Heir of Pendel (A Pandoran Novel, #4) (34 page)

I held up my hands in surrender. "Please," I said. "And then I'll leave."

She snatched the cloth from the bed and unrolled the fabric until two elegant daggers gleamed back. She went still, just staring at them for a few breaths. "What are these?"

"They're for you," I said. "Thaddeus got them for you since you lost your other ones near the portal."

A muscle worked in her jaw and she shoved the gift away. "Tell him to take them back."

I studied her a moment. "But you don't have any blades."

"I can get my own blades," she snapped.

"If you want him to take them back, you'll have to tell him yourself."

Vera glared up at me. "Don't play games with me, Alexander."

"I'm not playing games," I said sharply. "You lost your weapons, and Thaddeus brought you replacements. If these are unacceptable to you for some reason, you can explain it to him yourself because it makes absolutely no sense to me."

Her lips thinned, her cheeks flared, and she glared down at her comforter. I stood from my chair. "Would you like me to get him now?"

Her chest heaved with a deep breath as she stared at the little daggers on her bed. "No."

I nodded at her, then crossed the room to her door and paused with my hand on the handle. "Just so you know, he only left so he could find something to help
you
." Before she had a chance to respond, I opened the door and left, leaving her to her thoughts and me wondering what in the world was going on between those two.

21

ALEXANDER

E
arly the next morning, Laena arrived to tell me my sword was ready. I left Lif, who was already up and preparing a kettle over the fire, and a half-asleep and delirious Thaddeus, and I followed Laena outside into the crisp morning air. A little
nix
wisped past me as we walked, its light pulsing before it vanished back into the trees.

"How is your friend?" Laena asked while we walked. She had a thick and sultry voice that stuck inside a person's head.

"She seems to be doing all right, thanks," I said. "Lif worked a miracle."

She smiled at me and her long, dark eyelashes took their time falling and rising with a blink. "Yes, my uncle is very gifted. Are you…very close with your friend?"

"Not like that," I said simply, not wanting to divulge any more information about anything at all with Lord Dommelier's daughter.

"Mm," she said as though she were tasting fine chocolate, and her arm brushed against mine. "That is rather unlucky for her, I imagine, but I am glad to hear it."

I gave her a tight smile but said nothing. Thankfully, Laena didn't comment further as she led me through the winding pathways and bridges until we reached a set of double doors embedded in the face of an enormous tree. These were a different set of double doors than the ones Ehren had taken me to a few days ago. Two guards stood on either side and, seeing Laena, one of them opened the door and motioned for us to go inside.

Through the doors was a short hall carved straight through the tree and lined with a row of impressive wrought-iron lanterns. My steps were silent along the natural wood floor as I followed after Laena. The corridor ended at the other side of the tree, opening into a courtyard. The courtyard was hemmed in by what looked like many smaller trees, growing side by side and in a circle, but then I realized they were all just part of the same tree. Here, the tree's branches grew vertical and close, and from these branches, smaller branches bent down like buttresses to where they touched the floor of the courtyard, forming a sort of natural colonnade that snaked around the courtyard's perimeter. And standing in the very center of this courtyard was Lord Dommelier.

A man stood beside him, clothed in silvery robes, and the two of them had their heads bent together. The pair exchanged a farewell and the other man hurried off, silvery robes billowing behind him like a sail in the moonlight. Lord Dommelier watched after him a moment, straightened his posture, and then turned his head in our direction. His eyes settled on his daughter, and he smiled.

"Ah." He clasped his hands before him and started toward us. "Thank you, Laena. And thank you, Aegis Alexander Del Conte, for coming at such an early hour. I hope she didn't disturb your sleep."

"I'm an aegis of the crown," I replied. "My sleep is meant to be disturbed, my lord."

He gave me the ghost of a smile, then said something to his daughter in their native tongue. Laena gave a quick reply then fixed me with a long look before sauntering off down the pathway and disappearing in the shadows of arch.

"She will take you as a mate."

Lord Dommelier's voice drew my gaze back to him, and then his words caught up a split second later.

"Excuse me?" I said.

"My daughter," he continued. "She said she would take you as a mate."

This was precisely the sort of quandary I'd wanted to avoid, and why Laena's attention had made me uncomfortable. I knew how the Arborennians worked. There were no engagements or weddings. They took a mate, and that was their mate for life, even in death. They believed it was a bond greater than our public vows, which was why I'd given Daria that stone. It was my promise that no matter what happened in this life, I would always be bound to her. Even if this world prevented her from choosing me, I would always choose her, just as I always had. Laena's offer would be considered the highest honor amidst these people, but how did I tell Lord Dommelier I wasn't interested without offending him?

I waited another breath so I could choose my next words carefully. "I am honored, my lord," I said. "I've always admired the bonds of your people, and I'm flattered your daughter would find me worthy of such a commitment, but…I am not free to love her in the way she deserves."

Lord Dommelier regarded me a long moment, his eyes dark purple. "The princess?"

I'd wanted to leave Daria out of this, but there was no use in lying to him. "Yes, my lord."

He nodded a fraction then clasped his hands together. "What do you know of Valdon's current situation?"

I didn't trust his abrupt turn of conversation, or where my answer might lead us. "Presently? I don't know," I said. "The latest information I've received was a few days ago, in a letter from Prince Stefan to the princess stating the castle walls were surrounded by Eris's shadowguard. But I fled Karth a few days after, so if there've been any developments since, I'm ignorant of them."

Lord Dommelier studied me, and then he said, "The castle has been taken."

A heavy silence followed.

Fear curled around my chest and squeezed tight. "What do you mean taken?" I asked.

"It seems Eris had many followers on the inside and managed a quiet takeover during a council meeting held by the king."

A council meeting in which—no doubt—my father had been present. My chest constricted, my hands trembled at my sides. "What of those present at this council meeting?"

A painful second passed before he answered. "They're dead." His words settled in the courtyard, slow and suffocating.

I suddenly couldn't get enough air. "
All
of them?"

He didn't pull his gaze from mine. "Yes."

I shut my eyes and turned away from him. This couldn't be happening. I thought I'd have more time—I was supposed to have more time, and now Stefan and my father…

"Please don't mistake my forthrightness for unfeeling," Lord Dommelier continued. "Truth is truth no matter how it's packaged, and I would not dishonor you by handing it over prettily when it is not very pretty at all."

I pushed my palms through my hair and then dragged them down my face. "When?" Even that one word shook.

"The night before last," he replied. "My source barely managed an escape to deliver the news. He arrived a few hours ago."

Two days. The king and Prince Stefan and my father had been dead for
two days
. My body suddenly felt too heavy. My father and Stefan were…gone.

I fisted my hand and shoved it in my mouth, biting down hard to keep from screaming. My body trembled, overwhelmed with rage, with grief. So much grief. I was not prepared for this. I'd known Eris would attack eventually, but I hadn't thought it would happen like this. And I certainly hadn't believed my own father would be taken from me so soon.

I bit down harder.

My mother. Did she know? This news…it would devastate her. And Daria…Stefan may have been one of my closest friends, but he was the last real family Daria had left.

"There's…something else you may want to know," Lord Dommelier said.

Something else? What else could possibly be worse than this? Unless it involved Daria. I pulled my fist from my mouth and swallowed hard.

"What do you know of Lord Cethin Raoul?" he asked.

"Ah…" It took me a moment to find my voice. Lord Cethin Raoul. Why did this matter? Why did
he
matter? My father and one of my closest friends had just been murdered, and I hadn't been there to help either of them. "I know that…he was the closest advisor of King Darius's father…but why is this relevant? He's dead."

Lord Dommelier shook his head. "Lord Cethin Raoul is not dead."

I didn't care. All I saw was my father's face. Stefan's face.

"I've felt the tremors of his power for some time," Lord Dommelier continued, "but my source confirmed seeing him amidst Eris's private council. Apparently, Lord Cethin Raoul was appointed as the pykans' overlord, and he is the one responsible for bringing them to mainland."

Images of all the ways Eris could have murdered my father and Stefan attacked my mind. I clenched and unclenched my fists at my side, my blood running hot as I stifled the urge to kill the first person in sight—in this case, Lord Costa Dommelier. I steeled myself. Eris would pay for this. I would make him pay.

"Eris has sent Lord Cethin Raoul north with Myez Rader," he continued. "According to my source, Myez Rader is in charge of gathering materials necessary for forging amalgamate weapons, and Lord Cethin Raoul has joined him on this quest."

His mention of Eris pulled my attention back to the conversation at hand. "Eris has…brought back Lord Cethin Raoul?" I asked.

"I have no way of knowing for certain Eris has done this, but it seems likely."

And he was with Myez Rader. Apparently the thief had survived.

I inhaled a deep breath, gathering myself and forcing myself to dispel my grief so I could think—act.

Lord Cethin Raoul.

In the realm of dark magic, he was more infamous than Mistress Astaire Dothrai. There were stories of his power being so great, he could turn a person inside out from a mile away with nothing more than a glance in their direction. The stories claimed Lord Cethin Raoul was Mortis in the flesh, reaper of souls, the embodiment of Death. No one knew what had happened to him. One day he vanished, never to be seen or heard from again. Some say Mortis brought him back to the shadow world to rule over his demons, but no one knew for certain.

"You won't win against Lord Cethin Raoul," Lord Dommelier said, "skilled as you may be. Not without an army behind you. If you thought Lord Eris was dangerous, I promise you Lord Cethin Raoul is infinitely worse."

I looked back at Lord Dommelier.

"Take my daughter as your mate," he urged. "Thus united, the Arborenne will honor you and stand beside you. Fight. Otherwise your promises are nothing but words. We cannot bind ourselves to you if you do not first bind yourself to us. Surely, you understand that."

This was the last thing I felt like dealing with right then, but Lord Dommelier was not letting it go. His offer was a great honor, and I was no fool. There wasn't a man in the kingdom who wouldn't hesitate to accept his proposal. Laena was beautiful and powerful, and accepting her would give me the Arborenne, and with them standing behind me, we might have a chance against Eris. And then…maybe Daria would be safe, because I would have the power to protect her. I would be able to set up a new world where she would be free, and she wouldn't be forced to marry that worthless excuse for a man. All I had to say was yes.

But I'd be saying goodbye to Daria forever. There would be no future for us—not in the way I'd wanted. I'd already lost so much, and I was tired of living in a world where I wasn't free to love her. I couldn't forfeit my chance now by letting my desperation propel me into something rash I would infallibly regret later. It also hadn't gone unnoticed that Lord Dommelier was using my dire situation to capitalize on his own power.

"I'm sorry, my lord, but my answer is no," I said at last, numb from my anger and despair. "I see now that I made a mistake in asking for your help. I'd hoped you were different. I'd hoped you wouldn't use these circumstances merely as a means to stretch your boundaries. Clearly, I was wrong."

The guards stationed around the courtyard stepped forward and aimed their gilded crossbows at me. I waited for Lord Dommelier to make the call, to raise his hand for his guards to strike or carry me away, but he did not. Instead, he waved his hand and the guards turned their crossbows away and slipped back to the shadows.

"I don't wish to quarrel with you, Aegis Del Conte." His tone was low and sharp. "But I am sorry this isn't turning out more favorably." A pause. "Laena," he called too quietly for anyone to hear, so I was surprised when she walked back through the arch and approached us, holding something across her arms. I knew it was the sword, even though it was wrapped in silver cloth.

She stopped before us, head bowed and arms extended toward me.

"I believe this belongs to you," Lord Dommelier said. His gaze was as hard as the angles of his face.

Wordlessly, I took the sword from Laena's hands. Her arms fell to her sides as she stepped back. She didn't raise her face to look at me. I wondered if she'd heard my entire conversation with her father. I hoped she had.

The men standing guard hadn't resumed attack position. I didn't sense this was a trap, so I proceeded to unwrap the sword from its silver packaging. The sword was perfect.