Chapter 36
Orra shut the door on the eastern garden where Felk and Lilik settled with the other winex. She leaned her forehead against the door, wondering if it was worth keeping them here when they grew more discontented.
The braid on her wrist hummed ever so slightly, and she stilled. Had Mayvus crossed the barrier again? But it felt different, more distant. She smiled softly.
No. This was a different starbridge. She supposed Gaeren could be holding the arrow, but something about this felt different.
New.
A year ago she would have known exactly which starbridge and where it was held. While the weakness concerned her, it also gave her hope that her search was coming to an end. That with the end of her magic, she would finally fulfill the Sun’s prophetic words.
A growl pulled her from her satisfaction, and she opened her eyes to find a straggler from the winex clan crouched by the door, waiting for her to move. At least he hadn’t snapped at her. She sighed and opened the door, stepping aside so he could go through to the garden.
A dozen or so had left with this last cycle. The memories Emeris had given Felk apparently weren’t strong enough for him to be confident in their ties to the people. It would break Aeliana’s heart if she came back and Felk was gone, but he wasn’t a pet for them to keep on a leash.
Twelve days into this new cycle and they’d finally made it through their most rebellious stage. Still, Orra fully expected another dozen or more to leave.
Shouts echoed down the hall as she shut the door once more.
If she hadn’t just watched the winex all settle in to sleep for the day, she would have assumed they were causing trouble again.
She followed the sound, wondering if it was possible that General Nels’ scouts had returned early. But this would be far too early.
She quickened her pace, tempted to unfurl the tendrils of her magic that had been growing in the last moon.
The quiet and rest had been good for her, even if feeling blind without using her magic had left her on edge.
She wasn’t sure it could ever be what it had been, but it was returning.
Even so, it wasn’t enough for her to waste on something as trivial as seeking the future she was about to experience.
When she rounded the corner to enter the main hall, a fire blazed in the hearth, giving light to the pockets of soldiers gathered around on their day off.
The rest were out guarding the fortress or rebuilding the ramparts, but these soldiers weren’t all relaxing.
Several of them stood on tiptoe, trying to catch sight of who was coming through the main entrance.
Gullet flew past and up into the rafters, where he anxiously hopped side to side.
When the crowd parted, Orra glimpsed Emeris, her face unusually bright.
She had been growing stronger too, but this lightness had nothing to do with her magic.
Behind her, a man with shorn hair and tattoos on his hands followed, his face far wearier.
His years rested somewhere between Aeliana and Emeris, too old or young to be either’s contemporary.
“Marnok’s back,” Orra breathed out.
Rildan brought up the rear, ushering them both through the crowd and instructing people to give them space.
“Orra,” Emeris called. “Come to my sitting room so we can hear about Marnok’s travels.”
Without her meaning it to, Orra’s magic stretched out toward Marnok, snatching up snippets of furious witches and calculating sprites. Her eyebrows rose. “I wouldn’t miss it.”
Despite the lack of trust Emeris had shown for General Nels, he’d been invited too.
But this time he came alone. Rildan and Emeris took a seat on her settee, hands clasped as Emeris beamed at Marnok, who looked unsettled on the chair across from them.
General Nels opted to remain standing by the door, arms crossed.
Perhaps he viewed himself as some sort of guard.
Or perhaps that was just his preferred stance.
Orra pulled up a chair next to Marnok, giving him a smile. “It’s good to see you. I hope you’ve come to terms with who you are.”
A flicker of surprise crossed his face. “Did you know all along?”
Orra lifted her shoulder noncommittally. “Only bits and pieces. Enough. If I haven’t shared it with anyone yet, I have no reason to start now.”
He nodded but still shot Emeris a nervous glance.
“Tell us about the witches,” Emeris prodded.
“Yes, the witches.” Marnok took a deep breath, wiping his palms on his trousers. “It turns out they have about as much love for the Wyndrens as the Elanesses do.” He smiled wryly. “And now they hate me just as much.”
Emeris’ eyes held compassion. “I’m so sorry.”
General Nels shifted from his place at the door. “Why would you be sorry?”
She and Marnok exchanged guilty looks.
“Because my mother is a witch.” Marnok’s words held no pride, but there was a hint of defensive disdain.
“We can’t choose whom we’re born to,” Emeris said.
“I take it you told them you’re a friend of the Wyndrens?” Orra asked.
Marnok sighed. “Not at first. When Emeris showed me what she could of my past”—he glanced at the high priestess, uncertainty in his eyes—“I knew I not only needed to face my origins, but I had to do it in secret. On top of being born to one of the highest witches, I was raised with purpose. I was sent to infiltrate the Wyndren household. My mother wanted me to end their line.”
Rildan’s grip tightened on Emeris’ hand, but he didn’t seem surprised.
“And yet…you didn’t.” Orra smiled. He’d left out half the story. She suspected everyone in the room knew what he’d left out, except for General Nels. There was no need to make him spill everything. The full truth would come with time.
“I didn’t. Perhaps I left the witches with the intention of doing just that.
Or maybe I never fully believed in my mother’s obsession.
Emeris’ memories can’t tell me those parts of my story.
But in the end, I trusted Emeris over my mother.
” He glanced at Emeris. “Or at least her memories of me suggest that.”
“Then why bother going back?” General Nels asked.
“When I was healing Emeris, her wounds would grow worse, like she was gaining new ones. She told me it was because Mayvus was gaining new ones from Durriken.”
“You believed me about the curse because you could see it happening.” Emeris’ eyes clouded over.
“I thought I would die from those wounds. It probably wasn’t fair for me to give you so many memories at once.
It was too much. But I was afraid I wouldn’t have another chance.
I knew you were the only one who would take my suspicions seriously.
That you were the only one who could find out if Mayvus and I had been cursed by the witches. ”
“So you went to the witches,” Orra mused, “pretending you still intended to end the Wyndren line?”
Marnok nodded. “I was only able to stay with them for a couple of weeks, and it was difficult to learn much. They spent so much time with their rituals, and while I wasn’t forced to participate, even watching for the sake of maintaining my supposed allegiance was hard to stomach.
” He shuddered, and Orra’s own past experiences with the witches rose to the surface, leaving her uneasy.
They may worship the Stars, but that hadn’t stopped them from poisoning her, bleeding her, and abusing her for their own nefarious purposes.
The dark spirits had hovered, constantly waiting for their feeding frenzy, leaving a persistent blackness that had drained her of hope.
It had been one of the darkest seasons of her existence.
“Did they question your story?” Emeris asked, her careful words leaving much unsaid.
Marnok shrugged. “They’ve seen Mayvus’ rise to power.
They knew I had my work cut out for me. But they seemed satisfied with the fact that Mayvus had been dragged off by Durriken and you were near death when I left.
I told them I felt like my mission had been accomplished.
Even so, I wasn’t able to gain any understanding of why I was given the mission in the first place. ”
“So you think the witches cursed the Wyndren family?” General Nels asked, eager, as always, to get to the main point.
“I doubt it.” Marnok’s brow furrowed. “Why would they have sent me after Emeris and Mayvus if they’d already successfully cursed them?”
“Maybe they cursed them after you left,” Rildan suggested.
Marnok frowned. “Maybe. Whether they did the cursing or not, I feel like they know something about it. When I didn’t have bodies to show them as proof, they seemed strangely certain the Wyndrens were already doomed in some way.
I just couldn’t tell if that was their overconfidence in some measure they’ve taken or if it was because they knew of some other endgame that was already in place. ”
General Nels made a frustrated sound in the back of his throat. “That’s all you discovered in two weeks with them?”
Emeris shot him a disapproving glare. “He risked his life to go back to people who would kill him if they knew where his true loyalties lie. I’m grateful he was cautious enough to get out safely.”
“They grew suspicious after a while,” Marnok admitted.
“My mother asked me things about my childhood that I couldn’t remember.
Even though I told her I’d had memory loss, I think it scared her.
I assume she’d rather eliminate a possible asset than set loose a suspected traitor.
” He shuddered. “I barely escaped. It’s likely I would have been their next sacrifice to the Stars if I hadn’t sensed the change in my mother. ”
“What change?” Rildan asked.
“She almost grew…sentimental. She may be a witch, and I may have been her pawn, but she loved me at one time. In her own twisted way.” His jaw tightened.
Emeris reached across the space between them, patting his hand. “The others have gone hunting for the starbridges. They’re going to see Pacran.”
“No,” Rildan corrected gently. “They’re headed for Paelen’s waters to seek out the Sayhleens and find Lady Merinnia. If anyone knows about a curse or a prophecy or something that binds you to Mayvus, she will.”
Emeris frowned, her eyes clouding over. “I could have sworn…”
Rildan and Marnok exchanged a curt glance.
“Either way,” Emeris continued. “We won’t make you go back to the witches.”
His shoulders slumped, making Orra aware of just how tense he’d been. There was far more to his story. And perhaps he would share it all at some point. But it was clear he still wasn’t ready to reveal his secrets.
“You’ve been gone far more than two weeks,” General Nels pointed out. “Even with travel time. That can’t be all you did.”
“This isn’t an interrogation, General,” Emeris said. “I invited you here as a courtesy and out of respect for the ways you’ve protected us. But there’s no need to put him on trial.”
Marnok held up a hand. “It’s all right. He’s being thorough. I would ask the same questions if I were him.”
Orra licked her lips, already knowing part of his answer. “You went to see the sprites,” she said.
“No,” Emeris said. “He wouldn’t—” She cut off as they all took in the guilt on Marnok’s face.
“I went there—not to seek a deal, but to verify why I went there in the first place.”
“In the first place?” General Nels asked.
“The first memory I have is from that cave. It only makes sense that I made some sort of deal with them, and the price was my memory.” He glanced at Emeris, his need for her approval or forgiveness written in the raw emotion on his face.
“You were desperate,” Emeris whispered.
He nodded. “And as much as I don’t care to admit it, the sprites gave me what I wanted.” He squeezed his eyes shut. “I’m not sure I regret it.”
Emeris sighed and sat back in her chair, her face uncertain for the first time since Marnok had started his story.
This time, Marnok reached across the space between them and squeezed Emeris’ hand. Her gaze went blank, and Orra sensed she was receiving memories from Marnok, secrets he wasn’t willing to share out loud, whether it was because of General Nels’ presence or Orra’s and Rildan’s.
She itched to seek out the information on her own.
Her magic flowed not just in her blood, but in her very skin and hair.
Every bit of her tingled with the opportunity to stretch out her power and draw in the information she sought.
But even if she was willing to waste the magic she’d slowly regained, Marnok wanted to keep those memories private for a reason, and she would not interfere.
Emeris blinked back tears and nodded. “You’ve sacrificed so much. I can’t judge you for your choices. It’s between you and the Sun.”
He smiled, his lips wavering, and dropped her hand. “Thank you.”
Emeris’ gaze remained distant, and Orra feared she was falling back in the past once more, giving in to the safety of her memories instead of the unknowns of the present. Rildan nudged her, likely having the same suspicions. Emeris blinked and sat straighter, clearing her throat.
“And what about the witches?” General Nels asked. “How big of a threat are they to the Wyndrens?”
Marnok gave a short laugh. “If Mayvus survived a dragon attack, then I’d say we have far bigger things to worry about. Maybe we can let the witches and Mayvus go at each other while we quietly find the starbridges.”
A small smile crossed Emeris’ face, one that Orra tried to mirror for Marnok’s sake, but she felt the fear behind his words. They weren’t through with the witches yet.