A Soul for Vengeance

Chapter 19



Zara lifted the hollowed log and peered out across the dark harbor. The icy water had turned her fingers numb within minutes of diving in, and she’d stopped shivering soon after that. A jolt behind her informed her that Parros’s feet had touched the bottom. A few more kicks later and her boots scraped against the soft silt.

Not the way she wanted to enter Boznac, but it would have to do.

Once she assured herself the coast was clear, she threw the log aside and scrambled up onto the thin strip of beach just inside the city walls. Parros helped her drag the log onto the shore. Hopefully, it would still be there when they needed to leave. Otherwise, she’d have to come up with another way to get through the heavily guarded gates.

A blast of wind blew in from the sea, sending its damp chill even deeper into her bones. She wrapped her arms around herself and shivered. What she wouldn’t give to have Kell to curl up next to tonight. Instead, she’d have to trudge through the city, dodging Thallian soldiers along the way to Thao’s house. Then, once she reached there, she’d have to dry out in his dank cellar until the shops opened the next morning.

Parros tossed her pack to her. “Clever idea, m’lady. Forgot all about the beach here.”

“So have the Thallians.” She strapped the pack to her shoulders, wishing it was her crossbow instead. Bringing obvious weapons like that into the city was too risky, especially considering the number of Thallian soldiers they’d seen patrolling the walls this afternoon. “I’ll feel better when we’re inside Thao’s house.”

“That makes two of us, m’lady.” He shook with a full-body shiver. “I don’t remember when I’ve been so cold.”

“I would suggest we change into dry clothes now, but the risk is too high.”

She started her hike into the city, the brisk pace reviving her sluggish blood. Once they entered the streets, the steady walk turned into scrambles from one building to the next after peering around corners to make sure they wouldn’t be seen. Her heart pounded in her chest by the time she knocked on Thao’s door, and not all of it was due to exercise.

Thao’s eyes widened when he opened the door to find them. “Get in here quick, m’lady.” Once he shut the door behind them, he followed with closing all the shutters in the front room. “What are you doing here?”

“Prince Kell sent us on a mission.” The less Thao knew, the better. That way, the Thallians couldn’t press him for information he didn’t have. “May we hide here tonight?”

“Of course, m’lady. May I show you to a room upstairs?”

She shook her head. “Parros and I will be safer down in the cellar.”

Thao nodded, his face more drawn than the last time she’d seen him. Even his normally flamboyant moustache now drooped. “How did you get into the city? They’re not letting anyone out unless they’re a Thallian.”

“Lady Zara is extremely resourceful.” Parros didn’t bother to pour Thao’s sherry into a glass. He took a long swig from the decanter. “We can try to sneak you out when we leave, if you want to join us.”

“And leave behind my elegant home?” Thao swept his hand across the room, which had long been stripped of its riches. “Besides, if I leave Boznac, I wouldn’t be able to keep you abreast of the latest happenings.”

Zara accepted the glass of whiskey their host offered her. The bitter liquor burned down her throat, but it drove away the chill. “Why the sudden increase of troops?”

“I keep hearing about them invading Gravaria one minute, followed by them saying they are preparing for a Gravarian invasion the next. Either way, it doesn’t bode well for my business.” He led them into the kitchen and opened the cellar door. “One day, I’ll be a respectable gentleman again.”

“Right now, I’m honored to call you a friend and ally. Thank you for all you’ve done for us.” Zara laid her hand on his shoulder as a gesture of appreciation before descending to the blackness below.

“Who taught you how to pick a lock?” Parros grumbled over her shoulder, pressing up against her to get out of the rain that streamed down the overhang.

“Bynn.” Zara jiggled the pin into the keyhole, catching the locking mechanism after a couple of seconds. Then, ever so carefully, she tilted the pin up until she heard the click she’d been waiting for. “Done.”

Parros opened the door and bowed. “After you, m’lady.”

Zara crept into the empty shop, trying to remember the layout from this morning so she wouldn’t trip over anything and alert its sleeping owner upstairs. She’d been here just a few hours before under the premise of trying to find a necklace to impress her Thallian lover. The owner wasted no time pulling out trays of his wares from his glass case. She’d spotted Kell’s pendant immediately based on the description he’d given her. The jolt of magic that raced up her arm when she touched it only confirmed her suspicions.

The case was locked, so Parros stood guard by the stairs while she picked it open. Thankfully, the Ranellian merchant hadn’t hired a Thallian mage to cast a protective spell over his shop, or they would’ve been caught the moment she stuck her pin into the lock outside. As it was, the lock on the case proved harder to unlatch with its tiny, complex mechanisms. After several sweat-inducing minutes, she succeeded.

She reached her hand inside. The entire shop was shrouded in darkness, but she didn’t need light to find Kell’s pendant. The same teeth-gritting shock she’d felt earlier let her know the moment she grabbed it. She closed her hand around the cold metal and pulled it out. Yes, it was stealing from one of her people, but guilt didn’t hinder her movements. The sooner she got this back to its rightful owner, the sooner they could drive out the Thallians.

“Got it.” She draped the chain around her neck, wincing at the sting of magic against her chest, and followed Parros out of the shop. It had been the easiest swipe she’d ever performed. Almost too easy.

As they made their way back to Thao’s in the same duck-and-run manner from the previous night, she blamed the growing sense of unease that clawed at the back of her mind on the magical pendant. She shook off the way her stomach tied in knots and ignored the little voice that told her to go back to the beach, telling herself she’d be much more comfortable leaving tomorrow after the rain stopped.

But when she rounded the last corner, she skidded to a stop.

A dozen Thallian soldiers surrounded Thao’s home, the fiery glow from their lanterns casting sinister shadows on it.

Parros grabbed her and pulled her back out of their sight, but it didn’t stop her from hearing what went on. The loud thump of furniture and the crash of broken glass could be heard by anyone on the street. Neighbors cracked open their shutters to see what was going on, but none of them dared exit their homes. No one was willing to risk their lives to save their neighbor.

She crouched behind a barrel and peered over the top to see what the Thallians were doing to Thao. Shouts came from inside the home, but several minutes passed before one of the soldiers shoved him out into the street. Thao landed face down in a puddle, the water ruining the fine velvet doublet he favored.

A soldier with a gold braid adorning his uniform stepped forward and yanked Thao up by his hair. “Where are the rebel leaders?”

Thao’s moustache twitched as he tried to smile. “What rebel leaders? I have no idea what you’re talking about, Major.”

“And you’re willing to die to protect them?”

Zara’s breath hitched. She’d taken care to leave Thao ignorant about so many things, but he still knew enough to destroy them all, including the fact she was expected to be back at his home any minute now.

Thao held his gaze, his expression somber as though he already knew how this would end. “I cannot tell you what I do not know.”

The major threw his head to the ground and kicked his chest. “Then you will pay for their actions.” He held up a crumpled piece of paper and shouted to those gathered on the street, “Let it be known that this man was caught engaged in the act of rebellion against Thallus. Such behavior will not be tolerated and will be punished to the fullest extent of the law.”

The lantern light flashed on the polished blade of an executioner’s ax rising above the heads of the soldiers. Zara’s heart stuttered. A bolt of lightning streaked across the sky. Her body lurched forward to save her friend, a scream rising from her throat. A hand clamped around her mouth as the thunder clapped. It pulled her into a darkened ally right before the ax swung down. The clang of metal on stone reverberated through the street, and a deep ache filled the hollows of her chest.

“There’s nothing you can do, m’lady,” Parros whispered in her ear, holding her back against his chest. “Thao was willing to risk his life for our cause, as we all are. But if you go out there now, you’ll only suffer the same fate, and the prince will never get his pendant back.”

A sob choked her throat, and tears ran down her cheeks to mix with the falling rain. She couldn’t help but feel responsible for his death. Less than an hour had passed since he bid her good luck on her mission. And now, the cruel hands of fate had cut the string of his life short.

Parros’s arms pressed the pendant into her chest, reminding her of why she was here in the first place. The mission came first. She huddled against the knight while soldiers dispersed and her grief bled out of her system. The minutes ticked by slowly, tracked by the low toll of the bell in the center of the city. The storm let up, and the rain turned to drizzle. Her joints protested when she decided it was safe enough to head back to the beach. The log was still blessedly there, and her body was already too numb from the night’s event to even notice the frigid water.

They swam past the point where the waves crashed into the shore, hugging the coastline under the log until they’d cleared the city walls. The dim light of dawn was breaking through the clouds by the time they pulled the log out of the water and trudged up onto the beach. Her weary body sank into the sand. The nearest shelter they could trust was over two hours away. It would be so easy to fall asleep here and let the Lady Moon decide if she would ever wake up. But she had to complete her mission.

She turned to Parros, whose blue-lipped expression matched her own. “Let’s keep going. If we stop now, we’ll never make it back.”

He nodded and crawled back to his feet, grunting with each movement. Icicles coated her cloak by the time they reached the half-collapsed barn where they’d hidden their horses in the cellar. The earthen walls buffered the air from the cold outside, and the fire Parros built in the iron stove chased away the last shiver that clung to her exhausted frame.

Zara had no idea how long she slept after that. It could have been days since she had no window from which to tell the hour. Images of Thao’s head rolling down the street toward her with accusation glowing from his dead eyes tormented her dreams. Her chest burned with guilt, and failure lodged in her gut like a lead weight. But it wasn’t until her body started shaking that she opened her eyes.

A bright glow illuminated the cellar. Parros leaned over her, the old kinght’s eyes uncharacteristically wide. His finger trembled as it pointed at her chest. “The necklace.”

Zara grabbed it. A shock of magic snapped the last traces of sleep from her. The light came from the mirror side of the pendant, swirling around the rim as though it wanted her to follow its lead. She traced the border with her finger, and the surface of the mirror blurred for a few seconds before revealing a face utterly unlike hers.

The woman in the reflection had hair the color of sunshine and piercing blue eyes. Her features were both delicate and pronounced, as though they’d been carefully sculpted for the finest porcelain. Her lips parted. “Where’s Kell?” she asked.

Zara held her breath. It was the yellow-haired witch.

“Who are you,” the witch demanded, her eyes forming dangerous slits, “and what are you doing with Kell’s pendant?”

Would it be possible for the witch to strike at her through the pendant? Zara tried to release the necklace and end this conversation, but her fingers remained latched to it. She swallowed past her fear and replied, “I’m Lady Zara Cordello, and I’ve retrieved this pendant for Prince Kell to return it to him.”

The harshness faded from the witch’s face, and her brows peaked. “He lost it?”

“It was taken from him when the Thallians captured him.”

“Kell was captured?” The witch’s voice rose to a squeak, her already pale skin turning a sickly gray. No matter what Kell had told her about his relationship with the witch, it was very clear that Arden still cared about him. “Is he safe now?”

Visions of the major pressing Thao for information flashed through Zara’s mind, and a shudder gathered at the base of her spine, working its way up through her shoulders. “Yes, he’s safe for now.”

“But you said he’d been captured? How did he escape?”

“I rescued him.” Pride puffed out of her chest, and confidence seeped back into her soul. “And when he asked me to find this pendant, I did.”

“So he wanted to speak with me again?”

She closed her eyes to absorb the stab of pain that pierced her chest. “Yes, he did.”

“Oh, thank the Lady Moon he’s alive and well.” The color returned to the witch’s cheeks, giving her an oddly pretty appearance. Now Zara could see why she’d held Kell’s attention for so long. “Please, tell me what’s happened to Ranello.”

“As if you cared.” The words slipped out before Zara could stop them, their bitterness born from months of strife. The scene behind the witch revealed stacks of leather bound books, gilded sconces, and large picturesque windows with sunlight streaming in. “There you sit in your comfortable little world while the rest of us battle for our survival.”

A green light flashed in the witch’s eyes, and her lips thinned. “I don’t pretend to know what you’ve been through, but don’t pretend you know anything about my circumstances.”

“All I know is that I’m here, hiding in a cellar, and you’re there in your palace.”

“They tell me nothing here. What have the Thallians done to Ranello? What have they done to Kell?”

A sob choked her throat as Zara tried to give words to everything that had happened since the Thallians had invaded. The death, the hunger, the chaos, the enslavement of her people. The loss of her father. The wounds that scarred her abdomen and ruined her chances at a happy future with Kell. “They’ve destroyed everything.”

Pity slackened the witch’s mouth, and she looked away, her own chest heaving with emotion. “Is that why Kell wanted to speak to me again?”

Zara nodded.

The witch remained quiet for a moment, her lashes fluttering. The she drew in a deep breath and said, “Then tell him I will be there as soon as I can.”

The image became distorted and then faded, plunging the cellar back into darkness. The pendant fell from her hands, jerking to a stop when it reached the end of its chain. Bittersweet joy filled Zara. Arden had agreed to help them. She’d return to Kell, and he’d forget about their brief affair once he had his yellow-haired witch back.

Zara pulled her knees up to her chest and focused on breathing in and out at a slow, calm pace.

Arden could give Kell what she couldn’t.

All would be as it should.