46
Valen
For the first time, Tania allows me to shift and carry her the rest of the way to the estate. She doesn’t tell me why, but whatever it is has her leaping from my back and charging past the Winter Guards as they try to block her entrance.
“Back off! Let her in!” We race past Gensted and Suveo, then Celpin and Benj in the courtyard. When we approach Delkin, Tania says, “Where’s Suria?”
He’s confused but covers it well. “She’s in the garden. With Zana.”
“Shit!” Tania changes course and starts to run, and Delkin and I follow. When she reaches the garden, she grabs a very shocked Suria, carefully pinning her arms behind her back.
Zana staggers back and gasps. “Oh my Gods! What—”
Suria cries out, struggling in vain against Tania’s grip. “Valen! Help me!”
Without a word, Tania leans in, then breathes in deep. Closing her eyes, she stays like that, still as death. After a moment, she opens her eyes and tugs aside the collar of Suria’s leathers and pulls her hair back. There, on the back of her neck, is a dark symbol.
I bend to get a closer look. It appears to be a tattoo of some kind. This is why she resisted putting her hair up? To hide this? What is that?
“When I first met her…something felt off. I ignored it at the time—” Tania bristles. A spike of fury radiates through the link, then dissipates. “Then, when you told me you never said any of those things, I started to think.”
And? I don’t like where this is going.
She turns back to a still-struggling Suria and bends down to get a closer look. Her face turns ashen, and she straightens to help Suria to her feet.
“Valen! Help me, please!” Suria is crying, trying in vain to twist out of Tania’s grip. A second later, Celpin and Kopic rush in.
Celpin looks from Suria to Tania—and then to me. His face is bright red as he draws his sword. “What the—”
“Let’s get her out of here first. I don’t want to scare her.” Tania glances at me, then gently guides Suria to Kopic. “Take her back to her room.”
Celpin wedges himself between them. Pointing to Tania, he shouts, “Guards! Take her!”
“Back down ,” I say sharply.
Celpin’s eyes go wide, but he does as I command.
“Post several guards outside her room.” I take Suria’s hand. “For your protection. Don’t worry. Everything is fine.”
Suria nods, sniffling, then follows Kopic from the garden.
Once he’s sure they’re gone, Celpin jabs a finger at Tania. “I demand to know what’s going on.” His face is red, and he’s coiled and ready to strike. “She tried to kill you. Now she’s back and giving orders?”
“Tania took in half the druid magic in an attempt to save our asses,” I snap. “Including yours. Side effects are not her fault.”
“Trying to kill the monarch of the Winter Lands and the child in his care is a side effect ?” Celpin’s mouth hangs open. “Surely you aren’t proposing—”
“Suria’s being controlled,” Tania interrupts.
“Controlled?” A sick feeling rises in my gut.
“The mark on her back is a sigil. A very, very old one. The poor kid has been Aphelian’s puppet all along.”
“Blasphemy!” Celpin grunts. He curls his fists tight and takes a menacing step toward her.
Tania turns to him and, with her usual calm, says, “Think about it. The way we found her—when we needed it most?” She looks at me. “It was after we tapped into the druid magic to create that wall for Wren’s people. She knew where we were…where we were headed.”
When something is too good to be true…
“What do we do? Suggestions?”
Running a hand through his hair, Delkin sighs. “If what Tania says is true, then we have to keep Suria contained. At least for now.”
“We can’t do that.” If possible, Celpin’s face grows even redder. “She’s a child. Treating her as a common criminal—”
“Celpin’s right.” All eyes flash to Tania. “We should let her out. First of all, she’s suffered enough. Second, it might be to our benefit…”
“What?” Delkin and I say in unison.
“She only knows that I’ve accused her of something. She doesn’t understand what.”
“If she’s truly what you say she is—”
“That’s just it,” Tania says. “Suria is completely unaware that Aphelian has been using her. She may feel compelled to say and do things, but my guess is that she doesn’t know why. She’s completely innocent.”
Delkin smiles. For the first time since he entered the garden, he seems to relax. “And we could use that to our advantage…”
Tania grins. “Exactly.”
Ah. Now I get it. “We feed her false information.”
Delkin nods. “Tell Aphelian what we want her to know. We can execute an attack with advantage.”
“Yes. And…” Tania crosses to where Celpin stands and holds out her hands. “I think Celpin should get his wish.”
Celpin is more than happy to toss Tania into the catacombs. For show , of course. It will get back to Aphelian that we don’t trust Tania, which will give her the opportunity to get back into Aphelian’s good graces.
I knock twice, and a moment later, Suria comes to the door. Her eyes are swollen and red, and she’s hiccupping. “Valen…”
“Might I come in to talk?”
She pushes the door open and steps aside. “If you have to.”
I close the door behind me and settle on the edge of the bed. She paces for a moment, so I grab her hand as she passes and pull her down beside me. “I owe you an apology. We all do.”
“Damn right you do! I—”
“I let my history with Tania cloud my judgment. I was too quick to believe anything she said.”
Suria perks up. “So you believe me, then? That I’m not hiding anything?”
“Whatever it was Tania thought she saw, no one else saw it.”
“Of course they didn’t!” She leans back and folds her arms, narrowing her eyes. “Because there was never anything there to begin with. What are we going to do?”
“I’ve confined her to the catacombs.” I resist a snicker and rest a hand awkwardly on Suria’s shoulder. “My, um, sweet little snow…pile.”
“Snow pile? Thank Goddess for you that you have your looks. Charm isn’t your thing.”
I’ll have you know that my charm is legendary. It won you over.
“Your charm had nothing to do with it.”
Ah. So it was my unparalleled looks, then? Maybe my massive—
“Valen…”
Personality. Jeez. Such a dirty mind.
“We have to save her,” Suria says.
I take her hand and squeeze. Just once. “Your safety is more important right now.”
“As long as you don’t keep her locked up for long. This isn’t her fault.” She looks away. “What—what are you planning to do with her?”
“You shouldn’t worry yourself over such things.” I disengage and stand. “The adults are going to…handle her.”
Suria pales. “What does that mean?”
“I’m saying that Tania is gone.” I sigh, making sure to let my shoulders sag and my posture slump. “The woman in my catacombs is no longer the one I love. The tear… It changed her.”
She shakes her head, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. “Valen, no…”
“If I believed for a moment there was another option, then I wouldn’t be taking the path that I am.”
“What are you saying? What path?”
I breathe in deep, then blow out slowly, dramatically . “I’m saying that Tania is to be executed in the morning.”