CHAPTER 16 ALEK
ALEK
A new letter is waiting for me when I return to my House.
I recognize Lady Karyl’s handwriting before I’ve even fully unfolded the missive.
For a moment, a bolt of alarm pierces my chest. Could she know I was asked to investigate the Truthbringers?
I think of the guards lining the hallways the other day.
We were careful, but listening ears are everywhere— I know that as well as anyone.
And just this afternoon, Little Sinna came bursting into the room right when we were discussing the scravers.
Someone at the palace may have overheard our conversation then, too. A tutor, maybe. Or one of the servants.
Again, I think of the queen’s sister, trying to figure out where she could fit into all of this.
Lady Karyl worked in the palace for a short time, hired as a governess for little Sinna.
Could she have aligned herself with Verin while she was there?
It feels unlikely— but a chill washes through me because it also feels possible.
There are too many questions and not enough answers. I tear open the letter.
Lord Alek,
The days grow warm as I await your response. We’ve been discussing Mother quite often lately. If you’d like to be a part of the conversation, you can find me in the south part of the city this evening, just near the bowyer’s shop. I have a new friend I’d like you to meet.
If you don’t show, I will assume your interest in our family has waned.
We will be forced to act accordingly.
- K
Well, that’s not subtle. I don’t know if that’s a threat against me or against the queen, but neither is ideal. My eyes flick to the top of the letter, looking for a date, but there’s none.
I call to the servant in the hall. “When was this delivered?”
“This morning, my lord.”
Evening isn’t far off. The south part of the city isn’t far either, but much like the way Mother refers to the queen, Karyl’s named location is another false clue.
South part of the city has always referred to Bexcona, a small town located at a crossroads northwest of the Crystal City, not far from the Frozen River that separates Syhl Shallow from Iishellasa.
The bowyer’s shop is a reference to a large tree with a branch that bends in an arc like the curve of a bow. I’ve met her there before.
The air is still warm from the day, but another chill rolls through me.
The river won’t be frozen at this time of year, and the current clearly hasn’t trapped the scravers on the other side as our childhood stories used to claim.
But after what happened with Igaa and Nakiis— to say nothing of the scravers who attacked me and Callyn weeks ago— I don’t want to go anywhere near Iishellasa.
But I sigh and grit my teeth, because what I must do rarely aligns with what I want to do.
“Send word to the stables,” I call to the servant waiting for my orders. “Tell them I’ll need a fresh horse.”
The horizon is aglow with red and yellow as I gallop along the road, heading north.
This is often my favorite part of the day in the summertime, when the effect of the sun through the trees makes it look like the mountain could be on fire.
The horse’s neck is slick with sweat, with every breath bringing a rhythmic little snort.
I hate driving the animal so hard, but that last line of Karyl’s letter keeps flashing in my thoughts.
If she was willing to kidnap the queen in order to kill the king, I have no doubt she has mercenaries she can send after me.
Like anyone else, I have guards protecting my House, but there’s been too much double-crossing in the last few months. I’m not sure who to trust.
As the horse’s hooves pound against the turf and the sun continues to set, I keep thinking of Callyn.
Should I have returned to bring her with me?
It would’ve taken hours, which feels reckless— and I’m not sure I want to reveal her to Karyl.
Callyn feels like a point of vulnerability I don’t need to expose.
But I wonder if this will feel like a betrayal. I never told her about the first letter.
And Lady Karyl represents everything I’ve done wrong in my efforts to protect Syhl Shallow and the queen. I don’t want to reveal any of that to Callyn.
So I ride on, my heart pounding in time with the horse’s hoofbeats.
I reach Bexcona just as the sun fully sinks below the horizon, painting the sky with streaks of red and purple, dousing the illusory flames beyond the trees.
Dark clouds hang in the distance, promising rain tomorrow, but only bringing humidity now.
I let the horse walk, and the animal’s head hangs low, its sides heaving from the effort.
If I want to return home tonight, I’ll have to hire a carriage or pay to swap out for a fresh mount before I head back to the Crystal City.
The thought strikes me: maybe I should find a fresh horse now. An exhausted horse won’t be the best means of escape if I need it.
I hate that I’m already thinking of escape.
But I shake it off. Karyl sent the summons, and I’m appearing as demanded. I’ve never given her a reason to think she can’t trust me.
Though . . . she did plot against the queen without me. Lia Mara was never meant to be bait for the king.
That nagging worry in the back of my mind begins to poke at me harder.
When I reach the banks of the Frozen River, a cool breeze whips off the water to dry my sweat.
The horse pricks its ears and nickers at the sight of the flowing water, so I swing off the animal’s back, leading it to the edge.
It’s so hot that I can’t help but crouch to pull a handful of water to my own lips.
Then I take a handful and drizzle it over the back of my neck.
When it trickles down my shoulders, sneaking under my armor, it’s such a relief from the heat of the day that I immediately want to do it again.
But when I lift another handful of water from the river, it crystalizes in my hand. The ice forms so quickly that my skin stings. Sudden panic grips my chest, and cloudy breath bursts from my lungs as I try to fling the ice away.
I’m shocked when it gives without effort, ripping free from my hand to shatter the layer of ice that’s suddenly formed along the riverbanks. The horse snorts in alarm, pawing at the swiftly forming crystals, trying to break through to the water below.
Rapid clouds of breath are blooming in front of my face, and I shiver.
This time I can’t tell if it’s the cold or if it’s the sudden burst of adrenaline.
I whip around, my hand going for my sword.
Grabbing the hilt feels like seizing an icicle, and I gasp, but I have the blade half drawn before I’m fully upright.
But there’s no scraver behind me. Just Lady Karyl.
My eyes skip to the sky anyway, then the trees.
I’m still breathing hard, and it’s wild to watch my breath cloud in air that was nearly vibrating with heat a few minutes ago.
But still— no scravers. Just an ordinary middle- aged woman I’ve seen a hundred times before.
Fine clothes, elegant braids pinned to her head, noble stature.
Her only unique feature is the mismatched color of her eyes: one brown, one blue.
But she doesn’t have magic, so there has to be a scraver here. I finish drawing my weapon, and ice crawls along the blade, forming a vivid snowflake pattern that might be enchanting in any other circumstance.
Karyl tsks. “You look a bit panicked, Alek.”
Well . . . maybe. It’s been a long day.
But what’s more startling is that she’s not panicking. I remember the queen suggesting that the Truthbringers could’ve been working with the scravers, but I simply didn’t want to believe it. I don’t want to believe it now. I set my jaw and look up and around again. “Where is it?” I say.
“Keeping out of sight,” she says. “Xovaar has grown tired of humans trying to kill him.”
Xovaar. My heart stutters, and I fight to keep any hint of emotion off my face. “You’re working with a scraver, Karyl?”
“I find it suits my needs,” she says. “As I said in my letter, we gathered our best silver, and I discovered it was a lot more useful than I expected.”
I swallow, my eyes continuing to search the trees. I don’t know what that means, and I can’t figure it out. But she’s using our code, so I do the same. I bite back a shiver and say, “Your letter said you had plans to send Mother away. Is this scraver helping you?”
“In a way. He wants to reclaim his magic from the magesmiths. I want the magic gone from Syhl Shallow. I’ve made him my ally . . . for now. It was much easier than I expected. Had I known, we could’ve killed the king months ago in Briarlock.”
My eyes flick to the trees again, wishing I could follow. “How?”
“By using the scravers, of course.” She pauses. “I’m surprised you came. I was beginning to wonder if you were having second thoughts about your loyalty to the cause.”
I need to play this very carefully, especially if Karyl has a scraver here and they’re working together. The ice on my sword melts in the shadows, then immediately re- forms. The hilt is so cold my palm stings.
I give a short laugh— then worry it sounds a bit strained. “I’ve always been loyal to the cause.”
“We were counting on your assistance when we took the queen, and you were nowhere to be found.”
“I was in Emberfall,” I say haughtily. “With the king. I had no idea you were making a move on the queen or I would’ve made myself available to you.”
I’m lying through my teeth, and I hope it’s not obvious.
She walks toward me. “Are you available to me now?”
I offer half a shrug, indifferent. “I can be.”
“You can be,” she says, sneering. “You’re always so careful to protect yourself. Is that why you were in Emberfall with the king?”