Chapter Sixteen
THE SPY
Korin requested to meet right outside the city walls. I neared the stables where I’d left my mare as early morning fog hovered above the swaying grasses. I kept my burgundy cloak tied securely to ward off the chill.
Two women, Korin, and two other children clustered in the distance. When she spotted me, Korin waved her hand in the air, as if I wasn’t plainly walking in her direction. Her long sleeves billowed with the effort. The sight made the corner of my mouth twitch. Gods, she was disarming.
The two adults stepped forward. The one with wavy, brown hair extended her hand in greeting, the other had thick raven hair pulled back in a collection of small braids with crystal beads woven through them and eyed me suspiciously.
“I’m Sonora. Korin warned me she had invited a friend; she was excited to have you join us this morning.
” Her soft tone belied the quiet strength with which she held herself.
She gestured to her raven companion. “This is Xuri. She and her students will be practicing their craft as well.” They both exchanged amused smiles.
“Thank you for allowing me to tag along. I couldn’t resist Miss Korin’s compelling invitation,” I offered.
Korin smiled in triumph at having coaxed me into joining her magic practice. After the introductions, we carved a path through the trees.
I peered over at Korin, “You never told me what kind of magic you have.”
She flashed a mischievous grin, “You’ll just have to see for yourself.”
We hiked through the brush for about twenty minutes, Korin skipping along, humming. She broke the silence. “What does Rue stand for anyway? Is that what your parents named you?” Her nose scrunched at the idea.
I chuckled at her directness. “It’s a nickname. Only my good friends call me that. Do you have a nickname?” I replied, winking at her.
“I have a few nicknames,” she responded before resuming her skipping.
We came to a clearing dotted with wildflowers.
The rustle of grasses blended with the cawing of distant birds.
Xuri gathered her two students and wandered further into the trees.
Korin, Sonora, and I stood in the middle of a field—trees encircled us like eager spectators around our wildflower arena.
I eyed them speculatively, wondering if a dryad observed us.
“Okay, Korin,” encouraged Sonora. “You can do this. Channel your power into moving everything in this clearing in a clockwise direction. Just like last time. Find the core of your magic and mold it to your will. Are you ready?”
Korin nodded, shutting her eyes tight. She slowed her breathing and I noted her aura calming.
It shifted from an excited magenta to a softer lilac.
Her head cocked to the side and all childishness vanished with her concentration.
Her eyes jolted open and she narrowed them toward the trees in front of her.
Vibrations stole up my calves as the ground rumbled, pebbles quivering. Suddenly, the land rotated. The trees themselves did not move, but the meadow we were standing in did, like some kind of possessed wagon wheel. My knees wobbled as a rasping yelp escaped me.
“You have land magic!” I sputtered.
Korin turned toward me, her face shining with elation.
She waggled her eyebrows, reminding me she was just a child who was having fun.
The thought of this girl wielding such a rare gift left me speechless.
She was a wonder. A pang from somewhere old surfaced in my chest, the thought of what I could have been like had I been surrounded with loving, supportive adults knocked into my lungs.
Who would I have been if I could have learned my magic without restraint or fear of punishment?
I stuffed it away as quickly as it came.
Sonora broke in, “I am a Land Prime. I have expertise in rocks and other earth formations like mountains and canyons. I assist Korin in appropriately harnessing her power. She specializes in tectonics. But”—she sent a reproachful look toward Korin—“sometimes she overdoes it and faces the consequences.”
As if on cue, Korin wobbled, reaching out for Sonora. She dropped to her knees, leaning over to regain her balance. Sonora observed her.
“She doesn’t reabsorb after wielding like she should.
It’s her biggest liability. Since her magic is tethered to earth, she will lose her own groundedness.
She becomes disoriented, losing her balance; at her worst, she faints.
It’s why I practice with her often. Land magic is very powerful and easily lost. She must draw it back into herself at much the same rate she expels it. ”
She crouched down next to Korin, stroking her back and moving hair out of her face.
She spoke low, soft words to her. I stilled, observing them anew.
Sonora was an actual Prime. My mouth went dry.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
I didn’t try to siphon their conversation with my magic, giving them, and me, a moment to recalibrate.
Slowly, Korin stood up, a clammy sheen to her smooth skin. She surveyed the area, frowning. We had rotated, but not the direction she intended. The trees were still within eyesight. She huffed and decided to try again. This time I stepped closer, just in case her loss of magic overcame her.
“I’m gonna move the trees,” she mumbled with fervor.
Reminiscent of my experience in the Yaritian forest with Bex, the ground rumbled beneath me and tree roots writhed beneath the soil.
Dust and debris kicked up from the forest floor.
The gnarled observers glided and shifted around us.
The movement persisted for several seconds.
I couldn’t tell if the land was moving the trees, or the trees themselves had uprooted, fleeing as if suddenly alive.
“Use the earth to reabsorb Korin!” Sonora urged.
Korin inhaled deeply, closing her eyes once more. A few more seconds passed. When they reopened, she jumped in the air, fist pumping as she did so. A bark of laughter escaped me, celebration filling my bones. “Look what you did! That was amazing!”
The earth continued shaking, and her eyes widened.
We all lost our balance as an earthquake rattled the ground.
Sonora yelled something about plate tectonics and aftershocks.
Korin fell into me. The sleeve of her shirt bunched up at the elbow, exposing her forearm.
My eyes settled on a small tattoo. Of a red wolf.
My breath stalled in my chest. Iron fear sank heavy and absolute. My mind reeled.
It couldn’t be.
“Korin.” I willed my voice into calm curiosity. My heart pounded in my ears. My palms turned clammy. “That’s a unique tattoo you have.”
She glanced up. “I just got it.” She gestured toward the tattoo, “Some people call me the Crimson Wolf.” Her innocent eyes blinked up at me. “It’s one of my nicknames,” she added as an afterthought.
My stomach dropped. My ears rang in violent protest. Consuming dread filled the space where my previous elation leaked out.
“Rue?” asked Korin. She jumped up as the aftershocks downgraded to gentle vibrations. “Are you okay?”
“No,” I whispered. “It cannot be.” I looked around wildly. Sonora’s brow furrowed in concern. “Give me a minute.”
Korin backed up and walked over to Sonora.
Korin was the Crimson Wolf. She had the tattoo, the nickname, and the land magic to redirect Berine supplies.
But she was barely of age, hardly a teenager.
If I was to live, if I was to have a chance at a future, I had to kill her.
I reached for my dagger, my fingers curling around the familiar hilt.
I could make it quick and portal immediately back to Haluma.
My body crept toward the cliff of hyperventilating. My deepest values held my actions in a chokehold, refusing to align with the logic of my choices.
The familiar iron cage of entrapment closed in. Like the stone room I was “disciplined” in all those years ago. Like the steel cell they locked me in as an orphan. Like the gilded bars that detained my deepest fears. I closed my eyes, sipping shallow breaths of air.
How could I live with myself if I murdered her? She reminded me of Delah. She reminded me of me. Or at least the me I could have been, that I would have hoped to become. It wasn’t her fault she was born with this magic.
But if I didn’t, I would be a traitor to Haluma. Did I even have a choice?
“Rue? Are you okay? Can I get you some water?” This was Sonora now. I nodded, even though I could pull water out of the air. It would buy me some time.
I have always worked twice as hard to be the best soldier, to prove myself. Twice as hard to emerge at the top for the chance to steer the ship of my future. I survived my father. I survived as an orphan. I survived the training to become the Scourge.
My mind oscillated between my white-knuckled past and my quickly crumbling future. I knew what awaited Korin if I brought her back to Haluma. I couldn’t do that to her. I couldn’t be the weapon that stole her light.
I couldn’t do it.
I released my hold on the hilt. My mind stumbled through this new predicament. I would be committing treason. The Good King would hunt me, would drain me. And if Delah’s words held any merit, he would do it with the very drug that destroyed my parents and my life.
I could trade my soul to become a dreki and gain significant power. But power was never my goal. If I killed Korin, I’d be trading my soul in a different way—one I wouldn’t recover from.
King Nolan had faith in me, and I would let him down. That realization hurt the most. Yet, the cost of betraying myself was something I wasn’t willing to pay. Never again. Resolve hardened within me even as a piece of me died.
A flash of black caught in my periphery. I looked up just in time to see the last of the scales clicking into place. Two drekis emerged from the trees, prowling in our direction. I immediately recognized Wes and Belham. I nodded toward them, but they ignored me. Alarm heightened my senses.
“Guys.” I gestured toward Sonora and Korin, my voice trembling. “Get away from here. Now!”
Korin stared at me in confusion and then her attention pulled swiftly away, searching the oncoming enemy, freezing at the sight of the drekis. Their eyes held a hypnotic quality that stunned most people for a few seconds.
Belham’s eyes darted to me in surprise, quickly morphing into revulsion. “I knew you were weak. I didn’t expect you to betray your own, though. Nolan was wise to do what he did, he must have known.”
I scrambled to my feet, bolting toward them. Wes lunged at the same time. I summoned my blade and deflected his as it swung through the air in a swift downward arc. Korin and Sonora were outfitted with nothing more than daggers. Their defenses meager against the power of the drekis.
Jagged rocks exploded out of the earth all around us. I hoped it wasn’t Korin, or we would be carrying her out of the forest unconscious.
Belham’s stinger lengthened from his extended hand into an angry wayward claw. His attention focused solely on Korin. They knew. I discharged my magic to fortify an encasement around Korin and Sonora, willing the barrier of thick ice to become impenetrable.
I fragmented my power between myself and Korin, never entertaining the idea that my connection to these dreki could be the reason harm befell them.
Belham shrieked as he witnessed the barrier, understanding the impotence of his power against my affinity.
His stinger dripped with anticipation, salivating for its prey.
Wes needed to touch his victim to incite hallucinations, or remove memories.
My ice sword cut through the air in Wes’s direction. His movements came swift, closing the space between us. He drew his blade and lunged. Flecks of gold reflected off the shards of ice that scattered in the air with every hit and deflection.
In the midst of the battle, a nagging thought burst forth: how did they know where I’d be? A wave of dizziness enveloped me. I licked chapped lips with a dry tongue. My depletion demanded repayment.
Korin yelled in my direction but her words fell unregistered, her voice muffled by the ice encasing her. Wes steadily pushed me backward. Awareness withered as I began fighting primarily from muscle memory rather than conscious thought. Failing to replenish my magic, I faltered.
“Get over here! Get closer to us!” Korin’s voice broke through the melee.
I ducked, narrowly missing Wes’s blade. I swung my leg out, but he dodged it just as easily.
We had been sparring partners for years, both knowing each other’s moves and defenses.
Deftly, I yanked out a dagger and threw it at him.
He pivoted, but not before it lodged into his shoulder.
He hissed at me as he paused to pull it out. It barely pierced through his scales.
Gifted precious seconds, I rushed toward the ice barrier.
Sonora motioned purposefully with her hand.
A thrum rippled through the air before a thunderous sound brought me to my knees.
The land rapidly cracked, violently separating.
The deafening sound of rocks breaking accompanied plumes of dirt that exploded into the morning air, obscuring the landscape in a thick haze.
Belham jumped, forced to retreat from the onslaught of cracked earth and protruding boulders. Monoliths angled toward his body, seething in their desire to impale. The calm morning fog now displaced with the murkiness of dust and disturbed earth.
A chasm carved a circle around Wes and Belham, stranding them upon a shrinking island. They were unable to cross the ravine Sonora summoned. My gaze locked on Belham. His responding smile, imbued with a disturbed knowing, made me falter.
He turned his back to me, forming a portal on their magicked prison. It was the last thing I saw before a sharp pain lanced through my body. I clawed at my ear, my throat. Pain blinded me. I collapsed, my body seizing in response. A scream tore through my lungs, emptying me of all thought.
Then everything faded to soothing black.