Chapter 15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
The key has been stolen. Rumor has it Nyxteria landed in the Land of Light and Life.
—Correspondence from Sea Spear to White Hawk.
Anxiety snaked its way through my chest as I was ushered into the Gilded Fortress. Hours after Kresida escorted Bayne to the castle, I’d received the same summons.
A long, round table glimmered like a mirror in the middle of the room, cut from the center of a massive tree, hundreds of rings spiraling into its center.
Ronan and his two commanding officers sat across from Isla and Bayne, whose eyes found mine immediately.
I scanned the room for Vulcan and Drystan, but no sign. I slid into a chair next to Nerissa.
Bayne’s gaze held mine for a mere moment, his face tight as he let a glimmer of feeling slip past the wall he’d thrown up.
Warning.
He threw it back up as he pulled his gaze to the golden-haired queen seated at the head of the table. Ronan and Isla met my eyes, and though I didn’t share that intimate conscious connection with them, wariness hung in their gazes.
Across the hall, three mystics entered, one I recognized from the Eye of the Wood.
I scanned his eyes, searching for that unsettling bit of living silver, but found none as he took his seat.
Behind him, Khato, the master of spells, shuffled in, giving me a soft smile.
I returned it as best I could, despite the unease pitting in my stomach.
A moment later, Carina quietly entered from a door in the back and scurried into the waiting chair.
She kept her brilliant Ravindra gaze down, not daring a look at the others.
It was hard to believe Carina came from the same family as any of the commanding elves in the room.
The petite elf glanced at me beneath her round spectacles before they darted to her mother.
“I’ve gathered you all here, as I have important news to share for the future of the Rising,” Queen Antares began, her eyes sliding to Ronan.
“My scouts report that the waters of the Juniper Sea have finally begun to calm after the unprecedented Sending. They may not yet be safe for the Sultiran ships that carried you here from Odessa, but we’ve made a few successful passes with Lotrennian ships to the southern coast.”
The crew of the Evecta straightened in their seats, and my heart quickened in my chest at the information. If Lotrennian ships could make it, the Evecta would have no trouble at all. I glanced at Ronan, noting the flare of hope in his eyes.
“That being said, I’m unable to spare the ships needed to carry all of the Rising forces back to Sultira.”
“Why?” Isla blurted out.
“The dark king sails for Northern Lotrennia,” the queen responded, leveling a hard gaze at Bayne.
“We must send enough forces to prevent him from moving troops inland,” Queen Antares continued, “Ashen and ground troops alike. I will not risk the lives of Lotrennians to simply transport your forces back.”
The mystics nodded to each other, glancing briefly at the commanders.
“My scouts also report Rising forces gather in Southern Sultira,” she continued, nodding to Ronan.
I blinked. How had she gathered this information? Ronan searched her eyes, as if wondering the same thing.
“I sent aid to the Rising at Odessa, as requested by Commander Merik, and offered you sanctuary here in my home. We saved all of you.” She stressed the last words, eyes snapping to mine before pulling back to the rest of the group. “I’ve gathered you here to call in the debt that is owed.”
My stomach churned. I hadn’t thought about this… That she would demand something in return. I glanced at Ronan from across the table, his face lightening a shade as his azure eyes met mine. Though Bayne still held the curtain tight against our connection, I could sense a quiet wrath rising in him.
“Before I go into details about what I require, I have news to share that I think will be of some value to this group. Rumor has spread through Aedrialis that Queen Galena is with child.”
Dread unfurled in my chest. If rumor had already spread in Aedrialis… The queen’s eyes slid to my own, before looking at Ronan.
Color leached from the ex-queensguard’s face, horror rippling off his shoulders. Nerissa stiffened next to me, though she didn’t let a wink of emotion shatter her disinterested countenance. He should have told them. Gods, I tried to tell him.
Ronan’s commanders shifted, angling themselves toward their leader. They both knew Ronan’s true connection to the queen, the reason he’d tried to rush the attack on Aedrialis last spring.
“And as you all know,” the queen continued, smiling at the tension she’d spun through the room, “wives and children of King Saros typically don’t last long.”
Ronan clasped his hands together, trying his best to keep them from shaking. Isla’s movement was barely perceptible as her arm slid closer to his. She knew he needed contact, needed someone to keep him grounded and remind him our salvation lay in the enemy’s hands.
“Saros will be distracted in the coming months. All the more reason for the Rising to attack soon.” She nodded toward the Rising commanders.
“Based on the numbers reported, we feel confident we can beat Daimos back in the coming months. I am willing to send Lotrennian ships to escort the Rising troops back to Sultira, to reconvene with the rest of the Rising as soon as the Bonder retrieves the next Bellator Bone.”
Silence rippled as all eyes in the room slid to where I sat. I stared at the queen, letting the debt I was to pay settle in my bones. I glanced at Ronan, his brows angling upward in a pinched apology.
“Dark King Daimos has the Ramadiel Bone,” Isla cut through the silence. “Are you suggesting we try to sail to Nivis while he attacks our shores?”
The queen’s eyes didn’t leave my own as she shook her head, the soft curls bouncing at her shoulders. “That’s not the bone I’m talking about.”
The others stirred. She nodded to Carina from across the table. The petite elf stood and hurried to the corner of the room, where she picked up a handful of scrolls.
My stomach dropped as I took in their caramel hue, my mind spinning back to Enya’s burial chamber. She placed the scrolls on the table, reverently unrolling the first to reveal the map, the original map from the excavation.
My palms pressed against the smooth table as I leaned forward. How did they get these? Carina’s eyes flitted to my own as she pulled out a second scroll, one I hadn’t seen before, and laid it next to the map.
“A key to the map,” she began, her voice small and meager compared to the commanding presence of her mother, “to the location of the burial chambers of the other Bellators.”
Silence cleaved the room. No one dared a breath as they gaped at the small elf who adjusted her spectacles. A key. I hadn’t even considered what else the map might be showing. I shrank as the magnitude of this missing piece hit me.
Queen Antares’s pink lips twisted, delighting in the unease settling among the group. “We believe there is a burial site marked here, in the Death Dunes,” she said, motioning to the ancient scroll.
Hushed murmurs spread through the table as I eyed the Death Dunes, the land north of Sultira, uninhabitable due to the frigid temperatures and unforgiving land.
Miles of tundra and snow stretched across the continent, even during the heart of summer.
No plants were known to grow in the area, and the only beasts ever seen were the terrifying dune runners—reptilian-looking wolves that devoured anything landing on their shores. The perfect hiding place.
“Commander Merik,” the queen said at last, turning to Ronan. “You promised me access to Bellatorian powers to at last put an end to Dark King Daimos if aid came to the Rising.”
Ronan grimaced as he nodded. “Access…yes. But that was before the return of the Bellators. Before Lyvia claimed the power and it became a part of her. Lyvia is not under my command.”
The queen’s eyes narrowed as she glanced at me.
“We may not be bound by an air oath, Commander, but a promise sworn to an ally in a time of war is as binding as one. I require access to the Bonder’s powers.
When Lyvia returns with the bone of power that’s hidden in the Death Dunes, I will escort your forces back to continue the fight. ”
I shifted in my seat, mind racing. Bayne said we needed to prepare, that we needed more power. I could do this. I could find the bone… I’d always had a way of finding the dead. And with the vast nothingness of the Death Dunes, I had no doubt I’d be able to pick up the pulse of power.
“You will leave at dawn, while the Juniper Sea is trekkable, as we don’t know how long that will last. We’ll spare one ship to retrieve the bone for Lotrennia, while our others will sail north to defend against Daimos.”
My throat bobbed. Nausea churned as I thought of a bone of power in the hands of the queen, but what choice did I have? She remained standing, awaiting my response. I eyed Bayne, waiting for his easy confidence I’d become so used to, but was met with a blank look.
“If I’m to locate this burial site and find the bone,” I finally said, meeting the queen’s stare without flinching, “then I choose the crew I’m to sail with.”
The edges of the queen’s lips tilted. “Of course,” she purred. “You may choose a handful of companions.”
“Okay,” I conceded, an uneasy bitterness sweeping over me. I would do this one thing to get the Rising forces back to Sultira. To end King Saros. To save Queen Galena and her unborn child. To stop the tribute and turn our forces back to the true enemy in the north.
“There is the matter of your agreement, however.” The queen’s lips spread into a wide smile as her gaze bore into me. “My requirement with the Transcindiel and Obscura powers. You agreed to eight training sessions before the end of summer. With your departure, Tiberius will need to remain behind.”
I blinked. Leave Tiberius here? My head shook in denial and my stomach pitched as the words settled in.
“An oath is an oath, Bonder,” the queen crooned.
“You’re bound by your breath. And you don’t have much of a choice unless you’re ready to forfeit the Rising’s alliance with the elves.
Think about what’s most important. Think about those you left behind in Sultira, in Kayj.
Rising forces need to return home. We need the next bone of power or elves and humans will continue to suffer under the cruelty of the kings.
Surely, the two of you can spend a few months apart and reunite stronger than ever. ”
Fuck. We needed to discuss this in private. I stood, darkness clouding my veins, ready to leave. The others followed suit and began to shuffle out. Bayne’s steadying hand slid to my lower back as we reached the back of the room.
“One more thing to note,” the queen purred from behind, still standing at the head of the table.
“Assuming Khato’s most recent revelation proves true, should Bayne accept my offer, not only will we ferry the Rising forces to Sultiran shores upon Lyvia’s return, but fifteen thousand Lotrennian soldiers will accompany them in an alliance to aid in dethroning Saros. ”
Bayne’s hand froze on my back.