Chapter 2
Chapter
Two
Isit inside the carriage that had been waiting for me when my ship pulled into Aldmoor Harbor on Lyanna’s western coast. I’d nearly forgotten how different the northern seas were from those off Helios, and as the gray, stormy waves tossed our ship around like a child’s toy, I’d missed my home with a pang that seemed to shudder down to my soul.
The journey north had taken almost two weeks because of violent storms—perhaps I should have taken that as a sign that I shouldn’t have come, that Raya, Maker of the sea, was trying to steer me away—and while I’d enjoyed the time with Randolph and his crew, had enjoyed drinking their rum and beating them at quills and using Randolph’s company to keep my thoughts from what was to come, I’m ready to be done with this and get back to my life.
And yet, I can’t force myself to leave this carriage.
I hate to admit it, but a part of me is terrified to be back in this place…
and I hate even more that a part of me longs to see my sister again so badly my heart aches for it.
Maybe not the sister that exists here, in reality, but the one that still exists in my mind.
The twin that had been my best friend, other half, and protector when we were girls.
I’ve missed that connection almost as much as I’ve missed the snow, though I know that connection is gone forever.
At least the snow never fails to fall, I think with a bittersweet twist of my lips.
I’d spied a few flakes as I’d left the Wave Dancer, and could feel it in my bones, calling to me, welcoming me back.
“Do you require assistance, miss?” one of the footmen asks from just outside the door, looking at me quizzically. I don’t know how long he’s been standing there, waiting for me to exit.
“N-no,” I stammer, barely a whisper. I inhale deeply and try to calm the power that’s seething inside me, swirling like a tempest of Raya’s making. “No,” I say again, more firmly, curling my fingers into fists. “I’m fine.”
I step out of the carriage and stare up at the imposing castle.
The entire structure had been carved of white moonstone, each turret and tower tipped in shimmering gold, each balcony and statue gilded.
It simply oozes opulence and wealth. This had been my home, I think with an unexpected twist in my chest. King Barony had never been particularly warm or fatherly to us, but he was the only family we’d ever known, and I’d been safe within these walls—until I hadn’t been.
I steel myself to take the first step up the wide staircase leading to the towering golden doors, the kingdom of Lyanna’s crest stamped within the gleaming metal: a lion rearing up on its hind legs, wings flaring from its back, claws and fangs bared.
These were the stairs I’d run down all those years ago, fleeing for my life with nothing but the clothes on my back and terror in my broken heart.
Memories assault me without warning, and suddenly I’m back to that day.
The day that changed everything.
“My girls,” King Barony said when we entered his grand study.
We’d never been allowed in this room before, and I stared, wide-eyed, taking in the enormous room.
Shelves lined the walls, filled with all sorts of strange objects: crowns and scepters, leather-bound books, swords and shields and daggers with ruby-studded hilts, other things that I had no names for, but knew must be extremely important to be stored here in the King’s personal study.
I’d heard tales of an evil king in the northern mountains who collected people the way King Barony collected things, and the thought made me shiver in fear.
My gaze shifted to King Barony’s desk and I gasped in horror, recoiling.
The heads of slain animals covered the wall behind him, lips curled up in terrifying silent snarls.
Tears sprang to my eyes at the thought of all of them dying, of their possible suffering.
I thought of the animals in the menagerie, the horses in the stables, my own beloved winter raven, Midnight.
I’d giggled for hours over naming the snow-white bird after the deepest dark of night.
The thought of any of them being harmed made me feel sick.
I’d glanced to my sister, and an odd feeling settled in my belly: Tess looked…
enthralled with the violence, eyes wide—not in shock, but in excitement.
I pushed the unease away, knowing I must be mistaken.
We stopped before the King’s desk. He wasn’t very old, not like some of the members of court who we’d seen from afar, spying from the hidden alcove in the throne room that Barony doesn’t know about.
We’re never allowed to see them, always kept hidden.
He says it's for our safety—people try to take Gifteds away from their homes and use them, but he won’t let that happen to us.
So, it’s better no one knows we’re here.
His smile seemed more bemused today than usual, his black eyes gleaming with a dark glee that I didn’t really understand, but that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
I wanted to reach out for Tess, but something stopped me.
“We’re going to play a bit of a game, my dears.
” He eyed us both, looking between us over and over, eyes narrowing slightly as he tried to tell us apart.
After a few moments, my finger snaked into my hair, twirling a strand around and around like a fiery snake.
King Barony’s grin widened and he steepled his fingers beneath his chin, studying us.
“What kind of game?” Tess asked, not sounding like she shared my unease at all.
“You know how much I care for you both.” The King had never been very warm or loving towards us, never laughed or played, but he did care for us in his way, I thought.
He’d taken us in when our mother had died, fed us and clothed us, given us toys and pets and books, and protected us by keeping us within the palace.
But even at only twelve, I knew that what he cared about most, were our Gifts.
If that kept us safe, then that was ok by me.
“But I have received an offer that I simply cannot ignore.”
“Offer?” I asked, voice small, as it always was around the King. Unease and cold began to unfurl in my chest.
“Simply put: I am going to keep one of you, and the other will be sold to the King of Enola.”
“Sold?” Tess asked, brows drawn down. We shared a confused look.
“Sold, yes. For an outrageous amount of gold, actually.” King Barony smirked and my stomach knotted.
“You can’t…you can’t sell a person,” I said, incredulous, wondering if this conversation were even actually happening. Had I fallen asleep inside the hedge maze again? Was this a nightmare?
“Oh, my dear, I think you’ll find that I certainly can.
It happens all the time, in fact, especially for ones such as yourselves.
Gifteds,” he clarified at my confused look.
The evil king in the mountains, I thought with a gasp.
He bought people. King Barony’s grin widened, reminding me of the evil snake in one of my favorite books from when we were younger.
“Now, for the game: I’m going to let the two of you decide who stays, and who goes. I would caution you to choose wisely. King Morthan is far less…gentle than I.”
I swallowed hard, not fully understanding his words in the moment, but instincts deep inside were roaring to life, telling me that I did not want to go to King Morthan.
Even still, my mind couldn’t quite catch up to what my gut was trying to tell me.
This simply couldn’t be real. We couldn’t be split up.
One of us couldn’t be sold like an animal.
This had to be some kind of strange joke that I didn’t understand.
As if reading my mind, King Barony said, “I’m afraid this is very real, my dears. You will choose, or you will be punished until you do.” I shuddered and ran my fingers unconsciously over the faint scars across my knuckles. The King’s punishments were…severe.
Tess took my hand and squeezed, giving me a reassuring look, though there was something…
off. I ignored the uneasy feeling and breathed a sigh of relief.
Even if Barony believed this was real, there was no way that either of us would play into this game.
Never! We would endure his punishment and then run away together, leave Lyanna and the King behind forever.
We were sisters. We were twins. We were each other’s whole worlds.
Just before I could voice my thought, put my foot down and refuse to let this happen with a courage I rarely felt and never demonstrated, Tess released my hand.
Everything seemed to happen slowly then, as if in a dream.
Tess stepped forward, towards King Barony’s desk and away from me, and though I couldn’t say why, it felt as if that small step put miles between us.
“Pick me, Your Majesty,” Tess said in a strong, clear voice, and my heart splintered, my breath rushing from my lungs so quickly they burned.
“I’m much stronger than Tee. Her Gift hardly works at all and mine is growing every day.
” To demonstrate, she held her palm out, and a small flame danced in the center.
“Fire is much more impressive than ice, don’t you think?
” Her voice was sweet but cold in a way I’d never heard, a sharp edge that made me recoil and Barony smile.
I suddenly saw that they were a pair, matching snakes.
I took a step backward, my entire heart freezing in my chest and thundering so loudly I thought that surely the whole kingdom could hear it.
No, this couldn’t be happening. Tess couldn’t be betraying me this way.
This had to be some kind of trick. She had a plan and she had to pretend to play along with the King for it to work. It had to be…Please…