The War of Two Queens (Blood And Ash Series Book 4)

“The people of Oak Ambler are waiting,” Valyn told us as we climbed the tower of Castle Redrock the following afternoon. “They appear rather calm, so that’s good.”

I wanted to agree, but the sobs of grief from the parents we’d met on the road to Oak Ambler clogged my throat. They’d been brought into the city ahead of the others and then led to the Temple, where the remains had been carefully wrapped in shrouds. And then all I could do was watch as their hope gave way to despair. As each of their worlds shattered. The sounds they’d made each time one found their child on the pyres—the raw, pain-filled screams coming from the depths of their shattered beings didn’t even sound like something a mortal could give voice to.

I couldn’t stop seeing, hearing, or tasting it.

I’d given the stuffed bear back to Ramon and Nelly. I’d said I was sorry. I’d said that nearly a hundred times, and it meant nothing. It did nothing. I’d promised this would never happen again, and I’d meant that. But that also did nothing for them.

“Everyone’s present?” Vonetta asked as we entered the small chamber at the top. Naill lingered in the narrow doorway, blocking it as if he expected something to rush up from the stairs.

“As far as we can tell,” Lord Sven said as I walked to one of the small, square windows that faced the oaks along the bluff. Through the trees, I saw glimpses of the draken. “I have one of my men going through the records at the Citadel to see if we can get a better than rough estimate of how many people lived here.”

“A small group of mortals was at the Rise this morning—some of those who remained,” General Cyr said. “They’ve expressed a desire to leave the city.”

“Then they should be able to leave,” Vonetta replied.

“Agreed,” Emil said.

In the ensuing silence, Kieran touched my shoulder. He’d been quiet all morning. He wasn’t angry because of what I’d asked of him last night. I didn’t pick up any of that from him. Nor did I think he’d lied when I’d asked him five hundred and five times since I woke if he was. He was tired and troubled.

I cleared my throat as I turned from the window. Sven and Valyn looked at me, waiting. “They should be allowed to leave if that is what they want.”

Neither Valyn nor Cyr appeared entirely thrilled by that.

I swallowed again, pushing the knot further down. “If anyone wanted to leave their city to move closer to family or seek better opportunities, they’d have to gain permission from the Royals,” I told them, remembering the requests that had been brought before the Teermans during the City Council meetings held weekly. “It was rarely approved. People should have that basic freedom in Solis, just as they do in Atlantia.”

“I agree, but during a time of war? And with the Craven?” Lord Sven began. “It may not be the best time to allow that freedom.”

“I understand the hesitation to allow this. I would rather no one choose to leave because of the dangers that choice incurs. But if we prevent that, they have no reason to believe that it would be temporary or that we have no intention of continuing to suppress their rights.” I looked to the dark-haired general. Cyr would remain in Oak Ambler to protect the port and the surrounding lands with a part of his regiment. The remainder of his force would be absorbed into Valyn’s. “They should be reminded of the risks, but if they insist, then we allow it.”

Cyr nodded. “Of course.”

“What we do here will be heard in other cities,” I reminded him—reminded all of them. Including myself. “This is how we gain the trust of the people of Solis.”

The group nodded, and I looked to the doorway of the balcony. I could hear the hum from the crowd gathered in the courtyard below and in the meadow of Redrock. My heart tripped over itself. “It’s time I speak with them.”

“We’ll wait for you outside.” Sven bowed and then made his way out onto the balcony. Cyr and Emil followed.

“You sure you want to do this now?” Valyn asked, having stayed behind.

“Do you think I shouldn’t?”

“I think you should do what you feel you can,” he said rather diplomatically. “But I also think what you’ve already done today is more than enough.”

He was speaking of the meeting with the families. I pressed the heel of my palm against the pouch, feeling the toy horse. Valyn had been there when I spoke to the families. So had Kieran and Vonetta. They’d borne witness to that painful desperation. “Is all of this not the duty of a Queen?”

“It doesn’t have to be. There’s no rule that says that.” Valyn’s response was as soft as his gaze. “There’s no policy that dictates you must shoulder all the responsibility. That’s why you have an advisor.” He then nodded at Vonetta. “That’s why you have a regent.”

Kieran lifted a shoulder when I glanced at him. “He’s right. Any number of us can speak to the people.”

Anyone could—and probably do a much better job of it than me—but… I looked back up at my father-in-law. “If you were still King, would you have allowed someone else to speak to those families? Speak to the people?”

Valyn opened his mouth.

“Truly?” I prodded.

He sighed as he dragged a heavy hand through his hair, shoving it back from his face. “No, I would’ve done it myself. I wouldn’t have wanted anyone else to—”

“Bear those marks?” I murmured, and his head tilted in that way. The corners of my lips curved up faintly. “I appreciate the offer.” And I did because I thought it came from a good place. “But this has to be me.”

Something akin to pride settled into his features. “Then it shall be you.”

I drew in a breath, but it didn’t go very far. Nervousness swamped me. “I…I’ve never spoken to such a large crowd before.” My palms felt damp, and I couldn’t help but think if Casteel were here, he would’ve taken the lead on this until I felt comfortable. Not because he’d doubt that I could do it or think that he would be better at it, but because he knew it was something I had so very little experience with. I glanced at Valyn, who had waited behind. “I’m not sure what I should even say to them.”

“The truth,” Valyn suggested. “You tell them what you told us when we arrived. That you’re not a conqueror. That you’re not here to take.”

My chest loosened a little, and I nodded, facing the door.

“Penellaphe,” Valyn called, stopping me. “My son is truly lucky to have found you.”

The knot came back but for a very different reason. But when I took a breath this time, it filled my lungs. “We’re both lucky,” I told him, and I swore the ring warmed against my skin.

I turned back to the door, lifting my shoulders as Vonetta leaned in, speaking quietly. “You got this.”

Reaching down, I took her hand and squeezed it. “Thank you.”

Vonetta squeezed back, and then I went forward, stepping out into the cool air and the bright afternoon sun. My heart pounded as I walked toward the stone railing, followed by the others. The crowd quieted in a wave that extended beyond the courtyard, the meadow, and farther, into the packed and crowded streets. My hands trembled slightly as I placed them on the stone, every fiber of my being aware of thousands and thousands of gazes turned upward, seeing me in the white of the Maiden and the gold mantle of the Atlantians. I wore no crown because I was not their Queen.

And then I told the people of Atlantia what I had told the generals in a voice that trembled but was loud. In a voice that was heard. “We are not conquerors. We are not takers. We are here to end the Blood Crown and the Rite.”

Much later, after addressing the people of Oak Ambler and meeting with the generals to firm up plans for tomorrow and beyond, I paced the length of the sitting area adjoining the bedchamber I’d slept in the night before. Valyn had joined us some time ago, sharing a glass of whiskey with Kieran. Mine sat untouched on the table. My head was too full of thoughts, and my stomach churned, even though it was full.

“Can you sit?” Kieran asked from the chair he was seated in.

“No.”

“Your pacing won’t make tomorrow come any sooner,” he said, and leaving tomorrow wasn’t even one of the top reasons I was wearing a path in the stone floor. It was the grief that I still tasted from that morning. It was the tentative hope I still felt from the people of Oak Ambler. It was also their awakening rage that lingered in the back of my throat. “And it’s making me nervous.”

I stopped, facing them. “Really?”

“No.” Kieran lifted his glass to his lips as he kicked a booted foot onto the ottoman in front of him. “It’s just really distracting, and I feel like if I drank any more, your constant back and forth would end up making me sick.”

“Why don’t you stop drinking then?” I suggested, tone dripping with acid. Sugary amusement radiated from where Hisa stood at the archway of the chamber.

Valyn raised his brows as he lifted his glass, surely hiding his grin as I did, in fact, plop very loudly into the chair across from Kieran. “Happy?”

“Sounded like you may have hurt yourself,” he observed dryly.

“It’s about to sound like you’re hurt because I’m a second away from punching you,” I retorted.

Kieran grinned. “You mean, a love tap?”

My eyes narrowed.

“So, I’ve been thinking about what that Priest said. What you all told me about the woman in Massene,” Valyn spoke, wisely changing the subject. “If they really were speaking about Malec, do you think Isbeth is the conspirator?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know if it’s her, or Malec, or if this is all just nonsense,” I said, blowing out an aggravated breath. “I don’t know how any of that plays into why they had another Rite. Or why she created the Revenants, or how any of them believe I play a role in this. None of them can seriously think I will go along with her plans.”

“Remaking the realms could mean taking Atlantia,” Valyn surmised after a few moments. “After all, that’s what we’re doing in a way—bringing the two kingdoms together. That could be what Framont was speaking of.”

It could be, but I felt as if I were missing something.

“I’ve sent word back to Evaemon. I hope to have a response by the time we’re reunited,” he said, and I nodded. “You still plan to travel through the Blood Forest?”

“We will come close to it,” Kieran said. “It’s the safest way. We want to get as close to Carsodonia as possible before we’re seen. We want that advantage.”

If we traveled straight through New Haven and Whitebridge, it added to the risk of being seen. So we planned to travel up the coast, skirting the edge of the Blood Forest and then cutting between Three Rivers and Whitebridge, making our way to the Willow Plains through a portion of the Niel Valley, where we would then enter the Elysium Peaks. The armies would be following behind us, taking those cities under Vonetta’s leadership.

“The path you take won’t be without danger,” Valyn pointed out. “News of our siege of Oak Ambler will reach the capital soon. The Blood Crown will move their armies. There will be patrols.”

“We know,” Kieran stated. “Nothing about what we’re about to embark on is safe.”

Valyn shifted, bending his leg. “If your estimates are right, it will take you about a fortnight to reach Carsodonia.”

“Give or take a day,” he answered. “That’s if we’re able to push hard.”

“By then, we should be at Three Rivers,” he continued. “Where we’ll meet with you and—”

“And Casteel. He will be with me,” I promised.

His exhale was one of hope. “I believe that. Because I believe in you,” he added, holding my gaze. “I want to make you a promise. I will make sure your wishes are carried out on our end. The regent will have no issues from any of the generals. We will not take down any Rises. We will not be the cause of innocents losing their lives.”

Now my exhale was hopeful. “Thank you.”

He nodded. “What are your plans once you get into Carsodonia? How will you find him?”

“We’re still working on that,” Kieran shared, and I almost laughed because working on that could easily be translated into, we don’t know.

The thick, cream-like taste of concern gathered in my throat, and my gaze shot from Kieran to Valyn. The burst of worry had come from him, and that was…well, it was rare to pick up anything from the man.

“It’s been a long, long time since I’ve even been close to Carsodonia,” he began. “And it was a big city then. That’s a lot of ground to search. A lot of Ascended. A lot of Royal Knights.”

“We know,” Kieran said, his drink forgotten in his hand.

“And then you have the Blood Queen to deal with,” Valyn continued, undaunted. “You’re not going to have free roam of that city.”

“We know,” the wolven repeated. “We’ve talked about capturing a high-ranking Ascended, and even Handmaidens, and getting them to talk. One of them would have to know where Cas is being held.”

We’d also talked about the fact that the Handmaidens rarely strayed far from the Blood Queen. And we also discussed that we’d have to find a high-ranking Ascended who was completely on board with everything the Blood Queen did, which also meant they’d probably be more afraid of disobeying their Queen than the threat of death.

We had ideas regarding what to do, but nothing we came up with was a magical fix for how to find him in a city of millions—

Magical.

I launched to my feet, startling both Valyn and Kieran. “Magic.”

“Magic?” Valyn repeated, brows lifting.

“Primal magic.” I spun toward Hisa. “Do you know where Sven is?”

“I believe he’s visiting with his son in one of the chambers down the hall.”

“What are you thinking?” Kieran set his drink aside.

“Perry said his father knows a lot about Primal magic, remember?” I said, relieved when understanding flickered across his features. “And that almost anything is possible with it. Why wouldn’t there be some sort of magic that could help us locate Casteel?”

As Sven sat in the chair across from his son, I wanted to smack myself. How had I not thought of Primal magic until now?

“I remember reading about old spells used to locate missing items,” Sven said after I’d burst into the chamber and asked if he knew of a spell that could be used to locate a person. He rubbed at the beard on his chin. “Let me think about this for a moment. Missing items like a cherished ring are vastly different than a person. But I just need to think for a bit. I’ve read a lot of books. A lot of journals. And those old spells were scattered throughout them.”

“Yes.” I nodded, pacing once more. But this time, I was doing it between Kieran and Valyn, who’d followed me to the chamber that Hisa had led us to. “Think for as long as you need.”

Sven nodded as he continued fiddling with the growth on his chin. Seconds turned into minutes as the Atlantian Lord murmured under his breath, eyes squinted. I had no idea what he was saying.

His son rose, going to a serving table and a bottle of amber liquid. Pouring a glass, he moved as if he hadn’t taken an arrow to the shoulder the day before. He brought it to where his father sat. “Here. This usually helps.”

Sven grinned as he took the short, crystal glass. He glanced at me, noticing that I’d stopped pacing. “Whiskey warms the stomach and the brain,” he said, taking a deep drink that caused his lips to pull back over his fangs. “Yeah, that’s definitely going to do some warming.”

Perry chuckled as he dropped back into the chair next to Delano.

I wasn’t sure if warming the brain was a good idea. I started to pace again, but Kieran dropped his hand on my shoulder, stopping me. Shooting him an arch look, I folded an arm across my waist and began rocking back on the heels of my boots.

“See, I keep thinking of the location spell,” Sven spoke, and I stopped rocking. “I remember it because I almost used it once to find some old cufflinks I misplaced. I didn’t, though.” He glanced up. “Primal magic is forbidden. It can change the threads of fate for a person. Not all Primal magic does, but some can, and you don’t want to mess with the Arae—not even for a pair of cufflinks. Never did find them.”

I had no problem potentially messing with the Fates—if they actually existed. The Unseen and the Blood Queen had used Primal magic and hadn’t seemed to incur their wrath.

“What about that spell, Father?” Perry asked with a wink in my direction. “Why do you keep thinking about it? Can’t just be the cufflinks.”

“It’s not.” One side of his mouth curled up. “It’s the language of the spell. It’s old Atlantian, and that means the language of the gods. But it was written something like…” His fingers stilled. “To find what was once cherished—to locate what is needed.” His gaze lifted to his son. “It doesn’t specify that it only refers to an object.”

“A set of cufflinks and a person could both be cherished and needed,” Perry agreed, and I willed myself to stay quiet. There seemed to be a process to Sven recalling these things, and his son knew it well. “Do you remember what that spell called for?”

Sven didn’t answer for a long moment. “Yeah, it was a fairly simple one. Only a few items needed. A piece of parchment to write upon. The blood the item belonged to—or in our case, the person—and another cherished item belonging to the same person.”

“Well, those items will be a bit hard to come by,” Kieran stated. “Starting with the fact that we’d need Cas to get his blood.”

“Not necessarily,” Sven objected. “The blood doesn’t have to come from his veins.”

“It could come from someone who has fed from him,” I said.

Sven nodded. “That, or a relative—any relative. But your blood will work.”

Relief shuddered through me, though it was brief.

“But we also need a cherished item,” Delano said, leaning forward.

“Poppy?” Kieran suggested and then quickly added, “Not that I think you’re an item or that you belong in that kind of way to Cas, but—”

“It would have to be an actual item,” Sven stepped in. “Something that belongs to them.”

“The journal?” Perry suggested.

“Journal?” Valyn repeated.

My face heated as I quickly spoke, preventing anyone else from going into detail. “While I believe he cherishes that, it’s not technically his. It belongs—wait.” Unfolding my arm, I reached to where the pouch was secured at my hip. My heart started racing as I pulled it free. “I have something of his.” I swallowed as I tugged open the strings keeping it closed and pulled out the tiny wooden horse. “This.”

“Gods,” Valyn rasped. “I haven’t seen that in ages.”

Kieran stared at it. He hadn’t known what was in the pouch. He’d never asked. His voice was rough when he said, “Malik made that for him. He…he made one for me at the same time.”

“I don’t know why I picked it up when we left the palace.” I held the toy horse tightly. “I just did.”

“That should work,” Sven said. “You’ll need to be in the general vicinity of where you think he may be. A building. The neighborhood. I know we don’t know where he’s being held, but if we can narrow it down, this spell should help.”

The spell wasn’t the answer to finding Casteel, but it was something. Something that would definitely help if we could narrow things down.

If I could reach Casteel again in our dreams, maybe I could get that information.

I stared at the horse, no longer entirely convinced that the Arae weren’t real, and unable to stop myself from wondering if the Fates had played a hand in this.

Either way, I had hope, and that was such a remarkable, confusing thing.

Fragile.

Contagious.

Breakable.

But, ultimately, beautiful.

A throat cleared from the entrance, drawing our attention to where Lin now stood next to Hisa. “I’m sorry to interrupt, Your Highness, but someone’s arrived at the gates, asking to speak with you. They say they’ve come from Atlantia, but I do not recognize either of them.”

Hisa frowned as I glanced at Kieran. “Did you get any names?”

He shook his head. “I’m sorry. If any were given they were not shared with me.”

Curiosity rose. I had no idea who could have arrived from Evaemon. “Where are they now?”

“They’ve been escorted to Redrock and should be arriving any moment.”

Turning to Sven, I thanked him for his help and then left the chamber. Kieran and Delano followed close, as did Valyn.

“This is odd,” Kieran remarked.

“Agreed.” Hisa led the way with Lin as we entered the wide hall. “I cannot think of any who would travel from Atlantia that weren’t already with us.”

Guards opened the doors, and we stepped out into the fading sunlight. My gaze swept over the tents that had been set up and the piles of rubble from the destroyed inner walls, stopping on two people walking around a small horse-drawn wagon. I recognized the warm blond hair, golden skin, and the unique beauty of Gianna Davenwell. The appearance of Alastir’s great-niece was a shock. She was one of the few wolven who remained in Evaemon to guard the capital, but when the one who walked with her lowered the hood of the cloak all the air went out of my lungs at the sight of rich, warm brown skin and the mass of tight, snow-white curls.

“Holy shit,” Kieran muttered.

My heart stuttered and sped up as I stumbled away from Kieran. “Tawny?”