Today, in a bid to change her poor luck, Thea had coaxed Lady Kayara into taking them to a nearby village. The three rode at a comfortable pace, Thea and Kayara side by side while Dyna stayed a horse-length behind.
“That issofascinating,” Thea gushed absentmindedly as the vampiress finally paused in her retelling of the supper she’d shared with Ophelia—and twenty other vampiresses—six months ago. Something about redecorating the ballroom. “The queen must value your counsel immensely.”
“Do you truly think so?” Lady Kayara puffed up her chest, the reins a bit too tightly gripped. “Her Majesty is so inscrutable. But then I did see she’d changed the chairs out for the style I recommended.”
“I do,” Thea lied easily. “And you know the kingdom so well. Not just the physical palace. You truly understand the essence of Ioni.”
The vampiress wrinkled her nose. “Someone has to. I mean, have you heard what they’re saying about that upstart witch king? He’s tried to send three parties—of men!—through our border this year alone. All the others before understood it was better to keep to themselves, but he keeps pressing. As if they could ever stand against vampires.”
The bigger insult was surely that they were men than mortals; the northern kingdom took its no-males-allowed policy seriously. It had been the first law the queen had enshrined in the land. “How curious. I suppose he’s simply greedy and trying to annex some land?”
It was a stupid supposition, and the indulgent look Lady Kayara gave her said even the vampiress realized it. “Thatwouldn’t make any sense. No, I suppose he’s looking for something. What it could be, I can’t guess. Oh, lovely! We’re here.”
Herewas an outpost on the side of a cliff. The village went right up to the icy edge. The three dismounted and led their horses through the entrance. The town wasn’t large, just a few dozen buildings, homes and stores alike, with billowing smoke coming out of the chimneys. Vampires and humans milled about. The vampires were easy to pick out not just because of their white hair and red eyes, but because you could actually see those features, unlike the humans who were bundled in scarves and fur hats.
“I’mparched,” Lady Kayara sighed, looking at Thea from beneath her lashes.
Thea blinked innocently like she had no idea it was an invitation to go find a quiet room somewhere now that they were out of the palace. “I believe we passed a blood den just over there. You should go slake yourself before we continue. It was an arduous journey.” It was a simple two-hour ride over even terrain. “In fact, take Dyna with you.”
“Lady Amalthea, I’m to guardyou,” Dyna protested.
“Nonsense. You must be thirsty as well, and Lady Kayara is far more valuable here than I am. I’ll simply wander for a bit, and you’ll find me when you’re done.”
She said it all with a smile, but it was obvious it wasn’t a suggestion. Reluctantly, Lady Kayara nodded, and Dyna gave a slight bow.
Lady Thea tugged her bright blue cloak around her and pressed forward once the two were out of view. Merchants called to her, seeing the rich cut of her dress singling her out as a wealthy tourist, a good mark.
How far she’d come from her humble beginnings.
The edge of the village was surrounded by a wooden fence that wouldn’t stop anyone determined from careening over the side of the cliff. Thea wasn’t quite that desperate yet, so she just looked out, studying the landscape.
The tools for the necromancer were scattered in the kingdoms: the grimoire, the wand, the sword, the armor, and the one even history forgot.
The Black Grimoire—that, Raphael had found in the goddess’s temple. The most infamous of the relics, since several lines of witches had grimoires.
The other relics weren’t tools other witches used. It made them even harder to hunt. The goddess-blessed tools couldn’t be destroyed by any means, so instead they’d been hidden away. Lost to time, even among the immortals.
But Thea knew—knew—the wand was in the northern kingdom. She had seen it.
Well, not the wand itself, since even Eka’s magic couldn’t pierce the protections that shrouded them. But she’d seen enough, a glimpse at the temple itself. Her magic didn’t superimpose the visions on a map. But she had seen it, in a valley with strange trees on one side, sitting in the center of a frozen pool.
All the cavorting with Lady Kayara was for this.
Thea scanned the distance, trying to pick it out. Everything was covered in snow. Even in the night, with the moon reflecting instead of the sun, it was bright.
Her eyes wouldn’t suffice. Not unaided.
Thea pulled off her fur-lined glove, fingertips quickly growing numb in the cold. Anagenni had temples in all the kingdoms, long since abandoned. She leafed through her cards discreetly. Witches were few and far between here, so a deck like hers was a prize.
There, an enhancement card.
They were crappy cards. Not because they didn’t work—they did—but they took a toll. They would magnify a person’s abilities—fortify their strength, improve stamina, or in this case, vision. The card wasn’t made with that purpose in mind, though, so Thea had to be careful of her intent when activating. It was a strain on her system, and since it hadn’t been made by anyone with real talent, the risks were higher. With only one eye, Thea was particularly sensitive to changes in her vision.
But she needed to see.
Thea activated the card.
The world around her splintered, then re-formed. Every snowflake was a distraction as she tried to shepherd her brain into focus. The card let her take in a lot more visual information, but it was hard to concentrate.
