I met Yulia in the barracks in the next morning. We walked the wall, taking in the sharp air.
“The soldiers couldn’t be happier,” she said. “So many of them grew up serving her father, and remember him grooming the princess for rule. To hear them tell it, they all lost a sister when she died. And to say a few of them want Maxsim’s head for his crime is an understatement.” Yulia frowned over the battlements. “I still can’t believe Maxsim tried to have his own sister killed. What sort of person does that?”
“The sort that will do anything for power,” said Andiya. “My aunt is just like Maxsim. It didn’t matter that her brother was dead, only that she could fill his shoes. She let him fall on his own sword. And so my father rots in a grave, and she is our queen.”
Yulia’s eyes widened. “What? You’re—”
“The former princess of Kaelta, yes. Now I’m only another loyal subject.” Andiya frowned. “Might be lower than that, actually …”
“But you’re of royal blood.”
Andiya’s grin was lopsided. “Was. It is in my veins, yes, but I was removed from succession long ago. But even so, please don’t spread that around. Rozin trusts you, which means that I do, as well.”
“Of course, Your—I’m not certain what your title is.”
“Andiya. I’m still no one now, no matter who I should have been.”
“Andiya.” Yulia leaned on the wall, wind pulling her hair. “They’re sending me to a border town soon. Putting Shokarov’s squad back together. I wanted to see you before I left.”
My heart clenched. “I can’t go with you.”
“I know. But don’t worry. Your voice is with me wherever I may go, telling me to stay out of trouble, keep myself safe. I’ll see you again very soon, I know it.”
Andiya stepped closer to her. “Khalid is with Shokarov right now, isn’t he?”
“As far as I know, yes.”
“Could you … find some way for me to see him again? You could suggest that Rafiq visit the Korongorod, for whatever reason.”
“I will tell Rafiq that Eon Kain demands it. I doubt anyone will deny the new archon’s favourite Eon.”
Andiya pulled Yulia into a careful hug, the movement stiff and awkward. She released her a second later, Yulia’s face bright red. “Thank you. I won’t forget it.”
The next two days were a blur of meetings and strategy. Queen Mathaszai was enamoured with Irina, and they walked together through the Korongorod, chatting animatedly of every subject—and complaining of the same things: people who breathed with their mouths open, budget discussions, ancient military commanders who were overdue for retirement. Andiya and I followed every step Irina took, listening to their conversations and discussing them ourselves every night afterwards, wondering what would come of this odd friendship between our regents.
At the breakfast table, Irina entertained the Kaeltan queens. Exquisite dishes of tropical fruits from the palace hothouses and butter pastries and cold meats decorated the table, set between vases of bright flowers. No one ever spared the finery in their clothing. All the royals were dressed to intimidate; heavy crowns, gold and pearls, pristine furs. Irina directed Andiya and I to places at her left.
“We were hoping that today, we might begin to discuss the terms of our alliance with you, Princess Volkov,” said Queen Xanthe. “We only intend to remain here for a few more days.”
“Of course. After my coronation, we can talk all the politics we want. But for now, let us continue to dine simply as new friends.” She snapped her fingers. “The wine!”
Queen Mathaszai laughed. “So early?” she said to Queen Xanthe. “Remind me, my love, why we did not visit with the Canavar before.”
Servants laid crystal glasses at our places. A heady, pine-and-berry scent wafted from our cups.
“Rievsky,” said Irina. “A specialty of the vintners near the ice fields. The berries are frozen on the vine and infused with Novosk’s most precious spices. I thought to share some of my own culture with you today.”
“I hope you will share more than a single glass,” said Queen Mathaszai.
“As much as you desire, malikhaten.”
We began to eat, the queens exchanging pleasantries. The wine was so thick and rich I could barely swallow it, my nostrils filled with the sweetness. I glanced at Andiya beside me, who was cringing through a sip.
“Not to your liking?” I whispered.
She grimaced. “The queens are being far too polite.” Andiya slid her wine to me. “Here. You seem to have a much better stomach.”
“Couldn’t have made it to the military without one,” I said, and reached for the glass.
“Kain!” Irina said animatedly. “How about you regale us with the tale of how you arrived in Kaelta? Our guests must be curious, and so am I.”
“Of course, Your Majesty.” As I began a heavily edited version of our escape from the Shrikes, servants came to change our plates and drinks, serving fresh salads and steaming breads with soft cheese. They changed our drinks for saffe, a honey liquor from Azherbal. I took a slow sip and warned Andiya to do the same. Saffe was notoriously strong, and known to put even heavy drinkers on the floor—my father said it could strip the spots off a cow.
The queens listened politely, if without much interest, to my tale. Queen Mathaszai tapped her fingers on the table, Queen Xanthe stared off into space. Verahai was the only one giving me his undivided attention. He sipped his saffe slowly, those black eyes fixed on mine.
From the corner of my eye, I saw guards gathering outside the dining room. Ironbows poked out from behind their armour. I stumbled on my words.
“Is something wrong, Kain?” asked Irina with concern.
“No, no, it’s only …”
A familiar face entered the dining room. Lionel, the diminutive, mousy scribe that Irina had brought on our original mission to Kaelta.
“Lionel?” I said. “When did you get here?”
Lionel picked at his sleeve. His hand shook. “Her Majesty ordered that the Shrikes release me back to Maxsim’s service some weeks ago. She told them how grateful Maxsim would be for my safe return. I, of course, was greatly relieved to be home.”
“Lionel was not doing well in captivity,” said Irina. “He has a dreadful constitution, and I feared he would fall ill, his stress was so great. I knew he would be safe in Maxsim’s service, until which time we could return and collect him.”
“A wise decision, Your Majesty,” Lionel said with a tremulous voice. “I am overjoyed to see you again.”
Irina raised her saffe. “To old friends, and to new.”
The table drank to her toast—save for a disgusted Andiya, and curiously, Lionel. He picked at his food noncommittally, lips drawn tight.
Andiya tugged on my sleeve and leaned in to whisper. “I don’t feel well.”
“Too much to drink? But you hardly touched it.”
“No … it’s not that. It’s only a little, but … do you remember when we were in the woods? And I touched that awful plant?”
“Snaplock.”
“Exactly. I’m starting to feel a bit …” She put my thumb against her wrist, where I felt her heart racing. “A bit not myself.”
Across the table, Queen Xanthe pressed a finger to her temple, as though she had a headache. Queen Mathaszai was still downing her fourth drink. Verahai’s vein stuck out on his forehead.
“Verahai?” I asked. “How are you feeling?”
“I am perfectly well.” It was not in his usual hard tone—but instead in a half-crazed, frightened bite.
“Shit,” I breathed. I stood quickly. “Shit. Your Majesty, someone’s poisoned the Kaeltans with snaplock. I’ve seen the symptoms—”
“Sit down, Kain,” Irina said icily.
“We should get them out of here, put them under guard—”
“They are under guard.” She snapped her fingers. A horde of soldiers swarmed in, filling the dining room in iron armour and heavy weapons. “I have the situation under control. Sit down.”
“But—”
“Sit. Down.”
The queens were blinking erratically, their gazes darting about the room. Queen Xanthe stood, only to stumble. A guard caught her and lowered her gently back into her seat.
“Rozin,” Andiya whispered. “Get my collar off.”
Irina pushed from the table, adjusted her coat, and made to leave. “Bring them with us. Come, Kain. Andiya.”
The guards grabbed the Kaeltans by the arms, dragging them from the dining room. Verahai slammed the guards holding him to the floor, ice gathering at his fingers. But the snaplock had weakened him. The ice was a shadow of what he was capable of. The guards wrapped his arms in thick iron chains and wrenched him away.
We entered the decimated courtyard that Andiya had burned during her demonstration. Slapdash wooden barriers lined the raw, charred edge. Set in the stone floor was a set of iron rings, all ready with empty chains.
“Your Majesty!” I shouted. “Irina—what are you doing?”
“Not to worry, Kain. No harm will come to them, nor to you. I would not dream of harming so dear a friend.”
The guards chained Verahai and the queens to the iron rings.
“Treacherous snake,” growled Verahai. “Whatever you intend with my queens will never—”
The guards forced a gag between his and the queens’ teeth. Verahai screamed in fury against it. I tried to get closer, but the guards held me back. Andiya stared hard at Verahai, strangely calm, the snaplock blurring her vision.
Lionel produced a small jar of purple powder from his coat. He held it under Queen Mathaszai’s nose, and her eyes rolled.
“Lionel has been developing this substance for quite some time,” said Irina. “We’ve tested it on dozens of lesser daemons with mild success. There is little effect on Bestials. They feel a bit disoriented, and most seem mildly anxious—but we’ve seen the greatest effect on Elementals. They find it nearly impossible to access any magic for at least several hours. The test on Andiya in the woods was our breakthrough. After Lionel slipped it into her food, she was completely incapacitated. Lionel has tweaked his recipe since, drawing out the properties we saw dulling Andiya’s magic and consciousness. This should, by now, immobilize a daemon of any strength.”
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Lionel forced the vial under Verahai’s nose. Verahai fought it, but his knees wobbled and he fell.
“Lionel was a scholar in Novosk’s Tower. He came across a passage in an elvhen text that implied that the plant known as ‘snaplock’ was not, in fact, native to Itrera—but was an elvhen-bred hybrid that they refined to dampen magic. Of course, he thought this information would prove invaluable to his archon. I convinced him that my father would squander it, the politicking old fool, and so Lionel began developing snaplock for me instead. I saw its true potential, and how Novosk might wield it.”
Guards filled in the spaces around us, separating me from Andiya. Her legs wobbled. She hadn’t drank much of the poison, not like the queens had. If I got her collar off, would she be able to access her magic?
“I told you I desired a world without fear of daemons,” continued the princess. “And yes, I know what you must think of me now. That I’ve deceived you, betrayed you—but I implore you, Kain, not to think of it this way. I still intend for us to create the world of peace and prosperity we spoke of. I want you by my side, bringing light where there is dark. I’ve found a way to achieve what we both thought would only be possible in our dreams. In the past, we stood no chance against the High Orders. Our own conquest of the Korongorod yesterday is proof of that. But look. The most powerful daemons in Kaelta, and they are utterly helpless. What threat can they pose, like this? What daemon should we fear, when we have the means to control them?”
“What are you going to do with them? If their guards realise what you’re doing …”
“The daemons are not used to checking for poisons, as beings normally immune to any human workings. Those guards are in the throes of the very same madness as their queens. I intend to throw them into the sea when we’re done here. Trust me, Kain, as you have before. My methods are brutal, but they will work. I want us to lead this new world together.” Irina approached, and I forced myself not to back away in horror. She took my hands, smiling at me. There was something off to her eyes, a glint of cruel glee I had never recognized.
I glanced from the corner of my eye at Andiya. She didn’t look like a fearsome High Order. She could barely stand, wild-eyed, all of her focus on me. I wished she could hear my thoughts. Trust me. Irina will never hurt you. I love you.
I had to get that collar off.
The princess released my hands slowly, that smile too warm, too false. “Now, I show you how we will take this world into the future. Lionel and I were intensely curious as to why you, Rozin Kain, were able to wield a High Order when none could before. Lionel worked tirelessly to investigate you, your history, the circumstances of Andiya’s bonding … and he uncovered something incredible.”
“You have daemon’s blood,” said Lionel.
“What?” I scoffed. “No, I don’t.”
“Several of the old families were rumoured to have bred with daemons,” continued Lionel. “All but the Shrikes have since died out, for lack of wealth or heirs and such, and so their names have faded into obscurity. I traced Rozin Kain’s lineage back nearly five hundred years—thanks to the extensive record-keeping of Ardila Vos—and I discovered that one of her ancestors was head of the Ravilov Clan, in eastern Novosk. A clan that was feared for their strange looks and savagery, which local legends attributed to their carnal relations with the elementals of the ice fields.”
“But … five hundred years. Even if this is true, I’d have barely even have a drop of daemon blood left.”
“That might be all it takes,” said Irina. Lionel handed her a thin iron knife, and Irina twisted it contemplatively. “Our theory is that if a High Order is weakened, and if the bonder is properly infused with familiar blood, the daemon’s soul will accept the bonder’s body as its own. But, alas, it is only a theory if left untested. Bring in our subject.”
Guards dragged someone in behind me. Whoever it was put up a fight. The guards grunted and struggled against a series of cries and flailing.
“Get your fucking hands off me! When I get out of this I’ll tear your empty heads right off your fucking shoulders, I swear to the Creators—”
I knew that voice. I straightened in relief, in happiness, in dread.
“Jiyi!” I cried. The soldiers dragged her before the Kaeltan queens and forced her to her knees. “Jiyi—you’re alive.”
“Looks like it.” Jiyi glared at Irina. “Whatever this is, I assume it violates about a hundred treaties.”
“No, dear Jiyi,” said Irina. “This is a gift of the highest magnitude. I bartered you from the Shrikes so that our alliance might continue. Your empress will thank me. When I return you to her, our nations will be ever the closer.”
Irina took Verahai’s wrist. Carefully, she drew the knife across his skin, leaving a thin cut. Verahai barely seemed to notice. Whatever his eyes saw now, it wasn’t the Korongorod. Not after so much poison.
Irina brought the knife to Jiyi’s lips. “Drink.”
“Fuck no.”
“Open her mouth.”
Guards forced Jiyi’s jaw open. Irina dripped blood onto Jiyi’s tongue. “Drink.”
Jiyi spat the blood in Irina’s face. Irina didn’t even flinch.
“Very well,” Irina said coldly, and sliced along Jiyi’s collar. Verahai’s blood mixed with Jiyi’s in the open wound.
“Crazy bitch,” snarled Jiyi. “Let me go. This is grounds for war.”
“Lionel,” Irina said. “Give her the general.”
Jiyi’s eyes widened in understanding. “No. No, I have a bonded, this won’t work.”
“That lion is no more bonded than you are. Or are you going to tell me that he did not carry Rozin to Kaelta? That your bond allows him to be on the other side of the continent?”
Jiyi kicked against the guards to no avail. A bandage peeked out at her collar. She was still recovering. She’d never have the strength to break free. I moved towards her, and felt the steel grip of guards holding me fast.
“This is my gratitude, Jiyi. In exchange for her support of my cause, I give your empress a High Order.” The guards dragged a limp Verahai forward. “Begin.”
Lionel approached. A fetter glowed on his palm. “Brace yourself,” he said, and the fetter burst from his palm and clamped around Verahai’s neck.
Wire tore through the wrecked gardens. The fetter burned on Verahai’s skin, jolting him back to reality. He screamed.
Lionel shot a second fetter from his other hand, and it took Jiyi’s wrist. Gold crawled up her skin.
I could only watch in horror. I’d seen dozens of bondings, but nothing like this. This was madness.
Jiyi collapsed, Verahai mirroring her. Just as Andiya and I had.
“Is it stable?” Irina asked.
Lionel examined Jiyi’s bonding tattoo. It had grown underneath her false one, covering her arm in odd black and gold stripes of ice-capped mountains, hand fans, and sharp fangs. Lionel listened to Jiyi’s heartbeat, checked her eyes. We held our breath as he patiently waited out the wind, as the courtyard died down to silence.
“All normal, Your Majesty. No signs of fracture.”
An excited glint shone in Irina’s eyes. Her voice shook when she asked, “And you’re certain?”
“As certain as I can be at this stage. If we had a few days, I could monitor her and make sure.”
“It’s enough. We don’t have days.” Irina wiped the knife on her gown and stood before the queens. “Kain. Which of the Kaeltan queens is the strongest?”
I couldn’t move, held in a fierce grip by the guards. I couldn’t think. “I—I don’t know, Your Majesty.”
“Andiya?”
She glanced up at the sound of her name. Her eyes went in and out of focus.
“Andiya, dear. Which of your queens is the most powerful?”
Andiya’s brow screwed up in concentration. She looked at the queens, at the princess, at me. “The … the phoenix,” she mumbled. “Mathaszai.”
“Is she telling the truth, Kain?”
I could feel nothing, through that collar. I only nodded, praying that Andiya still had the capacity to lie.
“As I thought.” She brought the knife to Queen Mathaszai’s hand.
“No …” breathed Queen Xanthe. Her head hung, limp. Her frail body seemed so thin and pale she was an apparition. “No …”
The princess licked Queen Mathaszai’s blood off the knife. She cut her palm and let the blood swirl together. “Lionel.”
His brow shining with sweat, Lionel drew a second fetter. Irina stood before Queen Mathaszai with the honed focus of a hunter.
“And so it begins,” she said. “As I tame fire.”
Lionel raised his palm. The fetter burst from his skin, stretching through the air.
Queen Xanthe leapt between them, and the fetter closed around her throat.
Frost burst across the garden. The wind churned into a blizzard. Queen Xanthe stood with the collar around her neck, facing Irina with clear, icy fury. Snow whipped at her hair, arctic blue burned in her eyes. She was suddenly so solid, so imperious, matching Irina’s cruelty with the rage of a polar midwinter.
“Your Majesty!” screamed Lionel. “I can’t release her. If someone doesn’t take the bond—”
“She’s mine, Lionel.” Irina faced Queen Xanthe, her eyes shining in perverse delight. She gripped Queen Xanthe’s wrist, her knife flashed, and Irina once again licked blood from the blade. They faced each other, the blizzard raging around them, and Irina cocked her head. A curious look dawned on her. “You’re not like the others … just what exactly are you?”
Lionel released the second fetter, and Irina screamed.
Ice exploded from her. Guards fell, coated in frost. Stone crumbled from the upper balcony. I was blown back, and went skidding across the floor.
Irina gripped her hair, loosing a blood curding shriek. Ice formed on her skin. Her eyes turned white.
In the chaos, I scrambled for Andiya. She reached for me, trembling as the snaplock terrorized her mind. I yanked her collar off. Colour seemed to return to her. Andiya struggled to a stand, leaning on me.
Irina fell silent. She stared at her arm—now a pattern of stark white, bare trees, holly leaves, cracked-ice rivers, and the skulls of wolves. Queen Xanthe faced her, defiant.
“We need to run,” Andiya whispered into my mind. My heart skipped. I had missed that voice so much.
“But Queen Xanthe—”
“We can’t do anything for her now. Queen Xanthe is not what you think. Please, we have to run, let’s run, get away from here—”
“No.”
“Rozin, please.” That was the snaplock, not Andiya. We could do more than just run.
“No, not alone. We’re taking the others.”
“What? How?”
“Your Majesty,” I said. I knelt as a loyal general would. Irina didn’t turn around. “Your Majesty, my undying queen. Jiyi’s beast will have heard her screaming. He may attack you.”
“Can’t,” she murmured. “Locked up.”
“I don’t believe the dungeons can hold him for long. Allow me to destroy the threat. For you—for Novosk.”
“Iron cell.”
Irina was right there. I could charge, take a shot. I could get my hands around her throat.
“Guards. Xanthe. You won’t make it.”
“I know.” I clenched my fists. “Can you make a diversion?”
“I can’t reach my magic. I’ve been trying …”
The bond shone clearly between us. I gripped it, dragging Andiya’s magic forward. She stood taller. The poison stopped Andiya from accessing her magic. But there was no poison in me.
“Together,” I said.
“Together.”
Queen Xanthe’s eyes flicked to us. Could she feel Andiya’s magic rising?
“I’m sorry,” I mouthed, and she blinked slowly, as if she understood.
Fire exploded from Andiya’s palm, separating us from Irina with a burning wall. The wall solidified, cutting us off from everyone else, so hot and thick that it would be suicide to traverse it. The guards sprung into action, but I’d already started running, the way behind me an opaque, searing orange.
We tore down the main hall, a twister of flame pouring from Andiya’s hand behind us. She pressed a palm to a locked stairwell door. I narrowed her magic, focusing it. A beam flashed from her fingers and sliced the lock clean off. We crashed down the spiral stairs, and I felt Andiya’s strength quickly fading.
At the training room level, we collapsed to the ground. Andiya’s breathing was laboured, her limbs shaking in fever. I took her arm and hauled her up, murmuring to her that it would be all right, I could do this. I had to. A group of guards, sweaty from sparring, approached us.
I remembered my uniform. “To the upper towers, all of you! The princess is in danger!” The farthest place from the courtyard.
They sprung into action. “Yes, Eon!”
“You!” I shouted at a tall, brawny guard. “With me. We’re to bring the Go-ah’s Bestial to Her Majesty.”
He took Andiya’s other side, and we made our way further down to the dungeon level. The guard knew which cell we needed. I unbarred the door to find Hae lying miserably on the iron floor, chains draped over his body.
“Help me get the chains off.”
“Yes, Eon. Keep your distance. He will attack you as soon as he is able.”
“My High Order can handle him. Watch. Andiya, calm the beast.”
Hae struggled against the chains at the sound of my voice, a baleful roar in his throat. Andiya gasped when her feet touched the iron floor, her magic sapped away. She crawled to Hae, and placed a hand on his cheek. At her quickly murmured Go-ah, Hae fell silent in understanding.
We unchained Hae and led him from the cell. Once his paws were on stone, he straightened and flexed, energy returning to his face. The guard kept a nervous distance away.
There was a commotion above us as guards searched the Korongorod. Every step, Hae got stronger. We lifted Andiya onto his back, and she sank against his mane.
“Join the others in the upper towers,” I told the guard. “We will join you soon. Hold and wait for my orders.”
He bowed quickly and sprinted away. No guard would ever question an Eon, no matter the order. The lashings were not worth it.
We emerged into an empty hall. As I drew Andiya’s magic, she told Hae our plan. He rumbled in agreement, and we sprinted down the hall. Andiya raised her palm. Flames bloomed in front of us, wreathing us like a comet.
We charged into the garden, the guards facing us. Bonded rushed.
“Disrupt their bond now, Andiya!”
“I’m trying, I don’t know how—I don’t know how I did it before—”
“Do it!”
The ground rippled and burst, cracking open like the fissures of a volcano. Walls of hot air battled with Xanthe’s ice, blending with her blizzard. Ice and volcanic ash swirled in the sharp wind, stinging my skin. Bonded stumbled and fell as we pushed Andiya’s magic at them in a wave. They collapsed, their masters flailing uselessly as their control vanished.
The guards drew iron.
I leapt from Hae and grabbed Verahai’s chains, freeing him. A savage roar erupted behind me. Hae had spotted Jiyi—limp, half-concealed by the steam and blizzard. The ground burst and cracked, sending everyone sprawling, struggling to stay standing, as great hisses of steam burst in front of our faces. Hae leapt over us all, pressing his face into Jiyi’s side. His nostrils flared, and his gaze snapped to Verahai as Andiya pulled Jiyi up. Could he tell? Did he smell the blood they shared?
An arrow grazed Hae’s leg. He bellowed and made for me, and Andiya helped me slump Verahai over his back.
“The queen!” cried Andiya. “Get my aunt!”
But Queen Mathaszai was too far from us, too close to the princess. We’d never make it. A line of guards formed between us, brandishing cold iron.
Andiya raised her hand. I pulled the last of her magic to the surface.
“We can’t let Irina have her.” Andiya’s arm trembled. “She would rather die than be a slave—a tool used to harm her own people.”
I didn’t stop her. I didn’t know what else we could do. A tight beam of fire blasted from Andiya’s fingertip, piercing Queen Mathaszai through the heart. She slumped, motionless, in a pool of scarlet and gold.
The Korongorod seemed to fall still. The wind calmed. Ice glittered.
Queen Xanthe screamed.
The palace shuddered, lurching in the sky. It shuddered again. Ice crawled up the stone, covering the garden, walls, towers, freezing and freezing until the entire Korongorod was a jewel of pale blue. Xanthe’s scream went higher, and the windows burst, showering them in glittering glass. Her voice cut off in a strangle. The Korongorod rumbled, and tipped, the ground skewing diagonal. It was falling from the sky.
Queen Xanthe’s eyes slowly fixed on Andiya.
“Go,” I said. “Run!”
Hae surged forward, and Andiya snatched my wrist as they passed. Hae grunted with effort. We were too heavy.
Hae tumbled off the edge of the Korongorod, Queen Xanthe’s blood curdling scream echoing across Itrera.