Chapter Thirty-Nine Samira
THIRTY-NINE SAMIRA
Velka was posted outside my door instead of Keir, her braid a frazzled mess around her face, and her eyes glittered with residual wildness from last night. She greeted me with a hoarse voice.
“Where’s Keir?” I asked.
“He, uh, he got a bit out of hand last night,” she replied. “Shifter stuff. Rade sent him to cool off.” She waved her hand like there was nothing to worry about.
A blush found its way to my cheeks as I recalled Keir’s fingers digging into my hip, his haggard breath in my ear.
He’d been near snapping. I couldn’t deny that the possibility had, for a thoughtless moment, excited me.
But along with the deep desire I’d glimpsed in his eyes burned wrath.
If he actually had snapped last night, but not on me…
gods knew what he’d done to get put in a time-out.
“And Bain?” I asked, tone consciously casual.
Velka paused. “What about Bain?”
Keir hadn’t told her. After what had nearly happened, I definitely wasn’t going to be the one to do it. “Never mind.”
The wild glint in her eyes faded for a moment as her gaze lowered to my bandaged shoulders. “I heard Siv came to see you. Did Bain…?”
“I’m fine, Velka. Just got caught up in the Lunar Feast.” Which wasn’t a lie, since the phantom hardness of Keir’s body still tingled against my spine.
Oblivious to my rapidly heating blood, Velka nodded and waved for me to follow her.
She led me to another cedar house with a straw roof.
Though not as large as the longhouse, it certainly overshadowed the other huts in Frostguard.
Inside was a collection of bunk beds, all of which were empty.
A small kitchen at the back needed tidying—clay bowls were strewn over every surface, and the quaint sitting area off to the side was arranged haphazardly.
Lived-in but unkempt. I peeked through another door and saw an array of weapons hanging on the walls. A training room.
Velka went directly to one of the bunks and reached up, feeling around the blankets. She moved about the space with such familiarity that I asked, “Is this your cabin?”
“Shifters’ Lodge. For the Seven. Ah, there it is.” Velka pulled her hand back from the bed. A strange chain hung from her fingers, made of molded brass with little pouches hanging from it. She walked around me and fastened the chain around my neck.
A terrible odor drifted up from the pouches, and I nearly gagged. “What is that?”
“Sheep dung mixed with herbs. To hide your scent.”
That scent… Gods, that scent…
I shook my head to clear it and faced Velka. “And you keep this in your bed?”
“It’s Alarik’s old bed. The others thought it would be a funny prank on the new Second.” She shrugged like it didn’t bother her, even though it clearly did.
“Rade’s chosen a new Second?”
“Yeah. He did it while Keir and Bain were… occupied. Probably for the best.”
I nodded and flicked one of the pouches on the strange collar. “And why do I need to hide my scent?”
“For your own safety. You can take it off once you’re out of the water.”
“The water?”
Velka stopped, finally seeming to realize I had no idea what she was talking about.
“Rade didn’t tell you?” I shook my head.
“Well, you won’t come fully into your power until the Igniting, but your magic should be alive and moving through your veins.
It will meet Rade’s for the first time today, and over the next few days, it will grow to know him well.
So that when you’re bound together, your magic will recognize his and meld. ”
“Wait, did you say over the next few days?”
She nodded.
“How many days is this part going to take?”
“Three.”
My eyes nearly fell out of my head. Three days pretending to use magic I didn’t have. And there would still be nine left before Queen Amunet came into her power.
Fear rose up inside me. It wouldn’t take three days for me to be found out. Only a few moments, at the most. Then they’d know I was a fraud, and they’d go after Queen Amunet, steal her power, and I’d be sent to the Trench.
“Hey.” Velka took my hands in hers and gave them a squeeze. “It’s all right. Magic is instinctual. You’ll know what to do when you’re there.”
“What if I don’t?” I whispered shakily.
“Rade will be with you. Today is just about trust and collaboration. You’ll be fine.”
I should tell her now. I should confess the way Ketet wanted me to in the Eye.
They were going to find out as soon as this trial started anyway.
When they realized I’d deceived them, that I couldn’t help them against the Shroud…
maybe they’d do worse than tear me apart.
But maybe if I came forward, they’d be merciful. I opened my mouth—
“I’m sorry, Your Majesty,” Velka said.
I choked.
She lowered her eyes shamefully. “When Keir first proposed this plan, we were all against it. An Ashoran queen was just as likely to murder us all in our sleep as she was to save us. We heard such stories about you, and I… well, I thought you would be completely different. After what your king—” Velka shook her head and gave me a crooked smile.
“Anyway, I’m sorry. For kidnapping you and scaring you, for putting you through this ritual.
And thank you. For proving us all wrong. ”
I took in the emotion on her face, the earnestness in her eyes, and I couldn’t get the confession out. It was stupid and dangerous, but I couldn’t make my lips form the words. I was greedy—greedy for her trust. For the goodwill in her eyes…
“What happened when King Zaid came to Kaldfold?” I asked softly.
Velka waved her hand dismissively and put on a smile. “Not today. Today is a happy day. Come on, they’re waiting for us.” Without giving me time to respond, Velka strode out of the lodge.
She led me to where five Shifters stood in a line, their horses at their sides, Keir noticeably absent.
There was a new face among the Seven. The man I’d seen Rade speaking to before he’d taken me to the Eye of Ketet.
He had brown hair the color of tree bark and a deep set of wrinkles in his forehead. Sillia’s age or older.
“Senko of Crestbane,” Velka offered without my having to ask. “The new Second.” The skin around her eyes tightened. She certainly didn’t look happy about it.
Neither did the rest of the Seven. My eyes landed on Bain first, but he gazed straight ahead, not looking at me, showcasing his profile—along with the large bruise covering his jaw and the teeth marks on his throat. Probably the reason Keir wasn’t standing with them now.
My shoulders still ached, my back still smarted, and not for the first time, I found myself feeling grateful for Keir of the Wild Valley.
I climbed onto the stallion Velka designated as mine. The Shifters led the way, but instead of heading down the hill like we usually did, we went up, toward the White Horn Mountains.
A trail curled its way higher, steep and unforgiving, and eventually opened into a clearing bordered by sheer mountainsides that stretched high above our heads. There were no trees here. No ice, either—nothing except for a lake in the center.
A placid lake without so much as a ripple, despite the wind. It was still—too still. And so deep blue it was nearly black. I couldn’t see anything beneath its glassy surface. Velka had mentioned water, but that couldn’t… I couldn’t be expected to get into that.
Like last time, the priestess was there, Rade beside her. But no crowd, save the six Shifters. Thank the gods.
I dismounted and walked cautiously around the lake to stand beside Rade, only daring to look up at him in darting glances.
He didn’t appear any worse for wear from last night. His brown eyes were honey warm, and he smiled easily at me, his hand brushing mine in silent support. A foul-smelling chain was wrapped around his neck, too, and he carried a waterproof oiled supply bag on his shoulders.
“We began with Phadar,” the priestess said, “God of the Sun, to guide you on your way through the darkness. Now we turn to his wife, Ketet, Goddess of Earth and Sea, for your journey through her realm of water. Ketet and Phadar, the Holy Pair. You are to emulate them here on earth, and you will begin by fighting side by side. From comrades to lovers, as our Holy Pair were.” The priestess pointed at the too-silent lake. “Enter Ketet’s realm together.”
I stared at the glassy surface, knees trembling.
“Amunet,” Rade said, gently taking my shoulders and turning me to face him. I swallowed my wince when he touched my wounds. “It’s important you understand this part. All right? This lake is not a normal lake. It has existed since Ketet shaped the earth. There is one way in and one way out.”
I locked my knees to stop their shaking. “What do you mean?”
“We’ll enter here,” he explained, “but we must exit at the bottom.” When my breath caught, he smoothed his thumbs back and forth over my shoulders, sending trickles of pain down my arms.
“We’ll drown,” I said. Maybe Rade had magic that would help him breathe. I did not.
He nodded. “We’ll need air to make it to the bottom. We’ll take it from the Behemoth.”
My heart pounded. “The what?”
“It’s a creature that lives in this lake. Its blood will help us breathe underwater.”
Tell him, Samira. Tell him right now that you can’t fight any sort of Behemoth, that you have no magic, that you’re a fraud. Tell him, tell him, tell him!
“The Behemoth is large. Obviously,” Rade went on.
“It’ll smell us, like a shark. Its size will slow it down.
But these will help us approach without being scented.
” He pointed to the pouches on his collar.
“I’ll use my magic to stun it, and you use yours to penetrate its scales.
One sip of blood is all we need. That’s all we have to do. ”
That’s all? Dear gods, I was going to be sick. “But my power—”
“It will work,” he assured. “It was the same for me when Eira blessed me. You may not have full access, but when danger arises, it will rise in return to help you. Think of it like an intention to Shaya, an explanation in your soul. When your father hears it, he’ll help you.”
Tell him!
“The lake will let out at the end of the mountain chain, and then it’s a three-day walk back to Frostguard.” He smiled at me. “We can do this, Amunet.”
Tell him, tell him, tell him!
But the words wouldn’t come.
I couldn’t tell if it was cowardice or bravery when I nodded my head and turned toward the lake. Though, if I was honest, being swallowed by a Behemoth somehow sounded less frightening than facing the hurt my lies would bring. Coward it was, then.
Rade took my hand. “Ready?”
Of course not. But I just clutched his hand and nodded again.
Then we jumped into the lake.