Chapter 1 – Neve
NEVE
Istared at the Drassil tree in Valrun’s courtyard, wondering where the Shadow Fae King lurked. If he’d found King Magnus yet.
Or did the fae we’d accidentally freed have different plans?
As if it enjoyed my musings about the king who had unlocked it, my shadow magic roiled beneath my skin, unseen, but starkly felt. Dark and oily and foreign. My wings tightened, and, hoping to distract my wandering mind, I focused on the crowd.
The fae standing before us were the only soldiers we had until we reunited with the Dergian forces. In total, that amounted to two hundred fighting fae out of the three hundred and fifty rebels. Not nearly enough, if something should happen in the next few days.
“The Shadow King said he saw our base through the network of Drassil trees.” Thyra spoke to the crowd of loyal fae, her face hard and tight.
The events under the mountain had been traumatizing for everyone involved, but Thyra was taking it especially hard. She’d lost two loyal rebels and friends, Ulfiel and Xillia, to ice spider barbarity.
“That’s how he knew about me,” Thyra said. “About all of you, too. Now he’s free from that tree and prowling through the kingdom, likely on the move for Avaldenn.”
“How did the Shadow Fae see through the trees, though? He’s alive, not Faetia, right?” On delicate navy wings, a pixie rose above the rest. Small though he was, his tinny voice cut through the vast room.
“I don’t know.” Thyra tossed back her long black hair. “Neve?”
“I’m not sure either.” My voice broke from disuse.
Thyra had done most of the talking for the last half an hour, with only Prince Thordur and Princess Bavirra introducing themselves to the stunned crowd.
As if learning that a Shadow Fae King had been living in our kingdom for millennia wasn’t enough, the rebels were learning of the survival of the Dergia on the same day.
I cleared my throat. “But talking to him was not like speaking to the Faetia, which I have done before.”
“How exactly are the trees connected?” the pixie prodded.
His question was justified. Most fae had seen a Drassil, many might have touched one, but spoken to the tree and the spirits within?
Few could claim such a thing, and those who could, would likely still be lost. Mystery cloaked Drassil trees.
I suspected even the Grand Staret in Avaldenn, a fae learned of the gods and the stars and all things in the great beyond and afterworld, could not comprehend our experience.
“I don’t know exactly how they’re connected, only that they are.
Which is why neither Thyra nor I should touch the one out there.
” I gestured to the courtyard. “Some fae with winter magic can sense others with the same magic if they touch the tree, so us laying a finger on the bark might alert the king to our location.”
“A Shadow Fae doesn’t have winter magic,” someone called out.
They could say the same about winter fae not having shadow magic, and they’d be wrong. Still, in this instance, I believed the speaker was right.
“You’re probably correct, and I certainly can’t explain how King érebo lived in a tree for so long, let alone how he viewed the rest of the kingdom through other trees. I’m sorry to have so few answers.”
“Prince Vale?” Thyra cut a sidelong glance to my mate, who stood at my other shoulder. Vale shrugged, so my twin continued.
“Perhaps we’ll learn more of the mystery of the trees later.
If so, we’ll keep you informed, but what you need to know now is that after we gathered the injured, we flew back here and held a meeting.
” My twin swallowed. “A consensus was reached quickly. Valrun is no longer a safe place. Rumors and fear of the curse upon this town will not protect us. Not when the Shadow King is likely seeking King Magnus.”
“You’re sure about that?” a rebel asked.
“érebo already showed King Magnus favor once—indebted the king to him by handing over the Ice Scepter.”
“So where will we go?” asked Tanziel, a fae who had been with me on my mission to find the Fr?r Crown. She’d suffered acid burns on her face and while her skin looked better, a scar lingered. Perhaps it always would.
Right on cue, Vale took a half-step forward.
“Your recent reports indicated that rebels scouted House Balik and their soldiers moving south on the King’s Road.
They were within a day of Myrr, which tells me one of two things: either the Courting Festival is over, or those of the Golden House have left on their own. ”
We believed the latter was more likely. After all, King Magnus was preparing for war.
Why would he let members of a noble house with a large army leave his territory when the kingdom was on the brink of war?
No, it was far more likely that the king would force House Balik to remain in the capital and have Lord Tadgh Balik call his soldiers north.
“We believe the members of House Balik left Avaldenn for reasons that are their own,” Vale continued over the murmurs that had broken out.
“Hopefully reasons that will pit them against the king. So a small team will travel to Myrr and find out. If it’s safe there, we will seek refuge for all of those present today. ”
“We’ve raided southern villages!” one male called out as the crowd erupted. “Do you expect the Warden of the South to let us through his golden gates after we’ve raided his people?”
Another female in the front row sneered. “Raids aside, we cannot risk Thyra to a great house that did not defend her in the face of your father!”
Others shouted their opinions or rude remarks. Though Vale and I had won the trust of the rebels after our heists, we’d had a hunch this would happen. We needed to ease the rebels’ fears that the great houses they’d been up against for many turns would harm them.
Thyra raised her hands, and slowly, the shouts stopped. “Do you think I’d do this if there wasn’t a potential upside?”
Everyone in the crowd looked shocked for a moment before the heads shaking began. Fae could say what they wanted about my sister, but the rebels were very loyal to her.
“Good. Now, listen to the prince. If you have questions and concerns after, we’ll discuss them civilly.” My sister nodded to Vale.
“I realize the rebellion and the great houses have been at odds for many turns.” My mate clasped his hands in front of him. “But I have strong ties with House Balik. My squire is their heir, and one of my dearest friends is the high lord’s eldest.”
Filip and Sian. Fates, I missed them. Saga, Sayyida, Marit, and the Balik sisters too.
Vale pressed a hand to his chest. “I will speak with Lord Tadgh Balik on your behalf. I’ll make sure all of you are safe within the gates of Myrr, or we will not seek sanctuary there at all.”
“If you can secure sanctuary for us, how long do you think it will take?” asked Ratha. The ancient whisperer faerie who once delved the depths of Vale’s mind sat in the front, to the far right, her palms folded together. Unlike others, calm radiated from her.
“That we cannot say,” Vale admitted. “But I can say that Tadgh Balik is an honorable male. Once he learns the truth of what’s happened, I believe he will side with us. That he might fight for Thyra and Neve, too.”
“And if he doesn’t?” Ratha countered. “Say the golden Lord Balik left Avaldenn for his own reasons. What if he’s done playing the game of great houses? Or what if the hatred of House Falk still flows in his veins?”
Enough gray shot through Ratha’s dark hair to indicate that she was quite old enough to remember the time when my father turned into a monster.
Lord Balik would also recall those days.
After all, Harald Falk’s actions caused all but one great house to turn against him and back the White Bear on the throne.
“Either of those things could happen,” Vale allowed.
“Say he accepts us,” another rebel waved a hand for attention. “How will we be told it’s safe to come? You’ll journey all the way back here?”
“We have gryphons and pegasi, so getting there will be faster than walking,” Vale answered, “but no, we will not be returning unless we must. Aleksander is coming with us, and Arla will remain in Valrun. Once a decision has been made, she is to carry a pre-written note to Ratha. One with directives to stay. The other will give directions to march south.”
“Ratha, you do not mind being left in charge?” Thyra asked.
“I will keep order,” Ratha confirmed.
“Thank you.” Thyra gave the elder a soft smile before her face fell back into hardness. “Does anyone have other questions?”
No one spoke. No one raised a hand. Some of their faces still bore signs of skepticism, but they trusted Thyra enough to go along with the plan.
My sister clapped twice. “Then, as many of you are aware, we haven’t slept since leaving Valrun two days ago, so we’ll call this meeting to an end.”
I exhaled. We’d covered much of what happened, though there was one matter we had not touched upon. One secret that needed to remain hidden from the majority.
That secret of the shadow magic inside me and Thyra.
Only Brynhild, Duran, Anna, Clem, and those who had entered that spider-filled mountain with us knew of our shadow magic.
We hadn’t even told the fae half of our Valkyrja for good reason.
As a result of the Shadow Fae’s legacy of war and a lust for power, few in Isila trusted their kind.
Only those we trusted the most had been told, and everyone else would learn our secret only after Thyra and I mastered our dark powers.
We hoped that would make us less fearsome in the eyes of others.
The crowd broke and milled about, though no one left the dining hall. I sensed they were waiting to catch Thyra or Brynhild on their way out. Surely many wanted to know how Ulfiel and Xillia had died. Or they just wanted more information that they didn’t feel comfortable asking in front of others.
“Let’s go,” I said to Vale.
I was dying to lie down and rest. To allow my brain to not think of what had happened over the last two days.
His hand slipped into mine, and I leaned closer to my mate. He smelled of gryphon and sweat, but beneath the scents of travel were notes of sandalwood and freshly fallen snow. Of Vale. Of home.
We hadn’t gone more than ten steps when the double doors to the hall slammed open. My heart jumped, only to squeeze in recognition at the sight of the new arrivals.