I closed my eyes and collapsed next to Ville. “You
okay?” His deep voice was rough and he paused to cough up a lungful of water.
I nodded, and water sloshed about in my ears. “Oh, fair
to middlin’. You?” My head was spinning and I thought my aura was completely
stripped.
“Sorry for that,” he said as if he could hear my thoughts.
I distinctly heard him think, “I can.”
I closed my eyes and laughed, wincing as it aggravated a
bruised rib. “Of course you can,” I said tiredly. Apparently, we’d just fried
both our auras, but gained some sort of telepathy as a result. I was learning
not to be surprised anymore. Besides, I was just too exhausted.
W
e
arrived at the Fallen capital near sunset. We could have just ported into the
mansion unnoticed and found a dark corner somewhere to pass out until tomorrow-
and I would have been ecstatic to do just that- but Ville was too exhausted to
port. And I was too exhausted to feed him.
We both used what strength we had left for stealth as we
approached the mansion. I will give the Fallen guards credit, they were on the
ball. We didn’t manage to make it inside before they sounded the alarm. Marshall
met us at the gate with the captain of the guard, but everyone calmed down when
they saw Ville.
Once we were inside and away from prying eyes, Marshall
started laughing. It was a soft thing that slowly grew into gasps and
wheezes. I didn’t get the joke. Ibbe, hearing of our arrival from the guards,
came hurrying into the private sitting area, where we had collapsed into a couple
of deep armchairs.
She strode straight up to Ville and slapped him hard
across the face. Spots of angry red glowed in her pale cheeks. Apparently,
she hadn’t enjoyed her stint as empress. “Where the hell have you been?”
Ville took her assault with resigned calm. “I’ve been
doing some… investigation.”
Marshall sat up straight. “That reminds me! Ville, we’ve
had some luck locating your would-be assassin.”
I closed my eyes and spoke at the same time as Marshall.
“It was a human.”
I cracked an eye to see Ibbe and Marshall regarding me in
surprise. “How did you know?” he asked.
Ville sighed. “We went to Ansil.”
“Ansil?” Ibbe frowned, then her dark eyes widened.
“Cai? Did you see Cai?”
Marshall was grinning. “How is that blowhard?”
Ville shifted his wings. The glow of the light orbs cast
dark shadows under his eyes. “Oh, he’s full of it as usual.”
Ibbe shook her head. “He always did have a conspiracy
theory for everything,” she said fondly.
I pushed myself up and sat with my elbows braced on my
knees. If I didn’t stay upright, I was going to pass out right then and there.
“He told us a good one, alright. Too bad it turned out to be true.”
Marshall nodded. “We tracked the poison down to a new
kitchen hand. He admitted he was hired by the human government.”
Ibbe bared her fangs. “And I’ve been stewing over just
what the hell to do about it, since you left me in charge.”
Ville looked abashed. “I’m sorry,” he said tiredly. “I’m
sure you’ve done well, cousin. But this goes much deeper than one
assassination attempt.”
I nodded. “Those single-skinned weaklings have been using
us!”
Ville patted me on the head. I would have growled at him,
but I was too tired and muzzy. “What Wren means is it was the humans who
started the war. They’ve been keeping us at each other for years.” His eyes
met Marshall’s. “You guessed at this once. You were right. No one benefits
more from this war than the humans do. Both sides seek their favor and send them
overtures of peace and goodwill. And all the while, they are keeping the
supernatural creatures divided.” His dark brows drew together in an ominous
scowl. “They know that if the Earth and Sky clans united, they would outnumber
and overpower the humans with ease.”
Ibbe fidgeted. Her rapid movements made my eyes ache.
“What will we do?”
Ville glanced at me, and then he stood and scooped me up
in his arms. “I think we’ll decide that in the morning.” I wanted to object
to being carried like a weakling, but black spots were dancing around the edges
of my vision. I think I’d overdone it with my alchemy out at the lake.
Something inside was broken.
Marshall eyed us with a crooked smile. “Should we have
the maids prepare a room for Wren, then?”
Ville turned and headed toward the stairs. “Don’t
bother. My wife will sleep in my room.”
I cracked an eye to see Ibbe standing at the foot of the
stairs with her mouth hanging open. She closed it with an audible snap.
Marshall was still laughing when we reached the top of the stairs and turned
down the hall.
*****
It had grown cold in the time since we traveled south to
Ansil. My breath made white puffs of steam as I paced around the courtyard.
Fall was ending, and there was the bite of winter in the air. It had frosted
last night. I was earth clan, I could practically feel winter coming, and it
would be a long, cold season.
Footsteps sounded and I lifted my head from my silent
contemplation of the pavers beneath my feet. Ibbe, Marshall, and Ville had
joined me. They weren’t wearing armor, but they were armed, and their
beautiful faces were grim.
“We aren’t going to battle,” I said glancing at Ibbe’s
twin short swords, snug in their sheaths at her narrow hips.
Ville arched a dark eyebrow at me. “I hope you’re
right.” But he had his katana.
I crossed my arms and glared. “This is not going to go
well.”
Marshall handed me my pistol and short sword, which I slid
into my harness without comment. They were right. We couldn’t risk going in
unarmed. Not that the presence of a bunch of armed Fallen was going to help
our case.
“Logan should be back home by now,” Ville said. He held
out his arms and I stepped close.
I squared my shoulders and took a deep breath. The first
fluffy flakes of snow floated down to the earth just as we disappeared into
darkness.
I
steadied myself against Ville, then pushed away to stand on my own. My memory
of the big house had helped to guide him so we could port in. Ibbe and
Marshall would have to aim for the clear space just outside the house. They
would meet up with Logan and join us when they could.
We landed in the training room, which was currently set up
for a strategy meeting. There was a startled gasp from one of the generals,
and Winona straightened from where she had been studying the map. I waved a
hand at her, part of me actually glad to see my sister. “Hey Win.”
She narrowed her eyes at me. General Maddox and General
Yates were with her, and they both drew their swords. What a happy
homecoming. Though I suppose Ville, standing beside me in all his dark glory,
was more than enough reason for their reaction.
I held up a hand in a staying gesture. “We’re not here to
fight,” I assured them. “Winona, I have things to tell you. We have to stop
this war. We are all being manipulated.”
She moved from behind the big table where the maps were
spread out. Her hair was pulled back in a severe ponytail that set her high
cheekbones and perfect features into high relief. Her eyes had black circles
under them, and her mouth was pinched. She whipped the dagger from her belt
and pointed it at me. “What business does a traitor like you have showing her
face here?”
“Winona, listen to me,” I pleaded. “Everything you think
you know about the Fallen, about this war- it’s all a lie. It’s the humans.
They’re playing us against one another. We have no reason to be enemies.”
She let out a short laugh and her eyes glittered with
hatred. “No reason? Tell that to mother and father! The only lies I’ve heard
are the ones coming from your mouth. I always knew you were weak and stupid-
but to join the enemy? To betray your own people? You are trash.”
I gritted my teeth. “General Maddox,” I said, my eyes
still on Winona. “There are some people waiting at the gate. If you let them
in, they’ll tell you the truth. You don’t have to take my word for it.” He glanced
at Winona and edged toward the door. Of all the people on my father’s staff,
Bleddyn was the only one who had ever treated me with respect.
Winona bared her teeth. “Maddox, you will stay here and
make sure this is the last time this bitch shows her face.”
He halted, looking torn. Winona shifted her grip on her
dagger and widened her stance. I rolled my eyes. “Winona, don’t do this, just
listen to me.”
“That monster and his people have taken away everything I
love,” she hissed. Her eyes traveled over Ville, standing protectively at my
side. “I think I’ll repay the favor.” She inclined her head toward General
Yates. “Kill them.” Then she flew at me.
I drew my short sword and danced aside. Ville whirled and
deflected General Yates’ attack, his katana singing. I saw a movement out of
the corner of my eye and realized General Maddox had dashed out of the room,
hopefully to go get Logan and the other two Fallen, and not to get more troops.
Winona slashed at me with a fury I had never felt from
her. She pulled her aura into play and her movements became quick and brutal.
It was all I could do to avoid her strikes. “Win, stop,” I panted. “This is
so stupid! Just listen to me!”
She crouched and brought her dagger upward in a vicious
strike that would have plunged her knife into the soft flesh just under my
sternum, if I hadn’t backpedaled at the last moment. She wasn’t joking. She
wanted me dead.
I took a firmer grip on my sword and deflected her blows.
I couldn’t risk a glance aside to see how Ville was faring, but I could still
hear them fighting. I knew General Yates. I wasn't his skill, but was his
ruthlessness, that frightened me. Ville would try to spare the shifter’s life
if he could. Yates wouldn’t hesitate to kill- in fact he would enjoy it.
Winona’s dagger swept past my throat and I bared my
teeth. That was too close. I beat back another strike and she scored on my
forearm, slashing it open to the bone. “I’ll kill you for what you’ve done!”
She was insane with rage. Blood flowed down my arm and over my hand, making my
grip on my sword slick and slippery. I grimaced. I had hoped to simply talk
to her, but I knew Winona. If I wanted her to listen, I was going to have to
beat her senseless first.
I pulled on my own dominant aura and tried to meet her
eyes. She kept her gaze averted, knowing that I could force her to submit.
“Winona,” I said, compulsion lacing my voice. “Stop this. I don’t want to
hurt you.”
Her motions slowed under the weight of my power, but she
didn’t stop. “Because of you, father will die too,” she spat. “You are a
dog. A mongrel. Dirt.”
I knocked her blade aside as she tried for my eyes. The
doors of the room banged open and I heard Logan’s voice. Ibbe and Marshall
were a looming presence at my back. There was a clattering bang, and General
Yates tumbled to the floor at my side. “Don’t move,” Ville’s voice was deadly
quiet.
I pulled on my power and quickened my movements. Drawing
on all those hours spent training with her; I struck at Winona’s weaknesses. She
was still bent on attack, not focused on defending herself. I spun and kicked
her behind the knees, sweeping her legs out from under her, as I had many times
before. Then, lightning fast, I slammed the hilt of my sword down on her
shoulder, numbing the hand holding her dagger. The weapon slipped from her
fingers and clattered to the floor.
Her eyes met mine. “Enough,” I said, breathless.
“Winona, I don’t want to hurt you. I just want you to listen. We need to act
on this information before more lives are lost in this stupid war.”
She glared at me, but was silent. “Win, even through all
of our issues, I have always loved you and father. I would never betray you.”
A single tear slid down her cheek. “I loved you too,
once. But what you’ve done can’t be forgiven.”
I sighed. “Win, you need to let it go. Now get up and
come listen to what I have to say.”
I turned to glance at the others. “No one was harmed?” I
hope that with General Maddox helping them, there wouldn’t have been a need to
fight.
I felt Ville’s sudden panic in my mind, but he was too far
away to be of any help. Ibbe was closer. Her dark eyes sharpened and she rushed
by me in a blur. I turned half a second too late. Winona, her dagger in her
upraised hand was standing just behind me. The hilt of Ibbe’s sword protruded
from my sister’s chest. The dagger tumbled from her fingers and her wide brown
eyes met mine as she crumpled to the floor.
I knelt beside her and cradled her head. “Oh, Winona…”
Tears coursed down my cheeks. I had shown her mercy, and she tried to kill
me. Why did my sister hate me so much?
She took a gasping breath. “I had to avenge him.” She
closed her eyes and I could feel her slipping away. Ibbe had pierced her
heart. There was no healing this. “I’m so tired Wren.”
“Shh…” I said softly. “its okay Win. I’ll look after
father for you. I love you. You know I do.”
She stopped breathing, but I still sat there, staring at
her beautiful face. It was all so senseless. Absolutely pointless. There was
a masculine shout and a scuffle behind me and I gently lowered Winona’s head to
the floor.
Marshall and Logan were restraining General Yates as he
struggled to reach his weapon. His eyes searched the room for General Maddox,
red spots of fury burning on his cheeks. “Maddox! Do something, you fool.
They’ve murdered the Queen!” He started to shift, and I threw aura at him like
a blanket. I ruthlessly bent his will to my own, halting his change.