CHAPTER 31

The air was crisp with the sweet floral scent of flowers. From the moment we slipped out of Daveed’s spindle, it was as though a wall of fragrance slammed into me, ridding the stench of burning bodies and ruin from my nose with one inhale.

I inhaled deeply, unable to stop the pleasant smell invading my nose and spreading its presence down the back of my throat. I swallowed hard, trying not to cough on the pungent aromas.

Daveed fell to his knees upon a bed of daffodils the colour of freshly churned butter. Their green stems snapped beneath his weight; his fingers smeared with pollen as he dug them into the ground to catch his breath. “I’m sorry – I’m so tired.”

Panic gripped me as I surveyed our destination. Aldrick wasn’t in sight. In fact, no one was.

“You can do it,” I hissed, scanning the surrounding area for threats besides the tangling of tall, stemmed flowers around my ankles. “Come on, we are so close. I told you to take us to Aldrick, it’s important we–”

“I… I can’t.” Daveed’s back arched as he spluttered his excuse to the ground.

“Robin, give the boy a moment.” I cringed at the ice in Duncan’s tone, then at the memory of my own.

“We don’t have a moment,” I snapped at him, wide-eyed. “He was supposed to take us to Aldrick. Does this look like we are in…”

“The gardens.” The young boy muttered, breathless and meek. I choked on my reaction as I saw smudges of blood leaking from his ears. “These are the gardens set at the back of Rinholm Castle.”

I threw my gaze across the expansive view around me. Much like the sea of daffodils that Daveed currently lay among, there were other patches of colour spread across the flat landscape. Towering crimson tulips bowed in the slight breeze. Lilac hyacinths swelled among one another like bunches of ripe grapes ready for the picking. Ahead, I could see stone walls that had been built into a partition of arches. Vines draping with colour pulled at the ancient bricks, leaving little of the natural stone behind the vivid green and dew-wet flowers.

“Then we are close enough .” I scanned the garden, knowing deep in my gut this was not the destination we needed. But I couldn’t take out my panic on the young human, not after everything he’d done for us.

I forced a smile, letting my frustration simmer deep inside of me.

Daveed lifted his face and stared directly through me. His skin was almost grey, his wide eyes rimmed with red, irritated veins. “I’m sorry, but I can’t do it anymore.”

I laid a hand on his shoulder, softening my expression. “You’ve done excellently, Daveed.”

Duncan spoke too in a voice laced with understanding. “Rest now. When you get your strength back, I want you to return to Aurelia. The fey waiting there will keep you safe. Can you do that?”

Relief smoothed all the turmoil from Daveed’s face. He gritted his teeth as his arms shook to keep him from falling face-first into the bed of flowers. “If you want to reach the Hand, you’ll need to walk north from this point.” Daveed’s worn gaze travelled in the direction he spoke of. “You will hear Rinholm before you see it. Aldrick is in the old king’s throne room. In his room of mirrors.”

“Room of mirrors?” I asked, cringing at the thought of seeing my reflection again, or what lurked beyond it.

Daveed nodded, lifting fingers and wetting them on the blood at the side of his face. “He never leaves it.”

“Then that is where we will go,” Duncan said, looking north, a determined scowl set into his brow. With a great heave, he shrugged Kayne’s body over his shoulder into a better position before looking in the direction Daveed had spoken of. “You’ve done well, Daveed. Be safe.”

The human boy looked at me, and the softness dissolved into something harder. Perhaps he waited for me to add my thanks. “Your name will be celebrated when this is over,” I said.

Daveed’s lips twitched into a smile. “I’m only glad I was given the grace to allow myself to choose the right side of history.”

I knew he referred to the other Hunters who never got the chance. Those we’d killed during our rampage through Aurelia. I swallowed the tang of regret, my nose tickling as pollen invaded it. With each swallow, I felt the sticky residue cling to the back of my throat with defiance. Spring was beautiful for many, but not for me.

“By sundown, Aldrick’s poison will no longer threaten another life again. Yours, your family’s or my family’s.” My heart hammered in my chest, threatening to break free. “Rest now, just as Duncan said. Then return to the fey. Thank you, Daveed, for everything.”

Lucari chirped, perhaps sensing my discomfort. I tugged on the leather band tied around her claw, which I’d gripped around my fist like a leash.

“Good luck,” Daveed called out, voice cracking with youth.

“You, too,” I replied, walking ahead, carelessly stamping over unnamed flowers, which bled across the dark leather of my boots. Duncan kept up the pace behind me, his silence propelling me forward.

Daveed was right; I heard Rinholm before I saw it. As I traversed the sprawling glades of flowers, each neatly arranged and separated into patchwork sections throughout the garden, I caught the rumble of thunder. At least, that was the only thing to explain it. Except, there wasn’t a single cloud in the bright sky, nor was the sound Duncan’s conjuring.

I slowed to a stop. Duncan joined me at my side, his arm brushing mine only slightly.

“Is that...?” he asked, voice buried beneath another explosion of sound.

We both looked up to the pale skies around Rinholm’s crown. My mouth dried as horror washed over me. “It is.”

The three monstrous Draeic circled Rinholm like birds enclosing prey. Tension snapped at the leather cord as Lucari attempted to take flight. Her small wings were powerful enough to cause me to wrestle against her.

“At least there is no doubt Aldrick is inside,” Duncan said, tightening his hold on the corpse across his shoulder. “We’re close.”

My power rose as I watched the creatures twist through the sky in a never-ending loop. Something drew them to Rinholm, and deep down, I sensed it, too. A pulling influence that I didn’t wish to pay attention to. Reminiscent of when I left Icethorn and recognised its siren call. This feeling was similar but much quieter. Less like the pounding of a drum in my chest than the soft, lulling whisper-like waves lapping against my soul.

“We should’ve expected nothing less,” I said, biting down the fear I felt for the Draeic’s presence. “Let’s continue. We don’t know how long the Mariflora will last, and since you gave up your final dose, it’s better we end this before you put our efforts at risk.”

Duncan flinched, recoiling from my words as a sour expression pinched his face. I sensed he wished to say something back. Part of me wanted him to. Whatever retaliation was promised by his parted lips soon dispersed, and he took up walking ahead of me the final distance to Rinholm’s boundary.

That would’ve been the moment to tell me not to worry, but even Duncan knew those words would be wasted. I should be worried – for him, for me and for our plan. His act, although valiant, didn’t matter, considering Daveed never made it into Rinholm castle. Now, that choice left us vulnerable.

The castle was smaller than I expected.

It was less a behemoth of stone like Imeria, and more a modest manor set in the heart of acres of fields. The castle wasn’t surrounded by a city like Aurelia, either, or embedded into the mountain face like the ruins of mine. It was nestled away from civilians and would’ve once been a place that encouraged peace among its visitors.

As we stepped beneath the hulking shadows cast down from the Draeic that flew high above us, I couldn’t help but recognise that peace was far behind us.

I straightened my back as the hive of Hunters revealed themselves beyond Rinholm’s main entrance. The metal gate towered skyward, its design reminiscent of vines and flowers in full bloom. At its top, the vines developed sharp-pointed thorns. I imagined it kept anyone from climbing over because the design continued as far as I could see on either side.

Like the plump, coin-sized bees that danced among the hedge of drooping snowdrops, the Hunters spread themselves out as we took our final steps toward the castle’s gate.

“Lost?” a grizzly voice asked.

I felt the weight of his dark eyes as he looked from me to Duncan and then to the pointed-ear body flung across his shoulder.

“The Hand has been expecting our presence,” I spoke out, forcing as much of Kayne’s confidence as I could by deepening my voice and keeping the trembling at bay. I wasn’t scared of the Hunters. No, I was fearful of what I would do to each of them if I lost control. Thank Altar for Lucari’s iron claws, as they kept my power at bay.

I looked at each one of them, memorising their faces. As their eyes fell on the illusion of the fey body that Duncan carried, I recognised the boiling tempest of hate inside of them. Oh, how I wished to give them something to justify such an emotion. But I had to wait. Their time would come once Aldrick was dealt with.

It was a fleeting thought, but I wondered how many of these women and men had been forced into this position, like Daveed.

I ground my teeth together as the man released a barking laugh. It was soon silenced as Duncan discarded Kayne’s body to the ground with a careless thump. Even with the gate between us, the Hunter jolted back. My face looked blindly toward the skies with glass eyes and lips stained blue with death.

“Going to take more than a corpse to let you in ’ere.”

“Then you be the one to tell the Hand we have delivered the Icethorn key to him, and you won’t move out of the fucking way.” This fury was the easiest to call up. “I’m sure he’ll praise you greatly for keeping his bounty from him.”

I was certain I saw fear in the Hunter’s face as he looked down at the body again. “Is he that the Icethorn boy… dead?”

I didn’t know what pissed me off more. Being referred to as a boy, or dead.

“Stone cold,” Duncan growled, asserting each word with the attitude he once imbued as Aldrick’s general. “Hence the delay in our arrival, the scum put up some resistance.”

Panic overcame the guards as they worked out the issue at hand. “Has he bled?”

The question would have been strange, but knowing that Aldrick bled his victims left little room for hesitation as I replied.

“Not a scratch.” I blinked and saw Queen Lyra strung up by thick rope around her neck with gashes across her wrists like jewellery crafted from rubies.

I wondered if Duncan recognised the relief across the Hunter’s face. I noticed it. Then, without another word, the gates opened. Duncan stepped over the glamoured corpse without sparing it another glance.

I followed, keeping my chin raised. “Someone pick it up and follow.”

They scrambled like a pack of wild dogs for the chance to be the one to deliver such a bounty to their master. It took three of them to carry it inside Rinholm, each Hunter wanting a piece of our success.

“Where is the teleporter lad?” another Hunter asked as we entered the cool shadows of Rinholm’s main atrium. I didn’t need to press him further to know he spoke of Daveed. “He left hours ago–”

I kept my gaze forward, focused on the back of Duncan’s head. “That pathetic excuse of a Hunter? Was it you who sent such a tired, weak boy to collect us from Cedarfall? He could hardly stand when he returned to us. Pathetic .”

“If you’ve got a problem, bring it up with the Hand. I’m sure he would love to hear you moan,” the Hunter replied, smiling in jest as he looked at Duncan.

“We shall do just that,” Duncan replied. The heat in his voice had the Hunter swallowing back his laugh. Even he sensed Duncan’s authority as though it oozed from his very skin.

He was playing his part well – an act he was well rehearsed in.

I felt the urge to smile. Not because I cared if the Hunter believed us, instead it was the tickling presence that spread throughout my skull. The further we paced into Rinholm, turning down its long corridors and passing through the barren, silent rooms, the more the feeling intensified.

Aldrick. He reached out for my mind, looking to unveil our secrets before we reached him. But, unlike before, his presence was only a brush of a feather. I could picture the tendrils of fingers prodding and poking, but this time I was in control. In fact, it was an almost pleasant feeling. The Mariflora worked, just as the Asps promised. It kept my mind as my own, allowing Aldrick to only grace it as a visitor, rather than invade it completely.

Duncan turned his head slightly. Through the slit in his helmet, I saw his eyes grace me. He felt Aldrick, too.

“I would’ve expected Rinholm to be a fortress,” Duncan said, speaking on something I hadn’t noticed yet. “Where are the rest of our numbers?”

He was right. Rinholm was empty. The further we walked, the more I expected to see walls of Hunters, but there was barely a soul in sight.

“Is that bitterness I sense? Are you pissed that you’ve not been trusted as one of his chosen?” the Hunter retorted with a snort. “Maybe the delivery of the Icethorn boy will put you in his good graces, and you’ll be given a new purpose – initiate.”

“That would be an honour,” Duncan replied.

“What if Rinholm is attacked?” I asked. “Shouldn’t the Hand be more protected in case of a fey invasion?”

“Have you not seen the fucking monsters the Hand has collected?” Although his tone dripped with sarcasm, the Hunter looked at us like we were stupid. “The Draeic protect him. The only fey that grace these halls are dead ones.”

My blood chilled to ice. I tightened my hands to fists, the leather gloves squeaking beneath the force.

“I thought he would’ve kept the fey close, considering he needs their blood to give us power,” I said, mind whirling quickly to come up with something to say without prying too obviously. “He promised me magic if I brought Robin… the Icethorn key to him. Doesn’t he need the blood of the fey to give it to me?”

“The Hand gives us all the opportunity to be changed,” the Hunter replied as the group ahead slowed before two closed doors. They were made from carved wood, depicting all different types and shapes of wood-toned flowers. Much like the main gate we’d entered through, it was clear the decoration continued inside the castle. Even the muddied, worn carpet we trod across had peonies woven in shades of blue, pink and purple. “Don’t worry, the Hand keeps his prisoners elsewhere, but close enough.”

If the missing and captured fey weren’t in Rinholm, then Althea and the rest of them had been brought here for no reason.

I’d put them in more danger. We had plans to stop Aldrick, whilst they found Jesibel and the other fey and got them to safety.

There was no time to dwell on the panic as the doors before us creaked open. Sudden light blinded me from within the room ahead. I lifted a hand to my brow just to shade my eyes from the sudden burst of it.

“Enter,” a meek voice croaked through the glare. “ Enter .”

The second command filled my mind. It was strong and forceful, but it did little to move my legs. My will was my own. If it wasn’t for Duncan, who stepped forward, I would’ve likely stayed rooted to the spot, revealing that Aldrick’s magic didn’t work on me.

“Master,” Duncan’s voice carried, sharpening my senses. “We have arrived, as promised.”

The Hunters who carried Kayne’s glamoured body entered the room first. Their rushed footsteps echoed across the smooth stone floor like the pattering of rain. I forced my chin up as I followed them. Duncan hung back until I was at his side. It took great restraint not to reach out and clasp his hand.

Lucari screeched with glee and launched herself into the air. I let go of the leash and allowed her to be free, glad for the itching of magic that quickly returned. I watched as she glided toward Aldrick at the far end of the grand room. From the folds of heavy woollen blankets rested across his lap, he lifted an aged, thin arm which shook violently as he welcomed the hawk.

I heard his broken, gravelly voice greet the hawk, fussing over her. But their reunion mattered little as I cast my attention around the room. Drinking in my surroundings was important to what was to come.

A room of mirrors. Daveed had said it, but I’d never imagined such a place until seeing it with my own eyes. Every wall and even the ceiling had been covered with mirrors. All different shapes, designs and sizes fit together like a puzzle until little of the original stone was left visible. I tried not to stare at my reflection as I paced toward Aldrick. I was faced with hundreds of Kayne’s faces reflecting back at me from all sides, the mirrors revealing every inch of my stoic expression, one that didn’t belong to me.

“He returns to me, my most trusted warrior. How I have looked forward to seeing you. My son found his way back to me and comes bearing the greatest gift of all.”

I stopped just shy of the throne and bowed until I faced the floor. “Master, we’re sorry for the delay. Turned out the fey weren’t too happy with my deception.”

“I imagined as much,” Aldrick said, taking in a rasping breath. His throat clicked as though it was filled with sharp stones. “It is I who should bow to you, Kayne. But alas, my body is not as forgiving as yours.”

By the time I straightened, Aldrick was frowning at the dead body carried in the Hunters’ arms.

“I would have liked to have been there to watch the life drain from that boy’s body.” Aldrick stopped talking aloud. Instead, he forced his piercing will into my head. As before, when he spoke with his mind, the voice brimmed with clarity and boomed with youthful strength. The far opposite of how his physical form portrayed itself.

“At least I will be present as his blood drains until he is left as nothing more than a husk, with not a drop to spare. ”

“I will also enjoy watching that,” I said. “Very much so.”

Aldrick was swaddled within a cocoon of blankets. They pooled around the throne he sat upon, shrinking him into a weak image of the man I’d last seen. Wrinkled skin hung from his bone-sharp face like sun-dried scraps of leather. His eyes were glassy and distant as he looked at me. Across the little skin that he didn’t hide beneath his coverings, I recognised the faint lines of scars. Marks that hadn’t been there before. Likely gifts left from when Seraphine pushed the gilded mirror atop him during our escape from Lockinge all those weeks ago.

“One of many rewards I will grant you,” Aldrick said through a scowl that deepened the many wrinkles marring his face.

I dug my teeth into the inside of my lip until I could taste blood. Duncan shuffled nervously behind me, likely sensing as Aldrick forced his presence back through our minds. I wondered what the Mariflora would show him. Whatever it was, he withdrew briskly and showed no signs of distrust toward us.

“Are you well?” Aldrick rasped. “I sense a sombre mood that follows you.”

“I’m sorry,” I said, forcing my voice to sound like anything but my own. Eroan’s glamour didn’t run that deep. “I mean you no disrespect. I suppose locating the right words proves difficult when faced by you. After all this time, I never thought I would have made it back.”

“I never doubted you,” Aldrick replied. “Without your efforts, I would never have made it out of Lockinge.” My mind sang with his forced entry. “ You have been there every step of the way to ensure we are not stopped. I understand the weight of a lie, and you have been buried by them. ”

It stung, even now, to know how deep Kayne’s deception had rooted, and for how long. “I did what I had to.”

“That you did, and with the return of Duwar, you will be a general of the highest order. It is your reward for your persisting loyalty.”

Lucari eyed me from her perch on Aldrick’s arm. Her talons pierced his flesh but didn’t draw blood. Aldrick didn’t care or seem to notice.

“Come, kneel before me, let me see you for the saviour you are.”

I stepped in closer, feigning admiration, whilst I prepared myself to finish him. There was nothing stopping me from killing him, no Hunter stepped in my way.

The few Hunters who had come into the room couldn’t stop me or my power. I sensed Duncan’s energy as though it buzzed around my ears. Part of me wondered if it was my imagination or if his own electrifying power leaked into the room’s atmosphere.

“ Wait ,” his inner voice cut sharp. I snapped my body, forcing myself to stop before I revealed that he had no sway over me.

I couldn’t help but feel like he was testing me, or playing with me like food on a plate.

“Yes, Master?”

“I wish to show you something,” Aldrick announced. “Would you entertain an old man?”

I kept rigid at the stop. “I couldn’t refuse you.” At least until he gave me the command, then I’d use it and act.

“No, you could not .” There was no denying the force to his magic, as though he willed to bend me to his command. I had to pretend it had that effect, otherwise, he would catch me out before I had the chance to strike.

“Bring the Icethorn’s body,” Aldrick spoke to the Hunters carrying Kayne. “Let us show our guests what their efforts have aided in.”

Lucari shot away from Aldrick but didn’t return to me. In fact, she flew in circles around the room just to stay away. I waited for Aldrick to notice, but he was focused on the sudden appearance of more Hunters who moved, emotionless, to the back of the throne and pushed it. To my surprise, it moved. Wooden wheels screeched across the slabs as Aldrick was wheeled toward me. I hardly moved out of the way before one wheel ran straight over my foot.

He really was physically weak. A hint of the man I’d faced before, no threat besides his ideals and magic. Both of which I was firmly protected from.

“I don’t much like surprises,” I said, the words tumbling out of me. “Take Robin as proof of that.”

Duncan inhaled sharply.

Aldrick raised a shaking hand, flecked with liver spots. Those pushing his wheeled throne stopped. He was now at my side, between Duncan and me. From his perch among the mounds of blankets, he glared directly into my eyes.

I refused to look away. He was so close that I couldn’t breathe without inhaling the stale stench. If I reached out my hand and touched his thin skin, I would’ve allowed my ice to devour him.

I lifted my hand slowly. Duncan moved, but I couldn’t care why. Not as I focused on Aldrick, who watched me expectantly.

“The gate should be no surprise to you,” Aldrick said, so suddenly I almost stumbled back.

Gate? I couldn’t let the surprise show on my face, but Altar knows it raced within me. But Rafaela had shown me the gate was on Irobel, protected by her people. “Oh, of course. I would like to see it.”

“Then come, see what I have forged whilst you have been collecting the third piece of my puzzle.”

My legs betrayed me. I couldn’t dare so much as lift my eyes from the spot on the floor where Aldrick had only just been.

“Perhaps I will allow you to be the one to pierce the Icethorn’s flesh. We will watch as the third key is bound, and my gate weakens with its addition.”

“And it works, this gate of yours?” I asked as dread sliced its fingers down my spine. I couldn’t control the bite of panic that coated each word like thick honey.

“The Draeic are drawn to it for a reason. It calls to them like a beacon,” Aldrick replied, wheels screeching in chorus with his tired voice. “Their presence here alone confirms our victory is closer than ever before.”

I locked eyes with Duncan. He’d pulled the helmet from his face, revealing moon-wide eyes that reflected the same horror that turned my limbs to stone.

“End this,” Duncan mouthed to me, but Aldrick was already back in my mind, forcing his will. “With haste, follow me.” Like the puppet I was to play, I moved toward him before he had the chance to see that I hadn’t followed.

I caught something in my peripheral. Movement in the mirrors behind Duncan. My knees almost gave out as the figure of brimstone, fire and shadow stepped forward.

Duwar. It was here. Duncan noticed my change in expression. I saw it in the rise of his dark brows and the softening of his eyes. Panic surged through me as I felt the demon god boring through my soul with its fiery stare. Before my knees gave way, I snapped my attention back to Aldrick.

He had his head turned slightly, regarding me through a side-eye. I sucked in a breath, hissing through gritted teeth.

“Kayne, the creation of our gate is a success. Because of you, because of the information you have shared, Duwar shall be freed and the world will be ours to claim.”