The Dark Throne (10 page)

Vell nodded and crossed her arms. “Very well.” She stopped and looked at Sage. “Wait outside. If Tess passes out, I’m sure that the three of us have enough knowledge between us to deal with it.”

Sage gave a little bow and slipped gracefully from the room, shutting the door quietly behind him.

“Do you have your recommendations for the warriors who will be aloft?” Vell asked Gray and Finnead. In reply, Gray drew a neatly rolled piece of parchment from her belt-pouch, handing it to Vell. Without reading it, Vell tucked it into her own belt-pouch.

“There is a list of three dozen, ranked by our assessment of their skill,” said Gray.

Vell nodded. “And of course one of you.”

“I will do it,” said Gray immediately. She smiled. “I have never flown before, and I would like to sink my spear into a dragon.”

After a moment of consideration, Vell nodded. “Very well. I will be working the spell from the ground, so Finnead, you will be leading the ground force.”

My throat tightened. What would be safer, to be borne aloft on bespelled wings crafted of wood and feathers, or to face a dragon from the ground? Finnead nodded with his usual grace.

“And Arcana will be with me,” Vell said, not bothering to suppress her expression of distaste. “I’ll draw on her if I need power, and she will be my protection on the ground.”

I frowned. “Do you trust her?”

Finnead and Gray went very still in that peculiar Sidhe way. Vell’s golden eyes flashed as she crossed her arms and turned to face me. For a moment I thought she was truly angry with me, but then I caught the hint of a wry smile at the corner of her mouth.

“Your first time out of bed and already you’re asking impetuous questions,” she said. The smile widened. “If you weren’t already the Bearer I’d tell you to accept the challenge to become one of my
vyldgard
.”

I dredged up an answering smile. “Remember when you said you’d keep me humble, no bowing and scraping? I guess that’s mutual now.”

Vell nodded. “That suits me.” She seized two chairs and dragged them over to a corner. At some unspoken cue, Finnead and Gray silently left the room, the door closing gently behind them. I glanced after them. Vell waved a hand. “They have to supervise the preparations. Sit with me for a few moments, Tess.” She threw herself into one of the chairs and flicked her wrist toward the stone fireplace; flames sprang to life, white as winter snow. As the fire danced on the logs, it slowly gained color until it lost its unnatural pale glow. I slid into the seat beside Vell. She leaned forward, elbows on her knees as she idly spun a dagger in one hand, staring into the fire. Finally she spoke. “To answer your question…if Arcana were not bound to me by the power of the Crown of Bones, I would not trust it, no.” She flipped her blade casually, watching the flash of silver as it cut through the air. “But as much as I dislike it, I have a connection that lets me discern its intentions.”

“You don’t call Arcana ‘her,’” I noted. “It’s kind of creepy when you say ‘it.’”

Vell caught her dagger and looked at me, raising her eyebrows. “You
know
it’s not
alive
, Tess. It’s a creature of old power that wears living flesh like a glove.”

“What is she—it, then? If you have a connection, don’t you know?”

Vell leaned back and threw her dagger with a flick of her wrist, burying the blade in the wooden mantel over the fireplace. “It’s older than anything else I’ve ever felt, with the exception of maybe the White Wolf, when he came to us.” The white marks on her throat gleamed suddenly in the firelight, silver against her pale skin.

“Arcana is some sort of deity?” I asked, suspicion edging my voice. But then I thought of the strange stillness of the body Arcana inhabited, the odd movements that were not quite
right
, as though it had made a study of watching people move and hadn’t completely mastered the motions. Or as though it was a puppeteer and could not mimic the delicate intricacies of a living creature, no matter how skilled. The Sword hummed quietly in agreement at my train of thought.

“Perhaps. I’m not entirely sure.” Vell stared at her quivering dagger-hilt. “I haven’t felt its power, not all of it; but I can feel enough to know that I’m glad it’s chosen our side.”

“Does it have more power than you or Titania?” Now my mind shifted to the first meeting with Arcana, and I thought of how it had grinned at the prospect of matching power with me. Did
I
have more power than Vell or Titania? I quickly shepherded my thoughts away from the subject.

“That’s a rather rude question,” the High Queen replied, her circlet catching the firelight as she stretched back in her chair and yawned, flashing white teeth. “And I’m not entirely sure of the answer. I don’t think so. I have power in my own right, but the power I have now…the Crown of Bones connected me to a reservoir, when it crowned me.” She slid a look at me. The Sword thrummed in its sheath on my back. “The Caedbranr knows what I’m talking about. It’s much like it is with you. You have
taebramh
on your own, but when you are connected to the Sword, it opens another realm. Metaphorically speaking.”

The fire crackled in the hearth, golden and real. Its burgeoning heat caressed my legs. “But Arcana has thrown in her lot with us, and you trust her to protect you.”

“I could end it,” Vell replied simply. “Power or no, when it became one of my Three, it placed its existence in my hands.”

“You could just kill one of your Three?” I said quietly.

“With no more than a thought.” The High Queen stood and retrieved her dagger from the mantel. I shivered. “But I need all the power I can get, Tess, so don’t worry about Finnead, if that’s what you’re thinking.” She grinned wickedly at me, sliding into her chair again. “Besides, he’s too pretty to look at. I wouldn’t be able to kill such a magnificent specimen of Sidhe manhood.”

I rolled my eyes. “Since when do you find Sidhe men attractive?”

“I’m not saying I do, particularly, but I can recognize a beautiful thing and appreciate it from afar.” She spun the dagger again, now with one hand. “Like Titania’s gowns. Just gorgeous, but not something I would want to wear myself.”

I chuckled. “You’re comparing Finnead to a gown.”

She shrugged. “Some women would not object to either against their skin.”

Without thinking, I reached out and smacked Vell’s arm lightly as I laughed. It was no more than a light touch, and we’d laid hands on each other with much more intent during training, but it was enough to jolt her hand as she caught her flashing dagger. Many things happened in the space of the same breath: the dagger sliced Vell’s finger, bright blood staining the blade, and she cursed; the room went cold, and an invisible force slammed into me, lifting me bodily from my chair and throwing me through the air.

Chapter 5

I
felt the power of the Sword flare in the blink of an eye, just before I slammed into the corner of the heavy wooden table. I still hit the table, tumbling down onto the floor; and it still hurt enough to knock the wind from me, but I knew that without the Sword catching me, I would have probably broken bones. My own
taebramh
burst from its cocoon behind my breastbone, the first time I’d felt it rush through my blood in all its strength since I’d awoken. The air in the room tightened with power, as the Sword pushed back whatever had thrown me across the room. Something like a growl rumbled at the very lowest reaches of my hearing, and I wasn’t sure if it was coming from the Sword or from the other foreign power. Not quite foreign, I corrected myself, grimacing: Vell’s power, and the power of the crown on her brow. My breath hovered frostily in suddenly wintry air, the scent of snow and evergreen whirling around me. The Sword and my
taebramh
swelled fiercely, beating back the biting cold, creating an orb of protection around me. The edges of my vision went white and it became hard to breathe with the thickness of the power in the room. I reached for the table leg to pull myself upright, hands stinging.

The door burst open as I regained my feet. Beryk leapt into the room, large as a horse. Kianryk followed, his golden pelt bright and shining with power. Luca strode through the door, his hand on his sword-hilt and a fierce glint in his eyes. Beryk flowed across the room to Vell, who stood transfixed by the fire, trembling. The black wolf wrapped himself around her and with difficulty she slid one hand into his gleaming fur. My ears popped as the pressure in the room eased, the whirlwind of snow-scented power seeping back toward Vell. I felt a touch on my own arm.

“You’re glowing,” Luca said.

My war-markings shone a fierce emerald, the complex pattern illuminating the sleeve of my shirt. I rubbed my arm gingerly with my other hand and took a deep breath, reaching out for my
taebramh
and at the same time asking the Sword to dampen its sphere of power. It circled around me uneasily, waiting until the flood of Vell’s power had receded. Then, grudgingly, it obeyed, the Sword vibrating in its sheath as the emerald fire poured back into me until my bones ached. My own
taebramh
proved more difficult to retrieve. I focused on slowing my hammering heart and steadying my shaking hands. I felt like I’d just been slammed by a strong wave at the beach, pulled underwater and pinned by the awesome power of the ocean.

Kianryk pressed his warm bulk against the back of my legs, steadying me as Luca quickly retrieved my chair. He cursed softly as he picked it up, and I saw that one side of the wood frame had splintered from the impact of the blow. I silently thanked the Sword; its power circled behind my breastbone restlessly.

“Are you all right?” Luca asked me in a low voice.

“I think so,” I answered, still focused on calming my adrenaline-spiked body. My war-markings slowly faded to a fine trace of fire barely visible beneath my shirt, glowing faintly on my hand. I looked at Vell. “What
was
that?”

She still stood with one hand on Beryk, staring into the fire. A small sliver of dark blood marked her finger where the dagger had cut her. When she answered, her voice was tight with anger. “That was me, not being able to control my power.”

At once I understood. “Because I touched you and then you cut yourself.”

“Yes.” She stared into the fire for a moment more and then finally turned to me. Golden fire danced in her eyes, drowning her pupils. I wondered if that was what I looked like when the Sword’s power overtook me, and I watched in fascination as Vell finally pushed down the last of her power, her eyes returning to something like normal, still traced in golden fire but now able to hold my gaze. She opened her mouth as if to say something, then pressed her lips together and looked back into the fire.

“Tess, are you sure you’re all right?” Luca rested his hands on my shoulders and looked at me earnestly, his blue eyes concerned.

“My hands hurt a little from the fall, but I’m all right,” I said. “Vell?”

“I need to finish the work on the wings,” she said without looking at me.

I blinked, recognizing her statement as a dismissal. Beryk turned his great head and looked at me with something like apology in his lupine gaze. I glanced at the wings on the table. The feathers on the edges of the frame glowed, some silver and some with a tinge of emerald; as I watched, a few rippled as though from an unfelt wind.

“I’ll walk you back to your room, Tess,” Luca said.

I nodded, still watching the wings as I turned. Kianryk shook himself like a giant dog and bounded out of the room ahead of us. Luca and I followed at a more sensible pace. I shut the door carefully behind me, leaving Vell staring into the fire with Beryk standing still as a statue beside her. Luca watched me as we walked.

“I’m fine, just a little shaken up,” I said. My right hand ached; I rubbed it lightly with my left thumb. “Was that the first time that happened?”

“No,” Luca answered. “But it was the first time it happened to someone with power perhaps equal to that of the
vyldretning
.”

“Vell didn’t kill anyone, did she?” I asked in sudden horror.

“Very nearly, but no. Sidhe and
ulfdrengr
alike are difficult to kill.”

“Her power flared because the Crown thought she was threatened after my little push made the dagger cut her.” I wondered if Vell’s circlet was now the Crown of Bones, or if the great ruby’s power had truly disintegrated into ash after baptizing the new High Queen.

“You caught her off guard,” Luca agreed.

“Why didn’t one of her Three respond? Why you?”

Luca smiled. “Full of questions as always.”

“I’ve been told that more than once already today.” I smiled in return. “Seems like there’s been a lot of changes while I’ve been recovering.”

Luca shrugged with his broad shoulders. I noticed suddenly that he had filled out considerably since our arrival at the Hall, the muscles in his shoulders and chest apparent even in his loose shirt. “The
vyldretning
is in a unique position. Chael and I are still attuned to her, though not as deeply as her new Three.”

“She was probably able to reach out to them, or they could feel what was really happening. You just felt the explosion.” I nodded in understanding. The Sword hummed in agreement. I frowned as we wended our way through back passages toward my room. Luca led, though I was only half a step behind. “Do you and Chael have to take part in this hunt to be a part of the
vyldgard
?”

Luca laughed. It reminded me painfully of Kavoryk’s huge, untamed laughter. I missed the giant man’s sense of humor and the laugh that bellowed from the depths of his wild beard. “Oh, we shall hunt the beast, but because we are hunters. That is what we are made to do.” His teeth flashed white as he grinned and I heard the tawny wolf give a half-throated melodious howl of agreement somewhere ahead of us.

“So you can still feel Vell, but it’s different now.” I wanted to understand the complexities of this new world with the High Queen, who was also
herravaldyr.
Most of all, though, I wanted to understand the intricacies of Vell’s new power, so that I could remain her friend and help her as she’d already helped me.