Chapter 47
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
The snake has been caged, though it took a great deal of his power. The king is weak.
Although Tiberius had rescued me from the wild swells of the Thandal Sea, our midnight escape from the Hydra did little to prevent me from drowning in my own mortification.
Back in his freshly laundered sea blue coat, Astraeus stalked to where I stood the next morning, cornering me with an icy gaze.
“I’ll say this once. I don’t take kindly to people prying their way into my mind,” he seethed, his eyes darkening in threat.
The phantom intrusion of the Stone Witch’s cackle pricked against my mind, an eerie reminder of her power. I was not her.
I opened my mouth to protest.
His voice lowered further. “From now on, you stay the fuck away. We interact only when needed. You do it again, I’ll find a way to end you. Air oath be damned.”
I bared my teeth at his threat. “I had nothing to do with that dream. I abhorred it as much as you did. Probably more.”
His dark eyes narrowed before dipping to my lips. “I doubt that very much. You may get the fuck off my ship whenever you’re ready.”
He turned, his blue coat floating in the breeze, dismissing me.
My blood raged. “You do not give me orders, Astraeus.”
He stopped for a moment, turning as if he would say more, anger rippling off his powerful shoulders as Tiberius hammered down the center of the main deck. A muscle tensed in Astraeus’s jaw, and I gave him a cocky grin as I stepped past without another word.
Ready?
Ti snorted in reply.
Vulcan cocked a blonde brow at me in question as I approached, and I shook my head. He gave Evony a leg up onto Ti's back.
“I’ll send horses for you. Expect them by tomorrow morning,” I said to Vulcan as he handed me my bow and quiver. I slung them over the twin blades strapped to my back.
Vienah stepped forward in a dusty mauve travel dress.
“You’re sure you’re okay staying on board for another day or two?” I asked.
Vienah nodded, a hint of pink rouging her cheeks. “I’m safe here,” she murmured, glancing at Astraeus’s cabin before turning to me.
“Clear skies for your journey.” She smiled. “I should be able to keep the clouds off for a few hours. Will that be enough?”
I nodded my thanks. “It will. Thank you.”
“Be careful, Lyvia,” she said. “You don’t want to scare them too much.”
Vulcan slid his gaze to her, his brows angling downward in his usual frown. Vienah did her best not to balk under his stare but averted her eyes and reached for my hand, giving it a squeeze in farewell.
“Careful with him,” I warned her again, guilt slamming into my chest at the images my stupid mind had conjured in the middle of the night.
She rolled her eyes and smiled. “Kellan’s not what you think he is.” Her lashes fluttered before she floated to the pirate lord at the helm.
“She’s not entirely wrong,” Vulcan murmured as he finished checking the straps on my blades and quiver.
My head snapped to him.
Vulcan blinked at my reaction before returning his features to their usual scowl.
“Not that. Though Astraeus’s crew is….” He paused, eyes flitting to Raek and the others bustling about.
“Surprisingly honorable. I meant the soldiers. The rest of the Rising forces will be here. They know Ronan has brought you, that you’re friends.
You threaten them. They could lose faith in him.
He doesn’t lead by fear, and neither should you. ”
I bristled at the unexpected lecture.
“I’m not their leader,” I finally said, shaking off his rough hands. “I am a weapon. And I’ll make it clear what will happen should they step out of line.”
Vulcan handed me a waterskin. “And I’ll help you,” he said, lip twitching into a hint of a grin.
My eyes softened, surprised at the sudden support.
Evony scooted to make room, and Vulcan stepped back as Tiberius stretched his massive wings before angling them back.
I grabbed a fistful of his mane as Evony wrapped her arms around my waist. That otherness I sensed since Skyscape Pass seemed to pulse as she pressed against my back.
Tiberius thundered down the center aisle, and my stomach dropped as he threw a gust of air down the deck with his mighty wings, flying past the mainsail, billowing in Astraeus’s wind.
As we neared Khasimir, a sea of Rising tents rose beyond the city.
Ti banked and let the Obscura swirl from his wings into a cloud of shadows.
I pushed a tendril of Transcindiel into the raw darkness, transforming pieces of it into tiny shimmering shards, reflecting off the autumn sun like a black rainbow cast across the sky as we arched around miles of Rising forces.
It had been six months since I’d last stood in a Rising’s war tent, listening to Ronan argue with the other commanders, discussing attacks, counterattacks, and intelligence.
Apparently, the Rising commanders in the south were able to afford a more lavish camp living as I lounged in a velvet chaise in the corner of the large war tent, while Ronan and six others leaned over a detailed map of Aedrialis.
Vulcan loomed in the corner a few feet from me, eyes intent on the planning taking place.
It was strange being back in Khasimir. The southern city held memories, most of which were too painful to drum up.
Too warm, too nostalgic. Too many with Aeriden’s face among them.
Even stranger was the absence of the reigning lord.
Jon Pavel, my father’s close friend and ally, was nowhere to be found.
His villa had been abandoned, and his fleet was nowhere to be seen.
Lord Pavel commanded a large force of Sultiran naval ships.
While my father’s value lay in his horses, Jon made himself indispensable with ships.
I wedged the tip of Honor under my fingernails, picking away the dried blood from my training session with Nerissa. Shadows danced along the facets of its golden gem in the dimming lantern light. We’d been in Khasimir for a week now, still arguing over the best course of attack.
“Before winter,” Ronan urged, turning toward another commander whose name I’d already forgotten.
Einar grumbled his agreement as he scanned the map.
“And then we’ll need to push north as soon as possible if the dark king is hitting Stynguard.”
My stomach pitched at the sight of those ships heading toward Sultiran shores. Of the thought of ashen being unleashed upon the university city.
“What of the king’s new city shield?” one of them asked.
I snapped my head toward the group.
“We won’t be able to take Aedrialis until we bring that down.”
“Leave the shield to me.”
I turned my attention back to my fingernails as Astraeus swaggered into the war tent. I swallowed my disgust as the leaders of the Rising bowed to him. Astraeus’s smile widened into a grin as he shook their hands. He slid his dark gaze to mine in warning before joining the others at the table.
Vienah stepped inside the tent, followed by Nerissa, Drystan, and Carina, closely guarded by Kresida. Though I didn’t particularly like the War Slayer, she had become a part of our motley group, and I enjoyed watching the soldiers flinch in her presence.
I stood, joining them at the back of the tent. Vienah slid an arm around me, giving my waist a squeeze in greeting.
“How do you intend to break the city shield? A shield that powerful… Nobody knows if it’s ever been done,” one of the men asked.
“My men have the means,” Astraeus responded. “My fleet will attack from the east. If we can get air cannons in line from the south on the ground as well, we should be able to take it down.”
“With what, exactly?”
“Rubellines,” Ronan responded, raising an eyebrow at Astraeus. “A type of stone that can neutralize magic. You’d need a hell of a lot to take down the city shield, though. You have enough?”
Astraeus gave a firm nod as he scratched his short beard.
“We need to be strategic with the magic wielders,” Kresida said, turning to Carina and motioning her toward the table where the men stood.
“There are only six of you, and you can bet Saros will throw everything he’s got at us when we arrive at his door.
What do you think, Highness? Two of you in the air, three on the ground, and one from the east? ”
Carina’s brows pinched as she studied the map.
“We’ll need a shield of our own. I can cover the front lines of our troops on the ground. Nerissa and Lyvia should be on the offensive, given their ability to fly. Focus on shielding yourselves and your caeluma,” Carina said, turning to us. “Drystan will join me on the ground.”
Drystan flitted his eyes to me. I held his gaze for a moment before raising my brows. Not my decision, I tried to tell him without signing. He nodded to Carina.
He’d been quiet since unlocking the stone that held the Advetis Bone. We’d told no one, and Drystan kept it hidden on his chest, unable to tap into its powers these past weeks.
“Vienah,” Carina continued, sliding her gaze to the water witch, “I assume you would prefer to stay with the ships to keep them from turning into kindling?”
Vienah murmured her agreement, doing her best to hide the smile forming on her lips as her eyes shot to Astraeus.
“And should we have issues with flames on the field, you can send us rain?”
Vienah nodded her confirmation.
“Then you’ll need to focus your troops on marching from the south,” Carina continued, confidence riding her clear, steady voice as it carried through the tent. She stood with her shoulders back, one hand on her hip as she pointed at the map with her other. “Take half of them—”
“Let’s get one thing straight, elf, you don’t give anyone in the Rising, least of all its commanders, orders.”
My temper flared at the sneering commander’s interruption and tone with the Princess of Lotrennia. I opened my mouth to join in the arguing that erupted as a young messenger boy burst through the tent flaps.
“Stynguard!” he shouted, waving a wet and muddied correspondence in his hand at the commanders. “Nivis has retreated! Saros’s forces march south to Aedrialis!”