48. Sie
FORTY-EIGHT
SIE
I hadn’t left Greyland’s side since they brought him back. Peter stayed with me long enough to tell me what happened before he went to check on Vallie.
I didn’t mind. I wanted to be alone.
Greyland was unconscious when they found him in the King’s room, and he hasn’t woken up since.
He looked so much worse than he had been at the broadcast—and it already killed me to see how badly he was beaten then. I curled my fists, hating myself. Peter was right, I should have gotten them out sooner. I shouldn’t have waited until we had a clear plan. The abuse he went through after the airing—
I’d spent every damn minute pleading with the Goddesses to not take my little brother.
Peter told me the King had over a dozen guards watching them, and that Greyland would have died if our mother hadn’t jumped in front of the blade.
I tried not to think about it. Both of my parents were now dead, and the only family I had left—the only one I ever truly cared about—was fighting for his life.
I looked down at Greyland lying on the cot in front of me. He wasn’t dressed—it was easier for the healers to mend his injuries without constantly having to remove his clothes—but he had a thin blanket pulled up to his chest.
After his initial inspection, I was told he had at least five broken ribs, a fractured leg, three stab wounds through his stomach, and nearly every inch of him was covered in bruises. During his second inspection, they found even more damage.
It was all my fault. I should have protected him more, should have been more adamant and sent him away before my coronation. I knew Synder was going to try something, and I never should have let Greyland come.
I had no idea what happened to him, no way of knowing when they captured him and my mother, but I knew they were both coming to Palm the night I was imprisoned. And judging from his weight, my best guess was that it was then.
He was starved—for weeks, maybe months. I was losing my sense of how much time had passed since everything happened.
I had to constantly remind myself Greyland wasn’t a little kid anymore. He was nearly as tall as me and almost as muscular. But looking at him now, I couldn’t help but think just how fragile he was.
Greyland coughed, then sucked down a wince as he placed a hand over his ribs.
I stood, jumping to my feet faster than my teleportation could have taken me. It had only been a couple of hours since we were back, and the healers had no idea when he’d wake up…
“You’re awake,” I breathed.
I watched as Greyland’s one eye blinked open. His other eye was so swollen and bloody, I couldn’t tell if he still had it.
“Sie.” His voice was husky, and his breathing instantly turned ragged as he tried to inhale through his ribs.
“Shh.” I bent down, cupping his hand. “It’s okay, Grey, you’re safe.”
“Where… are…” he inhaled sharply, “we? ”
“We’re in a refuge. You’re out of Lux.”
His one eye blinked rapidly as he took in my words. Then, all of a sudden, he snapped. He sprang up in bed, wincing and cursing from the pain, but it didn’t slow him down.
“Where… is… she?”
“Grey, sit back down.” He tried to stand again. “Shit. Greyland, stop.” He was going to reinjure his ribs and any work the healers and menders did would have been for nothing.
He kept scanning the tent. “Is she here?”
“Is who here?” I asked, trying to push him back down. A few healers saw the commotion and started sprinting toward us.
If he was looking for our mother—if I had to break the news to him that she died…
“Lilia—” he breathed. “I couldn’t get their parents, but I left Lilia in the woods—” His voice faded as a mender injected him with a tranquilizer, and he passed out again.
Fuck.
I’d completely forgotten about Peter’s family, and I knew he was preoccupied with Vallie. He probably didn’t even have time to register what happened to them.
I called to my powers, working through the camp until I found the mind I wanted. I need your help, I said.
Sie? the voice was puzzled.
Yes, meet me outside the healer’s tent.
I turned toward the nearest healer. “Don’t let him wake up. Keep him sedated until I get back.”
I waited for her to nod before I reluctantly left my brother.
Kallon was waiting with Rainer outside the tent. I scanned the latter. He looked so at odds with the damage he could do with his abilities.
My body tensed as it remembered what it felt like to have a flicker of his power pulse through me. I’d never experienced pain like that before. His power was so strong, so debilitating that I was glad electric users were super rare.
And I only felt the remnants of his ability tapered down through Scotlind, who was feeling it through Kole. I didn’t want to know first hand what the full capability of it felt like. The little bit I did feel left my hands scarred. Seeing him now, he didn’t seem capable of having such destruction living under his skin. Before that day, I had never seen him fight. I knew he was in the Luxian army, and by default, he had to be strong, but I underestimated him.
Kallon had her arms crossed and one thin brow arched beneath her bangs. “What do you want, Sie?”
“Do you have a portal set up anywhere near Tennebris or any mortal territory that can get me close enough to it?”
“Why?”
“Just answer the question.”
She scoffed. “I don’t think you’re able to make the demands. Seeing as you want something I have, and you’re bothering me when the camp is super busy. So answer my question first, why do you want to know?”
“We’ll eventually need a portal close enough if we’re going into a war with them,” I lied. I didn’t want to tell her what I planned unless she could deliver. If she couldn’t, I’d have to think of something else. I thought about telling Peter, he’d be able to help, but I didn’t want to get his hopes up.
“You’re so daft. What is so important that you need to know in the middle of all of this?” She gestured around us. She wasn’t wrong. I’d never seen Brighta so hectic. There were Advenians everywhere, some still naked, some bleeding on the grass. I was certain there were a few dead bodies not yet dealt with. “And no more lies.”
“I need to rescue Peter’s little sister,” I answered honestly because clearly avoiding the topic wasn’t working, and I was hoping I could manipulate her with sympathy. “She’s a defenseless rank zero. Her family is tied to mine, and if the Council captures her, they’ll kill her on the spot.”
“And what makes you think she’s not in their hands now?” Kallon asked.
“I know she’s not. My brother got her to a safe house in the woods. She’s been hiding there. I just need to get close enough to the continent so I can get to it.” I hoped it was true. I needed the healers to have waited ten more seconds before they injected Grey, but I assumed that’s what he meant. I told him if things went bad, to bring our families to the cabin, and I just had to pray it was where Lilia was now.
“What woods?” she asked, her yellow eyes widening a fraction of an inch.
I half wondered why it mattered. She probably knew nothing about Tennebris, probably couldn’t even name the six villages that made up the kingdom, let alone know where the woods were, but I answered anyway. “There’s a forest in between Palm and Kitlarn—”
She interrupted me with a wide grin, her arms uncrossing. “I have a portal there. In Tennebris. In those very woods.”
I stilled, then shook my head, not believing I heard her right. “What?” I was trying to find my words. It was too good to be true. I half expected to have to teleport on my own, which would have taken days. I never imagined her actually having a portal inside Tennebris. “How?”
Rainer was idly standing next to her, taking everything in, and didn’t seem the least bit surprised by our conversation.
The girl shrugged. “Dove figured at some point we’d need an entry point into the Dark Kingdom. She snuck me in when we went to collect your wife—I mean ex-wife, sorry—” I tried to hold back my sneer at the comment because I knew it was fucking intentional.
She continued with a sly smirk on her lips. “Anyway, I picked the woods there because it was a central location and close to where the castle was if we ever needed to attack. Plus the area has plenty of coverage.”
“Fuck,” I breathed, and I wasn’t sure if I said the curse out loud. “Take me there.”
“Sure,” she agreed like we were discussing the weather instead of breaking into Tennebris.
“Really?” I asked, my eyes narrowing. I couldn’t help but wonder if she had an ulterior motive. Like she’d leave me there once she portaled me in. I honestly never imagined she’d say yes. I thought I’d have to beg and grovel—
“Four reasons,” she drawled as she took a step closer to me, and I realized that she was going to take me there now . “First, I know those woods, and if what you’re saying is true, we can get her out without anyone noticing. They’re deserted, and the trip should be harmless enough. Second, I think it would be beneficial to have you owe me a favor. Third, I have a soft spot for rank zeroes. And fourth, I could use another girl friend around here. There’s entirely too much masculine energy.”
A thick smoke of purple and black swallowed us up, and we were gone before I could even answer.