Chapter 51 – Neve
Chapter 51
NEVE
C aelo, Anna, Vale, and I stood behind Luccan, dressed warmly and armed to the teeth in case we ran into trouble.
Luccan kept assuring us that ‘any second now’ the gateway would open, and we’d have to rush through. As he’d been saying that same thing for the last thirty minutes, my nerves had begun to fray.
At least the wait had given us enough time to eat. It also allowed me time to consider what exactly I’d say to Roar if we made it to Guldtown today.
The sheer membrane of my wings tightened. Roar was the Warden of the West, a High Lord in the Winter Court. He lived in a castle and had hundreds of fae at his beck and call. He commanded a large army.
What if he denied seeing me?
For a moment, the question overwhelmed me, but then the weight of my father’s sword on my hip reminded me who I was. A daughter of the last Falk king and queen. A survivor of great cruelty and slavery. A fae who had once cowered but could no longer afford such things.
So Roar might think he could tell me what to do, but he’d be wrong. One way or another, I’d confront him.
And if I had to, I’d use Vale’s title as Prince of Winter to force my way into Roar’s domain. My own would remain a secret for as long as possible, provided that Roar had not already guessed my ancestry, which I deemed about as likely as not.
“It’s happening!” Luccan called out, a new level of excitement in his tone. “Prepare yourselves!”
Clemencia gasped and wrung her hands, covered in white bandicota fur gloves. “Best of luck! Oh, I wish I could go west!”
I was glad she hadn’t tried to come too. After Sir Qildor’s whipping, I worried enough about Anna and Caelo being spotted, though I didn’t try to dissuade them either. Anna because, out of everyone who attended my wedding to Vale, she was the least likely to be harmed by the king and queen, for Anna was human. I’d learned from Emilia that Queen Inga didn’t really see the humans living amongst her. Why would she have seen Anna in Vale’s memory? And if she had, it seemed very unlikely that she’d remember my friend.
Caelo was different. The king wanted to punish Caelo—had already commanded it before the court. However, the knight was powerful, and Vale agreed that another skilled soldier would be useful.
Though it was selfish, I was happy to have Sir Caelo along .
“Best of luck.” Clemencia laid a hand on my shoulder. “I’ll miss you.”
“We’ll be back,” I assured her because where else were we going to go when this was done? We had no plans to return to Avaldenn and no other place to go.
“Get ready!” Luccan yelled. “It’s really opening!”
My gaze snapped to where the air had been shimmering with wavy lines, and my breath hitched. A gateway, circular and beaming with light, was opening and growing wider by the second. He had done it. With my nerves trickling through me, I patted the side of my cloak, assuring myself that I still had the pouch containing the jewelry I’d taken from Queen Revna’s rooms. From this point forward, there was no telling what would happen, but we would no longer be able to rely on the generosity of friends.
“Once you can step through, do not delay,” Luccan instructed.
I stepped forward, but Vale put a hand on my shoulder. “Let me go first.”
Though I knew he only said it because he cared, I bristled. This was my journey.
“No, Vale, let me go first,” I said. “I need this.”
For a moment, he looked like he wanted to argue, but then he stepped aside. “You first.”
“Like now!” Luccan growled. Sweat dripped down his face at a faster rate and slipped into the collar of his cloak, wetting the fur. “ Go! ”
Though I would have deemed the gateway too small to step through, I did as he said, ducking and entering the tunnel of light. The moment the light inside touched me, I cried out. Unlike the other gateway we’d walked through, this one was hot and prickly. Was that because it was new? Or was it wrong?
“Go!” Luccan screamed. “I can’t hold it for long!”
Fighting through the pain stabbing at my legs, my arms—everywhere—I took another step, only one, and before I knew it, cold wind whipped through my hair again. So fast, so short, and I was out.
I exhaled and looked around to be sure I’d landed where I intended. The day was windy but clear and the sun was still high in the sky, so it took only seconds for me to catch the golden towers of Roar’s castle glinting in the sunlight.
Luccan had really done it. Not even sure if he’d be able to hear me, I thought to call back to him that he’d succeeded, but at that moment, someone exited the gateway and ran right into me. I fell, but they caught me and pulled me up.
“Step away from the gateway, wife.” Vale ushered me a couple of steps away, which turned out to be a very good thing, as Anna had opted to sprint through the gateway.
Caelo followed her, bending low so the quiver full of arrows and bow he carried on his back didn’t catch on the portal. He laughed as he exited. “You are always good for a laugh, Anna!”
“That’s terrifying ! Never again!” My best friend appeared bloodless.
“Painful too,” I added, watching the gateway shrink before my eyes .
“It was,” Vale agreed. “Probably because it was underdeveloped. But it did the job. I’d recognize Guldtown anywhere. Luccan seems to have deposited us outside the city wall.”
“Exactly where I requested,” I said.
“The Red Mist Mountains are that way, due west.” Caelo pointed to the mountain range that I once thought I could traverse to freedom. Stars, I’d been so delusional.
No, not delusional. Desperate.
“And the main gate is at the south of the city, right, Neve?”
“Yes.”
“Then it should be this way.” Caelo waved, and he and Vale led the way, which I was all too happy for them to do because their hulking forms cut through the deep snow.
I’d put myself in the front when it mattered, but for the time being, I fell in step with Anna, watching her carefully. Her foot rarely hindered her, but she also did not often walk through drifts this deep either.
“How does it feel to be back?” she asked.
“Like nothing.” My admission surprised me.
Guldtown was the first place I’d lived and experienced freedom. More than that, I’d lived in true luxury. For a while, I’d even considered if I might come to love Roar, which would have made this my home.
But when I thought of home, I didn’t conjure up thoughts of this place. Rather, I thought of nothing. No place, but people.
Anna, Clemencia, Saga, and Sayyida.
Vale—yes, him most of all.
In a short time, so many had clawed their way into my heart. While I had them, I had everything.
The moment the same gate I’d passed through with Frode came into sight, Anna cast me a sidelong glance.
“Stop worrying about me,” she whispered. “I’m here to support you, not the other way around.”
“Why can’t it be both?”
She smirked. “It can, but I want you to know that I notice.”
My heart squeezed. Anna had changed so much since being freed. She was more outspoken, less fearful. I loved this side of her.
“Noted. I need to show my face up front, anyway.” She didn’t reply as I caught up to Vale and Caelo. “I’ll do the talking.”
“We’re right behind you, little beast.”
The soldiers on guard did not fail to see us coming. Nor did they make a move toward us, just waited until we stood right in front of the city wall.
“I’m Princess Neve,” I said, trying to ignore the butterflies that erupted in my belly. “I’ve come to speak with Warden Roar.”
“Our lord said to be careful about who we let into the city,” one guard retorted. “No one from Avaldenn.”
So, Roar had arrived in Guldtown. Either that had happened recently, or Lord Riis’s spies were not accurate. I would bet it was the former.
“I outrank your lord. You will let us in.” I waved to the others, and in that gesture, the soldiers must have noticed Vale—or realized who he was for the first time.
“The Warrior Bear,” one whispered.
“My husband,” I added. “Now, move aside.”
The gate opened, and we strode into the city and down the long cobblestone road leading through the heart of Guldtown.
That victory had been won easier than I’d imagined. Perhaps most of that was due to the fact that the soldiers were in awe and even scared of Vale, but I took the triumph, no matter how we’d achieved it.
As it had the first time I stepped foot in the city, it struck me as well-kept, the buildings all nice and tidy, the people too. But after living in Avaldenn for a while, I also recognized that Guldtown was a rather small city.
“There’s more wealth per fae here than anywhere else.” Vale walked by a shop displaying gorgeous gowns and a few lovely dresses for daily wear. Even from a glance, I recognized the craftwork as expert. It wouldn’t have surprised me if Roar had gone to this very shop to purchase the gowns he’d gotten for me.
“Because of the mines?” I asked.
“That, and, as much as it pains me to admit this, Roar has opened many new businesses since he took over as the warden.”
He often had meetings with the Merchant Guild. I hadn’t asked about those gatherings because I’d been having my head filled with matters of court. I’d been focused on what mattered at the time, not Roar’s duties.
“The Lisika family has always been cunning in business,” Caelo agreed. “Many knights come from this area. They have often benefited from that house’s wealth.”
“What’s that?” Anna asked, not following our conversation at all as she pointed to a shop I’d been inside.
“A store for tea.” I smiled as we passed Tvali’s tea shop. “I’ve been there. The tea maker is eccentric.”
“It looks calming. Smells good too.”
“It’s nothing like the weak tea we had growing up. Once I’m done giving Roar a piece of my mind, we can go.”
From that point on, much of the conversation became Anna asking what certain shops were and one of us supplying an answer. Often, people did double takes when they recognized either me or Vale, but no one stopped us, either to talk or to detain us. After that happened a half dozen times, I allowed myself to take in the city. It surprised me how many places I recognized, especially as we neared the castle. Each time I found one that struck a memory, I became a touch angrier.
Roar had made me feel safe and like he cared. Then he’d left . No explanation. Not even an attempt at contact. He could have sent a letter too, after all, he had sent someone to break the blood vials sealing our magical agreement.
In short, he’d never cared for me at all, no matter how much he’d pretended to.
We turned down the street leading to the castle, and, now properly pissed, I rolled my shoulders back. Another set of gates rose in front of us, but when I strode up to these, I didn’t feel nervous. No, I was a female who would be given her due explanation—in the matter of Roar leaving and if he had recognized me as a Falk. About the Ice Scepter too. If anyone should be nervous, it was High Lord Roar Lisika.
Once we got to the soldiers, I lifted my chin. “I’m Princess Neve, here to see Lord Lisika.”
“Apologies, Lady Neve.” The soldier ignored my title. “You are not to be let in.”
“Me specifically?”
“Yes.”
“ Why ?”
“You betrayed our lord by marrying the prince.”
I scoffed. “Is that how he’s spinning it? Well, let me?—”
Vale stepped forward. “You will let her in. Else, you will find yourselves in a fight with me and Sir Caelo of the Clawsguard.”
I wanted to be annoyed that he wasn’t letting me handle the issue, but truth be told, he looked so handsome, so righteous that I couldn’t muster any negative emotions.
“Do you wish to face us?” Vale asked, hand on Skelda’s hilt.
These guards did not fold like the ones on the city wall. However, they also didn’t seem too keen on the idea of fighting the prince and a Clawsguard either.
So I took back the upper hand and called upon my winter magic, then directed it at the two guards. Though I didn’t possess the king’s finesse yet, I was naturally powerful and my morning of lessons with Vale had proved fruitful. Frost covered the pair, then a thin sheen of ice. The effort was draining, but it needed to be done. This city required a show of my power, so I would give it.
“Stop!” one of the guards called out before he could no longer use his lips. “Please!”
“Will you open it?” I bore down on my power.
“Yes, just s-s-stop!”
A wave of my hand and the magic ceased. They were still frozen, but I didn’t need them to open the door. I’d only wanted to hear the words. Two strides forward and I stood before the one who’d begged. I ripped the keys from where they were latched to his hip and opened the gate.
“Thanks for that.” I dropped the keys on the ice and strode onto Roar’s property.
Servants and other soldiers strolled the grounds, but though they all looked twice when they recognized me—or Vale—no one stopped us. Just like in the city. Apparently, Roar had only seen fit to warn the gatekeepers that we were not permitted on site. His mistake.
Walking in a line of four, we marched up to the front door of the castle, and when we arrived, a faerie was already coming outside to meet us. One I recognized.
“High Staret Celi.” I took in the older male fae. Like last time, he wore a robe that glittered like the night sky. “Are you here to welcome us?”
“I’m afraid not, Lady Neve. I?—”
“Princess Neve,” I corrected him.
The old male’s wrinkled face tightened, and his blue eyes widened for a moment before he recovered. “Ah, yes, so I’ve heard. Apologies, Princess Neve.” The staret looked at the others, and upon recognizing Vale, bowed. “It is good to see you, my prince.”
“You don’t seem too excited,” Vale replied, surprising the staret again.
“I’m assuming that is because Lord Roar did not expect to see me?” My arms crossed over my chest.
The staret’s mouth opened, then closed, and opened again before he answered. “No. I believe he didn’t expect to see you, though, of course, he took precautions for that—precautions which you seem to have sidestepped. And I assume you are here to see him?”
“I am. Show us to him.”
“I’m afraid I cannot.”
Stars give me strength.
I exhaled. “Why not, Staret Celi? Because if you’re about to tell me that Lord Roar ordered you not to, that is not good enough. By title, I outrank your lord. As does my husband. It is our demands that you will follow.”
Much of the blood leached from Staret Celi’s face.
“Princess Neve, I cannot take you to him because he is not here.”
“The guards told us he has returned to Guldtown,” Vale said, his tone low and threatening.
“He did. And he left again. So you see, I cannot take you to him. I?—”
“ Where did he go ?” I demanded.
Staret Celi swallowed, prompting me to exchange glances with Vale. Where in all the nine kingdoms would Roar have gone? Guldtown was the safest place in Winter’s Realm for him to hide. Here he held every advantage, and while the king could still threaten to have him hauled back to Avaldenn to face punishment, Roar could ignore it. In this city, Roar commanded an entire army, one rivaling that of the royals, which lived in the far east. It would be impossible for a few of the king’s soldiers to face off with an army.
“You would do well to remember, High Staret,” Vale spoke when Celi remained quiet, “that it is within our power to detain you. Should you fail to answer my wife, I will make that detainment . . . uncomfortable.”
“This is my home.”
“For now.”
Staret Celi reared back. “You’d let him do that, Princess Neve?”
“I believe that you, out of anyone in this castle, might have heard about what happened between Lord Roar and me,” I replied, eyes narrowed. “He owes me an explanation, so yes, I would keep you detained until you told me what I needed to know.” I paused for dramatic effect. “ Or you can tell us where Lord Roar is, and we’ll be on our way. You won’t have to suffer.”
The old fae stared at us, as if unable to believe that his word and his title weren’t good enough, and when I thought he’d deny us again, he exhaled. “He’s at one of his mines. He only returned to the castle long enough to set his affairs in order and then he rode for the mountains.”
Which made no sense at all.
“Which mine?” I pressed.
“Gersemi Mine.”
“Do you know it, Vale?” I looked up at him.
My husband shrugged. “It’s one of the oldest in the kingdom, but I’ve never been. No one in my circle has. All the Lisika mines are on this side of the Red Mist Mountains.”
Of course they were. If they were on the other side, the mines would belong to the vampires. The western territory bordered the Blood Kingdom.
“Staret, how far away is it?” I pressed.
“With the latest snows? A half day by horse.”
“Thank you.” I nodded to the holy fae. “With this information, we’ll be going. Staret Celi, have servants pack skins of water and food and bring them to the stables for our journey. Also send a guide to show us the way. Do not delay.”
Staret Celi’s eyebrows shot up in surprise that we’d kept our word. That expression was the last I saw of him before I turned.
“I remember where the stables are,” I said to my companions. “Let’s saddle up. If we leave now, we can get there by nightfall.”