Chapter 47 – Neve
Chapter 47
NEVE
I dropped my trembling arms to my sides, annoyed that my magic had appeared, seemingly to do whatever it wanted.
“You’re tired,” said Thantrel, my tutor and only companion for the morning. He shielded his green eyes from the sun, so brilliant against a backdrop of pristine snow. “You worked too hard yesterday.”
Between practicing magic in the morning, swordplay with Caelo in the afternoon, and then volunteering to mend some of the Riis family pieces their servants didn’t have the skill to do, Thantrel was right. I’d fallen into bed the night before, exhausted.
And yet, I still had the energy to wonder about Vale for a couple of hours before sleep claimed me.
Only Caelo had seen the prince since the day my magic burst out of me, and the knight had said nothing about their meeting. Not to me, anyway.
“I suppose I should be happy I won’t experience any magical growth spurts.” I sighed, blowing a stream of white air from my lips. Though it wasn’t snowing at the moment, it was still freezing outside. “It would be embarrassing to be unable to control my magic and be clumsy.”
The corner of Thantrel’s eyes crinkled. “You say that like you know they aren’t going to happen.”
I scoffed. “You’re hoping for the opposite, aren’t you?”
“Until Filip arrived at court, I was the last in my circle to experience a growth spurt,” Thantrel replied. “It’s far more fun when you’re not the one experiencing it.”
“Well, I hope I don’t. I have quite enough on my plate, learning magic at all.” My hands landed on my hips. “Maybe you’re right, and I need to rest.”
“You know what helps me the most when I’m exhausted?” Thantrel asked.
“What’s that?”
“A stiff drink.”
“It’s not even midday!”
He shrugged an elegant, lithe shoulder. Unlike the other Riis brothers, Thantrel was slim, his muscles lean. His build must have come from his mother. “Rules are made to be broken.”
I laughed. “Says you.”
“Trust me. Life is more fun that way.”
Considering Thantrel seemed to have a lot of fun, I believed that.
“One more go,” I said. “Then I’ll allow you to corrupt me.”
“Princess, you couldn’t handle me corrupting you.”
My cheeks turned red at his silky tone, which only made the youngest Riis brother laugh as I turned away from him and called my magic once more.
Thantrel wasn’t who my heart wanted, but he was so charismatic and handsome that when he flirted—which was quite often—I became a little flustered.
Doing my best to ignore the faerie behind me, I looked at the evergreen trees, their limbs hanging heavy with snow from the near-constant storms plaguing the midlands since our arrival.
“I’m going to take the snow from the nearest tree and swirl it around the tree,” I declared.
“Looking forward to the show,” Thantrel replied.
I focused on the tree, willing my magic to rise against my skin again. It did my bidding, the pulse of it weak, tired, as Thantrel claimed. But I could not have that. When I faced Roar, I needed to be strong in every way that mattered. I needed to show him that he had not shattered me.
Not that he’d care, but I did. I’d trusted Roar, and he’d broken that trust. More than that, he’d kept secrets from me. And I was certain that he’d suspected my true identity since the moment he’d first seen me, when he commented on my scar.
Magic thrumming, I directed it at the tree, and to my delight, the branches shook.
“More,” Thantrel called.
“I’m trying,” I gritted out as my arms began to tremble, far too soon for how long I’d been going at it.
I pushed again, and the snow on the branches fell to the ground .
“Wrong way.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be helping me?” I barked but didn’t bother to look at him. He was likely smiling, and that would only infuriate me.
“This is how Father taught us! Are you saying he did it wrong?”
Aside from Luccan, I did not know. The other Riis brothers had yet to show their powers. But seeing as Luccan was trying to create a gateway in a matter of days, I suspected that Lord Riis knew a thing or two about training his sons.
My teeth ground together with the effort of sending more power at the tree, trying to lift the snow, and sweat trickled down my face before, finally, something happened. The snow rose in a thin stream, straight up rather than swirling about.
Almost there.
Another wash of power left me, this time leaving behind the lingering sensation of spikes pounding into my forearms. I winced but didn’t let the pain stop me. I’d been through so much worse—and if I wanted to live a life in which I wasn’t looking over my shoulder every two seconds, I had to become powerful. So strong that others would not dare to mess with me.
To do that, I had to walk through the fire and reshape myself. I had to believe I’d transformed from the blood slave I’d once been to a fae who could change the lives of those who lived as I once did.
“Like this.” I twirled my fingers in the direction I wished the snow to go. Another spike of pain slammed into my chest, stealing my breath for a moment, but I was determined to make this work. I sucked in air. “ Come on . I want you to?—”
From the corner of my vision, a figure emerged from the Tower, then stopped. Normally, I wouldn’t care who was watching, but I felt their attention like a fire burning from my feet to my head and I couldn’t help but look.
Vale was there, stepping foot outside of Riis Tower for the first time in days. He didn’t look drunk or hungover, like I’d imagined he would. His eyes were so intense that they nearly leveled me.
I sucked in a breath, and the control over my power vanished. The snow fell to the ground, and my bones ached.
“Bleeding stars,” I breathed, knees buckling.
Thantrel was there in an instant, catching me, but I remained fixated on Vale. On his heaving chest.
Was he angry?
Before I placed my finger on his emotion, Vale twisted and stomped around the tower, out of sight.
I exhaled and tears sprang to my eyes. I wiped them away.
Did he think I wanted to be who I was? That I’d planned that we’d become close, intimate even, all the while knowing our relations?
Was I the only one who still felt this forbidden bond between us?
“He’ll get over it,” Thantrel whispered, still holding me up.
Swallowing, I stood on my own and gazed at the snow .
“He needs time,” Thantrel assured me.
Tears stung my eyes before I wiped them away yet again. “He despises me.”
“He’s been drinking us out of house and home. I doubt he’s clear-headed at all right now.”
“I need him to know I didn’t mean to hurt him.”
“He knows.”
I stared at the spot where Vale disappeared. “I’m not so sure.”
The fire blazed, warming the den and my aching bones, which despite a full, delicious meal and a hot bath, still had not recovered from my hours of practicing magic.
I sipped the wine from the Summer Isles and relaxed back into the armchair, watching as Clemencia, Arie, and Anna played nuchi.
Anna had learned tonight, and my best friend caught on quickly, a fact that did not surprise me but seemed to charm Arie. Despite losing badly, the middle Riis brother smiled at Anna more often than I’d ever seen him smile.
Almost as often as Luccan stole glances at Clemencia.
As though my thoughts summoned him, Luccan walked into the den. I gaped.
I’d seen him hours ago, checking on him when Thantrel and I came inside from practicing magic. Then, he’d looked exhausted, but since midday, Luccan had declined.
His skin, already naturally pale, was wan and dark circles ringed his eyes. His gait was sluggish, and though he tried to hide it, I spied a faint limp.
I patted the seat next to me, wanting to speak with him before he began flirting with Clemencia. “Join me.”
Luccan grinned and, after pouring himself a spirit from a cabinet brimming with bottles of liquor from all over Isila, sank into the neighboring armchair with a groan.
“How are things going with the gateway?” I asked.
“Well enough. I might have it ready by tomorrow. Be prepared.”
“I will.” I sipped my wine, wondering how to delicately mention that perhaps he was pushing himself too hard.
As it turned out, I needn’t worry about tact. Anna put down a winning hand of nuchi and Arie looked up from the game, noticing his brother’s arrival.
“Luccan, you look like a steaming pile of gryphon shit!” Arie stood and came over. “Have you eaten?”
Luccan scowled. “I can always count on my brothers to lift my confidence.”
“You didn’t answer,” I whispered. “Have you eaten?”
“Before I came,” he assured us. “I need to rest awhile, though. Gatemaking is taxing.”
He’d mentioned so before, and while I would have to be blind not to notice that Luccan looked as tired, perhaps more so, than me, he hadn’t looked quite this disheveled yet.
“Not that I am not grateful for the work you’ve put in,” I began, “but maybe I should try to find a different way west.”
“Staghorn Castle has gryphons,” Arie supplied. “Caelo can charm them?”
Gryphons didn’t accept new riders easily. Elves charmed them the easiest. Before, when Caelo had commanded ravens, I’d wondered if he was part elf but never asked. Arie’s words indicated I was correct.
“The Vagles would never give Neve their racing gryphons.” Luccan waved a dismissive hand. “They might even deny Vale, and they’re his relations. Besides, there’s no need. I’m fine. You two worry too much.”
“They worry the right amount.” Clemencia rose from where they’d been playing cards. “You need a very deep rest tonight, Luccan.”
The eldest Riis brightened when she said his name. I took a drink, hiding my amusement in my cup.
Clemencia’s father was very strict, and back before she’d left for Riis Tower, she’d claimed he’d never let her be with Luccan, though the pair seemed infatuated with each other. Her father’s reasoning? Luccan was a bastard.
I’d learned that wasn’t true. Clemencia, a female living in the far reaches of the western territory, had not known that the king had legitimized Luccan, Arie, and Thantrel, either. Since then, she smiled more—probably believing that her father would approve of their match.
Even if he did not, I did. I hoped they’d be together.
“I’ll make sure to get plenty of rest, lovely,” Luccan said, his nostrils flaring as Clemencia neared and her scent of snow lilies filled the air. “Using the gateway is your best chance, Neve.”
“Very well. But if you fall over, I’m going to Staghorn Castle and stealing those gryphons.”
That got a laugh out of the brothers, probably because we were all envisioning me trying to subdue a racing gryphon. The mood lightened, and as everyone gathered around the fire, I wished nights like this would not have to end.
But they would. Eventually, the king would call another Courting Festival event. The Riis brothers would have to go to Avaldenn.
I was to go west and hadn’t asked if anyone would want to join. Anna would. Clemencia, too, may wish to return home, although I was still unsure how wise that would be. The queen knew Clemencia, had seen that she attended Vale’s and my wedding and had told her husband. Was the king still out for the blood of those who had witnessed our vows?
Thinking of Vale dampened my mood. I glanced at the door and was unsurprised when he was not, miraculously, there. He was with Caelo, the only person he wanted around him since learning who I was.
I was staring at the door when it opened and Thantrel glided in. He caught my eye and winked.
“Missing my handsome face already, Neve?”
I snorted. “Hardly. I . . .”
I trailed off, not wanting to admit I’d been pining after Vale, a male who wanted nothing to do with me. “Where did you go? ”
He hadn’t dined with Anna, Clem, Arie, and me. I hadn’t seen him since our training session.
“Someone had to go to Avaldenn and check that there’s not a Courting Festival event tomorrow,” Thantrel replied as he poured himself a drink and downed it. “We’re still in the clear.”
“Thank the dead gods,” Arie breathed, his glance going again to Anna. “I despise that event.”
“The only person who likes it is Calpurnia Vagle.” Luccan rubbed his temples as if just thinking about Calpurnia was giving him a headache. I could relate. “She is so sure her uncle will give the best match to her.”
“Eireann and Baenna Balik liked it too,” I said, remembering the night we’d gambled. “Did you see them, Thantrel? Marit, Saga, and Sayyida? The Balik ladies too?” Saying their names made me miss them more. How lucky I was to have found friends in such a short time.
Thantrel leaned against the back of my chair, necessitating that I tilt my head up to see him.
“Ran into Saga. I told her where you were but only because she promised not to breathe a word. I didn’t see Sayyida or the Balik ladies.” He cleared his throat. “As for Marit, I can’t say that she is in the best of spirits.”
I sat up straighter and twisted in my seat. “What do you mean?”
“Her intended is pushing for them to wed soon.”
“But the king said they’d wait until her father returned with news from the Blood Court!” My heart raced at what this could mean for my friend. Jarl Triam had a reputation for killing his wives, and while Marit had been training with us, I wasn’t sure she could protect herself.
“Yes, well, the jarl is using the vampire assassins—two more of which have been caught in the city, by the way—as an excuse to push his wedding. He claims Marit needs the protection of a family.”
Arie scoffed. “As if the Armenils aren’t one of the largest families in the kingdom.”
“It’s an excuse,” Luccan agreed. “Everyone knows the wolves of the north protect their own.”
Despite their reassurances, my stomach sank. The only reason there were vampire assassins at all was because of me. My actions.
Stars, I had made a mess of this kingdom.
My mother’s words rang in my ears. I’d taken parts of what she said and clung to them, but I wasn’t ready to face some of her more ambitious wishes yet.
A former blood slave, even one masquerading as a princess, did not rise to claim a throne. A seat she’d never dreamed she’d set eyes on, let alone command.
Again, I drank, allowing the sweet wine from the south of Isila to run over my tongue and wash away a bit of my anxiety.
“The pack will keep her safe,” Arie said stoutly. “I’m sure of it. If Connan were at the festival, I’d return to Avaldenn and make sure he knows to keep an eye on her.”
“Connan Armenil?” I asked. “The second oldest in their family, right?”
Clemencia beamed at me, proud that her lessons had sunk in .
“Yes,” Arie replied. “He is not attending the Courting Festival.”
“Already married?”
“Too ill.” Arie swallowed. “He’s a great friend of mine, but often ill, so I see him less than I’d like.”
“Rune will make sure no harm comes to his sister,” Thantrel assured his own brother.
Usually, one teased the other. This was a rare moment of solidarity. It was a night for such things.
I stood, went to refill my goblet, and in need of a change of topic and a lighter heart, I cast a playful glance over my shoulder. “Who wants to lose to me at nuchi?”