Chapter 8 – Neve
Chapter 8
NEVE
T he reek of vampire blood remained lodged in my nostrils as we walked away from the Laurent ship, down the series of docks, and finally stepped foot onto the cobblestone streets of Avaldenn. I blew out forcibly and inhaled deeply, desperate to free myself of the stink, and succeeded with mixed results. Though the salt and seaweed of the air blowing in off the Shivering Sea was strong, not even that could fully drive the stench of blood out.
My lower lip trembled. Stars, that had been awful. And the vampires, the way they moved and seeing their flashing fangs. I shuddered.
At least no one from our side died . . .
Two Clawsguards had sustained wounds, but they were still with us, carried back to the palace by their fellow soldiers.
I wasn’t sure how I’d decided to tell the captain I’d killed their prince, putting an immediate target on my back. I only knew I’d felt the need to because I suspected it would stop the bloodshed.
A royal attacking a royal wasn’t a matter for common sailors to undertake. No matter that I hadn’t been a royal during the attack.
But they didn’t know that.
It was a technicality. One that had stopped the spill of blood. One that would get rid of the ship. One that would buy us time.
“That was quick thinking.” Sian came up beside me. Filip fell in line next to his brother, a thoughtful expression on his youthful face. Sayyida and Vidar had stayed at the docks to watch the vampires, just in case.
“Indeed.” Vale looked down at me. “Exactly what weapon training have you had, Neve?”
The question caught me off guard and my mouth opened and shut twice before I answered. “None. I was never given the opportunity.”
What vampire master in their right mind would train their slaves with weapons? And during my time with Roar, I’d been far too busy learning about the most influential members and ways of the Winter Court to worry about physical training.
“I can slash with a dagger and . . .” I nearly said use a stake , which was obvious. If I wasn’t capable of sending a stake into a vampire’s heart, we wouldn’t be in this predicament. “But give me a sword or mace or anything larger, and I’d probably hurt myself more than an opponent.”
Vale nodded as though he’d expected nothing less. “ We’ll remedy that. You begin training with weapons today .”
A thrill ran through me at the idea. I’d never thought much about being able to wield a sword. Training with Vale was expert training, and I was lucky to be offered such a thing.
The prince let out a long, tension-filled breath. “As my brother said in the throne room, hired blades will come for you.”
I blinked. I hadn’t even known he’d overheard that.
“The Blood will most likely send those who train in the valleys of the Red Mist Mountains. Red Assassins, they call themselves,” Sian agreed. “They’re the best their kind has.”
“I know.” During my time in the Blood Court, I’d heard tales of the Red Assassins. They were stealthy, discreet, and absolutely lethal.
“Well”—Sian eyed me up and down—“you look strong and have a good foundation. Are you quick?”
Good foundation. I bit back a laugh. My thighs had always been thick, and I’d always liked them that way, but it still sounded like such a diplomatic phrasing.
“Not as quick as you,” I replied as we rounded a corner. The Clawsguards ensured that citizens of Avaldenn parted for us as we went. The ability to walk in a city and not have to take care to notice where you were going was odd. In Sangrael, I’d always been on alert. Thanks to the orc attack in Guldtown, I’d remained observant there too, though to a lesser degree. “I’m fast, though. ”
Sian looked at Vale. “I think Luccan’s place would be best to start. The palace will still be talking about the pair of you, and you don’t want an audience.”
“Agreed.” Vale halted and the guards around us stopped too. He pointed at two guards. “You and you will come with me, my wife, Sian, and Filip. The rest will help the injured to the castle and take up the posts you were assigned before I requested your presence. If anyone from my house asks, my wife and I are going to visit friends. If anyone else asks, they are not privy to knowing the details of our married life.”
“Are you sure, my prince?” one guard asked, his gold cloak billowing behind him.
“Where we’re going we do not require more than two Clawsguards. Now, don’t delay. They need to get to the healers.” Vale gestured to the injured.
The sworn soldiers didn’t argue a second time. Those Vale had dismissed trudged onward, through the city, bound for Frostveil Palace. The remaining two waited.
“Come,” Vale said. “We’re going to Lordling Lane.”
Lordling Lane wasn’t the real name of the street, only a more accurate one. And it appeared exactly as one would imagine it. That was, if they imagined the most luxurious and decadent street in Avaldenn complete with sprawling homes, chic taverns, high-end restaurants, one very nice-looking public sauna, and shops that catered to the ultra-wealthy of the city .
I gaped as we passed by one shop that had a russet-red fur cloak, likely from a fox, in the window. The price tag was astronomical for such an item of clothing. I knew good and well how much labor it would take to make such a garment, and the materials couldn’t be worth that much.
“Ice spider silk is woven into it,” Sian said.
I tilted my head. “What?”
“You were staring at that red cloak. It’s only so expensive because ice spider silk is used in it.”
“And that’s valuable?” I’d never heard of such a material.
“The spiders live in the Ice Tooth Mountains,” Sian explained. “Their silk is the strongest material we have. It also protects from magical attacks and keeps magic restrained.”
“Some are as big as a troll! And they’re so vicious .” Filip shuddered. “Only an insane fae would harvest that silk for a cloak.”
“Yes, vicious indeed.” Sian grinned at his little brother before meeting my eyes again. “Our home abuts the Ice Tooth Mountain Range. We’re familiar with the spiders and how to keep them deep within the mountains.”
I tried not to think of a spider the size of a troll, most of whom stood fifteen heads tall, double Vale’s height. “When you say that silk keeps magic restrained, what do you mean?”
“If one wanted to bind magic and didn’t have the power to do it themselves, that’s what they’d use,” Sian replied.
I pondered that as we walked down the lane. Tavern owners tried to lure us inside. All of them recognized Sian and Vale and bowed as we passed. The lord and the prince waved the eager tavern owners off, promising they’d be by soon.
We were nearing the end of the street when Vale and Sian came to a stop in front of a gate. A fae stood guard, but he opened the doors when he saw the pair.
“Lord Luccan is in. As are his lord brothers.”
Vale nodded. “Thank you.”
I eyed Vale sidelong. “I’ve heard many say Lord Luccan, but I thought he was a bastard? Is that common?”
“He was a bastard,” Vale replied, eyebrows raised. “My father legitimized him before the Courting Festival. Have you spoken to Luccan before?”
“No, though I’ve seen him and heard stories of him from others,” I answered. “He’s interested in Clemencia, my lady-in-waiting. And Roar was the one who mentioned him—as a bastard. Roar seemed obsessed with it.”
“Some nobles are obsessed with such things.” Vale shook his head. “Though I will say it’s entirely possible that Roar didn’t know of the legitimizing until he got to court. The western territory is far away.”
“Even if he did, I think he would still look down on Luccan.” The way he’d said it led me to believe that. Now that I had some distance, Roar’s beliefs struck me as inconsistent. He’d pretend to be engaged to me, a blood slave, but dislike a person who was born out of wedlock? There had to be a history I was unaware of .
“Perhaps. Sometimes nobles are willing to overlook a slight of blood. Though they rarely forget.”
I got the sense he was speaking of his father, a known Falk bastard.
We climbed the steps to the manor house. At the top, Vale instructed the two Clawsguards we’d brought with us to wait outside.
“There will be no need for you to hover in my friend’s home,” Vale said when one looked ready to protest. “He has protection too.” He gestured to the gate, and the guards fell back to stand on either side of the door.
Luccan Riis’s home rose before me, three stories high, an unassuming off-white color trimmed with the red shade of House Riis. The only unusual thing about it was a spiderweb painted over the front door. Another nod to Luccan’s noble house.
The door opened before we could knock, and to my surprise, Luccan stood before us. “Saw you out the window. What have I done to earn the pleasure of a visit from Vale and his stunning wife?” Luccan winked and in spite of myself, heat rose in my cheeks. I knew little of this tall, broad male, save that his father was the king’s spymaster and Clemencia liked him. But with his long red hair and dark brown eyes, Luccan was very handsome. He also had the most stunning pair of wings I’d ever seen; red veined with orange and yellow so that they almost looked to be made of flame.
“What are Filip and me? Gryphon dung?” Sian arched a playful eyebrow.
“Compared to the new princess, I’d say so.” Luccan opened the door wider. “Thank the stars you don’t smell like it, or I wouldn’t be letting you in.”
“I’d like to see you try to stop me from coming inside, you prick. Some cabal brother you are,” Sian muttered.
“I do love that term that Princess Saga cooked up. It’s clandestine and mysterious! She has such a way with words, your sister.” Luccan shot Vale an amused glance.
The prince rolled his eyes, like he did when Saga used the term, but I suspected that was simply to irritate his sibling because the smile on Vale’s lips told me he was warming to the term too.
Despite Luccan’s ribbing, he exchanged playful shoulder punches with Sian as we entered the home. Filip watched the exchange with longing in his golden eyes. I suspected that the younger son of House Balik didn’t have as close a circle of friends.
“How did you know about Neve and me? You weren’t at the gathering this morning at the palace, or were you?”
“It’s the talk of the city.” Luccan grinned.
As Luccan’s father, Lord Riis, had intended.
“Right.” Vale seemed momentarily astonished before collecting himself. “Might we use your sparring facilities?”
The eldest Riis son’s eyebrows rose. “Of course. We’re having a bit of fun now.” He cut me an amused glance. “Did you bring your wife to show off, or . . .” His nostrils flared. “Is that blood?”
My brow furrowed. None of us had been injured, only the two Clawsguards and they were on their way to the castle. How was Luccan smelling that ?
“Luccan has a powerful sense of smell,” Vale explained. “Nearly as strong as a vampire’s.”
“And you still loved Clemencia’s perfume?” My hands slapped over my mouth. Burning moon! I couldn’t believe I’d said that!
Luccan’s eyes brightened. “You and your lady-in-waiting spoke of me, did you? Where is she?”
“I’m not sure. She had to take leave.”
Technically, the truth. I didn’t know where Clemencia was at this exact moment. And if Lord Leyv Riis hadn’t told his son about what had happened last night, then I shouldn’t either. I’d let Vale handle that.
“Oh.” Luccan’s face fell a touch. “Pity. She was such a light at court.”
“Yes, she is,” I agreed.
He turned back to Vale. “Now, the blood?”
“First, why weren’t you at the castle this morning?” Vale replied. “All the other Sacred Eight were.”
He, too, wondered what the Lord of Tongues had told his sons.
“After Vale threatened to cut off the king’s hands at the feast, I wanted a bit of distance from the palace,” Luccan continued. “Arie and Thantrel wanted some as well. As we live in the city, Frostveil guards had no objections to letting us slip out. We plan to return soon though, unless there’s a reason we shouldn’t do so?”
“You’ll have to, but you should know of the latest news.” Vale told Luccan an abbreviated version of last night’s events. He then proceeded to the events of the morning when the king had whipped Sir Qildor and then our skirmish on the vampire ship. When Vale was done, Luccan’s mouth was hanging open.
“It seems I have some things to cover with my father,” he said after Vale ran out of story.
“That would be wise, and now you understand why we need your training facilities.”
“Your wife will need to learn to protect herself.”
“I can’t be with her at all times. So yes. And we’d rather spend as little time at the palace as possible today.”
“Then let’s go.” Luccan waved for us to follow. “Thantrel, Arie, and Father are down there now.”
“Your father is here too?” Vale asked.
“He arrived a few hours ago. Why?”
“The guards didn’t mention him,” Vale replied.
Luccan shrugged and turned around. “He requests not to be spoken about.”
Vale shot me a look.
I was no mind reader, like the queen, but I felt certain that I knew what he was thinking about. Vale was recalling that his mother had neglected to mention Lord Riis when she told the tale of how I’d killed the vampire prince and our wedding.
Of course, she’d also left out the fact that I had been a blood slave. And the whores, Clem, and Anna, being present at the scene of the crime. Had she not seen those memories? Or maybe just because she hadn’t recognized the ladies, she had not seen fit to mention them? Or had there been so much going on in Vale’s head that some things slipped by her?
I wasn’t sure but omitting Lord Riis had felt pointed. I wanted to know why, and I suspected Vale did too.
We descended two floors, revealing that the manor house was five floors, not three, as it appeared from the outside. At the bottom, there was only one door. Luccan paused, pressed an ear closer to the door, and let out a soft chuckle. “Father convinced Arie to join in this time. Sounds like he’s enjoying himself!”
Vale laughed too, and Sian and Filip bore twin smiles. I wondered what was so funny but didn’t get the chance to ask as Luccan Riis opened the door.
The scent of sweat and metal billowed out. I wrinkled my nose and peeked inside, only to find a stocky male fae with curly red hair and the same lovely shade of wings as Luccan stumbling backward, straight for us.
“Bleeding moon, Arie!” Luccan held out a hand before the male collided with him. “Watch where you’re going!”
The male spun and narrow copper eyes blazed through Luccan. “I’d love to, but our ogre of a brother doesn’t fight fair!”
“Like that would matter,” another male voice, this one deeper than the other two, rang through the room. When I caught sight of him striding across the vast room empty of furniture but with many assorted weapons hanging from the walls, I sucked in a breath.
With deep red hair that trailed down his back and those wings seemingly made of fire, this had to be another Riis, though this male was the most stunning. He was tall but lithe, unlike Luccan and Lord Riis, who were both barrel-chested, and rivaled Vale in size and stature. This male, on the other hand, struck me as ethereal with olive green eyes framed with the longest lashes I’d ever seen and . . . Was he wearing eyeliner?
“Even if I fought clean,” the stunning male jeered, “you wouldn’t stand a chance. Fates, Arie, you need to train more.”
Arie scowled. “Those in the House of Wisdom don’t need to fight with blades. Or savage maces.”
The other male swung the mace that Arie was looking so pointedly at, a huge smirk on his face.
“We fight with knowledge and words. Far more civilized,” Arie muttered. “I don’t need to have my arse handed to me to be of use.”
“Both knowledge and physical strength are important,” another voice boomed, and Lord Riis appeared from an alcove he’d been doing stars only knew what in.
I blinked. For the first time, the spymaster’s wings were not vanished or hidden beneath a cloak, and they looked exactly like his sons’ wings. Or rather, theirs looked like his. If I had such lovely wings, I’d never hide them. I wondered why he did.
Perhaps they draw too much attention. A spymaster might not like that.
“Welcome, Prince Vale. Princess Neve.” Lord Riis inclined his head, and his sons did the same, Luccan rolling his eyes as he did so.
We showed Lord Riis the respect due to a lord of the Sacred Eight. Once the niceties were observed, Lord Riis arched an eyebrow.
“I must admit, I’m surprised to see you here. Has there been a problem?”
His sons exchanged confused glances, but the question confirmed my suspicions. Luccan wasn’t playing coy. Rather, Lord Riis was being careful around his sons. He hadn’t told them about last night.
“Perhaps Neve and I could speak to you privately?” my husband offered and gestured to a corner of the room.
“As you wish.” Lord Riis nodded, and our trio separated from the others, who promptly began joking around, mostly at Arie’s expense. I watched, amused and feeling a little bad for Arie as he stormed into an attached room. What else was down here? My answer came a moment later when Arie emerged with a sword. Though there were weapons hanging on the walls, there also appeared to be an armory attached to the sparring space.
“Should we be concerned?” I asked as Arie ran at Thantrel, sword raised, face red, and eyes burning with a desire to pummel his brother.
The Lord of Tongues spared his sons a glance. “They’re brothers. They love one another, but Thantrel knows what to say to get under Arie’s skin.”
“He lives for those moments.” Vale snorted as Thantrel sidestepped Arie’s attack with ease and grace and a huge smile on his face.
“That he does. Now, is everything all right?” Lord Riis asked once we were out of earshot .
“Fine,” Vale replied. “We took care of the vampire’s ship. They’re leaving.”
Riis’s eyes widened.
“You didn’t hear that my father requested I do that myself?”
“I have been absent from the castle all morning.”
That wasn’t an answer. After all, he was the king’s spymaster. Lord Leyv Riis had many small spiders crawling around, listening, gathering information.
“The king sent the queen to retrieve us this morning.” I took control of the conversation, desperate for answers to the questions swimming in my mind. “She used her magic on Vale and saw what happened last night.” I paused, watching the Lord of Tongues’s face closely. “But when she recounted the night to the king, she failed to mention that you, Clemencia, Anna, and your employees were present. I understand why she omitted those who were glamoured and the whores, but not you. Any idea why she did not share that information?”
Not even the barest flicker of surprise showed on his face. “The queen possesses powerful magic, but sometimes she misses things. As we grew up together, I was her test subject many times.”
He said it almost fondly, though I couldn’t see why. I wouldn’t want to be a test subject on someone rifling through my mind.
“So you think she missed it?” I asked.
“It’s true that Mother can miss things,” Vale conceded. “I think she moves too fast, especially when angered. But she said your name. ”
My eyes widened. That must have been when I was in the bathroom. Vale and I had some serious catching up to do.
Lord Riis shrugged. “I cannot say. I haven’t seen the queen since yesterday.”
Vale eyed him. “I suppose it’s possible that she was more focused on the wedding when she told my father. You could have slipped her mind.”
Leyv let out a dry chuckle. “Yes, I’m sure the queen was not at all happy to hear of your nuptials.”
“No,” Vale agreed. “House Aaberg, save for my sister, is not accepting of my choice.”
“Right, well.” Lord Riis glanced at his sons. “I would appreciate it if you two didn’t mention my involvement last night to the king. As I have assured the safety of loved ones, I believe it is not too big an ask.”
He was right. He’d done a lot for us.
“We can’t control what the queen says, though,” I ventured.
Lord Riis exhaled. “I might convince her not to speak about it. In any case, I’d better try, or she might turn her anger to me.”
“Good luck with that,” Vale said. “And by the way, I need to make sure Caelo stays away from court. Father whipped Sir Qildor and threatened to do the same to Caelo. He can’t return. Not until the king’s fury cools.”
“That could be a good long while, Vale,” Lord Riis said. “And Caelo is a sworn Clawsguard. He will not like staying away. ”
“It’s an order. How can I get him the message?” Vale leveled Riis with his stare.
The spymaster sighed. “I’ll send the message.”
“Thank you.” The prince’s attention shifted to me. “Now, we need to train.”