“I know what it means,” she snapped. “It means our only way to take Darnuith by force is now by air. A vulnerable position, to be sure, considering the constant storms in their territory. The snow will negate our invisibility. Effective air formations will be rendered impossible by the wind. They’re preparing for war. The rebellion is rising.”
“Would you like me to send an envoy to one of the Darnuith Highborn? Perhaps they could convince Queen Penelope to reopen the lines of dialogue.”
Eleanor scoffed. “No. The time for dialogue is done. Station troops along the Sanguine River. Close all trade routes. Nothing goes in or out of Darnuith. Order your men to seize and confiscate anything they can get their hands on. Bring it to Paragon.”
Ransom bowed. “Very well, Empress.”
“One more thing. Send a falcon to Rogos and warn Lord Niall that if he aids Darnuith by allowing the flow of goods through Rogos, we will consider it an act of war.”
Ransom bowed again, then strode from the room to do her bidding.
Eleanor turned on her heel and moved back into her ritual room, going straight for the line of large gems on her shelf. Her hands landed on a massive diamond. The light inside flickered in her grip. Marius’s heart. It held the most power, but that was why she couldn’t use it. She’d need it later for something far more important than this. Instead, she grabbed Brynhoff’s, the silver agate duller, just as her brother had been. Her nails clicked against the jewel.
Striding to the open space at the center of her ritual room, she surveyed the patterns there and chose her magical sigil for this spell. She’d perfected the shapes, already painted on the otherwise black floor. The base of her sigil was a spiral to symbolize creation. This was a place for manifesting her will. To the north, she’d painted a triangle capped with a U shape—a chalice to hold her ever-growing celestial magic. To the east, a wave symbolized her enduring and daunting power. To the west, two circles represented Ouros’s suns—the bringers of light and life, and to the south, a serpent—the symbol of Hades and a link to the dark energy inherent in her blood magic.
She placed Brynhoff’s heart in the center of the spiral. Pacing her row of dried plants and herbs, she selected a few branches of a cottony plant from the far reaches of Paragon and placed them on the wave. For the suns, she chose a ripe red tribiscal fruit, then smashed it under her heel. Over the chalice, a silver bowl filled with blue crystals to symbolize raindrops.
Eleanor herself stood on the snake. “With my blood, I send rain to Darnuith,” she said, focusing her intention. She sliced a talon through her skin and watched her blood splash toward her toes. It never reached them. Wild and red, it spiraled into the center, wind whipping in a frenzy within the symbol. A thick gray cloud formed and cracked with lightning.
“Yes,” she said. “More. More!”
She sliced herself again, and blood rained from the cloud onto the symbol. Every cell in her body contracted with the expulsion of magic directed at Darnuith. Soon, the kingdom of witches would find their land drowned in blood rain. Every citizen of every city in the Dark Mountains would watch their crops fail before their eyes. How sad for them that food from outside the realm would now be impossible to obtain. She’d made sure of that.
If Darnuith wouldn’t bend, she’d make sure they’d break. She bared her teeth as the cloud rained on. Mountains closed. Ha! Queen Penelope had no idea who she was dealing with.
Chapter Seven
Aeaea Island
“We can’t sail to Serenity Harbor now that Everfield has fallen. The port is crawling with Obsidian guards.” Colin collected Leena’s bags and stowed them on the boat, trying his best not to make eye contact with her. Every time he looked at her, he thought about the kiss, experienced again the deep ache of her rejection.
He flexed his wings and kept his mind focused on their goal. “We’ll have to dock off the coast of Rogos. If we sail all the way to the shores of Niven, I can fly you directly to the temple. There’s no port there, but all Indigo has to do is anchor offshore and I can take us the rest of the way.” It pained Colin to have to borrow Sylas’s Oread, but he didn’t have one of his own for the same reason he didn’t have a treasure room. He’d moved around too much to keep one.
Leena stared in the direction of Everfield before glancing toward Rogos. “I think that is our best plan. We can’t return the way we came. We’ll need to take care, though. The coastal area of Niven is rocky with rough waters. We can’t get too close to shore.”
“Then we don’t land the boat. I’ll fly you in from a distance. I have some business to attend to in Rogos anyway. Indigo can sail back tonight and meet me on the opposite coast tomorrow. I’ll get there on foot.” He needed to meet with the leader of the resistance in Rogos and bring her up to speed with recent developments. He could send a falcon, but this would be far more effective.
She smiled her approval of that plan but crossed to the rear of the boat, putting maximum distance between them. So that’s how it would be. He growled and leaned his hands against the hull, staring at the horizon in the distance, at the dark brown line that was Ouros.
He was still there hours later, although he’d opted for a seat on the front bench. Better here than where he could see her, where her presence would taunt him.
After another half hour at sea, he blinked when a dark spot appeared in the sky beyond the boat, growing larger as it headed for him. Was that a falcon? He stood and held up one arm, and the peregrine landed in a flurry of flapping, digging in its talons.
“What brings you all the way out here, little buddy?” he asked the messenger bird. A small roll of parchment was bound to its leg. Colin untied it and read the tight script inside.
Rogos locked down—borders and coasts. Wards in place. Diplomatic ties to Paragon broken.All roads in and out of the kingdom, as well as the Sanguine River, are now occupied by Paragon. Nothing is getting through trade routes. DOG underground is compensating. Trying to meet demand best we can.—RZ1
Colin scribbled a message to Rook, the Rogos Red Zone One leader of the Defenders of the Goddess.Message received. Hold the course. Preparing next phase.He strapped the scroll to the bird’s leg and sent it back the way it had come. Then he strode across the deck to Leena.
“We’ve got a problem,” he barked.
She started as if he’d woken her.Didn’t sleep well last night either, did you?
“What’s wrong?”
“Just received a falcon that Rogos has closed the borders and the coasts. They’ve cut diplomatic ties to Paragon.”
“No…” Her face fell. “But that means sailing around to Niven will be impossible. If they’ve locked down the borders and the shoreline, Niven’s beaches will be enchanted to keep out all foreign vessels. You won’t be able to fly through. They’re defending against Paragon. Every effort will be made to prohibit a dragon from getting in. If the wards don’t stop you, the archers will.”
