Chapter Twenty-One – Mira
Chapter Twenty-One
Mira
I saw the procession before I even saw the beach.
The long line of white-robed priestesses and armoured warriors parted as I rode into view, bowing their heads and touching their fingers to their foreheads.
Their deference reminded me painfully of my handfasting ceremony with V?lund, when these same men and women had stood before us and celebrated our union.
On the shore in front of their ship stood the clan heads, two open caskets before them. Velanthe was at Nari’s side, murmuring something I couldn’t hear. Cassius remained at a slight, respectful distance, along with a dozen priestesses and a contingent of Kalurian warriors.
Everyone turned at my arrival, watching me and my companions dismount in sombre silence. The only sound was the water lapping against the sand.
An icy breeze ghosted across my exposed skin, making me even colder, despite the furs covering my shoulders. The cold had been my constant companion these past forty-eight hours – the last, lingering consequence of the poison I had survived.
‘Are you sure you’re well enough for this?’ Jadis asked as she swung down from the saddle. ‘No one would fault you if–’
‘I’ve already missed the funeral rites,’ I said firmly. ‘I won’t miss his send-off.’
A queen couldn’t afford to be seen as weak – not even amongst her allies. So I crossed the beach unassisted, flanked by Jadis and Elian. The light of their fire torches illuminated the rocky path in front of me.
Nari reached me first. From what I’d heard, she had been impressively stoic throughout the rites conducted in the Temple, but her cheeks glinted with the evidence of tears.
‘You’re just in time,’ she said. ‘Thoren and Ulrik are about to release their bodies.’
I followed her to the shoreline, ignoring the stares lingering on me. My stomach dropped as I saw the two wooden rafts, decorated with flowers. Laid out on those planks were the bodies of V?lund – and Astrid.
I had always known a Mask killed my father.
An operative Zandri had recruited – with the goal of assassinating my mother as well.
It seemed that Astrid had been the sleeper Mask’s unwitting vessel, responsible for pouring the poisoned wine.
Had she lived, perhaps she could have exposed the assassin’s identity.
But she hadn’t, and I was terrified that the chance for answers had died along with her.
‘V?lund looks . . .’ I couldn’t finish the sentence.
Nari’s voice was quiet. ‘I know.’
Velanthe and the priestesses had done well. There was no trace of the ravages of the poison that had killed V?lund; he looked at peace, with his eyes closed and his arms folded respectfully. He even had a faint bloom of colour on his cheeks, as if he was merely asleep.
I knelt on the sand. I didn’t touch V?lund’s hand – didn’t want to risk feeling his cold skin and absent pulse. But I couldn’t stop myself from leaning down to kiss his lips. Just the lightest brush of my mouth.
‘Thank you,’ I whispered. ‘For everything, but mostly for making me feel less alone.’
I rose to my feet without touching Astrid. I didn’t feel that I deserved that right, not having interacted much with her in life. But I mourned her death just the same. She had been so young; it was cruel that she hadn’t had more time.
Thoren and Ulrik carried the wooden rafts out to sea. When they were deep enough, they pushed them into the dark water – sending V?lund and Astrid on their symbolic final journey to the afterlife.
‘He died here,’ Nari murmured next to me. ‘It is only right that he is mourned here . . . But the sea will carry him home.’
A Kalurian archer stepped forward. After lighting his arrow on fire, he reached for his bow.
Before I could think better of it, I said, ‘Let me.’
I took the bow and arrow from him. After a glance at Nari – who nodded her assent – I notched the arrow, training my eyes on the raft carrying my husband.
I understood why an archer had been chosen to make this shot: already it had travelled far from the shore, and the slight breeze made aiming difficult.
But when I closed my eyes, that familiar, instinctual pull answered.
Instead of merely feeling connected to my target, I felt connected to everything: the ocean in front of me, the people gathered at my back, even the fire blazing on my arrow. When I released it, it struck true.
Fire engulfed V?lund in its warm embrace. Though the two rafts had diverged, it somehow jumped to Astrid as well, resulting in a few startled murmurs from the audience.
I watched the bodies burn across the dark water, but something about the sight felt wrong. Too slow, too gentle, for the vengeance and rage that ignited in my chest.
People exclaimed in shock as the fire erupted in a blaze of heat. Two twin pillars, grasping for the starlit sky.
‘We will see him avenged,’ I vowed. ‘I swear it, Nari. I will find the person responsible for this – and I will make them pay.’
But when Nari looked at me . . . there was none of the sadness or gratitude I had expected.
‘I already know who is responsible,’ she said, and there was unbridled anger in every line of her face.
‘You know who Zandri’s sleeper Mask is?’
Nari’s laugh was devoid of humour. ‘This was never about Zandri. I don’t even believe it was about politics. It was about you .’
I stepped back from her, my eyes flicking to the Kalurian clansmen – to the armed Kalurian clansmen. Their numbers hadn’t seemed threatening before, but now, with their swords and axes gleaming in the firelight . . .
‘I didn’t harm V?lund. I would never –’
‘I am inclined to believe you were as much a victim of this as my brother was. But your Ravalian prince is another matter.’
Slowly I turned to face Cassius. His midnight-blue eyes were unreadable, a perfect match to his expressionless face.
‘Do you have any proof?’ I asked, directing my words to Nari but never shifting my gaze from Cassius.
‘He was seen inside the Temple, where the poisons were stocked. He bedded Astrid before she poured the poisoned wine. And I have spent enough time around him to see the way he watches you.’ Nari’s voice hardened as she said, ‘If that wasn’t enough, he disobeyed your direct order to give the antidote to V?lund.
As a result, your husband – our leader – is dead.
If you want to maintain this alliance, Kasmira, I demand retribution. ’
‘From what you’ve told me,’ I said slowly, facing Nari once more, ‘the only concrete evidence you have is Cassius’s decision to save my life. Surely that is forgivable.’
‘Not to me.’ Nari’s face was hard. Uncompromising. ‘I will accept nothing less than his death. His death, in recompense for my brother’s.’
Velanthe’s dark eyes met mine. The high priestess didn’t speak, but the slight dip of her head said enough.
Whether it was fair or not, in the eyes of the clans, this was the only reasonable choice. And suddenly, I was back on that icy mountain plateau, trying to choose between Nari and Darius’s lives.
I had sworn never to make that mistake again. Never to put one life ahead of the lives of my people, and my duty as queen. In order to protect my position, in order to defeat Roran, I had to do this.
Cassius didn’t try to stop me as I reached for his face, running a finger down the contours of his cheek. Sharp – his cheekbones were so sharp. Just as sharp as the rest of him.
Only it was easy to forget that, wasn’t it? Easy to be lured in by that beautiful, careless facade. A facade he cultivated for precisely that purpose.
All it took was a little bit more pressure and my nails were sinking into his flesh, causing a thin red line to well. How strange it was to realise that he could bleed. That he was every bit as human as I was, even if his veins were filled with ice.
A single thought had Cassius’s blood slowing. He collapsed to his knees, his eyes widening – not in fear or surprise, but in something darker. As if my actions made complete sense to him.
It seemed I had my answer.
‘I lied to you,’ I admitted, my voice quiet – too quiet for Nari and the others to overhear. ‘But you’ve known that all along, haven’t you? You knew exactly what I promised V?lund in exchange for an alliance.’
Cassius didn’t deny it. The moonlight slashed his face in half, and I finally saw the anger he had been concealing.
‘Yes,’ he replied, equally softly. ‘I knew. I knew that for your alliance to have worked, you would have had to kill not only Roran, but his entire family. My entire family.’ He stared up at me, his blue eyes flashing. ‘You decided that Scarlett and I were acceptable losses.’
I thought of the red tears running down V?lund’s face, and my heart hardened. What had Cassius said once?
Both Scarlett and Zandri are known for their ruthlessness – and your priestesses stock poisons in the Temple. Some are even Ravalian in origin.
Gods, if only I had pieced it together earlier. I could have saved V?lund’s life – and Astrid’s.
I stared into Cassius’s resolute face. I had no doubt that he’d always intended for me to survive; he must have chosen the poison knowing that Velanthe had an antidote, and poisoned me so I wouldn’t be implicated in the assassination attempt.
Perhaps, in his own mind, he had acted in some kind of twisted self-defence, killing V?lund before the clan leader could kill him .
But even if I could forgive him for that, there was still Astrid to consider – an innocent woman who had died merely to ensure her silence.
I reached for the dagger strapped to my side. Everyone was watching me, my surroundings so silent I could hear the whisper of the wind and the gentle lapping of the water against the rocky shore.
Two of Nari’s warriors drew closer, on either side of me. I couldn’t tell if their placement was meant as a threat – or protection, in case Cassius were to escape the influence of my blood magic and attack me.
‘I was wrong to release you from the dungeons,’ I told Cassius in a carrying voice. ‘I should have known that it would come to this.’
‘I was the one who was wrong,’ he murmured, something indefinable shadowing his midnight-blue gaze. ‘When I said that I couldn’t imagine you being as ruthless as me or Roran. I was wrong.’
His words stung – exactly like they were supposed to. It would be easy to finish it. A quick slice across his throat, and Cassius would be gone. It was what I should have done weeks ago.
Months ago.
I closed my eyes, fighting for control. I was furious, suddenly – furious with Nari and the clans, furious with Cassius and the tattooed crown on my forehead that meant nothing at all.
Red seeped into my vision, and with it came something dark and monstrous.
A sense of certainty I had never felt before.
When I reopened my eyes, I knew that Cassius would see nothing human in my face.
Nothing remotely merciful.
But he didn’t flinch as my grip tightened on the dagger. Didn’t so much as shift his gaze from mine. And then . . . a faint smile curved his lips. Like we were sharing a secret.
I acted in a lightning-fast movement – two quick slashes, right then left. Blood sprayed over me and Cassius like a fountain, coating us both in crimson as the two clan warriors fell. When I swallowed, I tasted something hot and metallic.
‘Restrain the others,’ I ordered the priestesses and my warriors. ‘No one escapes.’
I didn’t turn to see if my order had been obeyed – didn’t need to. Velanthe was nothing if not loyal.
‘You’re making a mistake.’ Nari’s skin was sickly pale as she stared down at the two men bleeding out on the beach, then back at me – and Cassius, standing at my side. I had the sense he was still smiling. Amused by the direction this had taken.
‘You’re the one who made a mistake,’ I said evenly, strolling towards her. ‘I am a queen, and I am done taking orders. Cassius is my subject, not yours. It is my decision what to do with him.’
One of Nari’s warriors moved to block my path, but I didn’t pause. As blood spilled around me, my power strengthened. At my glance, the blood began to rise and expand, snaking through the air with exhilarating speed before forming into a spear and–
The warrior crumpled instantly as the red spear pierced right through him, only to dissolve once more, mixing with his own blood. So much blood that it drew me closer, its pulsing energy begging me to reach out and use it.
A sudden sense of connection rose up in me, and when I glanced down at my hands, they were glowing with an eerie reddish light. I let the dagger fall as I advanced on Nari, filled with the certainty that I no longer needed the weapon.
‘Stay back, demon.’ Nari raised her sword, but her hands were trembling. ‘Even if you kill me, you will not win. The Kalurian clans will rise up against you.’
‘Will they?’ I asked mildly, taking in the scene around me. Most of the clansmen were still fighting, responsible for the bodies of priestesses and a few of my warriors lying motionless on the ground. And that is unacceptable.
I had feared my power for so long. Had resisted using it, resisted finding out what I was truly capable of. But I didn’t need to resist it or control it any longer. I needed to unleash it.
A hand took hold of my arm, and the flicker of emotion that crossed Cassius’s face as I met his gaze . . . Gods, what must I look like, if even Cassius seemed unnerved?
‘Mira.’ His voice was cautioning. ‘Are you sure you want to do this? You’ll have to kill them all.’
‘No,’ I told him. ‘I won’t.’
Letting go of my power felt like unleashing a natural disaster. It was an explosion, a tidal wave, extending from me and sweeping up everyone in its path until I was connected to every single one of them, their hearts and minds and souls mine for the taking.
A reddish haze overcame my vision as I focused on maintaining the tether, straining against the limits of my endurance and the pain screaming through my body as I forced one crucial, all-encompassing command into their minds:
I am your queen.
And you will obey me .