Heritage: Book Three of the Grimoire Saga (22 page)

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

RESILIENCE

Kara hated the silence most. At the very least, she expected anger when the Bloods realized she’d come back. Snide remarks. Maybe even laughter. But silence—she suppressed a shudder. It reminded her too much of her first meeting with Blood Lorraine when Kara first discovered Ourea. It reminded her of how the generals had looked behind her, so certain she was nothing more than a clever joke. So certain she couldn’t possibly be the all-powerful Vagabond meant to save them from themselves.

She snapped out of the memory and stood a little straighter. The table’s surface creaked under her boots as she shifted her weight.

Fire crackled around them. The wall of flames blocked her view of the windows—of escape—but served her purpose well enough. None of the Bloods tried to put it out, at least not yet. Her theory had worked thus far. They didn’t know how deep the flames went.

The room settled, as if no one wanted to break the hovering tension by speaking first. Each of the Bloods leaned back in their chairs, though Kara noticed Ithone’s absence. Only Frine, Gavin, Braeden, and Evelyn sat at the massive table. Frine’s wrinkled forehead became all the more prominent when compared to the young Bloods around him.

Evelyn stood, her chair stopping inches from the wall of flames. A bead of sweat rolled down the queen’s temple—probably from the heat of the fire and not from nerves. She frowned and tapped her fingernails on the table.

“Welcome back,” Evelyn finally said.

Kara forced a smile. “Why, thank you. I was hoping for a warm greeting.”

She hadn’t intended to make a pun. Her grin widened.

“We never expected to see you again,” Gavin said.

“If things hadn’t changed, you never would have,” Kara admitted.

“What—?”

Kara let loose the barb in her palm. The purple thorn slid out and curved away from her hand. She examined it, the lingering traces of doubt dissolving in her stomach. Light glinted along the barb’s surface.

The Bloods cursed in unison and jumped back. Evelyn pushed away, keeping her hands on the table as she inched toward the far end of the room. Gavin tripped over his chair as he stood, tossing it into the fire in his haste to get away. Smoke billowed upward as the wood burned. Frine sputtered, his chair falling backward as he, too, shot to his feet.

The flames burned brighter with their fear, as if the chaos fueled Kara’s strength. She frowned and hoped not. Being feared shouldn’t make her strong.

The Bloods cursed as they continue to shift away from her, surprise apparently stripping them of their senses. Only Braeden still sat in his chair, one hand barely hiding a smile as he eyed the melee.

“Quiet!” Kara yelled.

Gavin, Evelyn, and Frine hushed. They hovered along the far edge of the table closest to the door, trapped between her and a wall of fire.

Evelyn’s eyes widened. She tensed. The queen barely moved, and it seemed as though she held her breath as well.

Gavin glowered at Kara as if she had betrayed him by being an isen. She wanted to laugh. For a king so fond of manipulating others, he played the part of wounded hero well.

But Frine—Kara paused. He watched her with one eyebrow twisted in a way that suggested curiosity. Maybe even a little awe. A flicker of hope burned in Kara’s gut.

She took a deep breath to steady her nerves. This was the plan: make them respect her with a powerful show of force. They had to know the truth of what she could do, even if they didn’t know she couldn’t completely control it yet.

Kara caught Gavin’s eye. “You all fear me. You think I want your power. Well, you’re wrong. All I want—all I have ever wanted—is peace. You squabble. You bicker. And for what? You haven’t gained anything for it. You aren’t safe. Ithone’s gone, Aislynn’s dead—you’re losing allies. You don’t trust each other. You can barely get along.

“The yakona people deserve better than that. They are better than that. I’ve seen it firsthand. The first Vagabond left me Grimoires, tons of them, and I made a vagabond for each one. That’s right. There are thousands more of us,” she lied, the number inflated.

She plowed on, hoping they wouldn’t call her bluff. “But again—I do not want your power. There are now vagabonds from every kingdom, and they help each other. They teach each other. They love their freedom because for the first time, they can fight for what they truly believe in. They can think freely, and they cherish that gift.

“But as I said, I do not want to overturn you. My vagabonds exist to help me bring peace, not to end your reign or take your power. I want your people to know freedom and safety. I want to see the yakona races work together and trust each other like my vagabonds do.”

Kara’s gaze shifted to Evelyn, and her throat tightened. “Just know that if you betray me—if you kill me or jail me—there will be another vagabond to take my place. And he or she may not have my same restraint. If you instead force me to take one of your bloodlines so you can control me, they will not hesitate to kill me if it means protecting each other.”

Evelyn’s jaw tensed, and she glared down at the floor. Frine grimaced, and even more wrinkles appeared in his forehead. Gavin rubbed his neck. Braeden watched her, though his eyes crinkled with concern. He knew the plan, but she figured he was worried this had taken it too far.

Kara steeled herself, but never once let her glare waver. This needed to happen. She tried diplomacy. She tried trust. Both failed her. The royals needed to know betraying her again would come at a cost.

She continued. “I don’t trust the three of you, nor do I really think you’re worthy of help. You’re selfish and obsessed with your personal agendas. But I’m not here for you. I don’t even like you. I’m here to protect Ourea and its people. You’d be wise to remember that. I’m here to protect your nations, who you have forgotten in your pettiness. I don’t owe you anything, nor will I obey any of you.

“If you want my help, my power, and my allies, we must all work as a team. You will listen to me, and you will compromise. Whatever you decide, this is your last and final chance. If you want to defeat Carden, you need my help. But it comes with a price. I will help you end this war if you pledge to make Ourea peaceful afterward. No more bickering. No more wars. Ever.”

“And how do you propose we comply?” Frine asked with a smirk.

“That’s something we can discuss later,” Kara answered.

They weren’t ready to hear about giving up their Sartoris. At this point, she knew they wouldn’t do it. She had to be careful with how she proposed that idea, and this was not the time.

Doors swung open and slammed against the wall just beyond the flames. Voices thundered through the wall of fire. Kara tensed. Unlike the Bloods, the guards had a better vantage point to estimate how thin the wall of fire really was. They could figure out a way through if she wasn’t careful.

Without moving, Kara pushed the flames by the door outward to make her wall of fire thicker. Her knees shook at the sudden drain on her energy, but she steadied herself. She couldn’t show weakness, even if the added flames did mean she had less energy to protect herself if the Bloods attacked from within the circle.

With every moment, her bluff grew weaker. She couldn’t let the Bloods realize that.

“So are you going to steal our souls, then?” Evelyn asked.

Kara laughed. “I’ll never steal a soul. Besides, I’m not sure you have one.”

Braeden laughed.

“I don’t trust isen,” Gavin said.

Kara shrugged. “You don’t trust anyone, so that doesn’t mean much.”

Gavin flinched, and Kara resisted the deep urge to smile.

Frine narrowed his eyes, his frown deepening. “Will you please step off the table and put out the fires? I would like to discuss this further without having to crane my neck, if you don’t mind, and the heat is uncomfortable.”

A jolt of panic raced through Kara, but she tensed to hide it. This was it—the moment she could lose her last shot at making them work with her. When she let the wall of flames dissolve, she would be vulnerable to whatever guards gathered in the hall. The Bloods could betray her, and betrayal meant she would likely have to choose between killing and being killed.

She eyed Frine without answering and backed toward the table’s edge, moving as far away from the door as possible. Her fingers brushed Flick’s tiny body through the fabric of her satchel. If the Bloods turned on her, she might be able to get out the same way she came in. Maybe.

The table’s edge creaked under her foot, and she stopped to gain her balance. The fire crackled a few feet away. She snapped her fingers, and the wall of flames went out with a
hiss
. A black ring of soot lined the floor where the fires had been moments before. She took a step back and hopped off the table, her boots landing with the barest tap on the tiles.

Sure enough, Ayavelian guards filled the far end of the room, clogging the exit with rows of muscled soldiers. Sunlight glistened off of the iridescent skin not hidden by armor. Metal clinked as they shifted their weight, all of them staring at Kara with eyes that had three pupils. However beautiful Ayavelians were, she had to focus. She tore her gaze away.

She stood straighter, fists tightening. Sweat trickled down her arms.

Evelyn got to her feet and pointed at Kara, the fear apparently gone now that the queen had backup. “You don’t get to make demands. Our time of listening to you is over, and—”

Frine sat down and scooted his chair toward the table, the scrape along the floor loud enough to cut Evelyn off.

“I, for one, would very much like to listen,” he said.

Kara smiled—a tiny one that lasted only a second. In her peripheral vision, Braeden grinned as well.

“Would you like a seat, Vagabond?” Frine asked, gesturing to an empty chair in front of her at the head of the table.

No, she really didn’t. She wanted to be ready to bolt in case anyone tried anything. Sitting would hinder her movement.

“I’d rather stand,” she said.

Frine shrugged. “Very well.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. She should be in chains,” Evelyn spat.

“You’ll have to go through me first, woman. I want to hear what she has to say,” Frine replied.

Evelyn’s breath left her in a rush, but she didn’t reply. The Ayavelian guards at the far end of the room glanced sideways at each other, apparently confused as to what was going on. Kara wasn’t quite sure herself, for that matter, but was grateful for the table between her and those in the room. If the Bloods or soldiers tried anything, the table would hinder them enough that she could escape. Probably.

The queen drummed her fingers on the table yet again. “So, isen, tell us why we should listen to your little plan after you’ve already turned some of our people against us.”

Kara laughed. “Many of the vagabonds found me. They despise the way the war is being handled. They see the way your agendas inhibit progress but had no way to let their voice be heard. I gave them a way.”

“You gave yourself more power, you mean. You’ve made yourself an army,” Evelyn said.

“Hardly. All I did was give them freedom—those who joined me made that choice for themselves. I have no control over them. Don’t twist this into something it’s not.”

“But you could turn all of our people into vagabonds,” Frine pointed out.

“I do have that power, but you forgot about my caveat. I won’t destroy you if you take care of your subjects and don’t try to destroy my vagabonds. It’s fairly simple.”

Frine gestured toward her. “This new power of yours is dangerous, Kara.”

She shrugged. “These are dangerous times.”

“We need to focus,” Gavin interrupted. “It doesn’t matter if she has a few vagabonds. Kara, how do you propose we kill Carden?”

Kara shifted her gaze to the Hillsidian king, but he didn’t look up from the table. He tilted his head ever so slightly, though, with his ear turned toward her. He was definitely listening.

“We need to hit Carden with everything we have. That means we have to work together and accept all the help we can get.”

Evelyn glared at Braeden. “But we’ve lost Kirelm.”

“I know,” Kara said, hoping to draw the attention off of Braeden. He’d meant well. She didn’t blame him for helping Aurora. For that matter, neither should the Bloods.

Gavin finally looked at her, and the annoyance in his glare froze her in place. “Vagabond, you seem to have acquired even more power in the time you were away. Why can’t we send you in alone?”

The Hillsidian didn’t know it, but Kara could. She could do as her grandfather had done all those years before and massacre everyone who crossed her path. She simply didn’t want to. She still had so much to learn about control, and the level of power needed to kill Carden meant she would have to take off her wrist guard. She definitely wasn’t ready to do that.

She shook her head. “The plan is to accept as many allies as possible. My vagabonds will be at the final attack against the Stele, but you won’t know who they are. Meanwhile, I will go to Kirelm and ask Blood Ithone to come back. I also have a powerful isen who will support us in this war, as well as the help of a drenowith, who has opted to help us despite what Aislynn did.”