Interlude – Lord Leyv Riis, Lord of Tongues, House of the Ice Spider
Interlude
LORD LEYV RIIS, LORD OF TONGUES, HOUSE OF THE ICE SPIDER
The Crown Drassil’s leaves swayed in the winds blowing in off the Shivering Sea, and Lord Leyv Riis pulled his overpriced bandicota fur cloak tighter around his shoulders.
Though leaves danced above, many littered the snow at the spymaster’s feet.
A bad omen for the future. One fae willfully turned away from.
No one at court dared to bring up the fact that all Drassils were losing leaves at a worrying rate.
They did not speak their concerns to the Grand Staret or the eldest Vishkus at the House of Wisdom either.
But the Lord of Tongues’ spiders heard what those in the great houses did not say in polite company.
All the Drassils planted on noble land were long in the dying.
His own Drassil, in a protected grove near Eruhall, what used to be the castle of House Skau, was also in dire straits.
And as Leyv was not the old blood of Winter, but an upstart house, he could not help his own tree as often as he’d like to.
Rather he required bringing in a noble with the ancient blood of kings and queens flowing through them to enliven the tree.
Perhaps some of the wild holy trees were in a bad way too, though with other matters being at the forefront of his mind, the spymaster had sent no one out to check.
“Sorry I’m late.”
The voice of the female he’d loved all his life flitted through the courtyard. Leyv turned and took in Inga.
“I was lost in my thoughts.”
Her lips curled. It was a smile she gave only to him and her children, and he cherished every single one. “I hope you’re ready to consider a bit more, for I have news.”
His head tilted to the side. He’d called the queen here to discuss what was happening with Vale—and propose their next move. To, hopefully, push her into acting. But the way she spoke told him that whatever she wished to share was indeed important.
He nodded beyond her, to the entrance to the courtyard, where the queen’s Clawsguards might stand. “Alone?”
“I sent them away for privacy in my prayer.” She shrugged. “They obliged as easily as ever.”
No surprise there. Inga Aaberg, née Vagle was the most powerful mind reader—and secret whisperer—in the kingdom. She’d overheard many times others thinking about how she unnerved them. How they felt she was hiding something.
They were all right, of course. Only Leyv’s and Inga’s family, and not even all of them, knew of the queen’s true powers. How her magic made her a silent weapon, and one of the most powerful creatures in the realm.
Inga joined him before the tree. They allowed the briefest brushing of hands, nothing more, as anyone could walk into the courtyard at any time. Outside their private quarters, the pair had to proceed with caution.
“What did you wish to tell me?” the spymaster asked.
“Magnus has left Avaldenn with Lord Lisika and a retinue of six Clawsguards. Just now.”
“Where? And why?”
He had held a meeting with the king, Prince Rhistel, Lord Roar, Lady Qiren, Lady Ithamai, and selected jarls just that morning.
The king had called his banners and made sure that the faithful great houses were amassing their armies.
He was preparing to strike the moment Neve showed her face.
Magnus was already paranoid that Neve had gathered an army.
He was wrong, but if Lord Riis’s sons had done their jobs correctly, Neve and Vale would already be on their way south. They’d treat with House Balik, and after all that had transpired in the Courting Festival, Leyv believed Neve would soon begin building her army.
He intended to add his soldiers to her cause too, when the time was right, and the young hawk recognized the fullness of her power.
“He wouldn’t say and did not allow me close enough to learn.”
So the king had wished to keep his plans a secret from his wife, not allowing her to touch him and read his intentions.
“It must have been based on something Lord Roar said, though, as he’s traveling with the king. More importantly, they’re traveling on gryphons—my own father’s racing stock. They’re the fastest in the kingdom.”
A gryphon’s aerial speed was unmatched. And their stamina was second only to pegasi, which were far more rare. If the king took gryphons, he wished to get somewhere far away, and he wished to do so quickly.
“They flew southwest. Any idea?” Inga looked up at Leyv.
Anguish simmered in her blue eyes. Eyes that had entranced him when he was but a youngling being dragged to his liege lord’s castle with his mother. Leyv fell in love with Inga before he’d known the true meaning of the word.
“Last I heard, Vale was in Vitvik, which is that direction. However, that was days ago. I doubt they’re still there.”
“What if they are?”
“Vale loves Neve. You should have seen him when he thought they were related. It destroyed him, hence why I told him the truth. He won’t let her go, Inga, I’m sure of it.”
She did not look surprised. “I expect not. He’s much like his father in that way. Never lets go.”
Lord Riis smiled softly, happy to have passed down something to his son. If it was his steadfast love for a female who returned his affections, all the better. “Not unless the object of his desire wishes.”
“She doesn’t,” Inga said with a sigh. “They fell in love before they knew they were doing so.”
“Now that the king is gone, what of the Courting Festival?”
Inga laughed. “It’s already fallen apart. My husband has gotten a few alliances from it, but whatever is in the south seems to have captured his full attention.”
Silence hung between them before Lord Riis whispered, “We cannot let him harm Vale or Neve.”
“No, it’s time to do what we should have done many turns ago.”
So she was on the same page as him. He should have known. After all, Inga was the only reason Leyv had been able to free Duran from the dungeon. She wouldn’t have bothered if she did not see the threads of fate weaving through the tapestry.
“You’ll speak to Rhistel?”
“Do you think it unwise?”
“Rather the opposite,” he replied. “I can see Vale coming out with the truth to support Neve’s legitimacy. And I have to say that if she can bring Winter’s Realm out of the long night we’re suffering, I am for a new ruler.”
“As am I,” Inga replied. “I tire of Magnus’s foot on my neck. If he is gone, I’ll give it all up.”
She’d said as much before, but now that Magnus might fall and with it, his ability to tell the realm Inga’s secrets, Leyv burned with a hope he’d never allowed himself to feel before.
Her love was all that he’d wanted his entire life.
He’d searched for a replacement in countless other females, but never been satisfied.
Never been able to replace her. Finally, he’d stopped his dalliances, but not before fathering a small army of bastards, all of whom he loved, even if he could not have the relationships he wished with each of them.
“Shall I come with you to tell Rhistel about us?”
Inga swallowed. “I’d like you nearby, but this is something I must do alone. I’ve always wanted to spare my children pain. It’s the reason I’ve done everything I have, and with you there . . . Well, Rhistel might not like that.”
Lord Riis’s heart sank with the truth. He’d always gotten on better with Vale. The younger of the twins had been, and still was, more open to a relationship. In truth, had Rhistel ever wanted to spend quality time together, Lord Riis believed that they would have a lot in common.
They were both thinkers, manipulators. Of course, with Rhistel’s whispering magic, he could get whatever he wished, not that Leyv would ever say as much. No one, save for Inga, was aware that Lord Riis knew about Rhistel’s powers. He’d never put his son in danger by speaking of them.
Inga turned to him. “I saw some of the Falk children die. I regret that with all my heart. I regret that, when I was young, I was careless, and Magnus was able to use my weakness against me.” She sniffed, the slightest sign of emotion that hid a mountain of regret.
“If war comes, I will not watch my children, not our sons or Saga, suffer the same.”
“Will you tell Saga about us, too, then?”
Lord Riis wasn’t against it. As a seer whose powers developed by the day, Saga might have a vision pertaining to them at any moment. Thus far, she had not. Or if she had, she’d kept it to herself.
“I’m not sure. Rhistel first. He deserves that much.” Inga took a step forward, touched the tree. “If you wish to watch, go to my waiting chamber. I’ll be there soon.”
“I’ll be watching,” he assured her. “Good luck, Inga.”
She bowed her head before the Crown Drassil in prayer.
Through the lattice that would have hidden a lady-in-waiting from view but kept her close enough for the queen to call upon her, Lord Riis watched Inga wait.
While Inga often lamented loudly that she could not keep a lady-in-waiting for more than a few moons, both of them privately realized it was a boon for them.
With no highborn lady waiting to attend to the queen’s whims, Lord Riis had often used this entrance to sneak into her quarters undetected and see Queen Inga.
Or, on a day such as this one, he could watch Inga tell their oldest son a great secret. Perhaps if it went well, Inga would call for him to reveal himself. His heart squeezed at the idea as a knock came at the queen’s door.
“Enter,” Inga called out, seated on a settee by the fire. Ever clever, she’d asked for wine to be brought to her quarters.
The heir to Winter’s Realm appeared, dressed in Aaberg blue and gold, dark smudges on the fingertips of the ice-spider silk gloves he wore. One black smudge of ink streaked across his cheek.