Chapter 8 #2
The guard gave up on attempting to make Alestro vacate the litter and with a surge of magic, a hundred vines sprung from the sides of it like the legs of a millipede, lifting us into the air before starting out across the lava field.
The litter pitched to the right, Alestro’s weight unbalancing it and making what appeared to be a steady, buoyant-looking ride on the other litters into a cumbersome, loping journey which jolted my bones time and again.
I was well practiced in hiding my discomforts but I bit down on the insides of my cheeks to stop myself from flinching every time Alestro’s elbow or hip smacked into my side.
Tunnels led us beneath the ground and when we emerged at the heart of Cinder Vale it was to find a ruined city partially submerged in dirty water, corpses floating among the wreckage, the stench of death and decay clogging the air.
It wasn’t the grand arrival I’d anticipated and I wrinkled my nose at the destruction while Alestro released a bawdy laugh, slashing the dead bodies with vines he conjured in his fists, like he was lashing a misbehaved mule.
“Virgo teaches us to respect the dead,” I murmured, placing a hand on his arm to try and stop his vulgar display but he only shook me off.
“Virgo is also forever a virgin,” he sneered. “Something the two of you look likely to have in common thanks to the Skyforgers and their ilk. I’d have thought you’d enjoy the sight of our enemies falling to ruin beneath us? Don’t you want to change our fate, Septa?”
“I do,” I agreed in a low tone, my cheeks heating from the insult. It wasn’t my fault that my virtue remained intact but I knew not to prod that particular bear.
We approached the inner walls of the citadel and at last we found ourselves moving onto cleared streets, the cobbles swept and free of the dead or any debris at all.
I’d seen paintings of the palace which sat at the heart of Cinder Vale so as I leaned forward to peer out from beneath the canopy of our litter, a frown pinched my brow at what I found there.
It wasn’t a towering building of black glass and stone.
It wasn’t even the ruins of such a place.
Instead a grand castle squatted at the heart of the citadel, its walls white stone, carved with the emblems of our people.
There were towers capped with blue, conical roofs, their tips pointing up to the sky as if making a claim there too.
It was quite possibly the most beautiful building I had ever seen and it made no sense at all.
The litter came to a halt and Alestro leapt down from it, striding away to greet some of the warriors who lingered before the castle gates, asking them for tales of the battle.
I hesitated where I was, though I could see the others disembarking their litters too.
My hip had stiffened to the point of locking itself in place thanks to the weight of Alestro pinning that side of my body still for the journey down here and despite the hissed pleas I was shooting to Taurus in hopes that he might lend me enough stubbornness to push past the pain of it, I knew I wasn’t going to be getting off of this thing easily.
“I’ve been awaiting your arrival, my lady,” a deep voice growled and I couldn’t hide the jolt of surprise which ran through me as my heart leapt in alarm at his closeness.
“Earl Tarlord,” I breathed, bowing my head in deference while peeking through my lashes to get a good look at him.
He wore his warrior’s garb, battle leathers in a brown so rich it appeared bronze, his dark hair falling forward around his face as he peered down at me from his staggering height, his eyes dark with unknown demons.
“No need for pomp and pretentious bullshit on the battlefield,” he said, offering me his calloused hand and I noted the angry cut which curved across the edge of his palm between his thumb and forefinger before diving around to the back.
I hesitantly took his hand, careful not to touch his wound but he moved his palm against mine, those callouses forged on the hilt of his mighty war hammer grazing the softness of skin which had rarely seen a day outside the confines of our stronghold back in Avanis.
My palm moved over the cut on his hand and I made to draw back but he curled his fingers tightly to stop me.
“If the blessing of your touch doesn’t heal it then nothing but time ever will,” he murmured and my mouth dried out at the words.
I made to stand, locking my jaw against the pain I knew would come but suddenly he was bending down, his other hand moving to the small of my back as he tugged me upright, supporting my weight and taking the pressure from my leg.
As if he knew exactly what was bothering me without so much as a glance at it.
He practically lifted me from the litter, turning us to face the castle and hooking my arm through his in a way that appeared formal but also took some portion of my weight, negating the pain of standing too heavily on my left leg.
“It’s beautiful,” I breathed, staring up at the castle where Avanis flags snapped in the wind on every tower.
“I thought the place required something new. Something which instilled the heart of our people right into the remains of their capital. So I destroyed what little remained of their palace and built one anew.”
“You…built all of this yourself?” I asked, blinking up at the castle in astonishment. It had only been a few weeks since he had won the battle. He would have had to work tirelessly to build such a thing.
“You doubt my capability?” he asked and if I wasn’t mistaken there was a hint of teasing to the words.
“I know you’re incredibly powerful,” I said quickly. “I didn’t mean to imply–”
“I like to build in the wake of destruction,” he said, cutting me off, clearly not insulted despite my fears.
“War is a destroyer and yet our people have magic which can create so much. I leave my mark on every battlefield, creating something for those who will come after. This castle is a signal of our victory but also of a new beginning.”
“Did you find the Sky Witch?” I asked eagerly, showing my desperation to have the curse upon Alestro broken and his shame at being unable to spill the secrets ended.
But I wanted this done. I had worked so hard to secure a good place for me and my honoured husband.
Every day that passed with the curse painting him into a fool, was another day I would have to work to wipe all memory of his failure from the minds of our people.
“Escaped during the battle, I’m afraid,” Earl Tarlord said, his brow furrowing in frustration. “She was seen with her people as they fled on their flying island.”
“Oh.” I tried not to let the disappointment I felt at that revelation sting, but it was hard to do. With her still breathing, Alestro’s shame would only linger on, staining me with his inability to provide our Earl with whatever secrets he held locked away in his mind.
“And what of the Void?” August’s simpering voice made me flinch guiltily and I tore my eyes from our Earl to find the entire party had gathered around us, patiently awaiting his attention while he lavished it undeservingly upon me.
I tried to step away but he didn’t release my arm, his thumb brushing softly against the skin of my inner elbow as if to reassure me.
I swallowed thickly at the gentle touch from a beast so brutal he had won the capital of Pyros for our people in a matter of hours. How had he looked at the end of that battle? How deeply had the blood of his enemies stained his skin?
“I’ve heard much about the Void,” Earl Tarlord grunted and my gut twisted at those words.
Of course it had been all anyone could speak of following the celebrations of our victory.
Word had spread like a disease infecting every piece of our lands.
The Void had surfaced at last and Cascada had claimed it as their prize.
“We’ve called our people to action, sent word to outlying villages to move into the safety of the Earldoms’ strongholds.
I intend to rally half of our forces here and–”
“With the greatest of respect, Earl, it won’t matter how impressive our numbers are if the Void nullifies our magic and the Raincarvers drown us all in the ensuing chaos,” August said, his words like a poison which made every one of us recoil.
A growl sounded in Earl Tarlord’s throat, something feline and wicked about the noise which sent a shiver through my skin.
It was easy to picture him in his Manticore form in that moment, his hair becoming a lion’s mane and wings sprouting from his back to further aid him in battle.
But even that would be stripped of him if the Void appeared at our gates.
My Sphynx form would be stolen from me too. The thought of losing connection with that innate part of me made my heart speed with frantic panic. But I’d been thinking about this for the past few weeks, determined not to allow that fear to paralyse me and I’d had an idea.
“I say we just cut the heads from every Raincarver until we find the right one!” Alestro shouted before I might speak and the silence which followed his foolish bravado spoke far louder than any words.
“Do you think it would be so easy?” August sneered. “If so, perhaps you should run off on another little mission to do just that? The stars know that the information you gathered on your last expedition isn’t going to do us any good any time soon anyway.”
Heat rose in my cheeks at his jibe, the spattering of laughter which followed his words only further confirming my fears.
Alestro was losing the respect of our peers.
He was becoming the butt of their jokes.
The fool who fucked the Sky Witch and came running back to us with nothing but a curse to show for his years of infiltration into the ranks of our enemy.