Chapter 2
Raiya now knew that “You’re not like other girls, are you?” was not really a compliment, but when Nirlan had said it to her when they’d first met, she’d been flattered.
It was almost two years ago, now. She had looked up at him, her attention drawn away from the book in her lap. The man before her was tall and striking, his dark eyes alight with interest. He leaned forward, resting his hands on the table of her booth. His eyes roved over her, taking in her long, dark hair, dark eyes, and tawny skin.
The market buzzed around them, loud and bright while night fell. The Lightbringer festival was well underway. People had strung up lanterns and lit candles, and sparklers and smoke bombs were going off nearby. The air was tinged with the scent of burning wood and grilled food, which somehow made the cold weather feel less harsh.
The man wore fine clothes of silk, white leather, and arctic fox fur—the sort of clothes that few in Frosthaven could afford. Perhaps he was a tourist. Frosthaven was the northernmost city in Uulantaava, the northernmost country in Heilune. Travelers were uncommon enough to be of interest.
Raiya sat up straight, closing her book. No one in town ever wanted to buy from her little booth, but a rich tourist might. “Pardon?” she asked.
“I haven’t seen anyone else here reading.” He cast an unimpressed glance toward a group of laughing young women on the street. “Most girls would rather be shopping for jewelry or clothes at a time like this. But you’re reading a book.”
She wasn’t sure what he meant, and she felt a little self-conscious. “I see. Are you, ah, enjoying the festival?” she asked, putting on a smile.
“Of course,” he said, but he looked a little bored. “I was in Valtos for last year’s festival. But this is nice, in its way. More, ah…” He glanced behind him as a group of shouting children ran past, waving sparklers at each other, and he stepped sideways to avoid being struck by one. “…rustic.”
Not wanting to give him a chance to move on to another booth, Raiya quickly gestured to the objects propped around her table and hanging from the beam above her. There were stones and bowls and necklaces and other bits and pieces, all inscribed with magic runes. “Are you interested in enchantments?”
“Who wouldn’t be?” he said, with a charming smile that dimpled his cheek. Raiya found herself smiling back. “You’re the first mage I’ve met in Frosthaven.”
“Oh, I’m not a mage.”
“You’re not?” He glanced down at the runes with disdain. “What are these, then? Fakes?”
“Oh, no, not at all. They’re real runes. I study runic languages. And enchanting, old magic, technology of the Auren-Li period—”
“So you’re an academic.”
“Well, I wouldn’t say that, exactly.”
“Why not?”
“I’ve never been to a university. Nothing formal. It’s just things I’ve picked up here and there, from books, mostly. But I’m not an expert.”
“Expert enough to do all this, evidently.”
“Yes,” she said, allowing herself a little pride. “I made everything here myself.”
He raised an eyebrow. “But they don’t actually work?”
Her pride vanished as quickly as it had appeared. “No, not exactly. But they would, if you put some magic in them. That’s why the runes don’t glow. They’ve got no power.” She cleared her throat. “I like to think of them as art pieces, sort of. Like you’d put in a museum, maybe.” It sounded stupid, and she tried not to cringe. As if her little crafts were museum worthy. “When I was young, my mother had an enchanted necklace that could turn you completely invisible for a short while. I was always fascinated by it. I’ve always loved everything about runes and enchanting. The magic, the artistry, the research that goes into them. But I can’t use magic, so I just do the part that I’m able to.”
The man seemed disappointed. She sensed she was about to lose another sale. But even more than that, she was annoyed at herself for not having been able to hold this interesting stranger’s attention. “They make very unique gifts,” she said. “Great for collectors of oddities. And they will work if you just get a mage to charge them. I guarantee it.”
He smiled again, to her relief. “Of course.” He glanced down at the table and then picked up the item closest to him—a shaft of white crystal inscribed with a complex mage light enchantment. It could turn all shades of the rainbow and fill a room with swirling clouds of sparkling light and color. Theoretically. Raiya had never seen it in action. “I’ll take this.”
“Oh! That’s a fantastic choice. It’s a—”
“Is this enough?” He’d fished out a coin purse and held out several gold marks.
Raiya blinked at them. The man had more money than sense. It was almost endearing. “That’s far too much. Here.” She took one of the coins from his hand.
Before she could put it away, his hand darted out to catch her wrist. He turned her hand over and put all the coins in her palm, then closed her fingers over them. The warmth of his fingers sent tingles through her. She felt her cheeks heating.
“Can you give me one more thing?” he asked.
“What’s that?”
“Dinner with the most interesting girl in Frosthaven?” He canted his head as if to examine her a little more deeply, and there was something sultry in his eyes.
Raiya wondered whether she should be offended by his forwardness. At that moment, though, she could only feel intrigued. He was far more handsome and more polite than the last few men who’d tried to approach her. One of them had been twenty years her senior, and another had been quite drunk. There was a shortage of desirable young men in Frosthaven, to be truthful, let alone ones she had anything in common with. Most of the boys she’d grown up with had moved south when they’d gotten old enough.
The man lowered his voice conspiratorially, giving her a knowing look. “I insist you say yes. I’m so godsdamned bored of chatting about local gossip and whatnot. At least an academic might have something interesting to talk about.”
Perhaps he was a bit too candid.
Or perhaps his candidness was refreshing?
What was the harm in spending a few hours with him, anyway?
“I’m not an academic,” she said again, with a shy smile. “But I’d be pleased to share a meal with you. If you insist, that is.”
“I do.”
It was terribly romantic, really, that he’d specifically picked her out of all the other women there.
That was what she’d thought at the time.
She hadn’t found out until the next day that she’d been talking to Lord Han-gal’s son, who had recently come home after completing his education in Ardani. A whirlwind romance followed, and they’d married soon after. Nirlan’s elderly father had died another month after that, and they had inherited the castle and lordship.
“Your wife is looking lovely,as always, Nirlan.”
Raiya looked up, drawn out of her memories. The parlor was filled with two dozen or so visitors for one of Nirlan’s parties. She smiled like a mage’s golem, without real emotion, but she doubted anyone noticed the stiffness. The young man who’d spoken was a noble from a neighboring town, whose name she couldn’t be bothered to remember.
Nirlan smiled over at her as if with pride and affection, even though he’d said she was looking old shortly before they’d come out of their dressing room. “As always,” he agreed. “I caught the loveliest woman in Heilune.” He put an arm around her waist and held her against him, his hand brushing the underside of her breast in a way that definitely verged on inappropriate. Raiya saw the other man’s eyes register the touch, a combination of irritation and lust flashing on his face for a fraction of a second.
Nirlan did that whenever another man looked at her. It was a reminder to everyone that he owned her. There were no accidental movements in a room full of people like this. Everything was intentional. Everything was a message. Every seemingly innocent interaction was a subtle battle for dominance. She had learned that very quickly after she’d first arrived at the castle.
She wandered the room at Nirlan’s side while he gossiped and laughed with other important people in extravagant clothing. There were wealthy sun elves from Ysura, a famous artist from distant ra’Hezirat, even a politician from Valtos. Nirlan only befriended important people. Or, in her case, people he found attractive.
“You have quite a book collection,” an older man commented. Raiya’s eyes reluctantly tracked over the shelves on the wall. The books were covered in dust, unused and forgotten for a long time now. A few of her old rune-inscribed items sat beside them like bookends. She hadn’t been able to find the desire to create anything for many months now.
“My wife fancies herself an academic,” Nirlan said with a smirk.
“Ah,” the man said, looking at Raiya skeptically. “It’s good for a lady to have something to keep herself occupied.”
Raiya smiled blandly.
Midway through the evening, a hooded figure weaved through the crowd toward them. Nirlan sighed when he saw him.
The hooded man was Eunaios, Nirlan’s assistant. He was a mage and a member of the cult of Moratha—the goddess of death—which had been growing in influence in Uulantaava over the last few years. Nirlan had hired him several months ago, and now Raiya understood why. There were not many people who knew how to properly summon and bind a demon, and those who did were usually of questionable repute.
“What is it?” Nirlan said impatiently. “Did I not tell you to stay out of sight?” Eunaios was a rather unattractive, uncharming middle-aged man, deathly pale and shaved bald. He had a dour disposition and a penchant for black robes, which may have been a uniform for Moratha cultists or may have just been his personal taste—Raiya wouldn’t have been surprised by either. Nirlan was happy to use him for his magic skills for as long as they could benefit from each other, but obviously he did not want the strange little man putting a damper on his fancy parties. A few of the other guests had given him odd looks as he passed.
“There’s a problem with the creature,” Eunaios said.
“What kind of problem?”
“It is unwell. You should come and see.”
“You’re telling me I should leave my own party early to dote on it because it’s not feeling well? Does the poor thing have a tummy ache? Ash and blood…”
“If we don’t give it what it needs, it could die. And then what will you do? You’ll have to find another. It would set us back weeks.”
“It can wait a few hours.”
Eunaios scowled and retreated, brushing past a group of startled sun elves on his way.
“Canthey die?” Raiya asked. She knew next to nothing about demons.
Nirlan looked down at her suddenly, as if he’d forgotten she was there. “Of course they can,” he said shortly, as if it was a stupid question.
The thought of the demon dying alone in its too-small cage was unexpectedly distressing. Did anything really deserve to die that way, even a demon?
“Perhaps you should see to it soon,” she said.
“Just enjoy the party, wife. Drink some more wine.”
For a moment, she resented the condescension. Then she decided that she could use some more to drink after all. Wine had become something of a habit of hers recently. There wasn’t much else to do in this big, lonely castle, and alcohol smoothed off the sharp edges of life.
Having been given permission, she detached herself from Nirlan’s side and went to take a glass of wine from a servant. She took a long drink, then slipped out into the hallway.
She leaned against the wall and closed her eyes, glad to be alone for a moment. Normally, she disliked the silence and solitude of the castle. But Nirlan and his friends were not the kind of company she was looking for.
“Are you all right, lady?”
Her eyes snapped open. One of Nirlan’s guests had followed her out into the dark hallway. It was the young noble who’d complimented her earlier.
“Of course,” she said. “I’m fine. Thank you. Just getting some air.”
He smiled, moving closer. “You’re not one for social events, I take it?”
“Oh, I am. I just, ah…” She didn’t fit in at these events. She didn’t know how to relate to the kinds of things that were important to Nirlan: business deals, rumors about wars brewing in faraway lands, the latest fashions from Ardani or Ysura, gossip about which notables were at odds with whom. The rest of the people here had gone to elite schools all across the continent to learn about these things and connect with other people like themselves. Raiya had spent her childhood running through town unsupervised, swimming in rivers, and reading whatever affordable secondhand books she’d managed to find. When she’d gotten older, most of her time had been spent trying to scrape together enough coin to live on.
“You don’t get many visitors so far north, do you? Meeting so many people must be overwhelming.”
She wondered if Nirlan would be angry at her for agreeing. She had no doubt that anything she said here would get back to him. “A bit, I suppose.”
The man stood in front of her, putting her back to the wall. She saw his eyes flick briefly to her breasts, hidden beneath her dress. “How did a bastard like Nirlan get a woman like you to marry him?”
She smiled half-heartedly. “You think too highly of me, lord.”
“Not at all.” He leaned in, resting a hand against the wall above her shoulder. She stiffened. She could smell alcohol on his breath.
She tried to sidle out from under him. “I should be getting back.”
He put a hand on her waist, holding her still as he leaned even closer. “Stay here a moment.”
“My lord, I really should get back to my husband.” She tried to push him back, but he dove in, pushing her roughly against the wall as he forced his mouth over hers. His unwelcome lips may as well have been a brand burning her skin. For a moment, she was so shocked that she couldn’t move.
“Raiya,”came a sharp voice.
The noble unhurriedly dislodged himself from her. Raiya glared at him, then turned to look at Nirlan, who stood in the doorway.
“Your wife is drunk,” the man said, smirking.
“Get out,” Nirlan said.
“Come on. Don’t be that way. You knew what you were doing when you married a commoner. You can hardly complain when you got exactly the sort of woman you bargained for.”
Nirlan rapidly approached them, looking close to violence. “Get out.”
The noble raised his hands, backing away. “Apologies for the misunderstanding.” He bowed, winked at Raiya, and then left.
Nirlan turned to Raiya. He looked furious. Apoplectic.
“I didn’t do anything. He forced himself upon me,” Raiya said.
There was a tense moment of silence, and he just looked at her with hatred, seething.
Raiya instinctively took a step back. She flinched when Nirlan reached toward her, but he only grabbed her wrist, pulling her back into the room. As soon as they entered, his expression smoothed over, but his grip on her wrist was still painfully tight.
He waited until after the last visitors had left before he punished her, but not a moment longer. He stood in the middle of the parlor with his foot tapping, waiting until the servants had left and they were alone. It didn’t take long. The servants in the household were as adept at judging his moods as Raiya was. They all knew to avoid him when he was like this.
“I didn’t see you trying to stop him,” he said.
“I did try. You’re reacting exactly as he wanted you to, Nirlan. He did it just to upset you. This is a petty men’s quarrel. Don’t—”
He slapped her, his hand swinging so hard and fast that she didn’t realize it was coming until after it had happened. She bent over, pressing a hand to her face in shock as her eyes reflexively teared up. It had been a while since he’d hurt her physically, but she remembered this feeling very well. The shock. The betrayal. The humiliation. They all hurt much worse than the slap itself.
“You let him make a fool of me. I suppose I should be grateful that you at least waited until you were out of sight, rather than letting him fondle you in front of the whole room.”
She focused on wiping the startled tears from her cheeks. Whatever she said, it would only anger him further.
“Useless,” he spat.
She thought he was going to hit her again, but then the door opened. It was Eunaios.
“What?” Nirlan snapped.
Eunaios raised his sparse eyebrows, folding his hands primly into the sleeves of his robe. “The demon.”
Nirlan cursed under his breath.
“If you fail to keep it healthy, you’ll lose it.”
“Yes, I know.” He glanced up at Raiya, studied her for a moment, then grabbed her arm to drag her along with them. “I expect you to make this up to me,” he said to her. She thought it best not to reply.