‘I challenge you for the position of Grand Master. Do you accept?’ Irsha said through gritted teeth. He drew one of his long daggers, placing it in Boyan’s listless hand. I shook my head before understanding dawned. Boyan nodded, his fingers twitching on the handle, muscles straining to raise it.
Irsha’s strange dagger struck out like a viper, the blade embedding itself in the Grand Master’s chest to the hilt. Amuffled groan escaped, and for a heartbeat, his head dipped as if the burden of his deed was too heavy to carry. Sana reached for Irsha’s hand, and they’d never looked more like siblings than now, mourning the man who was father to them both.
‘Dobra…’ Boyan whispered. He reached out as if he could see Sana’s mother before he fell back onto his pillow, his pupils widening at the touch of death.
Irsha withdrew the bloodied dagger, turned to the Brotherhood, and threw it at their feet. ‘Anyone who feels worthy to give challenge, speak now… or bend your neck.’
One by one, the men and women dropped to their knees, bowing their heads in a sign of respect. Sana placed Boyan’s hand on his chest, covering the gaping, still-bleeding wound, before she picked up the bloody dagger and turned to Irsha. His breath shuddered, eyes widened in shock as she stared at him, tears flowing down her cheeks.
‘You want to challenge me, Trouble?’ he asked; I’d never seen a man so broken.
Roksana raised the dagger, then slowly, my queen sank to her knees. ‘May your dagger stay sharp and your heart true. The Brotherhood welcomes its Grand Master.’
The chant rose again while Irsha exhaled, taking the dagger from Sana’s hand before helping her stand. The chant spread as more people entered the room. They bowed to the body and congratulated Irsha, already trying to get into his good graces.
Sana stood motionless in the middle of the chaos. I reached for her, pulling her to my chest, just as a shuddered breath escaped her. ‘Tell me, how can I help?’ I asked, confused by this mix of mourning and celebration.
She placed her hand on mine and whispered, ‘Rey, please take me home.’
Chapter 44
Roksana
The morning sky was clear and crisp. A gentle wind ruffled the fur of my hood when Cinared glided through the chill air. Truso looked so peaceful down below. The powerful river churned the ice determined to form on its surface, heading south into our enemy’s lands. The steep, snow-covered roofs glittered in the sunlight.
Down below, the citizens of Dagome rushed around, conducting their business, blissfully unaware of the death of my father, of my friend’s capture, and the looming threats that simmered below the surface, waiting to destroy their peaceful existence.
‘I’m guarding people who don’t even know there’s a problem,’ I whispered, but it was loud enough for the dragon to hear me.
‘They are aware, Sanika, but humans like to blind themselves to the truth. It is a vain hope, pretending that if you close your eyes long enough, the problem will disappear.’ Cinared’s voice wrapped around me like a warm blanket.
‘Are you telling me I’ve been walking through life with my eyes closed?’ I asked, wishing I were his bonded rider with thethought-speech ability, but dragons didn’t have female riders. Well, apart from one notable exception. Reynard’s sister-in-law was a conduit mage and a living legend, not a poisoner who timidly begged for permission to hop on his back.
Cinared snorted. ‘Timidly… Everyone turns away when the burden is too great, but you? You, my Sanika, earned a dragon’s respect,’ he answered grumpily before turning once more, aiming towards the steep riverbank. ‘Are you ready?’
‘Will I ever be?’
It had been three days since my father’s passing. Today was his funeral. The Brotherhood initially opposed my plans for a burial on the riverbank, voting to lay Boyan in the crypt under the Chapter House. Still, I was his daughter, and my word was final. Boyan’s love for Dobra had been obsessive, tragic, and breathtakingly beautiful, so I did my best to fulfil his last wish. To bring him closer to her. Somewhere her spirit could find him.
‘I wish Rey were here,’ I said as we descended.
‘He wanted to be. Why did you refuse him?’ Cin turned his head to look at me. I shielded my face from the water launched into the air by the snap of his wings.
‘Because he’s the king, and kings can’t be seen mourning a criminal, no matter how respected the deceased was.’ I sighed, recalling the heated discussion we’d had last night in the bedroom. ‘I won’t let my pain cause him trouble. I couldn’t save my father, or protect Lily, but Rey, Irsha, and Tova are still with me, and I won’t let anything happen to them.Anything.’
My voice came out harsh, almost accusatory, but those words, this conviction, had pushed me out of bed after my father’s death. There would be a time to wallow in grief and self-pity, but right now, I had a friend to find and a kingdom to guard. Only when they were safe would I let myself fall apart.
‘Brace yourself; we might slide a little.’ Cinared’s warning tightened my grip on his crest, and I leaned forward, using theprotruding spike as my anchor. The forest ended well before the riverbank, leaving a slightly raised floodplain. In summer, it was a meadow full of grass and wildflowers. In winter, it was an expanse of snow that stretched from the forest to the river. Now, the pristine blanket was marred by the mud churned up by countless feet and wagon wheels.
After we landed, I slid down the dragon’s wing straight into the arms of the waiting Irsha. I hadn’t talked to him properly since the night he plunged a dagger into my father’s heart. I hadn’t been in any state to speak to him, and when I’d returned the next day, Irsha had been too busy dealing with Brotherhood business to do more than briefly discuss the funeral.
Today, his arms locked around me with fierce strength, his entire body trembling as he swallowed hard. I laid my head on his chest and wrapped my arms around his massive torso, just holding him for a moment.
‘Thank you, Blade. For being strong when I was selfish; for ending his suffering the way he wanted,’ I whispered.
Irsha sagged, and we ended up sitting in the snow. His head dropped onto my shoulder, and his body shook in my arms, his steel core suddenly melting. Here, in the shadow of the winter forest, Irsha cried, for the first and probably last time.
Boyan was my father, but he was more than that to him. He was Irsha’s mentor, his inspiration, the man he modelled himself on. So I held him, letting my Blade mourn his chosen father in the safety of my embrace.
