Chapter 19
The disappointment at being pulled away from my first attempt at this Veil stage is almost immediately erased when I realise where I am. Not merely in Wrohelm, nor just in the High Hold, but in the courtyard outside our home. My heart lurches. Finally. It feels like moons since I last saw them.
From my view of the front door, I assume I’m perched on a tree, and I’m preparing myself to move over towards the window when the front door opens.
Kay. The sight of her causes warmth to flood through me as she steps out, her arm looped through Jonas’s.
She’s dressed in loose furs that entirely hide her growing belly, but just as I suspected, she’s glowing.
I greedily drink in the sight of her. There’s a warm, rosy tint to her lips, and a fullness to her cheeks that I only ever dreamed of in the slums. My heart is so full that it takes all my control not to swoop across towards her and perch on the window ledge close enough for her to reach out and touch me.
But before I can act on such an impulse, another figure follows them out of the house: William.
Relief barrels through me. There is no hint of the lacy patterns on his face or neck, nor on his hands.
Of course there isn’t.
There’s no way Jonas would let him leave the house if that were the case. As I draw in a breath, it feels like the vice that has tightened and tightened around my ribs every day since I last saw him loosens just a fraction. He’s still safe. My brother is still safe.
My brother. It still makes my mind reel, thinking those words.
From my spot on the branch, I watch the three of them as they bid farewell to Summer, who closes the door behind them. The maid’s continued presence also brings me an unexpected warmth, and I find I’m relieved to see her there.
‘We can’t be long,’ Jonas insists. ‘You understand that, Will?’
‘Yes, Jonas,’ William groans in the manner of teenagers the world over.
I wait for more, for Jonas to explain the need to be swift, but no reason is forthcoming, and the fear sweeps back in, my relief ebbing as rapidly as it came.
Can William not spend long outside of the house because of his powers? Because they fear his magic being revealed?
Years, I tell myself. That was what Uzra told me. The pattern took years to cover his face. The knowledge should fill me with hope, but how can it when I don’t know how long it’s been since the marks first appeared?
A cry of despair cracks in my throat. Immediately, William’s eyes snap up, meeting mine.
My avian heart beats so rapidly that the pulses blur into a buzz that only increases as my brother steps towards the tree I’m perched on.
Don’t move. Don’t move.
I’ve had control of my movements in this state for moons now, even if I can’t control when or where I slip, but never have I been so desperate to stay exactly where I am.
But it’s William who stops, frowning with his head cocked, as if he can hear what I’m saying. But he can’t, can he?
Curiosity shines in my brother’s eyes as he once again picks up his feet and moves closer and closer. As he does, he doesn’t so much as blink, as if he refuses to break our gaze.
Can he tell it’s me?
I dismiss the idea immediately.
Of course he can’t. I’m a raven. That’s all he can see. An ill omen.
Yet he’s moving with such quiet caution, it’s as though he can tell I’m something more than a simple bird.
‘William?’ The sharpness of Kay’s voice causes his head to snap back ’round to her and my eyes, too. ‘Where are you going?’
‘Sorry. I thought I heard…’ He shakes his head slightly. ‘An impossibility. It doesn’t matter.’
With one quick glance over his shoulder at me, he ambles back to my sister and Jonas, although they’ve barely taken two steps when Kay stops and clutches her side.
‘What is it?’ Jonas asks, his hand immediately over hers, my own panic reflected in his eyes. ‘Are you okay?’
‘I’m fine.’ But Kay’s jaw is clenched, pain visibly radiating from her. ‘Just a cramp. Perhaps I’ve not eaten enough today.’
‘You’re certain? I thought Summer made you food.’
‘I wasn’t feeling hungry then. Honestly, I’m fine.’ She smiles, lifting her hand to cup Jonas’s cheek as his face crinkles with concern. ‘Really, my love, I’m fine. Come, we don’t want to be late.’
He hesitates for just a moment, then kisses her lightly on the forehead and slips his arm around her waist before they continue.
Keen to know where they’re going, I lift my head and stretch my wings, ready to follow them, yet my feet have barely left the safety of the branch when I feel myself slipping back into my human body.
Typical.
At least I got to see that they’re safe. That will have to be enough for now.
When I open my eyes, I find myself on the ground.
I ease myself up into a sitting position, and a groan escapes me as a throbbing ache spreads down from the top of my thigh.
Yet another fall onto rock-hard ice. I miss the plants and foliage of Morathka for a whole host of reasons, but I never thought I’d miss it for the cushioning.
Magnus is standing a short distance away, and we’re in the cave he took me to when he was trying to teach me to meditate. He must’ve carried me here when I slipped. That means he’s surprisingly strong and spry for his age.
He walks across to me, and it’s notable that there’s no look of fear, no concern on his face.
‘You have Raven Sight.’
It’s not a question, and there’s no point denying it. He knows what he saw.
‘Yes,’ I tell him.
The soft smile curving his lips holds possibly the greatest warmth I have ever seen him radiate.
‘Is this common within the Issen?’ I ask. ‘I meant to ask Toren about it, but—’
‘No.’ He shakes his head with surprising force. ‘It’s not an Issen power, and it’s not something you should discuss widely.’
Unease stirs within me. Is it dangerous? And where the hell do the powers come from if they’re not Issen? They’re not Torailian – their open disgust at talking with animals made that clear – and it’s not a Morathkian power, so then … what the fuck?
Magnus senses my turmoil and offers that same soft smile again. ‘This is not a bad thing, Rose, not at all. It only shows your heritage even more clearly. Please trust me that all will become clear in time. But now, I think you need rest.’
‘Rest? No, I want to attempt the Veil.’ I look around only for disappointment to sink like a stone in my stomach. I’m not where I thought I was at all. Magnus has moved me into a different cave entirely.
‘The Veil,’ I whisper again. William is fresh in my mind. I can’t shake the feeling that his life hangs in the balance, no matter how healthy and happy he appeared. ‘I must go through the Veil. Now.’
‘What did you see?’ he asks, but I shake my head. Even now I can’t risk answering him, not truthfully.
‘Tomorrow, perhaps,’ he suggests, ‘if you are rested.’
‘I’m fine, truly. Such moments do not tire me.’
‘We all need rest, Rose. It helps clear our heads. And you will need a clear head for this third stage.’
‘Fine. Tomorrow,’ I reply firmly. ‘Tomorrow I wish to see it. I wish to go through it.’
‘I will make no promises now, Little Raven,’ Magnus says.
My body stiffens. Only Fen uses that name for me. I don’t think any of the others even know it exists. It feels … startling … to hear it said aloud.
In my silence, the first hint of strong emotion I’ve ever seen from the king floods his face – regret. With a dip of his head, he pinches the bridge of his nose.
‘I’m sorry. That was inappropriate. It is a name I once used for another.’
‘For my mother? Or my grandmother?’ I ask slowly.
He nods.
‘You’ve barely mentioned them,’ I say. ‘Other than to tell me my mother’s name, I know nothing,’ I continue. ‘No one mentions them.’
‘No, they do not.’
There is a finality to his voice. He doesn’t want to be questioned on this, but this is my heritage we’re talking about, and his little omission with the poisoning has used up my goodwill. I’m about to press him further when he continues.
‘Perhaps you should get one of your dire wolves to carry you back to the city,’ he says. ‘Save you the walk. If that is—’
‘Magnus!’ The king’s words are interrupted by a loud shout from outside. ‘Magnus, where are you?’
‘Excuse me, Rose,’ Magnus says as he rises to his feet and heads for the staircase out of the cave.
Hastily, I follow suit, and I have to give it to the old man – he takes those ice steps two at a time, and it takes all my effort not to fall behind him.
We reach the surface to find a familiar, snarling face there, blocking the exit.
‘Greta, what is it?’
‘The storm wielder. He is striking our sacred lands. Cracking the ice. Trying to destroy this land with his lightning.’
Magnus’s jaw drops as he looks from Ranveeg to me and back again.
‘Why would he do such a thing?’
Elska, go to Kyor, now! I command before I speak aloud. ‘Uzra asked him to train with them as he thought it might be good for the men to experience fighting against such powers. He came to Kyor himself with around twenty men and invited Kyor to use his powers specifically. Stefan was there too.’
‘It is sacrilege,’ Ranveeg spits. ‘And if what she says is true, they should both be punished.’
Magnus turns to me, his gaze unwavering.
‘Uzra said this? He asked him to fight with him? Here? You are certain?’
‘Yes, but not here. It was over on the ice plains. Where Stefan trains me.’
Magnus purses his lips.
I don’t doubt that Korvane would have sent an army to slaughter an enemy prince the instant a whisper of wrongdoing reached his ears. Yet Magnus is a man who thinks before he acts.
‘So why strike the sacred lands…?’ For a moment, I assume the question is directed at me, only to notice how Magnus is looking at Ranveeg.
‘Is not all our land sacred?’ she barks back.
With a huff, Magnus slips past Ranveeg out of the cave.
‘Our people are terrified!’ she shouts after him.
The instant we’re outside, it’s easy to see where the men are fighting.
They’re not on the sacred lands at all; they’re right over on the other side of the city, although the massive peridot thundercloud above us covers a vast chunk of the sky as it sends forks of lightning down onto the ice.
Still, the rumbles of thunder that accompany them are muted in comparison, telling me that Kyor is far from using all of his power.
‘I will admit, this is unexpected,’ Magnus says as he looks at the sky.
‘Uzra will tell you the truth,’ I say. And if he doesn’t – if this has been some kind of ploy to get the king to turn on Kyor – I will get Caz on the case to prove he’s lying.
Ranveeg is still ranting, fury still burning in her. ‘If it is true, if Uzra has let that damned crown prince fight our men—’
‘He has done so because he believes it is a wise choice,’ Magnus cuts her off calmly. ‘Uzra outranks you in seniority, Greta, even if it is only marginally, and so you must respect his decisions and command.’
Ranveeg’s upper lip curls in a snarl that is scarily similar to Fen’s. ‘How can I ever forget that you let one of them outrank your own people?’
In a split second, it’s as if the sun has been blocked entirely.
Darkness sweeps around us, so complete that it appears the daylight has been removed entirely, which is exactly what has happened.
The peridot clouds, the hint of sky behind them, the cave mouth in front of which I stood…
all are gone. My skin rises into thousands of goosebumps as I fight the urge to cry out in shock if not fear.
The Issen power is the removal of energy, and the energy Magnus is removing is that of light. Every drop of it. It’s terrifying and magnificent, and just as disconcerting as Jonas’s ability to temporarily blind anyone he chooses. Perhaps more so.
My breath quickens and grows shallow. I don’t believe that Magnus would hurt me, but Ranveeg? A well-aimed ice spear through the dark could easily end my life. My pulse skips higher and higher.
Fen? I question, trying to remain calm.
I’m right here, Little Raven. All is well.
I don’t know how he found me in the darkness, but his fur brushes gently against my thigh.
By your feet, Little Raven. He nudges my toe with his nose. Your dagger.
Thank you.
I crouch slowly, and when my fingertips find the cold metal of the hilt, my pulse evens by just a fraction. With Fen’s nose and the blade, at least Ranveeg won’t have an easy shot at me.
‘Your Majesty…’ Ranveeg’s voice trembles with a deference I’ve not heard her use before. ‘I meant no—’
‘Uzra is one of ours.’ Magnus’s voice is a low growl.
‘We are not them, Ranveeg. We do not choose sides based on where a person comes from, or what they look like, or what powers they do or do not have. Issen judge men and women alike by their hearts and that alone. And Uzra is a true Issen to his core. The Veil confirmed that. If I ever hear you speak such a thing again, there will be consequences. Do you understand?’
‘I’m sorry, Your Majesty. Truly,’ she says meekly.
From the silence that follows, I assume Magnus is not yet satisfied. And as Ranveeg suddenly continues, I suspect she senses the same. ‘You are right. The Veil accepted him. He is my superior, and I will not question him again. I apologise, sincerely.’
‘Good.’
Instantly, the light is restored. The effect is blinding, and my hand flies to cover my eyes as I squeeze them shut. Slowly, I blink until my vision is restored, and the first thing I notice is the peridot clouds, now right at the edge of the city. Magnus looks at me and lets out a sigh.
‘I suppose we should go and see what this fight is all about.’