“Why is he going the slow route then?”
“The only thing I can fathom is that he’s traveling with someone. A person he does not want knowing of my power.” Luccan gave a dry chuckle. “Little does he know a vampire has already outed that secret to the entire Falk rebellion.”
I let out a hum. “Who would he travel with? And why?”
Lord Riis was notoriously solitary. Aside from the females he courted briefly, he was not known to socialize much. He had few friends, and his sons and daughters were his world.
And my mother,I added, sad for the male who fathered me.
He’d sought comfort in so many females because he’d been looking for someone to fill the hole in his heart thatInga Vagle had left. None ever had. I believed that after a while, he’d stopped trying to find another great love. All his bastards were ten turns or older. Had he and my mother reignited their love affair in the last decade?
“I can’t say who,” Luccan said. “But if he goes to Vitvik, he won’t find us there. Nor at House Balik’s seat—where he wanted us to go. We need to intercept him.”
I pointed to an unmarked spot on the map. “There’s a country tavern here. I wouldn’t call the area a village, just a grouping of homes and the tavern and one other business. If our father continues in the direction he’s going now, he’ll likely rest his head there at night. We can get there in time to intercept too.”
“I’ll send Arie,” Luccan said.
“I’m sure Thyra will wish to send rebels,” I added. “We’re on better terms, but she’ll want a show of power. Especially regarding the king’s spymaster. We’ll have to vouch for him.”
“You’re right.” Luccan rolled up the map and stuck it in his cloak. “Come with me to speak with her?”
I told Caelo where we were heading. He waved us off nonchalantly, happy to be among the animals.
Together, my brother and I sought the leader of the rebels and hoped we’d done enough to ensure Thyra would not balk at bringing the kingdom’s spymaster of Winter’s Realm to Valrun Castle.
Chapter 40
NEVE
Iwarmed my hands in front of the fire burning in the library’s hearth. The aroma of roasted meats wafted in from the hallways. Dinner approached, and I greatly craved a hot meal.
For two days now, I had spent many hours in the dusty, old library—one of the rare parts of the castle that had sustained no damage. My sister and I were desperate to know more about the Hallows.
After we formed the Valkyrja, Thyra had experienced firsthand what Sassa’s Blade could do. As the blade had with me, it whispered to her and then proceeded to sap her of blood to produce a shadow. She’d only escaped a trip to the healer’s wing because I’d commanded the shadow to stop pestering her for more blood. To my surprise, the shadow had bowed and vanished.
More shocking, when others tested the blade with their blood, it had not worked for them in the same way. No onecalled the shadows like my twin and me. No one heard their dark whispers. That confused me more.
It was said that anyone with winter magic should be able to wield the Ice Scepter, and we’d assumed Sassa’s Blade and perhaps the Frør Crown too, would be similar. Vale was not an Aaberg by blood, but he was part Vagle, and that family once ruled a slice of the midlands in Winter’s Realm. They possessed winter magic, and yet, Vale could not call a single shadow. As the Riis brothers were a newly raised family in high society, their failure was not a surprise, even if it was an annoyance.
Our time with the Frør Crown was not going any better.
My twin took it personally that the Frør Crown had spoken to me. Shown me something too. I’d tried to assure her that the vision was not worth envy, but she only became quiet and returned to her studies. She searched for a reason to explain the anomaly. Or a way to coax the diadem into working for her.
So while my twin focused on the Frør Crown, I focused on the Ice Scepter. I thought the lost Hallow was more important, particularly with the deep freeze.
Duran, Anna, and Clemencia had also been studying with us, searching for mentions of the Hallows throughout history. Arie would have been with us too but he’d already left to find his father. Thyra sent a trio of rebels with Arie, for the purposes of assessing Lord Leyv Riis. Though I thought it was unnecessary because Lord Riis was trustworthy, the rebels would be helpful if Arie ran into trouble.
“Toss another log on,” Duran called out.
“Is that necessary?” Thyra countered.
Yesterday, she’d voiced concerns about creating more smoke than usual. The area around the castle was warded, and concealment illusions soared above and around the entire town, but smoke could float outside the wards. If we weren’t careful in keeping the fires to a minimum, the fires within Valrun Castle could give away the rebellion’s location.
“If you wish for me to stay, then yes, it’s necessary,” Duran said. “My hands are shaking so badly I can barely turn a page.”
As Duran had been the only one of us to find anything of note, I was inclined to use as much wood as possible to keep him warm.
The dwarf had found a short passage stating that one Falk king had claimed the Hallows of the realm wished to be near one another. How the king had deduced that, I wasn’t sure. There had been no notable interaction between the Frør Crown and Sassa’s Blade, but the fact that there was some information on the Hallows gave us hope.
