Chapter 11
The Serpent
Across the deck, I observed Harald. He spoke to the dark fae, both facing the ashen shore of the distant, strange kingdom. Tait stood three paces away from his father, hair tied off with a scarf. He said nothing, simply stared at the new shoreline.
This realm was nothing like the Ever. The shore was made of crooked docks and dark pebbled shores, not soft sand. The air was chilled and the distant slopes looked rockier than those in the Ever.
Still, I paid little mind to the unfamiliar land and merely observed my uncle.
How would I kill him? I didn’t fret over the blood bonds of the ship. No. Harald broke those the moment he battered his boy, the moment he allowed wicked deals to be made to this dark creature who invaded our land.
Gavyn was skilled with his sneaking and heard the truth. The pain my uncle had caused.
Guilt was there, for being blind enough I didn’t see how viciously Harald had been torturing Tait. For not seeing his true ambitions. Harald was not just here for the mantle. He came to conquer the whole of the earth realms. He cared more for appeasing the dark fae than solidifying my throne.
Would he scream when he died?
Would I even have the opportunity?
Perhaps I ought to let my cousin fight his own battles, but I was wholly aggravated Harald Songtaker thought he had any right to torture someone who was my subject. If I desired to cause pain, well, that was my right.
I’d allowed insubordination to go on long enough.
My mouth quirked. After Thorvald died, my uncle tried to shape me to be harsh, unfeeling, brutal. How proud he’d soon be knowing I’d become exactly what he wanted.
At the dawn, armies faced each other. The Ever Crew was formidable. Sea singers, sirens, witches, and tidecallers. All had blades and claws and teeth, ready to shred into the enemy at the first call.
I adjusted the black scarf on my head, studying each warrior, pretending I was not looking for familiar faces.
Earth fae were taller than I recalled. Perhaps I’d made them smaller in my mind. They wore furs and cloaks and blades made of dark steel. Their hair was braided, their skin all shades. But they stood near the wall of an odd structure, one made of black wood and stone.
The dark fae taunted them. Some of his words seemed to cut under the skin of certain fae more than others. They bleeding knew him. They despised him, likely as much as me. One of the kings could hardly contain his rage when the dark fae called for a raven of all things.
Then again, the king with dark golden hair had a raven inked on his flesh. Must’ve meant something I didn’t know. Frankly, I didn’t care. I had one purpose for being here and had grand plans to see it through.
Harald shoved forward when the dark fae ended his taunts. “The Ever Kingdom stands against the earth realms. In the name of the king, we have come to claim your land and—”
“We’ve no wish to hear you, Harald.”
My head snapped up. That voice, gods, I’d heard in my nightmares since the day an Ever King died.
The endless thud of my pulse drummed in my ears. The earth bender king stepped forward. His eyes black, his axes in hand. He shouted at my uncle, unafraid. “If a king declares war on another kingdom, then let that king speak.”
Harald pounded a fist over his chest. “I speak for the king of the Ever.”
Rage, sharp as broken glass, scraped through my veins. I shoved through a line of crewmen. “You do no such thing.”
Harald’s gaze flashed, but my attention was drawn by abrupt movement at the line of earth fae. I bent at the knees, as though ready to defend myself at a surprise strike, but my breath caught in my chest when a warrior maneuvered to the front.
He looked so much like I remembered. Beard was a little longer and he had a piercing through the center of his nose. Absent bruises and welts from the torture, but it was him.
Stieg.
“Erik.” He didn’t blink. “Do you remember me?”
I schooled my face into something hard, something callous. Unfeeling. “Warrior.”
“There doesn’t need to be war, Erik. There doesn’t.”
No war? What else was there to do? I scoffed and opened my arms, lifting my voice as loud, as deep as I could make it go. “I am Erik Bloodsinger, King of the Ever. Unlike my uncle, I am not here for petty squabbles of earth fae.”
“Boy, cease this talk,” Harald spat. “We spoke before—”
“Do not address your king with such careless words, Uncle.” Oh, he would die. Soon.
“Why are you here, King?” It was the earth bender who spoke.
My shoulders stiffened. I drew my cutlass and aimed the point at the king, a man who seemed powerful enough to snap my bleeding neck with one hand.
“You. For the death of King Thorvald, I am here to challenge you for the power of the Ever. There is nothing I could ever want from the earth fae but the power you stole.”
“I would give it back,” said the earth bender, “should you wish to speak peacefully.”
“Give it back.” Was he mad? “The mantle is bestowed by the blessing and curses of a sea witch. Such a thing cannot be given back when it was conquered. I’ve given you the honor of my warning, King. When we meet next, it will be with blades in hand.”
After a woman with two silver piercings in her cheeks whispered something to the earth bender, the king sighed, a touch of sadness lived in his tone when he spoke. “As you say, Ever King.”
“Willing to meet our demands?” The dark fae stepped in front of me.
I could not slow the violent thoughts against him. I did not even try.
The earth bender slowly raised his palms. “Your demands are rejected.”
In the next breath, the earth bender slammed his hands onto the cobbled walk, and the world bent and snapped.
The battle began.