Chapter 16 #3
‘Only a small part. My family has grown substantially since I moved here. My wife is Issen, so I have no shortage of in-laws here in Isthyr.’
The way he smiles as he says this implies he’s more than happy with their arrangement, but before I can ask him about his wife, he continues to talk of Korvane.
‘Assessing right or wrong has always been easy for me. Maybe too easy, I don’t know, but it seemed black and white.
I wasn’t going to turn my back on a city of good people for the greed of one man.
But for many of the men I fought with, even the good ones, making the decision was harder.
When you’re used to seeing excuses in your life, you learn to make them too.
And accept them. People give rational reasoning where there is none.
Give the benefit of the doubt where one should presume guilt.
And vice versa. I understand why this is so difficult for the prince, truly, and I will be here to talk when he’s ready.
Hopefully, in time, he will trust me enough that he’ll let my granddaughter Orla plait his dire wolf’s hair. She is obsessed with the animals.’
‘You have a granddaughter here in Isthyr?’ I ask, sucking in a sharp breath as I land on my foot a little too hard.
‘I do.’
‘And what of her powers, if you don’t mind me asking? Are they Morathkian?’
‘They are unique, as are many of the children here since Magnus began inviting us to remain. Some carry Issen powers, some Morathkian, but the mix of us… Well, some have skills I have never seen beyond these walls. I also have a grandson a few years older than Orla. His powers are more in line with the Issen, but he does not mind that. He is very proud of his heritage. We were all relieved last moon when his pattern finally became visible on his face. Before that he’d been wandering around bare-chested in this weather to show off the pattern there.
I mean, he’s three-quarters Issen, but still, it made me shiver just looking at him. ’
My heart lurches up into my throat. I was desperate to find a way to segue into facial patterns, and Uzra has offered me the perfect opening.
And better still, with a conversation about children who have Morathkian blood in their veins too, just like William.
I open my mouth, eager to pose my questions, when he speaks again.
‘I’ve got the princess,’ Uzra shouts. ‘We’re coming. She probably needs to see a healer though.’
Frustration fizzes through me. We’re already nearly at the top of the stairs, and my time with Uzra is quickly coming to an end.
I bite down my impatience. Now that I have my opening, I will ask Uzra about it the next time we’re alone. And given how I’m stuck here until I complete the last stage of the Veil, I’ve no doubt I’ll find the right moment.
As we walk into the light, Fen is the first to greet me. Given his previous comment, I expected an entire pack of dire wolves to be waiting at the entrance, but there are in fact only a handful. A handful I suspect he could easily have taken had he wanted to.
I did tell you, Little Raven, he says, a shade smugly. I can feel how glad he is that I respect him as a warrior.
You’re right.
Of course I am. In what situation would I not be? Now, climb on me and I’ll take you to the healers. I can feel your pain.
He lies down on the ground for me.
How things have changed. I think with fondness of that first crazy ride when he was still indignant at the idea of being ridden at all.
‘Uzra,’ I say, looking at the knight, ‘can you give me a hand to get onto Fen’s back?’ Even lowered as Fen is, I can’t put any weight at all on my foot to swing myself over.
‘Of course, Princess.’
‘I can help.’ Magnus steps forward. There are bags beneath his eyes and he looks exhausted. I suspect he’s been out here this entire time. Pacing. Waiting. The same way the others are probably doing back in the palace. Or more likely the library, in Caz’s case. But as he moves closer, I flinch.
‘It’s fine. I don’t need your help,’ I say, surprised by how bitter the words sound.
It’s not his fault I’m in pain, bruised and broken.
I believe that he thought the Veil was the best way of keeping us safe, but by failing to tell me the full truth, he’s betrayed my trust, and right now, I don’t need to be around people I don’t trust. Not when I’m already hurting.
‘Please, Rose. Let me help you.’
‘I said I’m fine!’ The words fire from me, sharp with anger and pain, and my power tears loose before I even realise I’ve reached for it.
A thousand spears of ice shoot out around me.
Five feet long and each etched to a point, they hurtle through the air.
Several of the knights drop to the ground, but Magnus and another two stay on their feet.
With a flick of the wrist, he’s changed the spears’ direction so that they head upwards before shattering into shards and dropping to the ground.
As the hail rains down on us, it feels as though the floor has dropped away from beneath my feet.
At least I now know what Oel did when he touched me.
He gave me a fuck tonne of Issen magic.