25. Sybilla
Chapter 25
Sybilla
S ome time after our tense interaction in the dining room, I met Krait in the courtyard, ready for the council meeting. Wordlessly, he motioned toward the Egress. What had I been thinking in the library? Something about the levity of the moment, of him laughing and smiling up at me, had made me convinced there might be something good in him.
I’d been terribly wrong.
I needed to ask Emmerick about the dagger, needed to tell him of his father’s memorandum and the risk to his life. What I’d seen in that vision must have been distorted by Death’s manipulations.
Krait wore the same dress robe that I’d first seen him in on the wall of the Palace of Luz. The golden embroidered rattling serpent coiled across his chest and up the shoulder of the rust-red fabric. His dark breeches were tucked into brown buckled boots.
I stepped into the Egress beside him.
“South Tower,” Krait commanded.
We were pulled away—weightless, like the sensation of falling just before drifting asleep. Traveling by Egress was still disorienting to me. I fought the creeping nausea.
We exited the Egress into the South Tower in the Southern isles. Krait’s hand hovered at my shoulder as though contemplating whether to help ground me.
He leaned down to whisper into my ear. “It gets easier.”
“I’m fine,” I snapped back.
“I never said you weren’t.”
I hated that he’d noticed I was out of sorts.
Maybe it wasn’t only the Egress travel making me ill. In all the commotion of Asterie and Fen’s visit, I’d forgotten to ask her to have Healer Mortag make more of my tonics. My mind and body felt at odds with one another. Every joint ached. It took all my energy just to put one foot in front of the other.
Lashing out came more easily than being vulnerable. Showing any form of vulnerability to King Darvan-dick seemed foolish. Krait raised a brow at me before we stepped into the hallway of the South Tower. A tense energy greeted us. Dozens of guards with shell-shaped shields surrounded us at the Egress.
“Announce yourself,” one commanded.
“Queen Sybilla Wymark of the Central Corridor.”
Krait sized up the guards. “King Krait Darvanda. Sahlmsara.”
Sighing, I glanced to my side. “Play. Nice.”
“This is nice,” he muttered. The guards lowered their shields and allowed us past.
Two walls of open windows that overlooked the sea framed the hallway. The tower was built onto a narrow peninsula of salt-soaked cliffs of the South Corridor.
Asterie and Fenris waited outside a light wood door with Amara—this tower was still her residence even though it held the only Egress in the South. She must have invited them.
“Ah, my advisors.” I smiled.
Fenris reached me first, and he took my hand and kissed the top of it. Krait didn’t greet them at all.
“Queen Sybilla, you’re doing well since our visit?” Fen asked.
“As well as I can be,” I said.
“We need to prepare you for negotiations today,” Asterie’s placating voice said, putting me on edge. “Amara called us here.”
Krait stiffened next to me. “Why?”
“The North has taken a stance against negotiating with the Sahlms,” Fenris carefully said as he turned his attention to Krait. “Don’t lose your temper.”
“What temper?” Krait asked, but his fists clenched at his sides.
Negotiating with the Sahlms, and holding trials to allow reentry of the Sahlmsaran people, had always been part of the plan—a fair and just plan.
My former lover was never one to act selfishly.
“That can’t be true.” I dismissed them with a shake of my head. Yet worry plagued me…what if it was?
“Sybilla”—Asterie stepped before me as I tried to walk around them and enter the room—“something is wrong with Emmerick.”
No. I still refused to believe that.
“Then let me speak with him,” I bit back. My friend only stood taller, not letting my ire deter her.
“Listen to your advisors, Sybilla.” Krait’s voice made me see red.
I spun on him. “This isn’t any of your business.”
“Is it not? My people face persecution. Again.”
I deflated. Despite the sting of Emmerick’s betrayal, in the end, the outcome of these meetings held less weight for my people than they did for Krait’s. The Sahlms were running out of resources, and water could only come from the mountains under Emmerick’s rule. Or they would have to leave, which also couldn’t happen without Emmerick’s cooperation. He was playing political cards that he had no idea how to manage.
Hating that Krait was right, I crossed my arms. The long billowing sleeves of velvet bunched between my arms, and his gaze flickered to my neckline just long enough to deepen my glare.
“I’m listening”—I swung back to face Fenris and Asterie—“to you two.”
Fenris had taken Asterie’s hand. The way her arm was positioned showed off the ink where Van rested. I was surprised the wolf-beast was not roaming the halls of the South Tower. Things must have been tense in there if she’d put Van away.
A lump grew in my throat as Fenris drew Asterie to his side. The gentle comfort between them was something to aspire to. I never considered myself a romantic, but the way they supported each other with such care made me question whether that type of companionship would ever be within my grasp.
No expectations.
No secrets.
No resentments.
They looked at each other. Fenris returned his gaze to me and said, “There is talk of unseating you.”
My blood went cold. “ Unseating ?”
“The people in Luz are receptive to my and Asterie’s presence since they’ve experienced how Source-wielders can help them,” Fen answered. “But the nobles outside the city have not witnessed it firsthand. Lord Haward is rousing support with surrounding regions that would rather see the Order be maintained, and now, with Emmerick’s backing, Bringham is leaning that way too.”
My friend would not send a dagger to harm me. He wouldn’t turn against me.
“You still have the Nadiars’ support, and Sheffield has sung your praises,” Asterie added. “We hold the majority. All isn’t lost, Sybilla—we’ll see this through, but we need to be cautious and not cause a stir.”
She squeezed my arm reassuringly.
“Not yet, at least. We don’t have the law on our side. Regulation still prohibits Source-wielders, prohibits any use of magic…They have a case for unseating you should we continue to use it in Luz.”
“Fuck that.” I pushed past them and burst through the double doors of the dining hall . I’d had enough of men deciding the fate of my Corridor.
Met with a bright sunlit room that would have been cheery if I wasn’t so pissed off, I squinted. The tall domed ceilings were painted with creatures of the sea, and a driftwood chandelier hung above a large pine table that had maps sprawled across it.
“Queen Sybilla.” Sheffield greeted me with a smile.
“One moment, I must address my former Constable,” I gritted through my teeth as I walked past Sheffield and straight to Emmerick. He stood on the far side of the room, speaking with Haward and Barden. They shouldn’t have even been involved in these proceedings.
Their backs were to me, and they faced a large window that overlooked a small sand beach below the sea cliffs.
“Look at me,” I growled. Emmerick turned to meet my gaze with a sigh.
Haward wore a smug expression that I wanted to slap from his face. “Cousin,” he greeted.
“Queen Wymark,” I corrected him with a pointed finger, but my eyes never left Emmerick’s.
When had the boy I’d once confided in become the man who now sided with those who opposed me?
Haward chuckled and whispered, “Not for long, I hear.”
It took every ounce of restraint not to shove him away from us. Instead, I found my mind reaching out to Haward—searching his infuriating thoughts.
Surely Caym had made Haward an envoy. It had to be him. But all I felt from my cousin was his usual greedy desire to see me fall, his envy and his insecurity.
Keeping my attention on Emmerick as my cousin continued to stand stone-still, I finally asked, “Why?” It came out in a whisper.
Emmerick shrugged. He looked too nonchalant, too unbothered.
My gaze narrowed.
“We decided that the Central Corridor needed a stronger ruler should the North Corridor remain its ally. And we will put one there through force, if necessary.”
“Are you hearing yourself, Em?” I spat back, my voice rising.
Emmerick seemed devoid of emotion.
This was not him.
He rested his hand on the sword I knew he’d named after me, and something inside me snapped. “You don’t mean this.”
In my despair, my mind slipped from Haward’s, and he finally surfaced, glancing around as though startled.
“We don’t all get the luxury of doing things for ourselves, Sybilla. My people require a more powerful Central ally, and I will have to compromise to obtain it.” Emmerick stared me dead in the eye as he spoke my own words back to me.
Motherfucker.
I wanted to claw at his face and pull out his hair.
Haward interjected, “You still have a chance. You could always marry King Mattock and join your Corridors.”
My cousin wasn’t even trying to steal my crown...He just wanted to see me leashed.
Emmerick tilted his head, but his gaze…it was predatory. The golden shimmer to his irises faded to dark depths.
This was all that I’d feared.
I scanned him, trying and failing to find the symbol. “I will not marry the man who stands here now. If it’s hostility you want, prepare to fight me every step of the way. You know better than anyone that I will go down in flames with my Corridor—kicking, screaming, burning . I will never hand it to anyone. Not even you, King Mattock, and certainly not you.” I pointed at my traitorous cousin.
Barden lingered nervously behind Haward. All other conversations had stopped in the room.
No matter how hard I pushed and tried to break through to Emmerick’s mind, I could not. All that I could feel was a cold, hard wall. The other rulers’ feelings trickled in.
King and Queen Nadiars’ discomfort was palpable—a dull taste on my tongue.
King Haag Bringham was amused. “Boy, she really knows how to throw a fit.” His condescension tickled my throat like an allergic reaction.
Sheffield felt helpless—the poor man had just wanted to host a peaceful negotiation session. “Oh dear, maybe we are not ready for such negotiations.”
My advisors and Darvanda stared at the scene I’d created.
Asterie’s thoughts bled into my mind. “There is something wrong with him.”
Drawing in a deep breath, I stared at Emmerick. He stood with his hand on his sword like he might use it, looking down at me with that dark, mile-deep stare.
“Please step back...” Krait’s thought entered my mind. Uninvited.
I didn’t want to stand down.
“We won’t convince any of them if we cause trouble.”
He was right.
I fucking hated that he was right. We wouldn’t be able to make any headway with the other rulers if we didn’t play this right, but all I saw was red. I stepped away from my lost friend.
Turning to Sheffield, I said, “I apologize for the disturbance, King Sheffield. Next time King Mattock and I will resolve our conflicts privately. In the meantime, my word and the words of my advisors are law in the Central Corridor. I don’t care what was written in the Order. It has been abolished.”
King Sheffield nodded reassuringly, but he was not who I was worried about.
When I heard the rumble of Krait’s voice, it came as a relief. “Will we be discussing ‘concessions and decisions’ pertaining to the list of Sahlmsarans who still await reentry into the Corridors today?”
I returned to Krait’s side.
Sheffield glanced nervously at King Mattock and King Bringham.
Queen Nadiar nudged King Nadiar who said, “The East Corridor requests that we postpone those discussions until all leaders of the Corridors agree upon terms.”
Krait let out an impatient growl. “If there will be no negotiations, or trials, then we will be leaving. But not without a reminder.” Krait stared down Emmerick and Bringham as he spoke. “To wage war on Queen Wymark is to wage war on the Sahlms. My Warhorses have already cut down the North’s previous attempt to bring Death upon her Corridor. That battle was child’s play.”
The way Krait turned his attention back to me and extended his hand heated something inside me. I didn’t know if I’d ever had that reaction to someone speaking on my behalf before. Usually, I’d have scoffed at it.
I’d never allowed another soul to speak for my Corridor.
He had defended my rule.
It solidified my belief that Krait had no interest in my crown. He had his own people to serve; he had his own problems to solve. Yet the look of fear that crossed Bringham’s face, and the way Queen Nadiar straightened made me feel as though I’d chosen my ally wisely. Insufferable as he may have been—they all feared him.
I took his hand and then gasped as he pulled me to his chest and wrapped his other arm around me. We descended into Shadows. It was disorienting and dark. The thrill of making such a dramatic exit went straight to my head.
When we surfaced from the Shadows, we were back in the halls of Umber House.
The man didn’t even need an Egress. We’d just traveled across a whole realm.
“You could have given me some warning.” I tilted my chin up to meet his gaze. He still held me drawn to his chest with one hand while the other held my side. He huffed and slumped into me, appearing dead on his feet. For a moment I thought he might fall into me, and I braced us both with my free hand on his chest.
He shrugged and said through labored breath, “I like seeing you surprised.”
“You’re a sadistic prick. Does traveling like that drain you? You look dreadful.”
“Immensely. Especially that far. But I wanted you out of that room, that realm…The risk was too high.”
“What risk?”
His grip on my fingers tightened. “Mattock had a hand on his blade the whole time. I will not let a lover’s quarrel be your end, Sybilla.”
I shook my head. “Why? Because of some old prophecy in The Book of Isolde? What does that make me to you? Are we Source Matched?”
Krait stared at me as the silence dragged on between us. I wanted to scream—answer me, you stubborn ass.
A lump grew in my throat because standing there so close, leaning together, reminded me of how good he’d felt beneath me. My gaze slipped down to his lips, and my mouth went dry.
“That would be impossible. You don’t have Source power, and I’ve already found my Source Match,” he finally said, only answering my last question.
His words should have sounded like a clear rejection, yet he licked his lower lip when he looked down at mine, and my body felt molten.
The fall of hurried footsteps sounded down the hall. I sprang away from Krait as Elsedora rounded the corner. She cast us a mischievous smile that told me I must have been as flushed as Krait.
I’d just been sizing the King of the Sahlms up like a delicacy on a dessert table. My decision-making skills were in ruins.
“What did I miss?” Elsie cooed.
“Nothing,” Krait grunted before running his hand through his hair. “Search the King of the North for anything with a deathmark.”
Elsedora’s amusement faded. “We were right?”
“We don’t know,” he answered. “But she’s not allowed within a foot of him until we figure it out.” He pointed to me in a way that made all the heat leave my body.
“You cannot order me around.”
He ground out, “I just did.”
“If he is in trouble, I can’t sit back and do nothing, ” I huffed.
He turned his back on me, ready to walk away. That prick.
“Would you have just left Freya to fend for herself against Death?” I spat at him.
Elsie’s eyes widened as though I’d just stepped off a cliff, and her hand hovered over her mouth.
Krait’s whole body stiffened, but he still faced away from me. “Don’t speak of her.” His low snarl raised the hairs on my arms.
It was clear I’d rubbed salt into his deepest wound.
I’d never been particularly great at stopping while I was ahead.
“Answer the question. It isn’t complicated.”
When he glanced over his shoulder, every hard line was taut. While I wasn’t afraid, the Shadows snaking off him and onto the tile toward me made me step back. His expression was that of an enemy, not an ally.
“That is where you’re wrong,” he said before storming off.
Elsedora blew out a breath. “I think you might have the largest testicles that I have ever seen. And I’ve seen a great number of them.”
Even her jokes weren’t enough to set my mind at ease. Not when the Death Origin might have my dearest friend in his grasp.
“You’ll visit Helos again? You will check in on him?”
Elsedora nodded. “Of course. After all, now I have orders to search him…” She wiggled her eyebrows, and I slapped her arm.
“Please, be careful.”
Krait did not come back to the bedchamber that night, to my relief. Or disappointment?
The moment his late wife’s name, his Source Match’s name, had left my tongue, I should have begun apologizing. I hadn’t realized that until he’d walked away.
Emmerick’s words the day I’d left Luz came back to me. Maybe I did always have an angle. Maybe I would never consider anyone else’s desires but my own.
Once again, I’d only been thinking about my problems when I’d spat that venom. The weight of remorse crushed me.
It was growing late, and I’d climbed into the massive, unbelievably comfortable, delicious-smelling bed. As I leaned over to blow out the bedside candle, a piece of parchment slipped under the door and skated across the tile.
I got out of bed and crossed the room to pick it up. The penmanship was neat and tight, yet the still-wet smudges told me the note had been hurriedly written.
Queen Sybilla Wymark,
The alliance between Sahlmsara and the Central Corridor remains strong. I have decided it best to see you back to Luz. I regret to inform you that I also rescind my agreement in regard to our pending union. After presenting you to the people of Sahlmsara as our ally tomorrow, and providing my people assurance, I will arrange for your departure.
King Krait Darvanda
I crumbled the too-formal letter in my hands.
That dick hadn’t even had the respect to tell me to leave his city to my face? That our agreement to marry was null and void?
I quickly altered my plans.
If Krait’s court was up against the Death Origin, and I could somehow help them, help keep Emmerick safe, I wasn’t going to piss away that chance over an argument with their King.
No matter how much I missed home, I needed to find a way to extend my stay. At least for a little while.
I knocked on Elsedora’s door. She came to it with a robe draped around her.
Her brow furrowed. “What is it?”
I handed her a folded piece of parchment and a sack of bronze coins. “I have a few requests for a seamstress and jeweler for my presentation tomorrow to the Sahlmsaran people.”
Elsedora opened the parchment, and her brow rose. “It will be difficult to get these on such short notice…but, lucky for you, I spend quite a good deal on garments and know someone who can help. Is that all you have planned for tomorrow, an outfit? ”
I huffed a laugh. “Of course not. How much do you want to know? If you stay in the dark, you can still plead innocence.”
That roused a wicked smile from her. “Oh, now I’m intrigued.”
“Krait’s trying to send me back and has broken our engagement,” I blurted. “But I’d like to make him reconsider.”
El’s eyes widened. “He wouldn’t.”
I handed her Krait’s crumpled note and said, “He would. So, help me?”
She opened the door wider and ushered me inside—I was thankful for a confidante and someone to talk my plans through with.
I needed to make a statement to the people of the Sahlms.
Their King could loathe me for it. The risk was worth the reward.