Chapter 33
CHAPTER 33
T he storm cleared, leaving behind a thick and chilly pale gray mist.
Fog was the perfect cover for Neve and the group to quietly row ashore at a desolate beach near Klatos. Jarin and Riella led the way to a section of the city wall that was damaged and crumbling. One by one, they climbed over the damp stone, camouflaged by the heavy line of trees growing along the wall.
“Where do we go now?” asked Amelie, pulling her periwinkle blue cloak tightly around her shoulders.
Davron had retrieved fresh, blood-free attire from the ruined ship for himself and Amelie.
“We shouldn’t all go to the vault,” said the prince. “A group of six is far too conspicuous. Especially with a siren. And me.” The prince gestured to his mountainous, scarred form. “Perhaps the men visit the vault and the women conceal themselves nearby.”
Amelie’s face fell. “That seems unfair. I loathe the idea of sitting and doing nothing for our cause.”
“Alright,” replied Davron. “Well, I have to be there, to access the vault. Jarin’s the one who knows the banker. And we need Eleksi, to make contact with the Spider Kings as soon as we secure the funds. We must proceed with haste. Once a single person recognizes me, word will get back to Meliohr quickly.”
Eleksi cut in. “Neve has a contract on her life. I won’t leave her unprotected.”
“She won’t be unprotected.” Riella tossed her blonde hair. “I will disembowel anyone who comes near her.”
“And I appreciate that. But there will be many Spider Kings looking for her, until I can change their allegiance with the gold. Neve is exceptionally gifted and more than capable of defending herself.” He gave her a meaningful look and she knew he was referring to her deathly ability. “But she’ll need to conserve her magical potency for when we infiltrate the palace. One siren, strong though you undoubtedly are, will not be enough to fight them all off.”
Davron growled in frustration. “He’s right. The Spider Kings are brutal. I barely survived one. What do we do, then?”
“I can give you this, so my banker friend knows you.” Jarin removed his gold pendant on the chain. “Along with some words to mutter in his ear. He’ll give you whatever you need once he knows you’re my ally. I’ll stand guard here, with the women.”
He shot an apologetic look at Riella, who smiled and rolled her eyes.
“Good,” said Eleksi. “That will work.”
Amelie and Davron also nodded in approval.
“Where shall we wait?” asked Neve. “I know many places near where I grew up, but that’s on the far north side of town.”
“We need somewhere discreet,” said Davron. “Where people will mind their own business.”
“Oh!” Riella beamed at Jarin. “The parlor off Creta Square, where I waited for you the night before the royal wedding. If Sehild is there, she will surely hide us. Even if she isn’t, I’m sure the proprietors would be swayed by coin.” She looked around at the others. “We’ll be safe there.”
“The parlor’s only a short walk from the Fortuna Vault,” said Jarin, passing his gold pendant to Eleksi, who tucked it inside his black jacket. “It’s a good plan.”
Davron clapped his hands together. “It’s settled, then. To Creta Square we go.”
The group drifted apart as they walked the cobblestoned streets of Klatos, to avoid attracting attention. Neve pulled the hood of her cloak over her head, as did Eleksi with his. Riella tucked her mass of bright blonde hair under a plain scarf.
There was no concealing Davron, whose size and scarred appearance drew the eye of every passerby. Few, if any, people in Zermes had glimpsed him since he left Klatos a decade ago. Neve hoped that’d reduce the risk of him being recognized.
Levissina’s curse, although now broken, had left him markedly changed. Neve remembered seeing him in a royal parade when she was a child. He had been incredibly handsome. And he still was—just in a different, more interesting way.
Davron fell into step with her and Eleksi. Ahead, Riella and Jarin walked on either side of Amelie. Although no one in Klatos knew her, she was in grave danger, too. With her Velandian accent, she’d stand out to anyone she spoke to. Meliohr, of course, knew Amelie hailed from Velandia. As Davron’s wife and next of kin, the queen would want Amelie’s life almost as much as she wanted Neve and the prince’s.
“I didn’t say this in front of everyone else, Neve, in case it was insensitive,” said Davron. “But I do believe I recall your mother.”
She gaped at him. How could that be?
Eleksi squeezed her arm gently and caught up with the others. He was giving her privacy to speak with Davron. She would’ve been happy for him to stay, but she appreciated his thoughtfulness all the same.
“She was a maid at the palace,” said Neve, keeping her voice low, wary of eavesdroppers. They were in a quiet part of town, but the streets were narrow, with balconies directly overhead and the odd street hawker selling wares on the pavement. “How would you recall her, though?”
Davron regarded Neve. Up close, she saw the similarity in their eyes. His dark irises and thick lashes were duplicates of her own.
“For one thing, you look exactly like her,” he said. “Except for your eyes, which are Leonid’s.”
“And yours,” she added shyly.
“Yes.” He smiled. “My uncle was in love with her. Alas, there are no secrets in a palace. None that last, anyway. I was too young to be kept properly informed, but I do recall a series of fierce arguments involving my grandfather and Leonid. My uncle was effectively banished to Hatara. I trust you’ve heard this story from your mother’s side?”
“I have. Only recently.”
“There were rumors that my grandfather used gold to silence your mother.” Davron sighed heavily. “What an ugly business. But when I saw you in that cave up close, I knew. I knew you were the silver lining of that tragic union. He would have loved to have known you, Neve. And he still might, depending on his state when we finally reach him. But we will reach him, I promise.”
She confessed one of her deepest worries. “I wouldn’t know what to say to him. I fear I’d be a disappointment to him.”
“Believe me, you would find the words and they would be perfect. You would never be a disappointment to him.” A muscle worked in his jaw, and he glanced ahead at the others. “Speaking of which, I will need to speak to Jarin alone. He deserves to know exactly what happened to his mother. But it’s not a conversation that can be rushed.”
Neve chewed her lip, her curiosity at war with her sense of propriety.
In a strictly academic sense, she longed for details on the curse and Levissina and her demise. No one had witnessed the firsthand effects of the curse since Davron relocated to Velandia. He and Levissina had effectively exiled themselves.
Nevertheless, Neve knew her morbid fascination was best kept to herself.
“I did not kill her,” said Davron, his voice a low rumble. “Not directly. It was a child, if you can believe it. Stuck a sword in her belly the moment she regained mortality.”
Neve blanched, nearly tripping on the stones. “A child?”
He nodded gravely. “Levissina was known as the Dark One in the local village. The child dreamed of slaying her. And she did exactly that.”
“That must have been . . . ” Neve trailed off, unable to quite say what, exactly, it must have been.
“It was tragic,” said Davron, rubbing his face. “The whole thing was tragic. The only goodness to come from it all was Amelie. She saved me, in every sense of the word.”
“That makes me happy. I’m glad you found each other.”
“And what of you and the assassin?” Davron smirked, his scarred mouth crooked.
Neve’s face warmed. “Well. It’s like he was made for me.”
“Good.” He nodded in satisfaction. “That’s good.”
The comfort and ease she felt while speaking to Davron—her cousin—was a revelation. This was how it felt to have relatives. To have kin.
“It’s funny,” she said. “I always thought I was evil and dark, deep down. I spent my whole life trying to hide it. The one time I showed the darkness to someone, he accepted it without question. He makes me feel like I’m good.”
“I’ve no doubt you are good,” said Davron in a gentle rumble. “After I was cursed, the foulest, most dread thoughts went through my head. Some of them, I even acted on. People are not black and white. Not even the likes of Levissina. If you want to be a force for good, you will be. If you want to give in to your worst impulses, well, I pray I am not in your way.” He laughed. “You radiate with the same raw power she did,” he added when he’d sobered.
Neve looked at him sharply. “What?”
“My mother did, too. And she did wonderful things with her power.” He shrugged his cloaked shoulders. “There is nothing strange or terrible about you.”
“How can you be so sure, though? I mean, it’s lovely that you are. But I could be terrible, for all you know.”
He jerked his head toward Eleksi. “To make such a fearsome person stay his hand and switch to your side, there is something very good within you. Do not forget it.”
“I nearly killed him,” she confessed. “With magic.”
“But you did not.”
“I wanted to.”
“And yet, you did not.” He smiled down at her. “You are allowed to kill people who try to kill you, by the way. In fact, I encourage you to do so.”
Neve snorted. “Eleksi said the same thing.”
The streets were busier around Creta Square and the group stayed under the relative cover of the shop awnings.
With a pensive frown, Davron eyed the bronze statue of his father, King Branimir, in the center of the square. Riella led them to a parlor on a side street, ushering the group inside to quiet, plush surroundings.
Neve stood with Eleksi at a bar made of mirrors and brass, knowing they would momentarily be parted.
He leaned down and kissed her forehead. “I will return to you. And Neve?”
“Yes?”
His voice was low and deadly serious. “If anyone threatens you, send them straight to the Beyond. No hesitating.”
Her insides twisted. What would happen if she used her killing curse to its full extent? For the first time, it occurred to her that she might die along with her victim. That could be the case. There was no precedent for her ability—at least, not to her knowledge.
The parlor was decorated in emerald green and burgundy, with narrow halls and tiny rooms. Neve liked the place, because it was calming.
In a corner, Riella was speaking to a pretty woman with long red braids. Amelie perused the bar, which allegedly offered potions, although their magic felt weak to Neve. Davron stood back, watching Amelie, his mouth in a hard line.
He was worried about her, and for good reason. Amelie didn’t have the physical strength of the men and Riella, nor magic like Neve. Aside from her silver rose, she was quite defenseless against the likes of the Spider Kings. The sorceress vowed to keep her safe at all costs.
Riella returned to the group. “Sehild has an upstairs room for Amelie and Neve. There’s even a secret exit at the back of the building, in case of trouble.”
“Riella and I will patrol down here, including the secret exit,” said Jarin. Then he addressed Davron and Eleksi. “If the four of us need to leave the parlor for any reason, we’ll regroup at the wall where we entered the city. Otherwise, we’ll see you back here when you’re finished with the vault and the Spider King fixer. Then we go to the palace to seek an audience with Leonid and oust Meliohr. By force, most likely. But we will do it.”
For a long moment, the six looked at each other, the gravity of their plan descending on them. Would they achieve any of their aims, let alone all of them? It felt almost impossible. There was too much that could go wrong. Too many variables. And yet, what choice did they have but to try?
The moment passed. Eleksi and Davron nodded in acknowledgment of Jarin’s words before saying goodbye to Neve and Amelie. As she watched Eleksi walk away, the sorceress sent a thought after him, strong and clear and propelled by magic and emotion.
He looked over his shoulder, flashing her a heart-splitting smile, and she knew he’d received the message.