Chapter Forty One #2
He angled himself slightly, as though to shield her from the Union soldiers pacing behind.
‘Raymond,’ he said, then motioned to the fisherman’s ship in the harbour.
‘You should leave while you still can. They haven’t boarded the ship yet.
Get out before they do. Before they realise who you are.
’ A guilty look crossed his face. ‘I’m glad you survived the noose.
I’m… I’m sorry I did nothing to stop it.
But I won’t be able to help you if you get caught this time.
I can’t afford to lose this job. For my family. ’
She’d been right, then.
‘I don’t want to compromise your position,’ Kyra said quietly. ‘But I can’t leave. I wasn’t lying earlier. I really do have to see Lady Lilion.’
Raymond pursed his lips tightly. ‘Is it really worth the risk?’
‘I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t.’
Raymond blew out a breath. ‘Alright,’ he mumbled. ‘I’ll… make something up. I’ll tell them you’re the Lady of Shadow’s new business partner or something. You were right to threaten me with that. No one wants to cross Lilion.’
‘No one should cross Lilion,’ Kyra said darkly. ‘The woman is a cunt.’
‘You’ll have to be quick.’
‘I will.’
‘Good luck.’
Kyra caught his arm, and his eyes locked with hers. Innocent, young, kind eyes. ‘Raymond… thank you. Not just for this, but for that day too. I… appreciated it, even if I never said it. Thank you for showing me kindness. You’re everything the Union should be.’
Had the docks been illuminated by daylight, she was sure she would have seen a blush stain Raymond’s cheeks. He said somewhat sadly, ‘Well, I’m glad you’re alive. Try to stay that way.’
She released him, pulled her hood further over her head, and grinned. ‘I plan on it.’
???
Whatever lie Raymond had spun to allow her to walk freely into the city had worked. No one pursued her, but she stuck to the back alleys she knew so well anyway… just in case.
It seemed her kin from Valfell really had struck fear into the hearts of Avaldale’s people.
The curfew was being strictly adhered to, for Kyra spotted none but the Union roaming the main streets.
House shutters were firmly closed, dramatic bolts had been fastened on doors, and a certain darkness shrouded the city, as if people were too afraid to even light a fire in their own homes.
So, the fae had gotten their magic back and chosen vengeance for the century and a half of banishment at the hands of the humans. Kyra wasn’t altogether surprised: the fae lived long lives. They did not forgive. Nor would they forget.
Despite being shunned by her kin for being ‘spawn of a traitor’ as her great grandfather had so lovingly put it, Kyra couldn’t blame them. If she were amongst them, she was sure she would have been leading the pack, torch in hand, igniting the fires of revenge.
A thought struck her. What had become of her estranged family? Of Win, Dovella and Aeliah?
She suppressed the rising worry. Oslan first. Everything else later.
The eerie quiet downtown was unsettling. Surrounding the Arc were three or four taverns, and at this hour, the cackling laughter of mindless drunks should have rang through the air, the patrons mindlessly touching one another and dancing to the beat of a bard’s drum, or the pluck of a twangy riq.
Kyra had always somewhat envied them. The poorer Vrethans who bore no titles, who ate and drank and fucked to their hearts desire with little to no consequence.
It was a freedom she’d never had. Even more so now with the earth and sun tethered to her soul.
The Arc stood before her, just as glorious as it had been the last time she’d seen it. Except now, across the marble archway that led to the pits below, were the words ‘WE REMEMBER’ smeared in thick red paint.
As she neared, rusty iron filled her nostrils.
It wasn’t paint.
Human blood. A threat. The fae weren’t just tormenting the city for fun… they were warning Avaldale of what was to come. A bloody, ominous warning that they had not forgotten, smeared on the most ancient city dwelling of their forebears.
The Arc had been theirs, once. A place of glory. Not of depravity and sin as it was now.
Or used to be, she supposed. When she reached the pits, she found them empty, noting that the blood staining the sand wasn’t fresh. The last fight had to have been some time ago.
Kyra idly wondered if Lilion’s brothel had even managed to stay in business. Had Oslan been given a reprieve from his servitude? She doubted it. People would always crave pleasure, even in the midst of chaos.
Lilion was likely in the chambers below. But Kyra knew this terrain as well as she knew her own body. If their engagement was to turn sour, she wanted the upper hand.
Standing in the centre of the pits, as she had done so many times before, Kyra called to her former employer, ‘Come out, come out, Lilion. I’m back to settle our bargain.
’ Her voice echoed eerily around the arena.
She had never heard such quiet in this place.
A minute ticked by, and Kyra’s patience began to wean.
‘I know you know I’m here. Let’s get this over with. ’
She tapped her foot on the sandy ground. Another minute passed.
‘I trust that your being here means you have something for me, little wolf?’
That voice crept under her skin like an itch she couldn’t reach.
The last time she’d seen Lilion sitting on her plush throne-like chair overlooking the pits, she’d thrown a dagger at her head. The urge to do it again was overwhelmingly strong.
The Lady of Shadows looked exactly the same. Dressed in elegant black, her gloved hands softly draped over the throne’s arms. Her inky hair was pulled back tight against her scalp, as it always was. ‘Show it to me, then. I thought you wanted this over with quickly?’
With a strange feeling of foreboding, Kyra reached into her satchel and revealed the Eye of the Fifth. It sat cold in the centre of her palm.
It didn’t render her deaf or blind this time, but she could have sworn there was an echo of chiming laughter somewhere.
Somewhere in the Void of all things.
Lady Lilion stood, her fingers grasping the railed edge in front of her. Her dark eyes glittered. ‘I must admit… I’m impressed. I expected you to fail.’ Her voice was soft and curious as she asked, ‘How did you acquire it?’
‘That information was not part of our deal.’ Kyra closed her fingers around the stone. ‘You can have it once Oslan is freed.’
She half expected Lilion to disagree, to demand the Eye first. But Lilion gave an unblinking smile and said, ‘Very well.’
A flick of her magic shot past Kyra to the gate behind her, the pulley chains firing to life.
And just like he had done before, Oslan, sullen and sallow, stepped out into the pits.
Her brother. Finally about to be freed.
Kyra moved to him instantly, stopping just before him. She couldn’t allow herself to ponder on how thin he had become. Or how dull his eyes were, or the lifeless colour of his skin. Instead, she forced herself to smile. ‘Hi, Os.’
In a cracked, fear-drenched voice, he said, ‘What are you doing here?’
‘I came back for you.’
Her brother’s mouth wobbled. He stepped away from her. ‘What… what did you promise her?’
‘Nothing that wasn’t worth it,’ Kyra said earnestly, pulling out the Eye once more and forcing it into her brother’s large, scarred hands.
‘Give it to her.’ Oslan stared at the Eye, as if hardly daring to believe the stone could truly mean his liberation.
Kyra showed him the pink scar on her palm.
‘I made a blood bargain with her, Oslan. She has no choice but to uphold her side. Give it to her, and you’re free. Then let’s get the fuck out of here.’
Oslan just shook his head, still staring at the Eye.
Kyra’s heart plummeted. ‘Oslan, listen to me. If I do not give her that Eye, you will be in her servitude forever. You will die a slave!’
‘Once the Eye is in my possession, the bargain will be fulfilled,’ Lilion said in a bored voice. Kyra was terrified to take her eyes off Oslan, lest he be dragged away again. ‘Oslan, my dearest Bull, bring it to me.’
Oslan’s eyes slid out of focus then, as if the Eye had mesmerised him completely. His hand was shaking, the fingers curling and uncurling around the stone.
Impatience stole over her as Kyra swiped it from his palm. She lobbed it across the arena to Lilion.
Lilion caught it effortlessly, then went quite still, staring into the inky depths of the stone. Kyra wondered if Dohra spoke to her too. Wondered if the Void Mother spoke to anyone the way she had spoken to her.
Her palm tingled, and she watched as the pink scar turned to white.
Debt paid. Bargain fulfilled.
Oslan peeled back his shirt. The slaver’s mark faded just as hers had to a fresh, silky white. He released an unsteady breath as the invisible chain between him and Lilion was lifted, but there was no smile on his lips.
Kyra grasped his shoulders. ‘You’re free, brother. You’re finally free.’
Oslan only swallowed. The shaking in his hands did not relent.
How much torment had he had to suffer to not even feel relief at his own freedom? To be fearful of liberation?
She had never hated Lilion more. Coldly, she told her, ‘We’re done here.’
The Lady of Shadow’s gaze flickered up from the Eye for the first time. She blinked, as if only just remembering they were there. ‘Yes…’ she said slowly. ‘Yes, I suppose we are.’
‘And you won’t try to stop us from leaving?’ Kyra demanded. ‘You won’t sell me out the moment I step outside?’
‘Ah yes,’ Lilion murmured. ‘The bounty for your capture. I must admit, it’s alluring. Times have been hard since you left, and I’ve now lost my biggest source of income. People gambled beautifully to watch the lone wolf fight, but they paid a fair fortune to ride the Bull.’
‘Fuck you,’ Kyra snarled. Oslan didn’t even react.