A Crown and A Curse

Chapter 7

Zora

Ari was still gone in the late afternoon. If he didn't want to follow me to Blackcap then I needed to know. He was my family and I couldn't just leave him behind. He had said he needed to go for a walk and clear his head. I had a feeling I knew where to find him.

As I trudged deeper into the woods, I let out a sigh in relief as I finally heard the babbling of a nearby stream. I walked towards the sound, reveling in how the soft melody of the water contrasted with the loud crackle of my boots on the fallen leaves. Stepping through the shrubbery I saw the fading sun reflecting off of the water.

Surely enough, Ari sat on the bank of the stream, making the water dance before him. I observed in silent admiration as he brought it into the air and wove it through his fingers. When I watched him back in Salatia, I had often wondered what it would be like to have the power to create instead of destroy. When the moment passed, I cleared my throat. He turned to me-his pale hair looked almost silver in this light-and let the water fall back into the flow of the creek.

He didn't say anything as I took a seat beside him, we sat in silence for a while, just listening to the familiar sounds of the woods. Almost half an hour had passed by the time he finally spoke.

"Is this really happening?" I looked over at him, his eyes were filled with confusion. I knew that he was not thinking of himself, but of his sister. I stayed quiet, willing to listen as he worked things out, as he had done for me so many times before.

"Two weeks ago our biggest problem was rationing for winter. Now here we are, planning to help a prince who we thought was dead all this time. And what if it's all for nothing? What if this is just a suicide mission? In Salatia, we may have been in hiding but at least we were safe," I took his hand.

"After what I did, Salatia will never really be safe again. The Dark King will hunt and hunt and eventually, he will find us. I'm sorry, I really am, but things can never go back to the way they were," My voice came out with compassion that I had never been able to muster before. The monster in my veins had been silent since I had let out my magic and I was finally beginning to feel human for the first time in a very long time.

"I know, I guess I just worry about Asa. I don't want her anywhere near this fight but there isn't any way I can stop her from doing what she wants," He said, putting his head in his hands. I rubbed his back.

"I know it isn't easy, but we'll get through this together. You're not the only one looking to protect her, you know. We're all family. The four of us have only got each other," I said, giving him a comforting smile. He returned it with a smirk of his own.

"And I suppose we just adopted Kian, as well."

I chuckled, glad to finally get a smile out of him, "I suppose so."

***

The trek through the forest was rather dull. Days were spent conserving energy and discussing our pasts, while nights were spent solely focusing on rest. Kian didn't say much about what to expect when we arrived, just to let him do the talking. His withdrawlment wasn't doing much for morale.

"We'll be at the camp's doors by midday tomorrow," Kian stated when we had settled down for the last night of our journey.

Ari frowned, "The entrance to your top-secret mountain hideout is just a pair of doors?" he asked with a puzzled expression. I stifled a chuckle, Ari had made a game out of asking the young prince a series of increasingly idiotic questions over the course of the last few days. And, to Ari's delight, Ensio had joined in occasionally by giving equally foolish answers. Unsurprisingly, Kian, the prince of being all-business, had not yet caught on.

"Of course, it's not just protected by doors. I was just using a simple expression," Kian retorted with an exasperated look in my direction.

Can you believe this guy? He seemed to ask.

I shrugged, raising my eyebrows. He made some valid points.

Kian shook his head with a not-so-subtle eye roll. You people are strange.

"Zora?" Tyra asked.

I turned to face her, "What is it?"

"I've been talking to you for the last minute and a half, but you obviously haven't been paying attention."

My cheeks flushed red and I shook off the strange moment Kian and I had shared, "Sorry, I guess I must be tired. What were you saying?"

"I was saying that I think we should just finish the trip out tonight. Why settle down when we're so close?"

"From what Kian's told me about his court, his advisors remind me of the leaders back in Salatia. I don't want to walk into a place full of people like that unrested and weak. Do you?"

Tyra eyed me with a thoughtful expression, "I suppose not."

I turned back to the others.

"I've never really been in a tavern before. What kind of ale do you recommend when we get there? I want my first drink to really mean something, you know?" Ari was prodding Kian.

"Cavern. I do not live in a tavern. I live in a cavern. A type of large cave."

"Meh, a tavern would be more fun,"Ensio added with a shrug.

Joni swatted him on the arm, "Stop encouraging him." 

Ensio only replied with an innocent smile.

Yes, perhaps we would fit right in with this lot.

***

I woke in a strange room, moonlight streaming in through glass windows taller than me. Walls of marble and bluestone gave accent to the extravagant bedroom filled with furniture more ornate than anything I'd ever known. At a desk sat a man in his early-twenties, dressed in regal clothing. His knuckles were gripping a piece of parchment so tightly that they were turning white. Something drew me in closer, allowing me to see the confusion torn expression that painted his face. His sharp features, tan skin and ice blue eyes-accented by messy raven hair were more intriguing than any I'd seen before.

"Inka!" He called out, his accent was unusual, surely not Venardien or Ardunian. Perhaps Onuean?

However, I had little time to ponder this as a young servant, likely around my age, drew out of the shadows.

"What is it, Dax?" She asked, her mouth strewn in concern.

"I just received news that  could change a lot of things around here. He is likely to be murderous upon reading the reports. Keep to your chambers unless I summon you myself. He will be more paranoid than normal, and we do not need any extra questions directed at you."

"What threatens him now? He's already begun clearing out adversaries beyond our borders. Surely this can't be so awful?"

"At least four of his men were killed by magic in the forest southwest of the Blackcaps. And those were just the remains they could identify. They were in shreds, Inka, the sketches, they're gruesome."

The girl shivered, '' So it could threaten him, then. What do you intend to do? We must be able to use this somehow."

He rolled the parchment between his fingers tightly, "Nothing," a short pause as he put the paper in his pocket, he gave emphasis to the last word, "yet."

I woke, for real this time, in a cold sweat. Asa was kneeling beside my head. Joni and Ensio glanced over from where they were keeping watch.

"Are you okay, Zo? You were shaking in your sleep," She said quietly, so as not to wake the others. I tried to sit up but immediately fell back from nausea.

"I don't know, I just feel really strange," My response was hoarse. My hands began to shake. Shadows began to surround me, I saw black figures in the darkness. I was vaguely aware of Asa resting her hand on my forehead.

"You have a very high fever, I'm going to need a cold piece of cloth. I'll be right back, don't try to move," She said. I couldn't have moved if I wanted to. The shadows and figures became more pronounced, cadavers danced before my eyes, some of them vaguely familiar, the bodies of the men I had killed in the forest. I tried to scream but it was caught in my throat.