Chapter 6
CHAPTER SIX
A lthea Zoltaire had been instructed to return to her room and pack a bag… not for banishment from Thezmarr, but for the ride to Harenth, where she would petition the kings and queens of the midrealms for her right to train as a shieldbearer.
It had been Audra’s idea. It had been Audra who had fought tooth and nail for her. For once the librarian’s severity had been wielded not against her, but for her … And despite the objections of the silver-eyed Warsword, the Guild Master himself had relented.
Thea felt lightheaded.
It wasn’t until she was being dragged into her quarters by the arm that she realised she must have paused outside in her bewilderment.
‘Where have you been?’ Wren half-shouted, peering into her face worriedly.
‘I…’ But Thea couldn’t get the words out.
‘Oh gods, what have you done now? You’ve been kicked out, haven’t you?’
There was a blur of movement at the door as Sam and Ida burst in.
Sam, her freshly chopped red hair swaying, grabbed her by the shoulders. ‘We just heard! Is it true?’
‘Is what true?’ Wren demanded, her expression tight with concern.
‘Thea got caught in the Bloodwoods by a Warsword ,’ Ida supplied, the kohl around her eyes smudged. ‘But then… if that was the case, you wouldn’t be here, would you?’
‘I…’ Thea tried again and failed.
‘Althea, so help me if you don’t tell us what’s going on right now…’
Thea swallowed the lump in her throat and allowed her sister to lead her to her bed. There she sat and took a minute to gather herself before looking at Wren and her friends.
‘It’s true,’ she said.
‘ What?! ’
Thea met her sister’s celadon gaze and told her everything.
When she was done, to her disbelief, a whisper of a laugh escaped Wren.
‘What is it?’
But Wren shook her head, still laughing. She rummaged through the trunk of belongings at the end of her bed and produced a small traveller’s pack.
Sam and Ida were laughing, too.
Thea rounded on them. ‘Will someone tell me —’
It was Wren who answered, amusement bright in her eyes as she shook her head again. ‘You’re going to petition the rulers… You truly are Althea Nine Lives, aren’t you?’
It was still dark and icy when Thea arrived at the stables, pulling her cloak tight around her and adjusting the pack on her shoulder.
She had hardly slept, tossing and turning into the early hours of the morning, wondering what Harenth would be like, wondering if she’d packed the right things.
Wondering what the royals would make of her petition, or if she’d be laughed out of the palace.
But regardless of the uncertainty squirming in her gut, there was a much stronger feeling coursing through her: hope. She had been given the chance she’d always dreamt of, the chance to fight for what she wanted so desperately. She wouldn’t squander it.
Audra was in the tack room, dressed for riding, hauling a heavy saddle blanket from its hook with surprising strength.
Thea watched from the doorway, thinking back to their time together over the years…
Audra had always kept her at arm’s length, had always been impatient and easy to anger.
But that fire had come to Thea’s defence, had given her a chance at greatness.
Her warden spotted her. ‘Well, don’t just stand there. No one’s saddling your horse for you.’
Ignoring the sharp words, Thea followed the librarian to one of the stalls. ‘Audra?’
‘What?’ she snapped, looking up from where she was adjusting the length of her stirrup.
Thea couldn’t help smiling as she peered inside. ‘Thank you.’
Audra’s gaze briefly softened, before she made an impatient noise at the back of her throat. ‘You’ve got the grey mare in stall five. Be quick about it. We need to leave within the quarter hour. Don’t dawdle.’
Soon, both women rode through the gatehouse, the guards staring after them. It was an unusual sight to be sure: the librarian and an alchemist on horseback bound for Harenth.
Thea’s chest swelled as they left the fortress.
It had been an age since she’d escaped the grounds in the light of day, with nothing to hide, and even longer still since she’d ridden.
All Thezmarrians were taught the basics from a young age, but rare was the opportunity for women to develop and nurture those skills later on.
Those fleeting months with Evander had seen her brush up on her horsemanship, but she’d avoided the stables since his cruel words.
Now, she relished the rhythmic trot of her mare beneath her.
For a moment, Thea dared to hope what her days might entail should the rulers grant her request.
‘Pick up the pace,’ Audra commanded. ‘It’s three days to the capital of Harenth.’
The words were music to Thea’s ears, and she urged her mare into a canter, passing the outer stone walls of the fortress and the gates that opened up onto the Mourner’s Trail, the only way in and out of Thezmarr.
It was a narrow, rocky path that cut through the Bloodwoods, known for its deadly traps and magic wards.
The name alone sent a small shiver down Thea’s spine.
Just how many mourners had it greeted? In the watery light of early morning, it seemed unthreatening…
Nothing horrific sprang out at them, nothing dared to stop them leaving.
But Thea knew Thezmarr and its masters better than to take things at face value.
Thea had only travelled it once, or so she’d been told – the day her parents had abandoned her and Wren.
She wondered how they’d navigated the dangers, or if, because of what they offered the guild, they’d been given safe passage to the gates.
It wasn’t often she allowed herself to think about her family.
Wren had always discouraged it, insisting that the fact they’d been forsaken said enough.
Thea was inclined to agree, though sometimes she wondered if fighting was in their blood.
Thea and Audra rode in silence, cantering along the infamous trail, the crisp morning air stinging Thea’s cheeks.
She didn’t know how much time had passed and she didn’t care.
She simply revelled in the freedom of the ride, and the unobstructed view of the Mourner’s Trail, the grey sky peeking between the canopy of leaves that arched overhead.
But after a time, Thea could stand the silence no longer. ‘Audra?’
‘I knew the peace wouldn’t last,’ the older woman muttered.
Thea persisted. ‘Will you ever tell me about it?’
Audra gave her a blank look.
‘What happened the night they took your swords?’
Audra stiffened in her saddle. ‘You know what happened that night. You’ve been taught about it. You’ve no doubt read all the books about it.’
‘But you saw everything. You were actually there.’
‘I wish I hadn’t been,’ her warden replied bitterly.
But she relented, slowing her horse. ‘The prophecy had been foretold only a few months before and the Guild Master had always been uneasy about it,’ Audra began.
‘But I was persuasive, told him that words couldn’t fell the great fortress of Thezmarr, and certainly not the midrealms when they had our protection.
He was twitchy… Still, I convinced him otherwise.
Until that night. There was a girl, Anya.
She was perhaps six or so? A prim and proper little thing, copper hair, very sweet.
None of us know how she got her hands on a scythe of Naarvian steel, but she did…
I sensed something was wrong moments before it happened, ordered Farissa to hide you and the other children away.
I came into the courtyard just in time to see it.
Shadows rippling off the curved blade, wraiths descending upon the fortress. Seven Thezmarrians were killed.’
Thea’s throat constricted, recalling the smell that had lingered for days. Blood and heather.
‘I told Osiris that there was an explanation, that it had been an accident. I tried to tell him that to strip women of their right to bear arms would only weaken the guild and stir dissent. But he saw nothing beyond the bodies at his doorstep and the words of the prophecy. The rest of the midrealms felt the same. After that, barely any children were sent to us. That’s why there are no more families among us, why there are so few women, why there have been so few recruits to the warrior ranks over the years.
Thezmarr is bleeding, has been, since that day. ’
‘What happened to the women warriors?’
‘They left.’
‘To go where?’
Audra sniffed. ‘Far away from this place. No one knows exactly. Nowhere in these realms.’
‘You didn’t want to go with them?’ Thea asked.
‘“Want” doesn’t come into it. Someone had to stay the course.’
Thea straightened. ‘Am I part of that course?’
The librarian gave a soft laugh. ‘I have been watching you for a long time, Althea Zoltaire. Your secret training, your Dancing Alchemists —’ She paused to give Thea a pointed look. ‘I’ve known since the very beginning. I always thought you might need some help with the guild.’
Thea choked. ‘Why play this card now?’
Another laugh. ‘Well, I was waiting until you were ready.’
‘You think I’m ready?’ Her fingers crept to her fate stone.
‘No,’ Audra said bluntly. ‘But we’re out of time. Everything I said in the council room was true. Whispers tell me that the Veil is weakening, that the threat to the midrealms is closer than we imagine.’
‘You don’t believe the prophecy?’
Audra scoffed. ‘I believe that like all prophecies, it’s up for interpretation and that the fears of men can distort those interpretations… After all, how long had you carried that blade? We’re still standing, aren’t we?’
Thea cleared her throat. ‘Do you think I have a chance?’
‘No idea. But the next initiation test for shieldbearers is in three months and you need more practice, more challenges than batting a stick against a tree. Of the most recent intake, it’s a real mix.
Some are castle staff no longer content with their lot, there are a few orphans from around the midrealms, and then of course those from Tver, Aveum and Harenth seeking glory as a Thezmarrian Guardian.
You’re already leagues behind the rest in terms of training, endurance, and everything else. ’
Thea’s stomach plummeted.
‘But let’s not get ahead of ourselves until this meeting with the rulers.’
More questions on her lips, Thea twisted in her saddle to see Audra’s eyes still upon her, where Thea’s fingers encased the jade pendant. She hurriedly tucked it back down the front of her tunic, but it was too late.
‘You think I don’t know what that is?’ Audra said. ‘You forget who found you and your sister beneath the portcullis that night.’
‘It’s nothing.’
‘Don’t insult me. I know exactly what it is. I’ve known your obsession with it since the moment you arrived at Thezmarr.’
Thea shifted uncomfortably. Audra had known about her fate stone all this time?
And had said nothing? Had spoken no words of comfort to the child grappling with her impending death?
Had said nothing to the teenager who had convinced herself it meant liberation?
And nothing again, to the young woman who raced against death’s hourglass to leave a legacy?
Audra spoke. ‘You will come to learn that most things to be feared exist in life, not in death.’
Thea’s heart stuttered at those words. But by the time she’d gathered the courage to look at her warden, the older woman had pressed her horse into another canter.
Forcing herself to unclench her jaw, Thea adjusted her grip on her reins and followed, focusing on the route ahead.
The Mourner’s Trail stretched on through the seemingly endless Bloodwoods, but at last the bleeding forest opened up, revealing a vast tapestry of land.
From their position on the high ground Thea could see sprawling farmlands and hillsides, and cracks in the earth where rivers sliced through the terrain.
But rather than taking in the rich expanse of territory to the east, Thea noticed Audra’s gaze drifting northward, to the glimmer of a great lake and the land beyond.
‘What are you looking at?’
Audra’s shoulders sagged. ‘The ruins of Delmira are up that way…’ She didn't tear her eyes away from the horizon. ‘If you squint, you can see some of the lone watchtowers,’ she pointed. ‘Just behind the lake…’
The so-called watchtowers were all but shadows in the distance to Thea, and yet her scalp prickled as she surveyed the lands kissed by darkness.
Delmira had fallen first, long ago, and Naarva, the kingdom of gardens, had followed only six years ago.
The stain of monsters on the midrealms was undeniable.
She felt Audra’s eyes on her. ‘What?’
The librarian seemed to consider her, mulling over her words before she spoke. ‘Tell me I chose well, Althea,’ she said. ‘That you will do me and the Furies proud.’
Thea blanched. Audra asking for reassurance was unheard of. Slowly, she nodded. ‘I will, Audra. You have my word.’
‘Good.’ The older woman shortened her reins. ‘Then know this… If you seek power in a world of men and monsters, there is nothing more powerful than knowledge and the ability to wield it. Remember that, would-be shieldbearer.’
Thea’s throat closed up and all she could do was incline her head in acknowledgement, the weight of it all settling on her shoulders.
Seeking to lighten the mood, Thea looked to her warden again. ‘Audra?’
‘What now?’
‘Back in the council room…’ Thea ventured. ‘That was a damn fine throw.’
The lines around Audra’s mouth wrinkled as she smiled. ‘The smallest blade can make the biggest difference.’
They continued riding until the Mourner’s Trail became the Wesford Road, the route that passed through the three remaining kingdoms of the midrealms. There, at the edge of Thezmarrian territory, Audra brought them to a halt.
‘This is where I leave you,’ the librarian told her, holding out a satchel of what appeared to be rations.
Thea frowned, taking it. ‘I didn’t think I was allowed to ride alone?’
Hoofbeats sounded nearby.
‘You’re not,’ came a now familiar deep, husky voice.
Astride a black stallion, twin swords strapped to his back, Wilder Hawthorne emerged from the Bloodwoods.