Fervor (The Fervor Chronicles Book 1) (21 page)

Entering a large courtyard, Caprice paused, yanked from her jumble of thoughts. The area was massive but unlike anything she’d ever seen. Were they inside or outside? Several stories above was a canopy of vines and fragrant, hot-pink flowers. The floor was dirt except for a rocky pathway that led to a large circular stone. To the left ran a river—a river inside the castle! The sounds of the bubbling water tickled her ears.

The trees.
They reached as high as the ceiling, lining the walls, covering the stones—or were they the walls themselves? Flowers of all colors, neon yellow, deep purple, startling orange sprang from the base of the trunks, intertwined with branches running along the ceilings.

The women lead her down the cobblestone path. The early morning sun hadn’t risen, but the area was alive with light. High above the canopy, swirling shapes moved, undulating through the vines, illuminating the courtyard. The source of light almost looked… alive, like the tiny ice birds, the Nue’mon, that nested near her window perch. Her namesake. But these winged creatures didn’t have white wings, tinted with blue. Instead they glowed a yellowy red, mimicking the rising sun. The room was bathed in a rosy glow.

Cameo lead the way, lightly dancing across the stones. The First waited, with four robed women standing behind her. Their faces were cloaked in dark-blue hoods, and they seemed to sway to music only they could hear.

As they approached, the circle of warriors dispersed and melted into the background. Caprice blinked in disbelief. She was surrounded. There were women everywhere. Some stood at the base of the trees, other perched in branches, many of them sat on rocks. Several hundred women lined the courtyard, and they all waited for her. All of them spoke at once, the space overflowing with whispers and gasps.

She lifted her palm. The motion was graceful, almost hypnotic, signaling silence. “I am First Warrior RyAhn of the Hamazakaran. Welcome to my home.”

Welcome?
“I am Caprice Nue’mon, Princess to the Glissante and prisoner to the Hamazakaran. For what purpose do you bring me here, a visitor to your land? You chain me and then injure my… companion?” She hesitated only for a second, unsure of what to call Arun.

“You are certainly welcome, otherwise you’d be dead.” Light laughter echoed around the courtyard.

Meeting the woman’s gaze, Caprice saw no amusement. “Will you kill him?” Her heart ached with each word.

“Not yet. We talk. Do you know why we guard the Bicullis?”

Caprice waited, striving for patience but she wanted to pace, to scream; she was desperate to know her fate, Arun’s fate.

“For a millennia we used the portal for trade. We were known for our medicinal cures. Ignorant kingdoms obsessed with power and magic did not understand our power came from the earth, only manipulated by what the gods have blessed us with.” The leader began to walk along the line of robed women.

“They started one hundred years ago, the attacks on our kingdom from men determined to see for themselves if there truly were goddesses who could cure their every ailment. These men grew less interested in our medicines when they discovered the beauty of our women. Soon they wanted to claim
us.
We are located at the very center of the
ledge
with the blessings from both the sun and the moon, the perfect balance. We have been under siege for close to a century.”

“And for this you hate men? Understandable. But where are
your
men?
Your
guards.”

“Our men were fierce fighters, but they were whittled down, their numbers declining after each attack. The women were not always the warriors you see today. If we had trained sooner, we could have helped them.” She clenched her hands, but still her face remained impassive. “Do you know when the last group disappeared? Twenty-five years ago, when our queen was kidnapped.”

“I know you harbor mistrust for strangers, but maybe I can help you with the Bicullis. I have recently learned things…”

“Learned. From where? Your man’s little book?” Cameo piped in, raising her hand and throwing Arun’s father’s journal on the stone slab.

Caprice stepped toward Cameo, determined to pour any last ounce of strength into
freezing
her to the spot. “So now you add thievery to your long list of crimes? Give that back!” Surprisingly, Cameo’s smirk was wiped from her face at Caprice’s words. “You nearly killed us in the jungle for mistakenly being sent here by the Bicullis. If you’ve guarded it for a millennia, then you must know how it works. We did not
want
to come here. I knew nothing of this place.
It
sent us here… and for what? To be killed? I wish I had never come here.”

Cameo looked uncertain, but remained silent.

The leader continued as if Caprice had never spoken. “Our queen was very beautiful—she was the light of our dying race, our hope for the future. She was the Fertile Queen, able to bear children after so many could not.”

Caprice stilled, deciding to ignore Cameo. “I am sorry for your loss. The Glissante also deal with low birth rates. I was the last princess born in one hundred years.”

The First now gazed into space, lost in her thoughts. “Our queen had one daughter before she was kidnapped…”

Caprice saw Cameo stiffen and turn away.

The First continued. “Her hair was a golden flame of the sun, with soft green eyes and an open smile. She was everything a queen should be. And I loved her.” She ran her eyes over Caprice. She raised a hand, but pulled back before she came too close. “You wear her dress.”

Caprice gasped. The fury faded as the leader shared her pain. “Why? Why would you give me her dress?” She pulled the lovely gown from her, noting the perfect fit, perfect length.

“Do you know who took her twenty-five years ago? Are you starting to guess? No? The Glissante. Only one of our men from the group made it back through the Bicullis to describe the people and the biting cold. He died a few days later, eaten alive, blackened by ice. Most of the men couldn’t even make it to your castle to rescue her, the elements too harsh. To rescue the queen, my sister.”

Caprice’s temples ached. She rested her palm against her forehead, flashes of the brightest gold and light laughter, tickled her memory. Bittersweet memories she’d suppressed from so long ago. Twenty-five years ago,
twenty-five years.
“Am I…?”

The First raised both hands and an expectant hush settled over the crowd. “It is time.”

Straightening, Caprice glanced around. “Time for what?”

The warrior crouched and swept both hands to the side. A wall of water, three times the height of Caprice rose from the lake.

Caprice took at step back. The wave hovered, and the leader paused, a flash of compassion crossing the mossy green of her eyes. Before she could inquire, the leader shut her lids tight and turned away.

The woman swooped her hands to the side, and the wall of water moved so fast Caprice could only take a shallow breath before she was engulfed. The wave circled her, flowing over and around, creating a wet bubble. The liquid lifted her, and she saw the leader holding the shape in her palms, her hands curling in the shape of a ball. Rising higher, Caprice searched through the blurry wall of water, frantic at how to escape. Flapping her arms and legs, she would rise but the bubble surrounding her would follow.

Her lungs swelled in her chest, and Caprice released tiny burst of air thorough her lips, seeking relief.

I can’t breathe!

Cameo ran alongside her, jumping up and down, waving her arms, her words distorted. She ran closer, cupping her hands around her mouth, her beautiful voice penetrating the water.
“Fight!
Fight this!” Cameo twirled her hands in front of her.

Fight what? Closing her eyes, Caprice tried to concentrate, but her head felt fuzzy from lack of oxygen. All she had was the cold. The coolness of the water surrounded her. Yes! The liquid was several degrees colder than the air. When she focused on her palms, a slushy mess formed in her hands, but was quickly washed away by the swirling current.

Her head started to pound, her lungs burned, desperate for air, desperate to exhale in and out. Caprice’s body started to go limp, her arms floating by her side. She blinked, noting the beautiful birds flying above her, flying free.
That’s all I ever wanted, to be free.
That was all she ever wanted. All her mother ever wanted.

My beautiful mother.
It brought all the aching fury back. She wanted to do this. She would do this. For herself and her mother.

I want you off me, now!

Her hands mimicked the words in her mind, chopping, swirling as if gathering the liquid then releasing it with every last ounce of energy. The water parted. It worked. In an instant she fell, hitting the ground hard, her legs no longer supporting her. Water splintered like shattered glass, reforming as it hit the floor, sweeping up the robed women who swayed behind The First. They were slammed against the trees. The water rose above the protective wall of stone, sweeping up female warriors in a flood, muffling screams as they were immersed in water. Caprice rejoiced.

I hope they all drown.

The leader raised her hands over her head, swirling her arms in a slow arch. The water funneled and gathered, forming a water spout. The funnel rose and arched back toward the stream. Not a drop remained on the ground.

The First approached, her stride strong and sure. Caprice raised her hands above her face to ward the woman off. It would be a bluff. She didn’t have the strength for another battle.

“Rise, daughter to my sister, daughter to the queen. I will not hurt you.”

Caprice scoffed. She’d certainly been willing to drown her only a few minutes before.

The First Warrior knelt down and reached to stroke a lock of braided hair, pulling back just before her fingers made contact. “There are a select few of our bloodline who can harness the power of the water. When I saw what you did at the lake yesterday, I finally
looked
at you, and saw my sister’s eyes, and…” Her voice caught in her throat. “I knew. I knew you were my niece as sure as I knew the sun rises and falls in the sky.”

“Then, why? Why do this to me?” Caprice sat up slowly, vexed she was once again soaked in warm, sticky water. She gazed into the face of the leader, hoping with a ferocity that surprised her, that her words were true.

“I am sorry for that. It is a ritual, a rite of passage that all royalty must endure, depending on her innate abilities. Have you always controlled the water?”

“No! Never. I am Glissante. I control the ice, my abilities come from my father’s side. I had no idea I could do any of this.” She swept her hand in a circle, encompassing the water, and the surrounding women who were just as soaked as Caprice.

The leader put up her hands, a small smile touching her lips. “Careful. You don’t want to hurt anyone. Know this, niece. The power that runs in your veins is from your mother. Ice is the form water takes when cold. You would not have survived the ritual, otherwise. You are your mother’s daughter, through and through. The only thing you inherited from your father was your inability to touch. I am sorry for that. Although it seems a powerful weapon.”

Caprice’s heart felt as if it were pounding outside of her chest. “If what you say is true, then I got nothing from him.”

The First frowned but waited for an explanation, clearly used to getting what she wanted without having to ask.

It would probably be easier to show her. Caprice offered her hand, refusing to say more. They were asking her to make some pretty big leaps. It was The First’s turn to trust. Would she take the chance and touch her?

The leader frowned and looked intently at Caprice’s hand. Her hand crept forward and softly grasped Caprice’s palm.

Caprice shivered. The leader was only the third person she’d touched out of kindness.

“I wish your mother were here,” the fierce woman whispered softly.

Caprice’s hand slipped from her grip. Her mother… Her mother’s people. A familiar sadness settled in her chest. “But she left me… left me all alone in the cold.” She shook her head, wanting to reject the woman and the people who would leave a small child defenseless.

The First cupped her face, her eyes boring into Caprice. “My sister would
never
willingly leave you, ever. She would die rather than leave her child alone. If she left, it was by force.”

“Didn’t leave me?”
Could it be true?
Hope blossomed, and no matter how hard she tried, the feeling wouldn’t quiet. “Wait. Didn’t you say she had a child before she left?”

Cameo’s soft leather shoes came into focus, and it was her turn to offer a hand. Caprice watched her, but didn’t grasp her palm, still uncertain of the mercurial woman.

The redhead’s hand dropped to her side. “Still don’t want me to touch you? That’s all right, you’ve been through a lot.” A rueful smile touched her lips. “I just wanted to welcome you to the family, Sis.”

‡

D
arkness swarmed, pressing
down, suffocating him. He had to rise, to find her. The energy pumped through his veins; he could feel the heat of the electricity. The current singed away the lethargy, fighting against the drug that subdued him, that kept him asleep.