Chapter 32 #3
The grunt of intensity and clash of metal reached him before he could see them. The branches parted, easing his way forward toward where they were fighting. Thalia had brought swords. Her own, and… his jaw clenched as he watched Alison swing his mother’s sword through the air.
He shadowed them as they fought, the spark and flash of metal lighting up the darkened greenhouse. Thalia pushed their commander hard, vengeance powering her movements. They stayed perfectly controlled as she countered Alison.
Thalia needed this moment more than he did, so he stayed back, ready to support her. Like she’d done from the shadows earlier.
A brush along his arm made him glance at the bush he was hiding in. One branch protruded more than the rest, as if in offering. Frowning, he studied it closely. Was that… vine berry?
Shock filtered through him. Alayna was growing poisons hidden in the depths of the beautiful Zamyran plants in the greenhouse. With a quick glance to track the fight, he returned his gaze to the offered berries. Vine berry he could work with.
Cutting off a strip of his shirt, he wrapped it protectively around his hand before tugging the berries off the branch.
Crushing them, he coated the tip of his blade with the dark red hue.
It looked deceptively like blood. He shoved the contaminated piece of his shirt in the pocket on the opposite side from his deep wound, just to be safe.
“Thank you,” he murmured, touching the branch gently.
As he moved carefully through the rest of the planters to avoid any other surprises Alayna had grown, he saw that Thalia and Alison had moved further away from him. The familiar clang of metal reverberated through his bones in the quiet space.
Shadowing himself, he disappeared into the waiting darkness.
After cloaking himself completely, he let the extra magic run off him into the surrounding plants.
Let the energy mix with theirs until it became less noticeable and wouldn’t tug Alison’s attention as he approached.
She’d worked with him too closely not to be sensitive to his magic.
He walked toward them, knife gripped solidly in his hand.
Alison spun in an impressive move as he approached and swiped Thalia’s leg out from under her, sending her crashing to her back.
A foot to the hip kept Thalia down, Alison hovering tauntingly above her.
Blood leaked from several wounds on her torso, soaking her shirt with evidence of the fight.
Wavering slightly, she pressed the tip of his sword into Thalia’s chest, ready to drive it through.
“You killed Jax!” Thalia growled at her. “Connor needs to hear it, too. He’s not coming out until you admit it.”
He froze for a second, analyzing Thalia’s words. Her emphasis on the word not.
Throwing out his magic, he realized what she was doing. She wasn’t just trying to get a confession for her own peace of mind. Several people were at the edge of his range, standing still as silent sentries. She’d brought more than just his sword to the fight.
“Come now, Connor, you’re not going to let me kill her, are you? This is between you and me,” Alison called.
He was close enough to see sweat dripping down her face. Weariness and pain working on her strength. She leaned heavily on the sword, making Connor worry that she would accidentally kill Thalia.
“You sent a zevving viper team after us because we knew too much,” Thalia snarled. “Just like Samir’s team. Except they missed several times.”
“If Drew had only agreed to work with me instead of against me, your team wouldn’t have suffered the same fate as Samir’s. But no. Unreasonable. Just like Connor.”
“You’re the unreasonable one, you snake. You killed Jax, and I will have justice for my mate.”
“I did.” Alison sneered. “But there’s not much you can do about it if you’re dead too.” She raised the sword, readying to end Thalia.
Connor leaped for her sword arm, grabbing onto it tightly to disrupt her swing. His other hand shoved the knife into her back all the way to the hilt, twisting it as he pulled her back toward him.
She stumbled as he unbalanced her, pulling her back until she nearly toppled over him. Yanking his sword from her hand, he shoved her farther away from Thalia.
The movement gave him enough time to throw the bloodied dagger out of her range. He didn’t need to be poisoned again.
He stalked toward Alison as she stumbled back, pulling another knife to defend herself with. Her hand shook, and she sucked in a rasping breath, eyes never leaving his.
The vine berry wasn’t as lethal as mavish root, but it was instant, especially in its pure form. She’d taught him herself how to spot poisons in the wild. How to use them to his advantage in a fight.
“The vipers favor mavish root poison. Slow and painful. Vine berry is harsh and fast. You’re not walking out of here, Alison, but you won’t die. Not by my hand.”
“I have less qualms about that,” Thalia said. Her breathing was labored as she rose to stand beside him, sword in hand.
“Try me as you’d like. It will never stick,” Alison rasped.
The shadows tugged at his senses as she crashed to her knees, alerting him to others moving through the greenhouse.
Thalia stepped forward and pressed her sword to Alison’s throat, drawing a line in blood. “You killed my mate, and I was promised blood. Your death is the only acceptable outcome.”
Connor hardened his heart against the turbulent well of emotion that rose. Just because he wasn’t willing to be the hand that killed his guardian didn’t mean that she deserved life. She was a dangerous threat to his daughters and to the future of magic.
He bit his tongue to cut off words about his plan to try her for treason as Ryan and Morgan appeared out the trees and stepped forward to flank them.
“Release her, Thalia. I’ll take it from here,” Morgan ordered.
“Did you get enough for a death penalty?”
“We got enough to try her for the murder of your team and for treason,” he confirmed.
Still, Thalia refused to drop her sword. “She’ll die?”
“Yes. But not before she’s convicted for murder and treason.”
“It will never stick,” Alison reiterated.
“It will,” Ryan declared. “You’re being tried by the Va’shana council. Not the military. Not the crown. The Va’shana aren’t opposed to issuing death verdicts.”
“No.” Alison’s eyes widened in surprise as Thalia finally released her and stepped back.
“You were a good teacher, Ali. An even better guardian. Despite everything, I’m grateful for that.
But you will die at the end of this. For Jax and Drew.
For Samir’s team. For all the mages and children yet to be born.
We will protect them. We will protect this world without destroying the magic that flows from its core into all existence.
Because you’re wrong, Ali. Magic isn’t a resource to fight over.
It’s an inherent part of our souls. A vital element of all living things.
I will spend the rest of my life guarding it. ”
“Well said.” Morgan smiled viciously. “Alison, you are hereby under arrest by order of the Va’shana Council. Your life is forfeit to their judgement.”
With some effort, Connor moved away, letting Morgan take control. A tremor moved through him. It was really over. The shadows billowed around him comfortingly as he released another breath.
Thalia limped over to him, a little worse for wear, but her eyes clearer than they’d been since before Jax had died. Only one open wound that he could see.
“You good?” he asked softly.
“Yeah.” She nodded. “I’d prefer to have ended her life myself, but I’ll allow the Va’shana to handle her. But if they fail to give her the death sentence nothing will stop me from finding whatever prison they’ve hidden her in and killing her myself.”
“Fair enough,” Ryan said.
“Thank you for letting me take the fight, Connor.”
“We’re a team, and that moment was always yours,” Connor said, wrapping an arm around Thalia and hugging her close. She hugged him back, tighter than usual. “But did you have to give her my mother’s sword?”
A gurgled laugh sounded against his chest, and Thalia’s knuckles caught him in the ribs.
He hissed as the impact, light as it was, made the skin around his wound tingle. “Easy!”
“Not my fault you weren’t fast enough to get to your sword before she did. What are you whining about? That’s barely a scratch.”
Huffing in amusement, he hugged her again before releasing her but kept an arm around her shoulders. Both of them became serious as he met her gaze. “That’s why you quit the teams, isn’t it? So you could confront her?”
“One of the reasons. Didn’t feel right, otherwise. She was one of us.”
“I know. You’re serious about quitting, though?”
“Yeah. I’m done. I don’t want to be there. Not without Jax. And not without you. Our team is gone.”
Her words stilled Connor. “You think I’ll quit?”
“Won’t you?” She gestured to the commotion from where Alison was being hauled away.
It was a fair question, with everything that had happened. He should have expected it, at least from the people who knew him best. Alison’s betrayal would be hard to overcome. And that was without any of the other things weighing him down.
“Zevat. You’re both leaving me?” Ryan asked, bracketing his other side and slinging an arm over his shoulder.
“Ryan—”
“Oh, you and I will have words, Connor—I’ve seen my mother’s odd research interests of late. You have some serious explaining to do. But you too, Tals?”
“Guess you’ll have to train a whole new team on how to tolerate your snarky mouth,” she said unapologetically.
“Ry, you knew?”
“Yeah, Con, I knew,” his partner groused. “No thanks to you. Blew up about it when I pieced it together. You owe my mother a new vase.”
“Whoa,” Thalia said, waving her hand between them to break their eye contact. “What is he talking about, Connor?”
“Isn’t it obvious? He’s ditching us for the keeper of the mountain.”
“Guardian,” Connor corrected, even though Ryan was likely mis-stating it on purpose. “And keep your voice down. I haven’t decided yet.”
The words resonated as a lie as soon as they left his lips. He’d meant his vow to Alison—he would spend the rest of his life protecting magic. The only questions was exactly how long that life would be.
“Tals? You want to second me? Because that is a load of—”
Connor elbowed him in the ribs, but he felt himself smiling at the typical banter from his teammates. Not something he expected after all that had happened.
“You can’t walk into a death match with a literal force of nature and leave your kid to wait by herself. The death rate is damn high, Connor.”
“What are you saying?” he asked.
“That you are an idiot,” Ryan articulated very slowly and clearly. “Tals, back me up on this.”
The hint of a smile touched her lips as she looked between them.
“Are you telling me not to go?” Connor asked.
“I’m telling you that when you finally make up your mind, I’m coming with you,” Ryan said. “Someone has to bring Opal home if you get your sorry ass killed by an ancient pile of dirt. Don’t tell it I said that though. Have you read the history my mom pulled for you? Scary stuff.”
His heart swelled at Ryan’s words, even as his nerves sparked with flickers of doubt.
Was it too selfish of him to challenge Hannelore given the repercussions for the people he loved?
Or was the potential sacrifice worth it if he succeeded?
The endless debate had been haunting him since he’d met with Charmaine.
An inkling of unease wound through him at how closely his thoughts followed the flow of conversation he’d had with Alison. His mother had made a choice. That the refugee program and the very children she’d created it for were worth the cost of her life. He would be making the same decision.
His mind had some complex thoughts to settle, but his heart was leagues away. At his favorite lookout point on his mountain in Eldridge, his mate by his side.