizel’s hooves brushed the tops of the trees. I braced myself for landing.

She hit the ground running, darting between trees that sheltered us from whatever was above.

“Wait!” bellowed a voice that echoed through the forest. A great crash followed as a huge body shattered branches and close-set tree trunks, then shook the earth with a graceless landing.

“Skittish creatures,” the rough voice muttered.

My heart continued to race even as we stopped and turned. Florizel laid her ears flat and marched back toward the red dragon who sat brushing leaves and bits of shattered wood from her scales. When we reached Ruby, Florizel stretched her neck out and let out a long, irritated whinny.

Ruby raised her eyebrows—or whatever the scaled equivalent of them might be called. “Does that mean you’re not pleased to see me?”

Florizel snorted. “It’s rude to sneak up like that! You are huge! You are terrifying! You are…” She shook her head, and the tremor continued down her body. She sighed. “You’re not going to eat us, though, so I suppose that’s all right.”

I held back a laugh. “So glad to see you’re still with us, Ruby.”

She shrugged. “I didn’t want to get too far. I haven’t grown bored with watching all of this unfold yet. Where are you going?”

I explained what had happened, and our little mission. I still found it hard to say that Kel was gone, but it came easier every time I spoke the words. It also became more real, a fact that I disliked. Still, I would need to be able to say it calmly if I met a mer. They wouldn’t want to see me cry.

Ruby pursed her lips. “I’m sorry to hear it,” she said. “I understand what loss is. I may not grieve in the same way as you do, but I know that this is painful. It makes me…” She cocked her head to one side. “I believe it makes me sad. How horrifying.”

“You’ve felt sadness before,” I said.

“I have, but for my own losses. This mer meant nothing to me. I didn’t know him. Yet I feel it for you. For the human prince.” She made a horrid face, filled with disgust. “I really should end things. I’m so far gone.”

“You could,” I said, and held up a hand as an idea struck me. “But first, perhaps you might join us for a while?”

Florizel snorted again, but didn’t seem completely opposed.

“Why?” Ruby asked.

“We need you. Not that you should care, but we do. Aren once told me that dragons help anchor magic in the land, and there are a few of us who might benefit from having you close. You’d get a good seat for what’s to come, and maybe you could play a part if they decide to attack the city.”

Ruby drummed her fingers on the forest floor. “I suppose it would be terrible to pass up the chance for a feast like that. Soft, tender city folk…”

“Well, maybe not that,” I said hastily. “I’m not sure Aren would want all of them killed. But soldiers. City guards. Think of the armor. And if you want a great and glorious end…”

The dragon’s lips pulled back in a grin. “I make no guarantees about my appetite. But we’ll see what happens.”

A few minutes later we were all back in the sky. I felt safer having Ruby with us, though I declined her offer to carry me. I might have made it to the cave faster, but had no desire to be clutched in those terrible claws again if I could avoid it.

Florizel did her best to keep pace with Ruby, and we covered the distance to the stone forest far more quickly than we could have on foot. It took some time for me to find anything that looked familiar. The forest looked so different now, with leaves covering trees in a landscape that had been covered by an early snowfall the last time I passed through. By working back from the river, though, I eventually located the rocky entrance to the cave.

“What now?” Florizel asked.

“Find yourself something to eat,” I said, and re-settled my pack on shoulders that had grown tight and stiff after hours hunched over Florizel’s neck. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. You should eat too, Ruby.”

Ruby opened her mouth, but Florizel cut her off. “Don’t even joke about it,” she said. “I’m not a tender morsel, and I don’t believe you’re going to eat me.”

Ruby sighed. “You used to be fun, horse.”

I left them to their semi-friendly argument and climbed into the cave. Moisture dripped down the walls, and the place smelled of the decaying leaves that had drifted into the entrance the previous autumn. The walls still glowed with their eerie light as I moved deeper.

Not too far, remember.

“Hello?” I called, feeling foolish. The merfolk would have no reason to be close to this entrance. I could hope for a fairy, but they could be anywhere. With the way the caves shifted, they could be near the northern mountains one minute and at glass lake the next—or if not that quickly, at least fast enough for it to be dizzyingly confusing.

I looked back at the cave entrance. Late afternoon light still shone in. The caves wouldn’t shift around me until I came to what Cassia had called a “changing,” something like an intersection of tunnels. As long as I stayed in this one, I could make my way back.

“Jasper?” I called. “Beryl?”

I reached into my pocket and rubbed the smooth paper of the message Aren had sent. It wasn’t sealed, but I didn’t dare read it. The words there were for the merfolk, not for me, and I didn’t know whether it would hurt more to find he’d revealed his pain in his letter or glossed over it.

I kept walking. The air grew colder, and I shivered. The tunnel ended, opening into a round cave with rough walls and three more tunnels exiting from it. I didn’t dare step in, lest the tunnel I stood in change. I might never find my way back, and either be expelled somewhere far from my friends or lost. I leaned against the wall. “Beryl?”

A pair of cave fairies buzzed out from another tunnel, flying loops through the open space of the cave. My heart leapt, then calmed as I realized neither were familiar. They had the same round, fuzzy bodies as Jasper and Beryl, the same massive, dark eyes and moth-like wings, but these both had dark edging on their wings and black hair on their tiny heads. They buzzed closer, curious, and beckoned for me to step into the cave.

“I’ll have to decline,” I said, and retreated further into my own tunnel. They didn’t follow, but also didn’t leave. Cave fairies didn’t speak the common language of most species on the continent of Serat, from the humans in Darmid to the dragons of Tyrea and the merfolk of the surrounding seas. Still, they understood. “I’m looking for friends of mine. Fairies.”

The larger of the two fairies, a male with a deeply furrowed brow, chuckled musically.

“Well, acquaintances,” I amended. “Jasper and Beryl. They led me here several months ago, and I need their help. Could you find them?”

The two conferred quietly, then flew into separate tunnels.

I sighed and sat on the floor, back leaned against the cold, glowing wall. My options were limited. I could go back and give up, or I could wait to see whether they returned. The thought that they might bring back something terrible crossed my mind—they’d certainly seemed mischievous enough, wanting me to lose myself in the caves.

But what choice do I have?
I’d known this wouldn’t be easy.

I yawned. I’d hardly slept the night before as new nightmares invaded every time I let myself drift off. Dorset Langley was no longer the greatest horror in my recent past. Now there was Severn, and Kel’s injuries. Even the horrid, empty stare of Murad as Severn controlled his every movement.

I shivered and pulled my jacket tighter around me, then closed my eyes to rest them, just for a moment. When I opened them, a fairy hovered a hand’s breadth from my nose. I gasped and leaned back, reacting slowly. My muscles had gone stiff.

I’d been asleep, and I didn’t know for how long.

Jasper crossed his arms and frowned at me, apparently completely unimpressed. He buzzed away and returned a moment later, followed by quick footsteps.

I climbed to my feet as Cassia entered the cave, dressed in a warm sweater and a plain skirt in a heavy fabric that hung straight to her bare ankles.

Her beautiful face lit up when she saw me, and it was all I could do not to burst into tears at the thought of that joy being shattered. She and Kel had nagged and picked at each other as much as any pair of siblings I’d ever met, but they’d loved each other fiercely.

And she had no idea he was gone.

I forced a smile as she pulled me into a hug, and held her close. Her thick hair held the salty scent of the ocean, wild and deep. For a moment I couldn’t let go.

I’m not ready for this.

She pulled back. “What are you doing here, Rowan? Not that it’s an unpleasant surprise.” Her brow furrowed. “Is everyone all right?”

I fought to control myself, to not let my face contort. “Not exactly.”

“Is it Aren?” She looked ready to take up arms and charge after whatever enemy might have harmed her old friend.

“No. Cass, I—” I pulled the letter from my pocket and handed it to her. Aren would have said it better than I could.

She hesitated, and licked her lips. “I don’t want to open this, do I?”

“No,” I said softly. “I’m so sorry.”

A tear slipped down her cheek before she’d even opened the letter. Her breath hitched as she read, her chin quivered, and she let out a soft groan as she reached the end. No dramatic display of heartbreak. No denial. She folded the letter and tucked it into the pocket of her skirt, and her face crumpled as the tears came harder.

I opened my arms, and she leaned in. I stroked her hair, mumbled something nonsensical but vaguely comforting, and cried with her. I wanted to be the rock she could beat her grief out on, but I couldn’t. All I could offer was my own brokenness, so insignificant compared with hers.

I’d lost a friend and someone I admired greatly. She had lost so much more.

She pulled back to wipe her eyes. “We were so different. I always thought him silly for not using his brain, for following his intuition and his heart so strongly, even if it went against my better judgement. He thought I was too distant, too analytical. We listened to each other, though. I kept him out of trouble, and he led me into it in the most wonderful ways. I was his mind.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “And he was my heart.” Her nose wrinkled, and she squeezed her eyes closed. “How do I live without my heart?”

I had no answer for that.

She wiped her nose on her sleeve. “I, um… Is Aren all right? Nox?”

My stomach sank. “Nox doesn’t know. She’s in the city. Aren is planning to attack Severn, though I don’t know how. Ulric is half-mad and as good as useless, for all I can tell. We have support from Tyrea and Belleisle now, but I don’t think it’s nearly enough.”

“And you?”

“I’m here.” I shrugged. “For what it’s worth, I suppose.”

“I’m glad you came. It’s best to hear it from someone who knew him.” She grimaced as a few more tears escaped.

Jasper buzzed closer, clearly agitated. Cassia glanced at him. “I’ll explain on the way back,” she said. “For now, can we make sure Rowan gets back to her entrance?”

Jasper flew ahead, back toward the surface.

Cassia and I didn’t speak until we stepped out into the night. The sky was a blanket of stars that watched over a sleeping horse and the red dragon curled protectively around her. Ruby opened one eye, then closed it again.

“I’ll pass the message on to the elders,” Cassia said quietly, barely breaking the heavy silence of the forest. “I tried before. I argued. I tried to shame them, much good it did me. Nothing would move them. We never attack, not unless there’s a direct and immediate threat against our people.” She reached into her pocket. “Maybe this counts. I don’t even know. But I’ll see what I can do.”

I embraced her again, and she disappeared back into the cave.

Ruby yawned and stretched. “We were beginning to think you’d never return. Is it done, then?”

Florizel flexed her wings. “We decided we’re ready to leave when you are. There’s enough starlight to guide us, and no one will dare attack if we have a dragon watching over us.”

All I wanted was a little more rest, but they were right. Better to get back.

I used a boulder to mount Florizel, and we left the cave, the fairies, and the broken-hearted mer woman behind.

I only hoped we hadn’t missed too much while we were gone.

42

AREN

M
y muscles burned. Rough rocks scratched my hands until blood flowed from scrapes on my fingers. Though the morning air was cool, recent days had been warm, and the bodies gave off the sick, gassy odor of rotting meat. Some animal had been at the cairn and had made off with a leg, but otherwise the eighteen corpses were fairly well intact.

Intact, and blessedly still.

I picked up another rock and tossed it away from the bodies.

Hard as I’d tried overnight to escape from the grief that overwhelmed me and the worry that Rowan wouldn’t return, sleep hadn’t come. Instead I’d lain awake in my tent, grief turning to anger, anger fueling determination.

I’d told no one what I was planning. I would, but only if I had to. I still wasn’t entirely sure how I’d use these bodies, but I knew they had a part to play.