Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

"Are you ready?" Fenling knocked at my open door, then peeked into my room. "Do you think we'll have good hunting?"

I nodded. I'd polished my bow, made sure my magical arrows were all in good shape, and was dressed in a white and blue pair of trousers, with a matching tunic over the top. We were both wearing silver and blue striped sashes—the sign that we were visitors. Fenling was dressed in a similar outfit, only hers was white and tan. All of the Lorani who had accompanied us to Swelan wore the sashes, including Bran. We were guests of the realm. But the sashes also put the locals on alert, just in case we did something wrong and they needed to report us.

"I've got everything," I said as we headed down the hallway, toward the staircase. We were staying in Queen Borea's palace, all of us Lorani, as her guests. We'd been here a fortnight and it looked like we would be staying through the entire winter, given the snows had cut off all of the passes to the lands below the Eiralpine line.

"The stables should have our horses ready." Fenling slid her arm through mine, smiling. "Are you looking forward to this?"

I nodded. "Actually, yes. It's been a while since we've been on the road, and I could use some time in the forest. Even though the forests around here are nothing like the Bramble Fel, I just want to be outdoors for a while."

We were accompanying several of Borea's official hunters—the ones who supplied food to the palace. Quen was going with us, and would meet us at the stables. Once we claimed amnesty in Swelan, Borea had given us the choice as to whether we wanted to rest, or we were free to participate in palace duties. Since none of the Lorani were comfortable sitting around doing nothing, we'd opted to help out.

Bran had been secluded in talks with Borea, which made me just a little jealous given how beautiful she was, but it was important, since she was trying to help us plan a coup. And Bran had made it clear that I was his woman, so I tried to keep my insecurity in check.

"I'm looking forward to it, too," Fenling said. "I can't sit still much longer, and I'm little use in the kitchens. I'm about as domestic as a charimont."

"You know," I said, "it's been a long, long time since I've just been out hunting without trying to escape from somebody. I'm really looking forward to this. And it's even better going out with a friend." I smiled at her. Back in Renmark, my home village, I'd had two friends-- Sanya and her husband Ren. Even then, I'd had to keep apart from them, so they wouldn't be tainted by being seen with me. Since I'd met Fenling, I'd realized how much I missed having a strong bond with someone other than my horse. She and her cousin, Bran, had changed my life.

We jogged down the stairs, nodding at people passing by. In the time we'd been here, Borea's people had showed us both friendship and respect. It's as if they trusted her judgement implicitly—and when she welcomed us in, they followed suit. I had no doubt we were being watched, but that only made sense. No leader in their right mind would just allow strangers free run of the castle without keeping an eye on them.

The palace itself was the most beautiful place I'd ever seen. It was built of white marble, streaked with black, and all the accents like draperies and tapestries and upholstery were in shades of blue, silver and white. Three stories high, the palace was spacious and felt open rather than closed in. Though guards were ever present, the palace felt much more hospitable than Eleago had. There was no sense of the paranoia that ran through Bran's home. Karehl, the prince, kept a constant tension going, with mistrust everywhere.

"Swelan's so beautiful," Fenling said, mirroring my thoughts. "I almost don't want to go home," she added. "Even if Bran drives Karehl from the throne, everything here seems so clean and open that it makes me want to stay."

She was right. The palace was inviting, as was the city. Everything felt spacious and sparkling, where Eleago felt closed in and claustrophobic.

"If Bran takes the throne, maybe Eleago can feel this way, too. Energy makes a difference," I said. "Ashera taught me that."

We crossed through the grand hall and outside into the frigid morning. The sun was out, sparkling down on the snow, but we had to work fast. Another storm was coming in tomorrow, the weather seers said. So the hunting trip would be brief and close to home. Up here, the storms might not be driven by the Snow Witch, but they were brutal and dangerous.

The stables were a short walk away from the palace. The rest of Swelan spread out around the palace in a circle. The streets interconnected, spreading out from the center palace like spokes in a wheel. The houses and shops were built between them, making it fairly easy to find our way around.

The other hunters welcomed us as we entered the stables. There were two men and one woman. Fenling and I met them when we asked to help out with the hunts. Rylan was the leader of the hunting team, and Kel and Rarity were both experienced members. The stablemaster had saddled our mounts, and they were ready to go with saddle bags and provisions.

"Ready?" Rylan asked. "Let's get moving before the first bands of the storm have a chance to come through."

In the chill of the early morning air, we rode out of town, toward a thicket of stunted trees and rock formations. Behind us, a group of servants followed with a heavy sledge. Their job was to load the carcasses, then bring them home and dress them.

The thicket was so unlike the Bramble Fel Forest that it was hard to imagine two such disparate woodlands. The trees at this elevation were more like tall scrub brush—stunted and bent to one side because of the constant winds that swept by. All of them were conifers, twisted and gnarled.

"What animals are out this time of year?" I asked as we rode along. "Especially in weather like this?"

"Elk and reindeer," Rylan said. "And rabbits. While game isn't as plentiful as where you came from, there's enough to supplement our livestock. We also go ice fishing, and there are some big fish in the rivers and lakes." He shifted in his saddle, glancing up at the sky. "We have a window before tomorrow, so we'll hunt late and get home before morning." The light was already waning. Here, above the Eiralpine Line, the sun barely made it over the horizon during the deep winter, and now—in mid-autumn—it set only a short time after noon, draping the land in a perpetual twilight.

I spotted an elk a few hours into the hunt. Pointing it out, I glanced at Rylan for his cue. I wanted to test out my skills, but this wasn't my city and I was a stranger here. But Rylan gave me the signal to go for it, and I drew one of my special arrows. With a metal shaft, the arrow had a crystal tip. It was enchanted. Unless I lost it, I could reuse it over and over, and it bettered my chances of hitting my target.

I nocked it in the bow, then slowly drew back the string. As I aimed, waiting for that gut moment that told me it was time to let fly the arrow, the others sat silent, barely breathing so as not to spook the elk or me. I waited, counting below my breath. As I hit three, something inside nudged me to shoot. The arrow flew, soaring across the clearing. Before the elk could react, my bolt hit him straight in the heart. He lurched, starting to run, but then before he managed even four steps, he fell. It was a clean shot.

"Nice!" Rylan said. "Let's go."

We headed over to the elk. The first shot had taken him down. I knelt down beside the massive bull, taking off my glove and placing my hand over the bleeding wound.

"Blessed creature, born of the forest, I send thy soul to the Mother of All Game. I commend thee to the shadow lands, that you might be born again. I shower you with honor and gratitude, that your body might keep my people alive. In death, I revere you. From life, to death, to life again. I beseech your forgiveness."

The others stood by, and as I gave my prayer up to the gods, one by one, they knelt with me, even though it wasn't their custom to give honor to the prey.

When I finished and stood, Fenling asked, "Do you always bequeath their souls to the gods?"

"I always say a prayer of gratitude, but the hunters from my people save these prayers for those mighty creatures who guard the forest, for they are our guides, and we must honor the lives we take." I glanced back as our entourage approached, waiting to load the elk on the sledge. Rylan gave me a look and I nodded.

As we rode off again, back on the hunt, I felt like I had proven my right to stay in the city, and that made me feel so much more secure.

Bran sat on my bed, his legs crossed. We'd been in Swelan for over two months, and our relationship moved forward steadily, but I hadn't welcomed him into my bed yet. While I wanted him, I also wanted to make certain that he meant what he said. Too many women ended up alone with children they couldn't provide for. And given the potions the witches brewed to stave off pregnancy were far from foolproof, I had no intention of ending up in the same predicament.

"Thank you," I said. "For not pushing me."

He pushed his hair back from his face. "Asajia…I'll wait as long as you need me to. I'm not my brother. I'm not looking for just a quick roll in the hay. Each day, I feel like I learn a little bit more about you. And each day, I'm reminded of why I can't get you out of my thoughts."

I ducked my head. "Me too. I love you, I truly do. But…I want to know where our future is headed before I settle into a life as your wife."

I hadn't been the first to bring up marriage. From a week after we settled into life in Swelan, Bran had asked me to marry him. But I needed a focus for the future, first. Whether it was a life spent on the road, away from Eleago, or whether we were going to attempt a coup, I wanted a clear path to prepare for what was ahead.

"It won't be long. There's usually a midwinter thaw, then the storms come in again. We'll have a short window in which the passage is open between here and Eleago."

I glanced over at him, catching his gaze with mine. "And have you decided what to do? Are you going to take on Karehl, or are we going to make a new life, up here with the People of the Winds?"

He sighed, leaning back with his hands beneath his head. "I've been thinking about that. Part of me wants to just shrug off the past, to build a new world here. But as long as my brother lives, we're in danger. He'll never stop looking for us, not until we're dead. He fears both of us. He knows I can rally the people, and he knows that you're integral to him staying alive. He can't kill you, not without killing me first."

"And you think he'll come after us?"

"I do," Bran said. He sighed. "Karehl will never rest until he feels secure on the throne. If we weren't his targets, he'd find another, but the fact is that he sees me as his doom. He's paranoid, and that will only grow as time goes on. So, I'm going to ask Queen Borea to help me. I don't want to take him on in Eleago—he's treacherous. We'd be walking right into a trap. So I want him to come up here. He can't bring a huge contingent during the winter, and we can attack him above the Eiralpine Line without breaking the laws of Eleago."

"Do you think he knows you're working with Borea? Won't he be suspicious?"

"There's nothing to worry about. There is a custom among my people…and if he chooses to break that oath, Borea's incredibly powerful and so are her witches. They're ancient, barely human anymore. I talked to her about this a few days ago, and she assured me that they can influence almost anyone, regardless of their wards." He shrugged. "Endaria was, of course, spying for my brother. Her sister serves my brother, though I have no idea about Leela, the third Wyrd Woman. But none of the three can match the power of Borea's witches."

"Was Giselda related to them?" I asked.

He shook his head. "No. Giselda was a cunning woman who hired out to whoever paid her the most. And my brother paid her well. But Borea's witches are far stronger than all four of them. They're connected to Helena, the goddess of ice and death."

"How can we know they won't betray us, like Giselda and Endaria did?" Once bitten, twice shy, I thought. Never fully trust a snake once it bites you.

"Because they are loyal to the core." He paused, then asked, "Do you know who Borea is?"

"She's queen of the People of the Wind?"

"Yes, but beyond that."

I shook my head. "I've never heard of her before we arrived here."

"Borea's the daughter of Helena. Her father was an ice giant. She's of divine birth, which is why my brother would never attack this city. He knows the wrath he would incur. The witches who serve Borea are loyal to the core of their being. If they help us, we can trust them."

The thought we had a demi-goddess on our side, as well as several witch women loyal to her, calmed me down. So we'd be setting the trap, and if Karehl took the bait, we might be able to end this rivalry without too much bloodshed.

"My last question for now: do you think the people of Eleago will accept it, if you return to take the crown?"

Bran stroked my cheek. "Yes, I do. Most of them wanted me for their prince over my brother, but our birth order didn't support it. They know that, under Karehl's reign, they will suffer more than they ever fear."