Chapter 44 – Isolde
ISOLDE
Isat in Lord Riis’s brothel office in Myrr. Hoping. Calculating. Watching the portal of light on the far wall.
Night had fallen, and the brothel was busy. Feminine laughter sounded and perfumed air seeped under the crack of the door. Inside the office, however, was silent as the circle of light grew wider and brighter. Luccan pushed himself to his magical limits.
Watching the gatemaker was equally exciting and panic-inducing.
Sweat poured down Luccan’s neck, his chest heaved, and his face was ruddy with effort.
Just like the last four attempts he’d made to force the gateway open for an extended period, he looked ready to pass out.
Unlike before, however, no one stopped him. He became irate when we did.
Not to say precautions weren’t being taken though. Clem, Arie, and Duran stood nearby to keep Luccan fed and hydrated after he emerged from each session.
His effort drove home the idea that nothing had come easy that day. Meeting the high lords had turned into a frustrating matter of question and answer. Of doubt. Of Thyra and me reassuring them the gateway could work.
My thumb rubbed my faded soulmate mark. No pain had come from it again, but I had a bad feeling about the coloring.
We’re moving. As fast as we can, I tried to bring myself back from the brink of devastation that I had flirted with more often than not these past days. Vale is strong. We’ll save him in time.
The Virtoris siblings, already gone from Myrr, were the first wave of our offense. From Grindavik, Sayyida would send a raven to Lady Virtoris to stop the king, or at least destroy a portion of his forces, before we got to Avaldenn.
The vast majority of our pronged plan, however, relied on Luccan’s ability to widen a gateway and keep it open long enough for a sizable portion of the army to pass through.
So far, Luccan could force the gateway to the castle in Bitra to remain open for twenty minutes.
An extension of about fifteen minutes over most gateways’ limits if they were opened by blood.
Thyra and I estimated ten people could run through at one time.
Fewer when you added in the horses that many would ride.
Too small, but considering the size of Lord Riis’s office, where all the soldiers would have to funnel through, the gateway was as large as Luccan could make it.
Depending on how organized we were in the morning, many soldiers would pass through while Luccan held on. And if Luccan opened the gateway many times—and took short breaks—maybe we had a real chance. That was, if the gateway didn’t close on its own.
A knock came at the brothel door.
“Who is it?” Thyra asked as Clemencia got to her feet to answer.
“Qildor,” a familiar voice called out.
I nodded to Clem, and she opened the door. The knight veered our way, and Clem returned to her love’s side, ready to assist whenever Luccan let up on his power.
“What’s going on?” I asked Qildor.
“Two updates. The most important being that the last armies from the small banner houses have arrived. We have a count.”
“How many?”
“Five thousand.”
I sucked in a breath.
“Lord Riis has a force of about three thousand in Bitra,” Qildor added.
“And the Virtoris ships will be of great use too.” He tried to assure us, but I’d heard the reports from Avaldenn as well as him.
It was estimated that twenty-five thousand fae had gathered outside the city walls. We were greatly outnumbered.
“We’ll have to find a sneaky way to approach Avaldenn. What was the second bit of news?”
Qildor cleared his throat. “Queen Inga has been successfully placed in a magical stasis. For later.”
Thyra had suggested the practice, and I’d demanded it so that Vale could say a proper goodbye to his mother. Both my twin and I knew how important closure was. According to the fae who had preserved the queen’s body it would not decompose for weeks.
I was determined to find Vale long before then.
“Thank you, Qildor.” I turned to the trio hovering around Luccan, who was lost to his magic. “Ease him out.”
Clem laid a soft hand on Luccan’s shoulder as Arie made to catch his brother, should he fall upon releasing his power. Duran poured a goblet of water.
“Love,” Clem’s soft voice soothed. “Our princesses need a word. Come back to us.”
The portal of light dimmed, the first indication that Luccan was backing off. It shrank with control until Luccan let out a gasp and released.
His knees buckled, as they had a few times before. Arie caught him.
“Easy, brother. Easy. Here’s a seat.” Arie settled his older brother into a plush velvet chair.
Luccan’s body went limp, his arms hanging over the edge as his breathing began to slow.
Clemencia took his hand, rubbed her thumb over it, and sat in silence, a soft smile on her lips.
We waited, and when he was ready, he sat up.
Duran offered him the goblet of water, which Luccan took and drank all the way down.
Then, he twisted to face my sister, Qildor, and me.
“What?” Again irritation clouded his face. Luccan, usually so good-natured, didn’t like being interrupted when he was undertaking a task.
“Will you be ready to make a true attempt at daybreak?” Thyra did not mince words.
“I think so.” Luccan drank again. “But for now I need more practice.”
“I think sleep would be more advisable.” Much rested on Luccan’s shoulders. My mate’s fate. The fate of the kingdom, if we could make this the one and only battle in the war.
“I’m attempting something few can do,” Luccan snapped. “I need the practice.”
“You’ll be no good to anyone tomorrow if you’re exhausted,” I shot back. “You’re barely able to sit up on your own. Rest, Luccan.”
“Just twice more. Then I’ll sleep.”
“Very well.” Thyra stood. “We’ll leave you to it then. You three, make sure he does what he says.” My sister said to our friends. “Isolde?”
I rose, playing along, despite having no clue what Thyra was up to, and we left the office. The door shut behind us, and still, Thyra said nothing. Tonna, Sigri, and Halladora, who had waited for us outside fell in line as our guard.
The upper floors of the tavern were where the brothel was located, and we maneuvered our way through females and males in various states of undress and a few males being led to private quarters.
It wasn’t until we had made our way through the tavern portion of the brothel and on to the streets of Myrr that my sister turned to me.
Her eyes were shining with tears.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, taken aback. My twin and I had grown close, but she kept her emotions close to her chest. “Why did we leave?”
“At the end, it all hit me. We’re moving forward with the war and saving them and . . . Luccan reminds me a little of Thantrel.” A few fae on the street said our names. The Valkyrja took up their positions, and my sister wiped the tears from her eyes before they fell.
“What about it?” I pressed.
She got as close to me as possible. No longer did snow line the streets. Nor did frost cling to the buildings. A coolness lingered in the air today, but not enough to wear a cloak, and I felt our closeness as our shoulders touched.
“I want the mating bond,” she whispered after a sleigh rolled by on new wheels that were more appropriate to a place without snow. “I feel like such a fool for denying myself. Denying him. Us.”
“This is excellent news.” I smiled at her, not wanting to state the obvious.
“It will be once we get them back.”
“What changed your mind?”
“Since Eygin, I’ve been slowly coming around.” She exhaled sharply, her edge still there. Still covering up a person who cared deeply for people. “Even if he is insufferable sometimes.”
I shook my head.
“Then we got here, and I couldn’t help but seek him out. Want to kiss him.” She allowed herself a small smile. “Together we felt so right, and the more I got to know him, the more I realized he was perfect for me.”
“He’s a great person.”
“Not bad on the eyes either.” A smug expression took over her features. “We look amazing together.”
I laughed, and the sound startled me. Since Vale and Thantrel had been taken, I’d felt so little joy.
“We’ll get them back soon,” Thyra added. “We have to. I have to tell Thantrel that I accept him.”
My throat tightened at that image. “Stars, Thyra, I can’t wait for them to be back with us.”
“For us to make our enemies pay,” she murmured, her voice full of fire.