Chapter 7 - The Light
Rays of the setting sun weaved through the clouds. I rested on my forearms between two battlements on the southernmost tower of Bloodstone Fortress. Erik and Endre perched on the battlements on either side of me.
I had spent an hour convincing Evereon the lost Ravenwood sons were alive and not just some magical trick from the mountain. Afterward, we crashed on the chairs in Astrid’s room, gently exchanging pieces of information and hoping to make sense of all that had happened over the past few days. He told me Nikkolas and Hilda had been laid to rest by their sons. I told him the truth of Riyan’s parentage.
I had hoped that somewhere in our conversation I would find a clue as to how I would get Fraleigh away from the Hytons, but the day had almost ended without a conclusion. Daigen was right, what good was the Bloodstone army when the Hytons had Fraleigh at their disposal? What benefit was my magic if I could not use it when I needed to and barely withstood it when I did?
I had more power than I ever could have dreamed of and yet I was still stuck. The next full moon was creeping closer by the minute and I had no time to waste.
Derrick’s letter crinkled in my hand. I unfolded the parchment, hoping to find something I had missed.
Serafina,
I worry every day that you are safe. I beg you, do not attempt to be intimate with Sir Bloodstone. I would not be able to go on if you left this earth and left me behind to grieve you for eternity.
Enclosed is an invitation to the Darkest Night ball, held every year on the new moon after Selection Night. Please attend, if only so I can know you are alive and unharmed.
I love you.
Eternally Yours,
Annalisa Thornebow
Derrick was no longer signing his secret letters as “Midnight.” He had escalated from sneaking lines in his twin sister’s letters to completely pretending to be her. To his credit, no one at Bloodstone Fortress was familiar with Annalisa’s perfect penmanship to know the thin script did not come from her hands.
I sighed. Derrick was once my only salvation. I used to comb his letters and find clues of his feelings, his dreams, and his fears. I took his vulnerabilities and used them to make him fall more in love with me. That was my sense of direction over the past seven years. If he loved me, I had the crown.
But now that I was back in the grey, directionless void, what did his letters hold? A desperate plea to not seal my blood bond and an invitation to a stupid ball!
Hinges creaked behind me and the trapdoor into the keep slammed closed. Heavy footsteps grew closer, but I did not turn.
The spiky smell of burning herbs hit my nose. Evereon held a tiny rolled-up parchment that was smoldering on one end. He put the roll up to his lips and inhaled deeply, then he breathed out a puff of smoke. “A hell of a day.”
I hummed in assent and eyed the parchment. “Endre used to use those too, for when his breath was short and his chest hurt.”
Endre croaked and fluttered his wings.
Evereon let out a low chuckle as smoke curled around his face. “This is for a different kind of chest pain. Want some? Of all the ways people in Lycaster try to dull their pain, this is one of the least dangerous.”
I tried not to breathe in the repulsive smell and shook my head. Thin wisps of smoke curled around Evereon’s face as my eyes ran along the diagonal line of his scar. The scar stretched from forehead to jaw and cut perfectly between his eyes.
The corner of his mouth flicked up. “It’s from the military academy.”
I dropped my gaze to my folded arms as my cheeks heated. I should not have been staring. “I heard stories of General Hyton’s methods at the academy. I…never thought he could be so cruel.”
“General Hyton didn’t slice me up,” he said with a wan smile. “Riyan did.”
I looked back up and the sight of his scar made my stomach turn. With how deep the cut must have been, I could not convince myself it was an accident.
Evereon shook his head slightly, but his soft smile stayed on. “General Hyton wanted the two noble sons to spar and Riyan would always do anything to impress him. Anything. Makes me wonder how much worse he would have been had he known the General was his father.”
That did not sound like the man I had married. Riyan had a notorious reputation as “the Beast.” He had killed twelve giants, two of them before my very eyes, but I had never thought him capable of carving open a man’s face.
He had only ever shown me kindness…but that was with the blood bond. If the magic of the blood bond had bent my own hardened personality, how much had it altered his?
I bit my tongue as my blood ran cold. “Did…you know anything else about him?”
“Not really.” Evereon leaned against the battlement. “He was an angry child when I was at the academy. Then he was smitten with you when he came back to the fortress. Not much more to him than that.”
A tense breath hissed out of my nose. Another dead end.
My eyes fell to the soldiers patrolling the wall. Evereon had convinced the army I was a benevolent sorceress and loyal to the North, but a few still had their reservations.
“Did Nikkolas ever tell you what the army was for?” I asked.
He took a deep breath. “I was one of the first soldiers hired on. We were all fresh out of the military academy, so we thought the House of Bloodstone just wanted some men with weapons training to defend against the giants. Nikkolas made me captain after a few months once he realized I was one of the few soldiers who could read.”
A moment of uneasy silence fell over us as Evereon looked over the wall. “I was too old to be considered a Bloodstone son, so I didn’t even go up the mountain when all those boys went to fight the giants seven years ago. None of the soldiers did.”
My stomach twisted. I could not imagine how my brothers must have felt hearing Evereon’s confession. They had led thousands of Northern sons up the mountain, seen the horrors of slain boys just as Riyan had, spent seven years as ravens …and there was a whole army sitting around nearby?
What was the point of an army if not to fight the giants?
Evereon took a long drag from his parchment. “Then I noticed giants never came around the fortress. We spent most of our time stockpiling weapons and food. We were just…preparing.”
I slid my hand into my pocket and pulled out the golden House of Ravenwood and House of Bloodstone pins. I stared at the snarling bear and cautious raven on the pins as I recalled the last conversation I had with Nikkolas Bloodstone.
He had stressed that I had to consummate my marriage with Riyan because the Hytons would take control of the North if Bloodstone had no heirs.
His gravelly voice wove through my mind. “ They cannot have access to our magic—not after what happened to Ilsa Ravenwood. The Hytons are monsters. ”
I ran my thumb over the wing of the raven pin. “He was preparing for the Hytons to take the North.”
Evereon nodded and glanced at my letter. “I grabbed that as soon as it arrived at the gate so I could check it for a threat. I wondered if Duke Hyton was going to make a move after merging Bloodstone and Ravenwood.”
It always came back to the Hytons. Every conversation, memory, or threat all led to the royal House of Hyton and their desperate need for control—control of the provinces, of Fraleigh, and of how everyone perceived their legacy.
Even if it meant letting the sword fall on one of their own…
All at once, every directionless thread in my mind wove itself together. My white flame awoke and danced circles around my heart.
The Hytons were stubborn, unyielding, and had triumphed over every challenge in history. With the Great Sorceress of Nordingaard in their arsenal, they were seemingly untouchable.
In truth, a single person had cracked their foundation so deeply that they had to cover up her existence. Made her name illegal. Erased her from history. Crafted lies about her. If the Hyton legacy was a grand tapestry, all I would have to do is pull a single thread for it all to unravel.
The Hytons had cast out the memory of Duchess Ilsa for a reason, I just had to find out what that reason was.
I pulled out the invitation for the Darkest Night ball. The calligraphy was perfect, detailing a lavish masked ball to take place during the new moon—only seven days away.
Derrick had just handed me the key to the palace…but who would look after the North in my stead?
Exhilaration spoiled into worry in an instant, but I swallowed my feelings and kept calm. I weighed the two pins in my right hand before I held them out to Evereon.
He leaned away slightly from the pins. “You know I can’t—”
“I promised Riyan I would take care of the North.” I put on a small smile and pushed the pins closer to Evereon. “Someone needs to run the fortress while I am gone.”
His brows furrowed. “And where are you going?”
“The ball, it would be quite rude to ignore the invitation.” I cleared my throat as the backs of my eyes burned. “Besides, the longer the Hytons believe Nikkolas and Hilda are still alive, the longer the army can merely…prepare.”
Evereon swallowed. He stared at the pins as if they were coiled serpents, ready to strike.
“Just until the next full moon, at most,” I reassured.
He let out a long breath. Slowly, he gathered the pins in his hands, accepting full control of the Northern provinces. “I…I heard too many stories of what goes on in that palace. Even my father didn’t like it.” His eyes flicked up to my face. “I’ll keep up communication with you, just to make sure you don’t get…lost.
He gave me a tight-lipped smile and turned away, the House pins clinking as he shoved them in his pocket.
I gently stroked Erik’s back with my fingertip. Endre hopped down from his perch and nudged Erik out of the way with a croak. He greedily nuzzled my palm with his feathered head.
I could not hold back my smile, even though despair seeped through my chest. “I cannot bring you with me. Walking into Hyton as a sorceress is dangerous enough. Having ravens at my side would instantly raise suspicions.”
The trapdoor creaked open and Daigen appeared. “Talking to birdies is a great way to get yourself killed.”
I rolled my eyes as he joined me to look over the courtyard. The wind ruffled his hair around his shoulders and he gave me a pointed look.
Sure would be nice if I could ask for his advice, but I would just have to see if I came to the right conclusion on my own.
I swallowed. “I am returning to Hyton at first light tomorrow.”
He folded his arms and raised an eyebrow. “Now why would anyone want to go to that clifftop cesspit voluntarily?”
“I need to uncover the truth of Duchess Ilsa.” I straightened my spine. “She was no sorceress. I may not know exactly where the truth may lead, but it has to be enough to damn Duke Hyton if he spent all these years hiding his own mother.”
Erik let out a concerned croak. Endre let out an exuberant one. Daigen’s smile grew and my body thrummed with energy—I was going in the right direction.
I glanced down at the soldiers patrolling the fortress walls. “If Duke Hyton gave Nikkolas enough money to raise his own army so long as he stayed quiet about Riyan’s parentage, he might offer me something even better once I find the truth.”
Daigen leaned on the side of the battlement and lifted an eyebrow. “The sorceress is going to the Duke for Fraleigh’s freedom? Of course you would immediately resort to extortion, Litlnadr. ”
“Then you suggest what I should do.”
“You know I can’t.”
I turned away and stared south, where red sunlight clashed with the dark blue sky. Damn the nonsensical magical rules! Although, could I really expect magic based on the tears of an ancient man to be straightforward?
My eyes fell to the crumbled remnants of the wall where Riyan had fallen through it days ago—where the curse in his blood had forced him to grow fifteen feet tall and he accidentally killed his grandparents.
Magic was not logic and it was not always good. Riyan certainly had never understood it, in fact, he seemed like he hated it.
All the more reason to figure out what exactly Fraleigh’s damn blood bond had done to us.
I turned back to Daigen. “Fine, then I have to go to Hyton because I need to find my heart’s desire. I need to control my magic.”
His violet eyes flicked down to the letter in my hand. “And you’re so sure your heart’s desire is there?”
I frowned. “You said love requires a choice, and I cannot choose Riyan until I know who he is.” A dark pit grew in my chest, marking the absence of the warmth I had shared with him. “The person who knows him better than anyone else alive is in Hyton Palace—his father.”
Daigen hummed. “A logical conclusion.”
“And once I learn more about him…” I swallowed, gathering my strength to face the dreaded unknown. “I will know if my heart ever desired him at all.”
My palms started to sweat, but I grounded my feet on the bricks below. Daigen smirked, weighing me with his gaze as the evening breeze traced my ears.
For the first time, I did not even care if he was rifling through my head again. I just needed to know I had gotten something right.
“Ilsa is the right place to start,” he said softly. “The truth shall always set you free.”
I smiled, but Daigen held up a finger to stop my excitement. “But before you embark on your righteous quest to the den of vices, I have one more thing I need to tell you about your magic.”
He stepped closer and poked me in the center of my chest. “Remember when I said you are changing? The Man of the Mountain’s gift flows through your blood, connecting you with him even though he resides in the place West of the Moon and East of the Sun. He not only sees all the truth of the world, he demands it.”
A flare of my white flame singed the base of my throat as my stomach knotted. I did not like where he was going…
“ Litlnadr, ” Daigen said with mock concern and a smile, “you can’t lie.”
Daigen withdrew his hand and my heart skipped a beat. When the Man of the Mountain told me my silver tongue would no longer do me any good, I thought he just meant in front of him. Lying was the language of survival in Hyton! How could I navigate the palace as an illegal sorceress, wielding an illegal crystal, and trying to uncover the truth of an illegal woman without the ability to lie?
A dozen solutions flashed through my mind in an instant…but each one ended with an axe through my neck.
I held my breath and counted my heartbeats, trying to calm down. Riyan would have known what to say. He would have wrapped his massive hand around my back and made a light quip to make me smile. Or combed my hair and sang a ridiculous song. Or shoved a delightful treat in my face.
Darkness has always surrounded me, but he was my one light. He was my moon, waxing and waning with his moods, but always there.
Though that was with the blood bond. Now…now I had no light, but the light I had was not even real!
When Riyan had left me, I had tried so hard to tell him that I loved him, even though I had enchanted myself into silence to keep myself safe from the giants. Though my throat was frozen, my mind screamed “I love you too.”
But was my tongue silent because of my enchantment, or because I could not speak a lie?
I threw my hand in my pocket instead of crying out in frustration. My fire cooled as I pulled out the tiny scrap of linen from my pocket and traced each flower.
I grounded myself in each tiny bump of the threads, reminding myself of the promises I had made to Riyan before he disappeared.
Take charge of the Northern provinces.
Evereon had control. The North was secure.
Take care of Astrid.
Daigen had put a smile on Astrid’s face and kept her calm.
Try to be happy.
The fog of numbness crept around my ribs. Even if it was just an enchantment, I missed that golden light Riyan and I had shared. I missed feeling happy. I missed that part of myself I thought I had found before the magic of the blood bond made me doubt everything.
The scrap of linen fell back into my pocket. I closed my eyes and let the gentle wind dance around my cheeks.
Snow fell in my memory. I was fifteen again, staring out the window on a January afternoon. I sat in a stiff armchair hugging my knees, watching thin snowflakes drift to the earth like ashes.
I had stared out that window for two hours, accepting that I would never be truly happy again.
I took in a breath and my white flame danced. My blood warmed, melting away the memory. Soft words floated to the front of my mind:
Untouched by the endless winter,
I am warm even now.
Winter would no longer dig its icy claws in my chest. The Queen of the Giants would never take anything from me again. Regardless of how I truly felt about him, Riyan deserved his life back.
So I had to be brave, just like he once told me I was.
I opened my eyes and the sun had disappeared, leaving behind only the cool twilight and a few flickering stars.
Three stars twinkled brightly in the sky. My eyes traced them as I marked each one with a new promise.
I would find out who Riyan truly was. I would free Fraleigh. I would…
The flaming diamond in my heart sparkled as I traced the Nordingaard crystal over my throat.
I would still try to be happy.