Godsbane

Chapter 33

The Amethyst Throne is on fire and the flames smell strangely like …breakfast. Eggs, specifically. My grumbling stomach pulls me from the premonition. Another dream sent by the gods to remind me of my impending demise. An ending that is rapidly approaching.

I fumble around the small room for my clothes, but come up empty handed. Gnawing hunger urges me to abandon my search and simply wear the brown garment that hangs on the doorknob. Finding no other option, I slip into Cal’s oversized shirt and out of the bedroom.

Standing in front of the fire wearing nothing but low-slung leather pants, the captain holds a cast iron frying pan with two perfectly cooked chicken eggs. Much larger than the ones he cooked for me in the woods, but no doubt equally as delicious.

“Good afternoon, princess,” he says with a smile that could thaw even the most frozen of hearts.

“Afternoon?”

“Afternoon,” he restates, motioning for me to sit. “It was nearly dawn before you fell asleep. Figured you could use your rest before everyone else arrives.”

That explains why my stomach was so vocal.

I didn’t eat dinner and slept right through the morning meal.

The table is set with mismatched plates, chipped cups, and tarnished silverware.

An empty vase sits in the center. I wave my hand and fill the vessel with deep purple godsbane blooms while I wait for Cal to serve the eggs.

“I will never get tired of watching you do that,” he says with awe.

“Party tricks, remember? I bet you could grow them if you tried.”

There’s so much raw power within him, if he can tap into it growing a few flowers would be easy.

Cal slides one of the eggs onto my plate. My mouth waters at the sight and I barely register his response. I’m too occupied suppressing the moan that nearly escapes my lips at the first bite of the perfectly cooked dish.

“I can’t. Trust me.” He fills the mug in front of me with a dark, aromatic liquid as I chew. “Klein may be a snake, but he did manage to decently stock the icebox and cabinets.”

“Captain Murphy, did you make me coffee?” I smile over the mug, steam wafting over my face as I grasp the mug with both hands. I wasn’t sure I’d get the chance to indulge in my favorite beverage again.

“I prefer the name you were calling out last night,” he smirks.

I savor the taste of the coffee on my tongue. I sip it slowly, pretending the warmth spreading through my body is from the bitter liquid and not from the intimacy of this moment. It has to be. There is no time left for this.

Cal, reading my discomfort, clears his throat.

"I brought in a bucket of water and your saddlebag. There’s no washroom, but there is a closet over there.” He points to a door opposite the bedroom. “Closet is a generous word for that room, but it’s private. The governors should be here soon. Wash up and I’ll keep watch.”

“Thank you.”

I wash down the last bite of eggs with a final sip of coffee. The last moments of whatever false normalcy this is masquerading as disappears with them. My heart aches with every glimpse of what might have been, the meals shared over laughter and smiles, the kisses and pleasures shared in the dark.

I force the emotion and the longing deep into the iron-clad box, latch the lock, and hide the key somewhere that even I can’t find it.

There’s a broken spring in the dilapidated settee that creaks every time I fidget. The worn cushions, once upholstered in a pastel butterfly motif, do little to comfort me.

The governors should have been here by now.

I trace what remains of the insects with my fingers, imagining what they might have looked like before a cruel world stole their beauty. What might they have been if this place hadn’t fallen into such disrepair?

Sweat slicks Cal’s brow despite the lack of fire in the chipped stone hearth. He won’t admit it, but he’s worried. The boards below his feet might turn to dust if he paces over them for much longer. His restlessness only increases my own anxiety.

They should have been here by now.

I unroll the floor plan of the palace’s main floor that Elias smuggled out of the archives. I commit each of the four entrances to memory, studying the path from the main gate to the throne room that will serve as my final runway.

“When Elias returns, we’ll have a better idea of how many troops Marks has stationed around the palace,” I say flatly. If he didn’t sell us out. “And Kieran will be able to tell if any of them are secretly aevus,” I add. If he wasn’t captured.

Cal doesn’t speak as he continues his pacing. The sun is starting to set, darkening the small home and the mood within at the same time. I light the candles that adorn the weathered mantle, sending up a silent prayer to Arcasia to ask her protection on those who claim to be our allies.

The sound of approaching hooves echoes on the cobblestone street, the clunking of wagon wheels following. Cal’s posture goes rigid as he reaches for his ivory-handled dagger. Bodies shuffle in the dim light just beyond the door.

Too many bodies.

We’re expecting four governors, but eight figures move in the shadows created by the fading sun. I reach for the matching dagger strapped at my thigh and ready my magic for a fight.

Cal raises a hand in silent command as a hooded figure approaches the door. A pale fist appears from beneath a brown cloak before connecting with the door four times—one long knock followed by two short and another long knock.

A thin wooden door is all that separates us from eight allies or eight more foes-in-disguise.

Cal, blade drawn, moves slowly towards the door, flanked by my swirling shadows of dark magic. He opens it only a crack, just enough for the candlelight to illuminate the face of a dark haired man with piercing sapphire eyes.

“Sorry we’re late,” the Sapphire governor nods. “We picked up a few stragglers at the port.”

Cal opens the door to allow him to enter the safe house. Micah Porter sweeps a glance around the already cramped space before locking eyes with me.

“It’s going to be a tight squeeze in here,” he says, “but we can use all the help we can get.”

Behind him, Silas Wilson shakes hands with Cal before motioning for the rest of their crew to enter. The Topaz governor nods in my direction as he removes his hood.

“Good to see you, Ivy.”

“What are you doing here?” Cal’s stern voice severs our reunion, each of us directing our attention towards the doorway and the man in the Corinthian gray and gold cloak grasping the captain by the shoulders.

“Oh c’mon, brother. Surely you didn’t think we’d let you have all the fun.” Theo Murphy smiles slyly at me as he steps across the threshold. “Hey darling.”

A mess of blonde hair stomps through the door behind him, her rage-filled glare pointed directly at the youngest brother.

“We didn’t even make it out of the Bay of Jewels before this one started harassing me to let her off the boat,” Theo mocks.

“The only reason I got on that boat in the first place is because you told me that Ivy was on it, you liar!”

A mixture of relief, gratitude, and dread courses through me as my magic attempts to calm my erratically beating heart. My whole body trembles as tears build behind my eyes at the sight before me.

“I keep telling her that I only lied to save her life, but she doesn’t listen,” Theo says in exasperation.

“Quinn,” I breathe.

My best friend shoots another scathing look at Theo before turning her attention to me. “And you! I ought to kill you myself, Ivy Fellows.”

Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that Quinn Bartlett would be standing in the doorway of our safe house in Amale. And she can chastise me all she wants, so long as I get to hear her voice. I step towards her, shaky palms face up in submission, a joyous smile plastered across my face.

“How are you here?” I ask with tear-filled eyes.

“Next time you’re in danger, don’t send a man to kidnap me from my bed.” Quinn closes the distance, pulling my quivering body into her warm embrace as she jokes where only I can hear. “At least not without a little warning.”

A giddy chuckle escapes my throat as I pull back to look into her blue eyes. They’re so full of light and life, a sobering reminder that her very presence here may extinguish that forever.

“What are you talking about?” I ask.

“We made a visit to The Royal Jewel and made some friends over a pint,” Theo explains. “Turns out, they cared an awful lot about you being alive. So, I, uh … well, I kinda snuck into Blondie’s house and …”

“Kidnapped me,” Quinn finishes. “But I would have come willingly, you know. You’re my best friend. If you think for one second that I would hesitate to come to your aid, you are sorely mistaken.”

“Quinn, you don’t know what you’re up against. This is bigger than anything we’ve faced before.”

My best friend has been by my side for every protest, every demonstration, every deed of activism that has so thoroughly earned me my nickname. We were harassed and berated, but Death never waited for us there.

Not like now.

Quinn isn’t a devout worshipper of the gods, but there’s no way she can know what I truly am—what we all are. She’d call us heretics and liars. She wouldn’t be here, wouldn’t risk her life for pretenders.

“I do. All of it, truly.” She takes my hands into hers before tipping her head towards Theo. “Lieutenant Kidnapper here filled us in.”

I don’t miss his scoff at the nickname that has undoubtedly been used more than once. This all makes no sense. If she … wait. What did she say?

“Us?” I ask curiously.

“You didn’t think I’d let her come alone, did you?”

Miles steps across the threshold, shoving past the hulking form that refuses to move to allow him easy entry.

The room is silent except for Cal’s low, barely perceptible growl as Miles sweeps me off the floor and into his embrace.

Everyone stiffens in anticipation of the captain’s next move as Miles whispers in my ear.

“My money was on irritating, but you … oh, Ivy Fellows, you little devil. I’m going to need all the salacious details on him.”

He messes up my hair in brotherly affection as he sets me down on my feet, turning towards the group with his best courtier smile. “I hope you’re all hungry because we brought dinner.”

Kieran is the last to enter, arms loaded down with baskets. The smell of fresh baked bread and grilled fish fills the house. Everyone moves at once. Silas pulls plates from the crooked cupboards, Micah fills cups with a rich, honeyed wine, and Quinn hunts through drawers for forks.

I count the bodies that fill the cramped space.

Only six have joined our original two. Cal has pulled Theo off to the side, and despite their hushed voices, it’s obvious that the brothers’ conversation is heated.

I take a tentative step towards them, risking Cal’s ire for information on the location of his other brother and our missing heir-adjacent.

“Marianne got word to us about the coup. Henry fucking lost it when he heard she was joining the fight. Revenge against the prick for torturing you was motive enough for me to—”

“Torture?” I interrupt.

Both men swing to face me. Rage simmers in Cal’s storm-filled eyes, the emotion not directed at me but at Theo’s careless words. Words that were never intended for me to hear.

“Theo,” Cal scolds through gritted teeth. “You will stand guard outside until Henry and Marianne are ready to grace us with their presence.”

“Cal, you’re being ridiculous,” the youngest brother refutes. “You know I couldn’t stop him.”

“What I know is that you shouldn’t be here, yet here you are.”

Every person in the small house pretends to be very interested in their current task, purposefully avoiding Cal’s attention as he storms off for the tiny bedroom. The rickety door slams with a force that nearly knocks it from its rusted hinges.

“Give him a minute,” Theo says, laying a hand on my shoulder to stop my forward motion. He squeezes it and motions silently for me to follow him outside instead.

Darkness envelops the streets of the skeletal town. Sticking to the shadows, he leads me around the corner of the house and into the small alleyway that runs in between the homes. Theo gives the space a careful inspection before sitting on a wooden crate and extracting a pipe from his pocket.

“Light this for me, will you?”

I tense, unsure if I should borrow a thread of Cal’s power given his current state. The moment stretches between us as if it’s a test I have yet to pass. With an exaggerated eye roll, I wield the tiniest bit of his brother’s power, a single flame hovering above my finger.

“Thank you, m’lady.”

“I told you not to call me that.”

“Should I call you sister instead?” He laughs.

The spicy, woodsy smell of burning tobacco fills my nose as Theo takes a puff from the ornately carved pipe. He extends his hand, motioning for me to sit on the crate to his right.

“What is this?” I ask.

“Tobacco, darling. You’ll love it.”

“Not the pipe, Theo. What is this?” I ask motioning between us. “Do you think I’m not furious with you, too?”

The lieutenant takes his time exhaling smoke slowly from his mouth before he speaks again.

“We didn’t have a lot growing up. My adoptive brother tends to get a little possessive of things that he considers his. Battles, victories … you.”

“If you think he’s mad because he’s being possessive over this battle—”

“I don’t,” Theo stops me. “He’s worried about me and Henry, but he’s pissed because we brought collateral with us.”

Collateral. I let the word sink in as I take the pipe from his outstretched hand and inhale from it slowly.

“Is that what my friends are to you?”

“That’s not my opinion, darling, that’s the truth,” he says flatly. “Marks will use all of us against you both if he can.”

“Then why are they here? Why are you here?” I demand.

The mask that has been carefully concealing Theo’s true face drops, replaced by the face of a little brother terrified for his sibling.

“Marks created monsters out of the people we love the most. We want them back. Not the caricatures, the real fucking people. The ones who love and laugh and have a real chance at changing this godsdamned world.”

“And if those people don’t exist anymore?”

A sad smile turns up the corner of Theo’s mouth. “Blondie said you’d say that. Do you really believe you can’t go back to that person?”

“There is no going back, Theo. Not for me.”