“Come innnn,” a voice called back.
I shook my head. Walk into a city of rubble, when the stone hags could wield that rubble to bury us alive? “We have a bargain. Break it and accept the consequences.”
I allowed a hint of my power free. Mostly because a hint was all that was left. Grinding my teeth, I held up a hand, my magic sparking in the sunlight. Soon. Soon, my power would be returned in full.
“You dareeee threaten usss?”
Rythos’s horse shifted under him. He jumped off and pulled his sword. “Don’t make us come in there.”
“They want us to come in there,” Marth muttered. “That’s the point.”
We didn’t have time for this. I let my power strike at the closest pile of rubble—one that had likely been a watchtower. From the shriek that pierced my ears, one of the stone hags had been using it to spy on us. I smiled. Hopefully that would reduce the time we spent in this place.
Several hags appeared from the rubble. All of them moved slowly, their gray skin wrinkled and dry as dust. The one in the center wore a crown of tourmaline.
I dismounted and waited for them to come to us. I’d always found power in silence. Rythos lazily swung his sword in his hand. I gave him a warning look, and his mouth curved in a feral smile. All these years, and I still didn’t know why he loathed the hags.
“The bargain has changed,” the queen hissed. “We will require more gold.”
Galon jumped off his horse next to me, offense flashing over his face. Once agreed upon, deals were never to be broken. Behind us, Marth and Cavis guarded our backs, although I knew both men well enough to know they were hoping for a fight.
“And you believe we will comply with your demands?”
The queen smiled, a grotesque display of crumbling stone teeth. “I believe I know why you need this little ingredient.” She held up a vial containing the specific moss we required. “And if I am correct, you will need secrecy. Because if the king learned of your plans, all of you would burnnnn.”
I watched the queen until she dropped her gaze. She immediately lifted it, but it was too late. We both knew who was more dominant.
I smiled. “And you believe you are safe here in this cursed land that was once a city? You believe Sabium wouldn’t send his guards here—with all of the magic at their disposal—to turn this stone to dust?”
She studied my face. One of her sisters murmured in the queen’s ear. I kept my expression blank, despite the restlessness that itched at the base of my spine. This was the weakest part of our plan. Without the hags’ cooperation, and the moss in the queen’s hand, my revenge would stay forever out of reach.
“We will agree to the original deal,” the queen said finally.
“Then why waste our time?” Rythos muttered. The hag ignored him, and he mounted his horse, his sword still in his hand as he approached her.
Marth went with him. Rythos held out his hand for the moss. Marth offered the coins. All of us waited in tense silence. One wrong move, and there would be bodies on the ground. I didn’t particularly mind if I had to wiggle that vial free of the stone hag’s cold, dead hand. In truth, a part of me ached for the fight. The queen met my eyes and gestured to her underling. The moss hit Rythos’s hand, the coins were snatched from Marth’s palm, and it was done.
The hags sneered, drifting back into their stone city. The first part of our plan was complete. Grim determination simmered through me. If I could, I would wage war right this second. But the next step would take even longer.
Above our heads, a falcon swooped. My brother had insisted on training the independent bird to send his messages. Hopefully, the tiny piece of parchment it would be carrying contained good news and we could move on to the next stage of our plan.
The bird landed on Marth’s shoulder, its claws tangling in his blond hair, and he winced, untying the message.
“Our contact says we need to meet him at the Gromalian border.”
The antithesis of good news. I went still. “That’s the opposite direction. It means going past the city.”
Marth sighed. “I know. According to your brother, his contact says he can’t risk traveling into Eprotha right now. Security is too tight.”
“This will cost us at least two days of travel.” If we took too long on the road, we would cut into our time in the city—and our search for what had been taken from us. That search would need to be carefully executed. Methodical. And yet, without the other vial, we wouldn’t get anywhere near the castle.
We needed to risk it.
I forced myself to take a deep breath. My revenge was so close, all my plans falling into place. If this was the worst calamity we faced over the coming weeks, I would gladly welcome it.
Marth handed me the other note in his hand.
Unfolding the parchment, I scanned it.
Dear L,
My sources tell me you will be forced to travel back to the border in order to find the package. I can practically hear you grinding your teeth, but it must be done. As long as you travel quickly, you will still be able to make your meeting.
Riniana has been asking after you. Shall I tell her you’re thinking of her?
Your older, extremely patient brother,
C
Shaking my head, I took the quill Marth handed me and scrawled my reply.
Dear C,
I suppose you think the situation with Riniana is amusing. We can’t all be happily married and sickeningly in love. Nor would most of us want to be.
We’ll travel to the package. Although I suggest next time you organize a meeting like this one, you consider just who we’re dealing with.
Your younger, much more handsome brother,
L
“We leave now,” I said. “Nothing else must delay us.”
We would need to ride all night without stopping to make up for the time we would lose. Because we were heading back in the same direction we’d come. My teeth clenched at the wasted hours.
Marth nodded. Rythos slitted his eyes at the stone behind us. “Better traveling through the forest than anywhere near this place.”
Hands trembling, I reached for a pillow and shoved it beneath Mama’s head. There was nothing we could do when the visions took her, only keep her safe.
“I’m sorry,” I murmured, my stomach twisting. “We shouldn’t have left you alone.”
Long moments later, my mother went limp. I stroked her gray hair back from her face, the same way she did for me when I was sick or upset.
“Prisca?” Her voice was groggy, her movements slow, as if she were half asleep. I closed my eyes for a brief moment. I still wondered if one day she would become lost in a vision and I’d never see that spark of recognition again.
“I’m here, Mama. Do you want me to help you into bed?”
“A few hours of sleep. Just a few.”