“Finding and taking back the king will not be an easy journey or task,” Alexus says. “It’s a long way to the coast. If we plan to enter the Summerlands, we’ll be forced to face the traitors of the Northland Watch in Malgros, and if we make it past them, we’ll have to endure the sea. There’s no passage there, even for Northlanders, and if we make it across, the Summerland ports are heavily surveilled. We’ll need to be very convincing, very clever, have a windfall of luck, or perhaps all three.”
“What if the king isn’t in the Summerlands?” Hel asks. I’m surprised when she speaks up, though I suppose I shouldn’t be. She’d wanted to be part of the Northland Watch for a reason. “Raina could check the waters,” Hel continues. “To see where he is.”
When she pauses, Rhonin speaks. “The prince likely took the king to the Eastland Territory, to his palace, especially if his power is weak or gone altogether. He needs his Brotherhood. He doesn’t have Nephele, and the king no longer has magick for the prince to steal. He must find someone to replace the Summerland mage he siphoned from, or his plan falls apart. We could go straight to the source. Attack while he’s vulnerable.”
Alexus eyes the pair appreciatively. “I like your thinking, but right now, there aren’t enough of us to take on the Eastlanders in their homeland. The prince will eventually go to the Summerlands. He must, at some point, if his mission remains. We will have a much better chance against him if I reach Queen Drumera first.” Solemnly, he looks around the room. “So many of you have given your lives to this land, in some form or another, and though it pains me to ask you to give more, I wouldn’t want to face this undertaking with anyone else. The grooms are preparing our packs and horses to leave come morning. I ask that you all spend the day in consultation with your families and consider accompanying me on the journey to the Summerlands. Save for Nephele and Raina.”
The second I stiffen in my seat, Nephele grips my knee, uttering my name through closed teeth, the way Mother used to when warning me to hold my tongue at the dinner table.
I clench my jaw, my glare cutting, sharp as any knife.
Alexus holds up a hand. “You’ve only just found each other. I won’t stand in your way if either of you wants to leave.” He looks at me pointedly. “This is what you wanted.”
I can feel Rhonin and Hel’s attention—this mission needs a seer—but I keep my stare trained on Alexus, something tight coiling in my chest.
Thisiswhat I wanted. From the very beginning. To find Nephele and take my family away from war, away from the Frost King, away from the Northlands. Rhonin offered me freedom, too, and I’d thought I could seize it. Thought I could run away from everything.
But this time, I hesitate. Because Finn was right. The kind of freedom I long for doesn’t exist, no matter where I go. Not in a world where the Prince of the East has any power, and Neri the White Wolf roams free.
I turn to Nephele, perhaps for her to make the decision for me. She shakes her head, a plea of forgiveness painted on her face. Even if I’d made it to Winterhold while Mother still lived, Nephele wouldn’t have fled. She has a new loyalty now, and it isn’t to me.
Abruptly, I rise, my chair clattering to the floor behind me. Nephele reaches for my wrist, but I jerk away from my sister’s touch. Alexus stands and opens his mouth to speak, but this time it’s me who holds up a hand, silencing the Witch Collector, my soul torn for so many reasons I can’t parse them all.
I march toward the library door, Alexus behind me, but I turn before I leave. He’s so close, towering before me. His nearness takes my breath and heats the mark on my chest.
He lowers his voice, his words meant only for me, though every eye and ear behind him is fixed on us both. “I will not ask you to ride into battle for a man you don’t consider your king, Raina. If you’d rather make your way to the Western Drifts or even off this break, I cannot fault you.”
What was it he’d said? In the cave?
There will be more life after this. You will see your sister, and you’ll figure out your future from there. If I’m not too late to save Colden, the kingdom and the vale will rebuild. If Iamtoo late, I guess I’m going on aquest to save this empire, and you’ll probably take to the seas and end up with someone who will make you a very happy woman.
He’s never truly imagined any other outcome. But why would he?
Tears prick my eyes, and heat rushes up my neck and across my face. I don’t know why this angers me so. I only know that I’m scared of what I’m feeling. My already-wounded heart is at risk for more indescribable loss I cannot endure.
But I form the words burning at the tips of my fingers anyway.
“I would be riding into battle for Colden Moeshka, the man who gave all for my sister and me. I would be riding into battle for the future of Tiressia.”I turn to leave but face him once more. With my hands, I pound out a truth I need him to understand, a truth that’s quickly becoming more than I can stand.“And I would be riding into battle for you.”
There’s a window in Nephele’s bedchamber, covered by a solid shutter to keep out the cold. I open it, make certain no one is below, and toss out the bloody water from the makeshift scrying dish my sister gave me.
I’ve watched the waters for the Prince of the East and Colden most of the day. The prince is shrouded in shadow, almost like he’s hiding from me, and the king is in a dirty cell somewhere, the location impossible for me to recognize. Though I sense his frustration and anger, he isn’t in pain or misery. That’s the best information I can provide Nephele and Alexus for now.
I gaze over the castle’s darkening yet busy courtyard. More people live in this village than I ever imagined—several hundred—something I questioned Nephele about earlier when she brought me a bowl of stew and bread from the kitchen. Not all are Witch Walkers. Many came from the Icelands far north of here, seeking the protection of the king and the company of a bustling village. Tonight, they’re readying for the departure of their Witch Collector and his retinue that will hopefully rescue their king.
At noon, Alexus spoke to the villagers about Neri, how to watch for his wolves and sense his chilly presence. No one can know what the northern god is up to or what he’ll do now that he’s free of Alexus’s prison. We just have to hope he doesn’t cause problems, and that he leaves the people of Winterhold in peace. But with Colden gone and Alexus away, I can’t help but wonder if Neri will try to rule—even without the shell of his human form. He said the only crown in the Northlands belongs to him, and now I suppose he has the chance to claim it.
My eyes catch on Alexus as he leaves what remains of the stables. After speaking to the people about Neri, Alexus and Rhonin rode north to visit the families of those he’d asked to make the Summerland journey, and now, when night settles over the land, they’ve finally returned.
I’ve thought of him since morning, my mind at war about what to do. His cloak and hair billow in the snowy wind, his every stride sure and strong but heavy with the invisible burden I know he carries. He glances at my window, and though I think better of it, I don’t move away. My anger has been tempered. I don’t want to argue.
But I also don’t want to hurt anymore.
With a nod in my direction, he disappears into the main hall.
Nephele and I decided that we will be in the band of Witch Walkers, along with any others who leave Winterhold come morning. A decision I made on my own, however, was to protect my heart by stifling this growing presence between Alexus and me that thrives like its own entity. I’ll keep the rune for now, at least until I know more about what it entails, or the bond becomes troublesome to endure, but I cannot put my heart in such precarious hands as those of Alexus Thibault. Like he said in the cave, what lives between us only exists because we survived so much together.
I just need to tell him how I feel.
