Chapter 18 #3
‘He’s the future king of Morathka. And you…’
‘And I what?’ I press.
‘You are an Issen princess. You can’t possibly consider continuing the relationship once you have completed the Veil. It marks you as one of our leaders. It would be a slap in the face to your people.’
‘Wouldn’t it be a slap in the face of their princess if they told her she had to give up the love of her life?
’ I fire back. ‘The one who helped her survive? I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for Kyor.
He’s saved my life more than once.’ I hear the edge in my voice, but I don’t soften it.
‘I’m grateful for your help, Stefan. Truly.
But you’ve overstepped.’ A wave of hailstones sweeps in on a snowstorm, utterly surrounding Stefan and me.
He steps back immediately, blanching. ‘I have offended you, Princess. That wasn’t my intent. I’m sorry. Truly.’
I give a small nod. Heat simmers in my veins, yet somehow I keep the magic steady.
Pulsing. With my jaw locked so tightly it throbs, I force myself to practise my three long breaths.
Even with those steadying moments, it takes every inch of willpower not to let it rip from me.
Because if I do, I have no idea how much destruction would follow in my wake.
We walk the rest of the way in silence and are just inside the city when Brida appears, striding straight for Stefan. ‘You’re here without the prince. Where is he?’
‘Training with Uzra and the others,’ Stefan replies calmly.
‘Fighting?’ She frowns. ‘They’re not in the battle yard.’
‘No, I believe they headed further afield so that the prince could use his powers.’
Brida’s face tightens. ‘Does my mother know?’
‘I don’t know.’
Her jaw locks. She looks between us. ‘You need to take her to Magnus,’ she snaps at Stefan. ‘He requests her presence now. And I’m telling my mother about this.’
I’m imagining the crunch of that trachea right now, Fen mutters darkly in my mind as she storms off.
Not until I give you the go-ahead, I tell him. I’ve certainly not ruled out the possibility, though it does seem that Brida’s all talk and no bite.
I haven’t spoken to Magnus since our spat the night before. I half expect him to send Toren in his place for meditation practice, but as the river comes into view, it’s Magnus himself who is standing there.
‘I’m fine now,’ I tell Stefan. ‘I can walk on my own from here.’
‘Very well. And good luck with the Veil. Maybe you will set a new record, but you’ll understand if I don’t place a bet on it.’
The guy really is a prick. It’s the way he tries to sound polite when he’s making his insults. I hate that.
At least with Ranveeg and Brida I know where I stand. The pair hate me. Stefan, on the other hand, I still haven’t quite worked out. During training today, it seemed as if he was genuinely trying to help me improve. And despite Kyor’s fear, he’s not done anything to try to hurt me.
But Stefan’s intentions are not for me to worry about right now. I have more pressing issues, like completing the Veil before this damn poison in my arms kills me.
‘Rose,’ Magnus says as he meets me. ‘You came. I am glad.’
‘Well, I don’t have much choice, do I?’ I say, lifting my hands and showing the black marks on them.
They’re throbbing constantly now, but it’s low-level, just under the surface of the skin, and mostly easy enough to ignore, especially when I’m using magic. But something tells me that’s not going to be the case forever.
‘I meant for you to just meet with me, now,’ Magnus replies. ‘I thought perhaps you’d attempt the Veil another day.’
‘So how does this work now?’ I ask as I cross the bridge with him, keeping my eyes forward.
Hopefully, like Stefan, my grandfather might let slip a few details without realising.
‘I know it’s likely to take a few attempts to complete the third stage, so what do I do?
Just keep entering the Veil again and again until I get to the end? ’
‘No, you can only enter the Veil once a day,’ Magnus says. ‘I thought I told you that?’
‘No,’ I say through gritted teeth. ‘You didn’t mention that.’
‘I apologise. For that and my other omissions. Well then, to be clear, you have one opportunity to complete the Veil each day, but only one moon from the moment you first stepped through it before the poison takes you.’
Marvellous. Given how many days have already passed, that leaves me with twenty-three days. Much more than what Stefan and Ranveeg needed. That feels totally doable.
We walk in silence, and even Fen and Elska are unusually quiet. When the mouth of the cave comes into view, I don’t need to be told about my dagger. Instantly, I unsheathe it and place it on the ground by Fen’s feet.
‘Best of luck, Rose. I will wait here for you,’ Magnus says.
I nod and lift my foot, ready to take the first step, when a familiar slipping sensation tears through me, my stomach lurching as I am ripped away to the skies.
Anger and disbelief flood through me as the world drops away.
Now? It chooses to do this now?
Great. Just fucking great.