Chapter 27
Rykr
The lack of irons did nothing to make me feel freer.
As Seren and I left the keep, Seth and Darya at our heels, I forced the faces of my brothers and father deep into the vault of my mind, forming a wall around them, as Lucia had taught me to do.
The Unbound here had powers of many kinds.
Some might be able to see into my thoughts, or even influence them. I wouldn’t risk discovery.
Haldron’s arrogance had likely saved me from immediate suspicion—he hadn’t even deemed me worthy of interrogation—but I didn’t and wouldn’t trust him not to have some other plan at play.
Seth stepped in front of our path as we stepped onto the road. “Where do you think you’re going?”
A weary look crossed Seren’s face. “To get a room at an inn. Sleep. It’s been a long day, and I have no desire to stay at the House of the Veil.”
“You should stay with us,” Seth said. “There’s been enough trouble for our tribe.”
“And that will keep us under their watch,” I said wryly to Seren.
“I’m grateful to you both for your help, but let’s be honest. We aren’t safe with the tribe. I’d rather take my chances in Emberstone.” Seren crossed her arms and smiled sweetly. “I’ve already made arrangements.”
Seth opened his mouth to protest further, but Darya set her hand on his arm. “Let them be, Seth. There’s enough division in the tribe as it is; Seren is right. Perhaps some space might do everyone some good.”
“Thank you,” Seren said, then grabbed my hand and yanked me down a bustling path lined with taverns. My stomach growled at the smell of food, but Seren pressed forward, as though she knew exactly where she was heading.
A sharp turn led us into a narrow alley. A black cat mewed and jumped out from behind a barrel, startling us both, then slunk into the darkened space, its tail held high. We stopped and Seren glanced behind us as if expecting Seth or Darya to follow.
“Care to fill me in on where we’re going?”
Seren continued to inspect the alley. “I’m not staying with the tribe. Given the rumors about Giulia and the skinwraiths, there’s clearly someone working against us. If Ciaran is telling the truth, then whoever started the rumor is no friend of ours.”
At least we agreed on that. But what about Haldron?
Stepping closer to her, I cornered her against the stone facade of the nearest building. “Is there a reason you failed to mention before that the tyrant leading your people is Haldron?”
She bristled, tossing her braid over her shoulder. “Haldron isn’t a tyrant. He—”
“Was elected?” I scoffed. “If that’s what helps you sleep at night, Seren. All I saw back there was a tyrant—not that it surprises me. And it seems ruling the Viori isn’t good enough.”
Seren’s eyes widened, her head reclining against the wall as she looked up at me. “What do you mean?”
I tilted my head, scanning her face for feigned innocence. “You have to know … don’t you?” My voice dropped to a whisper.
Confusion glittered in her beautiful, long-lashed eyes. No deception, only genuine curiosity, but that didn’t ease the knot in my chest.
“Haldron is King Magnus’s younger brother—a traitor who vanished after attempting to kill the king. With Magnus and his sons gone, Haldron can claim the throne of Lirien. He doesn’t just mean to cut off the head of the snake, he wants to drape himself in its skin. He wants a kingdom.”
Seren shook her head, though doubt raced through the bond. “That’s ridiculous.” But her voice wavered, and I could feel her mind racing. “H-how would you know?”
“Trust me. I recognize him. And why would I lie?”
Her face blanched. “Even if you’re right, my people want freedom, not war …” Fear crept into her voice before she shoved past me, unwilling to face the possibility.
I grabbed her wrist, forcing her to a stop. “Is it? Hasn’t that always been the goal of the Viori? To break the chains oppressing Lirien? Reclaim the lands they left? Why else would your people have made war on us for centuries?”
Seren gave me an incredulous look. “No. The only thing my people want is to live in peace. The Viori help each other and people in need. You’re the ones that have made war on us—not the other way around.”
I palmed my face. “Oh gods, we’re not back to this, are we?
You might be in denial about who Haldron is and what his intentions are, but I’m telling the truth.
And if you don’t believe me, ask your mother.
She was in Magnus’s court. I’m sure she knows who Haldron really is.
Mark my words, his next move will be to order your Vangar to advance on Lirien and attack.
War is coming, Seren. There’s no stopping it now. ”
Her gaze held mine, fear glistening in her eyes. “It’s not true.”
“Haldron always wanted my”—I barely caught myself, then managed—“my king dead. He wanted the throne for himself. And now it appears he’s not only found a way but also has secured an army willing to fight his war for him.”
“But Haldron has been our leader for over eight years. If what you say is true, why would he wait to strike?”
“Maybe it takes time to arrange the assassination of the king and his sons.”
“Eight years?” Seren shook her head. “He could have picked them off one by one if all he needed was for them to be dead.”
“Haldron isn’t a fool, and neither was Magnus.
If his sons had started dying, he would have put safeguards in place to secure the bloodline.
Haldron waited until he could wipe them all out in one stroke.
To make war on Lirien easier. There’s probably chaos in Suomelin right now with leadership in question. ”
“You’re blinded by hatred,” she said softly and retreated a step.
“And you’re blinded by naivety,” I shot back, my voice with a hard edge.
Seren flinched, then yanked her wrist out of my grasp.
“You might think I’m naive, Rykr, but I know what Lirien soldiers do.
They’ve destroyed my family, turned my life upside down.
So, don’t call me naive. And honestly, I’m a little more preoccupied with the threats to our lives than a war that is probably justified in the first place. ”
“Dammit!” I caught her wrist, firm but not harsh, forcing her to face me. “So, we should do nothing? Just sit back and let it happen?” My voice was tight, simmering with restrained anger.
She flinched, but I didn’t let go. “How do I even know—”
“If I’m telling the truth? You have to trust me. Believe me. You might not care, Seren, or you’re being shortsighted. I pray to the gods it’s the second option.”
I towered over her, my temper flaring.
“If you think I give a fuck about myself when millions of innocent Liriens could be caught in a war they didn’t ask for, you’ve sorely misjudged me.
I’ve seen crippled men, disfigured faces, and children’s bodies pulled from the ashes.
War will devastate the masses, Seren. And if you don’t care about it, then I’ve misjudged you. ”
She stared up at me, eyes searching mine, shoulders falling with quick breaths. This proud, beautiful Viori woman.
Gods, be the honorable woman I believe you are, Seren.
A flash of pain crossed her features. She’d heard me.
Seren closed her eyes. “What would you have me do? Even if it’s true, I’m nobody. And I’m scared.”
“You’re not nobody, you’re my wife. And you have to be scared to be brave, Seren. You know this war won’t just hurt my people. Countless Viori will die trying to satisfy Haldron’s lust for a stolen crown.”
Her shoulders sagged under the weight of uncertainty. “But what can you or I do to stop it? We have to fight in a deadly trial in two days and might not even live through that.” The quiet defeat in her voice stirred something raw inside me—a need to prove she wasn’t as powerless as she claimed.
I cupped her face, leaning in, searching her eyes. “You’re stronger than you think. You’ve already risked your life for me once. Trust me, Seren. If anyone can stand up to Haldron, it’s you.”
I wished I could tell her everything, lay bare every dangerous secret I carried. But trust was a gamble and if I gambled wrong, we’d both pay the price.
“If we survive the Skorn, I have to go back to Lirien,” I whispered. “Just get me back to the border and I can handle the rest—warn the Liriens about what’s coming.”
Her lashes fluttered, sorrow darkening her gaze. “And then what happens to me? If they find out I helped you escape, I really will be a traitor. And it won’t be just me who’s punished—my family will be too, Rykr.”
I released her and stepped back, tension fizzling into the void between us. I’d asked too much—more than she could sacrifice.
Distant sounds filtered in—children’s voices echoed as they ran through the streets, laughter from friends gathered for a meal. The hum of life.
“If you were to leave on your own, I wouldn’t stop you,” she whispered, her eyes avoiding mine. But through the bond, her emotions surged like a river after a storm—a torrent flooding me with doubts I couldn’t ignore. Was she afraid for me … or afraid of what might happen to herself if I left?
The bond didn’t lie, but it didn’t tell the whole truth either. Not this time.
“We should try to find anything we can about breaking the bond between us before you do,” Seren went on. “And not just for that, but for the Skorn, too. The priests in the temple might know something. Or a Seidr.”
“How is a mystic going to help?”
“I don’t know, Rykr. I don’t have a lot of ideas, but it’s better than doing nothing. Unless you’d like to stay in this situation with me. Have every secret stored in that Lirien head of yours exposed to my perusal. Your life at risk if anything happens to me during the Skorn.”
Right.
She stepped away one more time. “Let’s go.
Hopefully Amahle went to Bellwether. Maybe we can get a good meal and some sleep, then come up with a better plan in the morning when we’re not both so exhausted.
But we can’t afford to wait too long, Rykr.
If Haldron is planning something, we need to be ready.
I’m not under any illusion that his decision to free us the next couple of days was out of sheer benevolence. ”
I followed her without protest, but the weight of her turmoil flowed to me through the bond. I didn’t know how we shared emotions so easily, but I could feel her in my mind, always present, just beyond a closed door. What would happen if I opened it?
The temptation coiled, dark and dangerous.
The thought of looking into her mind made my heartbeat quicken, but something held me back. If I crossed that line, would she know? Destroy what little trust we had?
Power without control was dangerous. Lucia had said we could lose ourselves to the bond and I wasn’t sure I was ready to pay that price. But I didn’t know how to control any of the powers I’d noticed since I’d woken with this bond.
Maybe my other powers, long bound by the Seal, were closer to the surface than I realized. My father had restricted them with the Seal—a binding I’d never fully understood.
I’d focused so long on warcraft that I’d nearly forgotten their call. But before I’d been arrested and exiled, I’d set a building ablaze in Suomelin, the fire bursting from my hands like an extension of my will—wild, uncontrollable, as natural as breathing.
What was I capable of now? And could I control it, or would it control me?
We emerged from the narrow alley into a street lined with textiles strung between wooden posts, the bright colors at odds with the dim, uneasy mood clinging to me. Lanterns swung gently overhead, casting long shadows on the cobblestones, and laughter drifted from a nearby tavern.
I tore my gaze from the fluttering banners and focused on the woman in front of me.
There was no cunning in Seren’s delicate features, only a quiet determination that made me want to believe in her—to trust she’d see beyond the lines that divided us.
Maybe, if she knew who I really was, she’d understand my cause.
I wasn’t my father. I didn’t want to rule, only to save what was left before it was too late.
If Seren could help me, perhaps there was still a chance. Her character, sense of duty, and fierce loyalty suggested she was the best of her people.
Even if she’s Brogan Ragnall’s daughter.
But the yellow banners flapping from magical breezes reminded me I was far from home.
With Haldron resurfacing, and the threat of war looming over my thoughts, trust was a luxury I couldn’t afford. Not even with her.