“Go to her, Fox. If I die, then I will not deny you any minute you can spend with her.” The rest of her daeva raced forward, teeth and claws bared, and when the first blows came, the world shook.
The daeva had been waiting long to fight. The nanghait drew first blood, savage fangs ripping into one of the snakelike asha-beasts, and the latter roared out its hurt, proof they could still be harmed.
The aeshma rolled itself into a large ball of metallic spikes and plunged through the monsters, tearing skin and bones as it went. The asha-beast that was once the Elder Hestia snapped at the taurvi, its beak sharp and poisonous, and the taurvi collapsed, whining. The savul and the akvan rushed to its aid.
Both Lord Kalen and Lady Mykaela had abandoned all attempts to fight the asha-beasts and began their retreat, though the Deathseeker stayed close to the bone witch. “Leave, Mykkie!” the Dark asha shouted at her mentor. “This is not a fight you can win!”
“I will not leave you, Tea!” The older woman raised both her hands and the asha-beasts paused, reeling as if dazed, struggling to shake off her control.
“Fox, take the bard and get out of here!”
The familiar obeyed, grabbing me and lifting me up on his horse with little effort. I looked behind me and saw the winged serpent shake free from the enchantment Lady Mykaela had cast. Already it was leaping toward the woman, its mouth horribly agape. Tea screamed once, and then I saw nothing else as the azi bathed my vision with more fire, obscuring my view as Lord Fox’s horse broke into a dead run away from this battle of titans.
30
They knew. Those were the words running through my head over and over, even as Aenah stepped past us toward King Vanor. They knew we were coming to the crypts, and they had planned for it. There were wards around the royal tombs, which were dormant until Aenah had activated them. Now her compulsion was strong enough to batter our defenses.
Frantic, I sought out the azi still on a rampage around the city. For a moment, its thoughts touched mine—only to be wrenched away as Aenah severed our connection.
“No, little lady. We wouldn’t want that.”
I had lost my hold on King Vanor, but he remained upright, no doubt now under Aenah’s influence. His eyes stared unseeingly at the wall before him, paying the Faceless and his brother no attention.
“Father?” Khalad quavered.
“Surprised?” Aenah asked, smiling. She bent down and slipped the protection stone off my neck. “You should thank Lady Mykaela. It was she who told Telemaine that you were skulking about the catacombs, hoping he would station a guard there. As you can see, Telemaine took Mykaela’s advice to heart. And doing so has gone better than expected, my Tea. Usij was an eyesore. I had hoped to imbue you with runes and point you in his direction so I would have one less rival for shadowglass, whichever of you won. You have performed your task admirably.”
“A liar, as always,” I hissed.
“I spoke no lie. My offer to join our cause was genuine. You have always been a true child of the Dark, Tea. I knew it the instant our minds first touched.”
“There’s no time for conversation, my love,” the king said. “Prepare what you need.”
I watched Aenah as she moved around the tomb, ignoring Vanor. The runes she traced in the air were unknown to me. She smiled as she caught my eye. “Did you really think I would show you every rune I know, Tea? A shame really. We could have worked well together.”
“You were imprisoned!” I had felt her distress at her warded cell, and it had been unfeigned.
“It was necessary to be imprisoned, to keep me uncomfortable and pliant to your coercion whenever you visited Odalia. Telemaine more than made up for it whenever you left the city.”
“Did you silence Vanor with one such spell?”
She laughed. “There are spells that can seal his mouth, even without compelling him. You should know, Tea. It was one of the runes I used on you while you were a novice.”
“How could you, Telemaine?” Polaire raged. “How could you be in league with that Faceless witch?”
“Why shouldn’t I, Polaire?” Gone was the hearty attitude, the pretense of concern and compassion. The king’s eyes glittered against the firelight, cold and calculating. “It was I who had Vanor killed, Polaire. I have been with Aenah for many years, long before you were an asha.”
“Vanor was your brother!” Polaire protested.
“Forget it, Polaire,” Kalen groused. “The king had no qualms about using my father as his scapegoat. But I now understand why he revolted against you.”
“Ah, yes. Lance had always been smarter than Vanor but not by much. I’m glad I kept him alive all these years. Vanor was weak willed and spineless, more concerned at playing house with a bone witch, while other kingdoms slowly outstripped Odalia in power and influence. You may not think it, Polaire, but I am as much a patriot as you think you are. Our kingdom suffered at the hands of Vanor. Our army was in disrepair, and what did he do? Pin all our hopes and riches on some poor little village because it had an inferior runeberry patch. Daanoris encroaches on Arhen-Kosho’s coastal territories, and he offers them a trade agreement! By the time he was done, Odalia would’ve been nothing more than a vassal kingdom, robbed of its status and power and at the mercy of Daanoris, Kion, or the Yadosha city-states. Vanor’s death was a blessing, Polaire. I merely sped up what nature was too slow to accomplish.”
Zoya wriggled slightly, attracting my eye before casting her gaze upward at the wards around us. Her fingers twitched.
“You’re not telling us everything,” I said. “Wresting the kingdom away from your brother was only one reason you killed King Vanor. You might not have shown me every rune you know, Aenah, but you should not have provided me with the blueprint to create heartsglass, even if you thought immortality would appeal to me. You didn’t only need a silver heartsglass. You needed the most powerful one you could find for the best potency. But Vanor learned of your schemes and disrupted your plans by hiding Mykaela’s heartsglass. You know where it is, but none of your runes can give you access.”
“You have always been very perceptive, Tea.”
“You might have sealed his tongue, but you cannot seal his intentions,” I declared.
“And that is why I keep your Heartforger alive. Did you know they are capable of taking heartsglass without permission?”
I snapped my head toward Khalad in amazement. He flinched.
“Yes, it is part of the Heartforger’s oath—to refuse those who are not willing. That is why so few people meet the qualifications for forging. This is their true trade secret, for fear others may take advantage of them. But seeing his friends tortured might give Khalad better motivation. Perhaps you would like to offer your own heartsglass in Mykaela’s stead?” Aenah clapped her hands in delight. “We shall make it a contest. The first to give up their silver heartsglass shall be put out of their misery quickly, and the others will be left to torment.”
“But Prince Kance!” I tried to lift myself off the ground, but it felt like a heavy rock sat on my chest. “Prince Kance is innocent! His own son!”
“Ah, Kance,” Aenah sighed. “We had no choice with Kance. He was one of only two from Anahita’s lineage to satisfy our requirements for shadowglass, and we could not spare the young Heartforger should old Narel die.”
“Did you really think I would put Kance in any danger?” Telemaine asked scornfully. “Aenah took his soul and kept it safely hidden, knowing that Usij might strike him next. She merely planted a suggestion of Daanoris about his heartsglass in the hopes you would rise to the bait.”
The Faceless woman giggled. “And Princess Yansheo has made a miraculous recovery. If Khalad works with us, then perhaps Kance too shall recover. Kance would be understandably grief stricken to discover that many of his friends have been put to death for treason while he was asleep…such as his uncle, the Duke of Holsrath.”