Chapter 22

Chapter

Twenty-Two

M arieke wrestled with her disappointment as she climbed down the ladder. She'd been so sure she would find answers here, and the worst of it was that she still thought she could have learned more if she'd been willing to push harder.

But it was clear to her that doing so would be at great cost to Zev, and he didn't deserve to be punished for his willingness to accompany her.

The Imperator had told them to wait at the bottom of the ladder for a guide, and they stood there in a silence that was nothing like their usual companionable one. Marieke cast her eyes around the fascinating settlement, regretful that they didn't have more time to explore it.

A jolt went over her as she looked up at a nearby clay structure. This one was close to the ground, and framed in the window she could clearly see a figure she'd seen before.

"Zev!" she hissed. "Look!"

He followed her gaze quickly, and his face hardened. "Rissin. "

Marieke nodded. "She wasn't wrong that he's nearby. I wonder what he—" Her voice died as the elf shifted, and someone else stepped into view.

"That's no elf," Zev said suspiciously.

It certainly wasn't. It was a human woman, her hair as dark as Marieke's but her face proclaiming her to be older, perhaps by twenty years. Marieke was still staring at her when she suddenly turned, her eyes flying to Marieke's and locking on them.

Marieke bit her lip, captured by the older woman's gaze. She could have sworn something passed between them, and she found herself questioning if she actually knew the stranger after all.

Then Zev shifted beside her, the movement undeniably protective, and it broke Marieke's focus.

"Why is she staring at you?" Zev asked, frowning.

"I don't know," said Marieke, unnerved and fascinated in equal measure. As she spoke, the woman turned away, and an unfamiliar elf trotted up.

"I'm to take you back to the human road," he said in a bossy voice. "And I don't want it to take all day, so come on."

They followed him back through the archway, Marieke's skin prickling with the feeling of being watched. Perhaps it was because of how many elves were following their progress with curious eyes.

When they were back in the band of grass between the gateway and the pillar trees, the elf stopped.

"All right," he said, rubbing his hands together. "Back where you were picked up, yes?"

"Actually," said Marieke, "that was a long way south into the jungle. If possible, we'd prefer to be dropped off back at the northern end of the human road."

"That's twice the distance," the elf complained. "We'd have to do two doorways to get there." He looked between them, then gave a huff. "I'd need an extra talisman for that. And I won't be using it unless I confirm it's approved. Wait here."

He'd already started toward the archway when he turned back. "And I do mean wait here. You can't come back through this gateway without one of us, and if you strike out into the jungle, you'll get lost and die for certain."

Marieke raised her hands in a gesture of compliance, rolling her eyes at Zev once the elf had disappeared. "Such friendly, trusting creatures, aren't they?"

Zev just grunted. He seemed on edge since their interview with the Imperator, and Marieke didn't blame him. The intensity of the focus on him was something neither of them had anticipated.

She assumed the elf would take a while to discharge his errand, so was surprised when she heard someone coming back through the archway. But it was a much taller figure who emerged.

"Hello." The woman's smile was a little too careful, but not like she was disguising animosity. More like she was trying to hide how eager she was. "I didn't mean to startle you. You're Marieke, is that right?"

Zev stepped up beside Marieke, his posture not what she would call open. The stranger's eyes shifted to him.

"And you're Zevadiah. Rissin told me about you both."

Marieke raised an eyebrow. "You're Rissin's associate?"

"I suppose you could say that." She didn't look like she relished the title. "He has his uses, but my purposes are my own." Her eyes glinted. "I'm so pleased that you're here. I took a chance when Rissin told me what happened in the canyon. I hoped you would come looking for the elves, for answers. And you did. It was worth waiting for you here. I've been very eager to meet you, Marieke. "

"Me?" Marieke asked, startled. "Why?"

"Yes, why?" Zev agreed, the words a growl. He moved closer to Marieke, so that their arms were touching, and she felt the magic swirl under her feet.

The stranger obviously felt it, too. Her eyes lit up as they flicked to the ground then back up again. "I see what Rissin meant. It's remarkable. Fascinating. Like and yet unlike what I've experienced."

"You feel the magic?" Marieke asked, her brows drawing together. "So you're a singer, then." Her eyes widened as realization hit. "You're the other questioner the Imperator's granddaughter mentioned."

"The other one?" the stranger repeated. "So you have the aptitude as well?" She clapped her hands together in delight, the childlike gesture out of place. "I knew it! I knew it couldn't be coincidence that you were following the same course I did, before you ever knew about me." She frowned slightly. "Although I thought they stopped teaching that area of storytelling song after I left the academy."

"After you left the…" Marieke's voice trailed off. "Who are you?" The knot clenching in her stomach told her that she already knew.

"I'm your new best resource, that's who I am," the other woman said. "The progress you've made on your own is impressive, Marieke, but I can take you way beyond. You have no idea what I'm capable of."

"You're…you're her, aren't you?" Marieke's lips felt numb. "You're Jade."

The older woman swept a graceful curtsy. "Pleased to make your acquaintance."

"Jade?" Zev repeated sharply. "The one who left the messages at Port Taran? Who was kicked out of the academy for asking questions about the coup? I thought you said she was dead."

"I was only guessing," Marieke said helplessly. "Based on something Gorgon said."

Jade laughed. "You found my messages at the ruined city? I'm so pleased! Nice to know they're still in place. And I'm far from dead. Gorgon knew that perfectly well, poor thing." Her eyes were indulgent as they shifted again to Zev. "You were a little harsh with him, but I can't say I'm angry. He did not act with my authority when he decided to take Marieke out."

"But he did act on your orders before that?" Marieke said, aghast. "You're the one the elves gave talismans to, aren't you? And you gave them to Gorgon!"

Jade shrugged. "Well, I didn't need them, did I? I can sing." She flashed a conspiratorial smile that suggested she was badly misreading her audience. "And yes, I persuaded the elves to trade me talismans. The first human to receive them since the days of the monarchs, I believe."

"You were behind the attacks?" Marieke said. "You're behind the disasters too, aren't you? But you don't even need talismans for that." She gasped. "You were there at the Mosleys' field! You started the fire. It was your enchantment I fought against."

"And very capably, too." The approval in Jade's voice made Marieke sick to her stomach. "I would have approached you then had I felt safe to do so. Later, when you snuck away without a trace, I wished I had."

"You stay away from her," Zev said, his voice low and threatening as he moved forward.

"Oh, you misunderstand me," Jade said. "I want to work with Marieke, not see her disappear."

"Disappear?" Marieke's throat was tight—she could hardly believe what was happening. "Is that what you call what Gorgon did to the other singers? The ones he killed on your orders?"

"Marieke, Marieke." Jade raised her hands placatingly, her forehead creased in concern. "Don't get the wrong idea. I'm not sadistic. I seek only to right the wrongs of the past. Don't judge me by Gorgon, either. He was young and hotheaded. He and his fellow monarchists were helpful in getting things started, but they were never a big part of the plan."

"Getting things started?" Marieke was almost choking on the words. "What does that even mean?"

"The council has to be stopped," Jade said. "You know enough now to know how vile their lies are. They can't be allowed to continue in power unchecked."

"But the singers he killed weren't doing anything nefarious," Marieke protested. "They were sent out to assess the suffering crops and provide aid to the people of Oleand—doing what good rulers should do. You didn't care that they were trying to do their job well. You just saw a good opportunity to target council singers away from the capital."

"A strategist is only as good as her ability to exploit opportunity," Jade said with a shrug. "You must see the bigger picture, Marieke."

"I see just fine," Marieke said. "And I want no part of what you're doing."

Jade groaned. " Please don't be so short-sighted, Marieke. We could be unstoppable together. There's so much I can teach you. About the past, about questioning song, about heartsong." Her eyes narrowed as they passed to Zev. "Do you know about heartsong, Zevadiah? Are you feigning ignorance, or do you truly not know?"

"Leave Zev out of this," Marieke cried, anger surging in to at last drive away her numb disbelief. "How can you stand there and admit so coldly to being a murderer? "

"It's exactly that stain I'm trying to wash away!" Jade snapped. She closed her eyes and drew a deep breath, seeming to collect herself. "There's no sense arguing, Marieke. You have a choice to make. Will you help me take on the sins of the singers of the past and make it right?"

Marieke shook her head emphatically. "Not the way you're going about it. I'll never have any part of it."

Jade sighed. "That's a great pity. I took a risk, and it didn't pay off. Sometimes that's the way of things." She looked regretful as she cast an assessing glance over Marieke. "Well, it seems Gorgon had the right idea after all. I'm afraid you'll have to be eliminated."

"Don't you touch her." Zev was in between the two singers before Marieke could blink, his sword raised, clearly oblivious to the magic pouring up into Jade.

Marieke's instinct was to scream a warning to him, but she curbed it, sending the same energy into a rapid shielding song.

The defense was only just up in time, Jade's enchantment crashing against it so hard that Marieke's voice trembled from the impact.

"This is the choice, Marieke!" Jade shouted. "Help me, or be removed from my path."

Marieke raised her own voice by way of answer, adding power to Zev's arm as he lunged forward. The impossible speed of his sword obviously took Jade by surprise, but she threw herself sideways in time, releasing a song of her own.

Zev let out a grunt of pain, and Marieke realized in horror that his sword was heating under his hand. But he didn't drop the weapon, still advancing on Jade.

She sidestepped him again, her focus on Marieke.

"Don't make me hurt you, Zevadiah," the older singer said. "It's her I have a problem with."

Zev ignored her words, his fingers reaching for his belt where Marieke knew him to have a smaller blade concealed. But it wouldn't be enough. Jade's songcraft would overpower Zev's physical strength without difficulty.

Wishing once again that she'd studied combat song, Marieke desperately pulled in magic. She couldn't match Jade for brute strength. She needed to work to her areas of training. Somehow she doubted Jade had studied agricultural song.

Marieke sent magic darting through the air, detaching a large branch over Jade's head. With a splintering crack, it fell, but Jade spun away, her song intercepting the branch and causing it to break into a hundred smaller, less dangerous pieces.

A shout from the direction of the archway told them all that their fight had at last been noticed by the elves. Jade seemed to realize she was running out of time, and in a last attempt, she turned back to Marieke and threw her dagger with deadly force.

Everything happened so fast Marieke could barely keep track. Her own song of defense wasn't quick enough to intervene as the blade soared toward her, spurred on by Jade's song. A flash of movement and a roar were the only indicators that Zev had thrown himself in front of her.

Blind terror gripped Marieke as she tried to cover him with her song, aware she wouldn't be quick enough.

But someone else was. With a note that was more scream than melody, Jade stopped her own weapon, the tip of the blade coming to a halt a hairsbreadth from Zev's throat. Marieke sprang forward, but before she could reach them, Jade was there, her hand on the weapon as Zev and Marieke both froze.

"You're more use to me alive, Aeltan," Jade breathed. "But this isn't over." Her eyes flicked to Marieke, then back to Zev, malice in their depths. "The next time I see her, I will kill her, and there's nothing you can do to stop me. "

Marieke yelled a warning as an incomprehensible volume of magic gathered to Jade—more than Marieke could ever have safely wielded. But the song Jade formed it into was quick and precise, and had no visible effect whatsoever. Before Marieke could blink, Jade had withdrawn her dagger from Zev's throat and plunged between the pillar trees.

Marieke ran to Zev, grabbing his arms and staring blindly into his face. "Zev! Are you all right? What did she do to you?"

She was barely aware of the elves surging across the clearing toward them, her focus all on Zev. She could still sense Jade's enchantment clinging to him, and had no idea what it was doing.

"I'm fine." Zev's voice was low and tense. "But Marieke, you're not safe. She meant what she said. She's determined to kill you."

"Never mind that," said Marieke. "Don't try to be strong and hide it, Zev. She must be hurting you somehow."

He looked genuinely confused. "No, I'm really all right."

"What happened here?" The sharp, high-pitched voice belonged to the Imperator's granddaughter, who'd appeared at Marieke's elbow.

"Jade," Marieke said, dazed. "The human who was meeting with Rissin. She attacked us."

The young elf clucked her tongue. "Search the area," she told the other elves. But she sighed as she turned back to Marieke and Zev. "I don't think they'll find her," she said. "She's far more capable than any human has a right to be."

She made a shooing motion with her long, slender fingers.

"Back inside, both of you. You're not going anywhere in this state." Kiarana didn't let up until they'd accompanied her back through the archway and into the elves' clearing. "In there," she told them, indicating the closest structure, which was wrapped around a nearby tree like the others, but flush with the ground. "Wait there while I speak with my grandmother." She saw Zev's hesitation and gave him a reassuring nod. "You're safe from Jade while inside our clearing."

Marieke saw Zev's shoulders relax slightly, and she grabbed his arm, tugging him into the building. She wasn't satisfied with his assurances. Jade's magic still clung to him, and that couldn't mean anything good.

Mercifully, the building was empty. As soon as they'd closed the door behind them, she turned to Zev.

"Let me look at you," she instructed. She ran her hands over his arms, trying to identify the function of the magic. Bewildered, she placed her fingers over his heart, feeling the steady beat of it and the warmth of his chest, then let one hand rest against his neck while the other traveled up his face and ran through his hair.

"What are you doing?" he asked, his voice gruff.

"I'm checking the usual places a nefarious enchantment would target," Marieke said. "Your heart, your head, even your sword arm. It's not focused on any of those areas. More like…your feet. Which makes no sense."

Zev didn't reply, but she could see his chest rising and falling more rapidly than before. All at once she realized what she was doing, putting her hands all over him without a thought for whether he welcomed the touch.

Not that he seemed displeased. On the contrary, he was leaning in, his eyes boring into hers the moment she dared to meet his gaze.

"Marieke," he whispered.

She swallowed, looking away to give herself time to gather her scattered thoughts. His hair was gloriously tousled from her questing fingers, and she ran them through it again, not really trying to smooth it, just relishing doing something she'd often thought about .

"Marieke." This time his voice compelled her to return her eyes to his. "It's going to be all right," he said. "I won't let her hurt you. I'll die first."

Tears welled up in her eyes, and she fought fiercely to keep them in. "It's all such a mess, Zev. How can it be Jade? I thought she was like me."

"You're nothing like her," said Zev, the words both fierce and simple.

Marieke swallowed. "I thought it was the council who'd become twisted, not Jade."

"Both can be true," Zev reminded her gently.

"I know." Misery washed over Marieke. "But I don't know what to do anymore. I got my answers, but they've only made everything a hundred times more tangled."

Zev hesitated, and Marieke could have sworn she heard his heart pounding faster. "You don't have all your answers," he said, his voice a rough whisper. "You have more questions. I know you do."

She searched his eyes warily.

"Go on," he told her, his expression a strange mixture of tension and peace.

"I don't think I need to ask," she murmured. "I think I know." She swallowed. "The Aeltan royals didn't all die in the coup, did they? At least some survived." His eyes were still locked on hers, their unflinching gaze giving her the courage to go on even as her heart was pounding ever faster at the enormity of the moment. "And you're descended from them."

Zev let out a long breath. He didn't acknowledge it in words, but he didn't need to. Marieke could see the last of his defenses falling away—his admission was clear. For a moment she was silent, trying to take it all in. Unnamed suspicions were one thing. But saying aloud that the farmer she'd fallen for was the heir to the country's ancient, deposed, royal bloodline…that was something else entirely.

"I'm still figuring out what exactly that means, though," she continued at last. "Heartsong is at the center of it, isn't it? It's a different kind of magic, a kind that ties you to your land. That's why Aeltas thrives, because it still has that power. And that's why the magic responds so much better to me when we work together. It's like I have the blessing of the land itself. Or the land has the blessing of heartsong to release magic to me, or something like that."

"That part is as much a surprise to me as it is to you," Zev told her, his voice hushed. "I've never heard of anything like that. We've never thought of heartsong as being magic in the way that songcraft is. It's never been so specific or tangible in its effect before. It's always been more general, and more gradual. Still powerful, don't get me wrong. Under my family's subtle influence, the terrain of our region has physically changed, and the land has become almost unnaturally fertile. But it's functioned on a whole new level recently." He paused. "Since I met you."

"Oh Zev, I'm so sorry." His willing disclosure of information unleashed a dam inside Marieke, and the tears flowed over at last. "I never meant for this to happen. I never wanted to force your confidence. I know you wouldn't have come with me if you'd realized doing so would expose your secrets. But the truth is I'd already started to suspect, and I—"

"No," he cut her off, shaking his head. " I'm sorry. I'm sorry I wasn't the one to tell you before you figured it out. Marieke…"

He hesitated, raising a hand to brush it across her temple, where a strand of hair had come loose, and then bringing it to rest on her cheek. His thumb moved across her skin, wiping a tear away.

"Since I can remember, I've been taught to keep secrets like my life depended on it. But there's no part of me I don't trust you with." His eyes drew her in—she was drowning in them. "I'm done holding back from you, Marieke."

Marieke barely took in his words before his arm swept around her. He pulled her flush against him so abruptly that she let out a tiny gasp. A gasp that cut off as he lowered his head and his lips closed over hers.

Marieke laced her fingers behind his neck, her heart overwhelmed with the excess of emotions. Zev's arm was strong and steady around her, and warmth seeped from his chest straight into her. His thumb traced circles on her cheek as she kissed him back with abandon, every fiber of her being surrendered to the embrace.

It was different from the kiss they'd shared after Gorgon's attack—there were no secrets in the way now, and whatever was between them had never felt more natural, more right.

She let her fingers stray up into his hair again, lost in the sensation of his lips moving on hers and the warmth of his closeness. The magic below their feet roared to life, more forceful than the timeless power of Zev's orchard. It wrapped around their legs, flowing into Marieke and out again without her guiding it at all. She wasn't even singing, and yet she felt the magic turning itself into light—tiny flecks that danced around them as they kissed with all the pent-up passion that came from holding each other at arm's length for so long, and from the near miss they'd just experienced.

Zev especially. It was like she could feel him pouring into the embrace every tortured look, every missed opportunity to touch her. And she wasn't about to push him away. Using her grip on his neck to pull herself up, she matched his intensity, wishing the kiss never had to end.

But it did, of course. Zev was the one to pull back, his breath coming in pants as he let out a low groan .

"Are you all right?" she asked breathlessly.

He shook his head. "No. I'm terrified." He pulled her even closer, burying his face in her hair. "A crazed singer is determined to kill you, and we don't even know where she is right now." His grip tightened around her waist. "I don't think I can survive losing you."

"I'm not going anywhere," Marieke told him, closing her eyes and leaning into him. "I know she seems impossibly strong, but we have something, Zev. Something no one else has. Maybe something no one else has ever had. You said it yourself—we're stronger together."

Zev nodded, his face still pressed against her hair. For a moment they were silent.

"Your lineage is why your family are so set against me," Marieke murmured. "I represent the liars who murdered their ancestors."

"Yes," Zev acknowledged, pulling his head back just enough to rest his forehead against hers. She appreciated that he didn't try to deny or soften it to make her feel better. His honesty was the best confirmation of his promise to hold nothing back from now on. "You also represent the biggest threat of exposure we've faced in generations."

"I'm sorry for that," she said, pained.

Zev shook his head, his forehead moving against hers. "Don't be. Don't be sorry for anything, Marieke. I wouldn't change a moment of the time we've spent together."

"Not even the one where you had to strip off your shirt to rescue me?" Marieke asked wickedly, tapping his chest. "Because if I'm honest, it made you seem like you were trying much too hard to be a dashing knight to the rescue."

Zev laughed, the sound rumbling deep in his chest. "Especially not that one," he said solemnly. He trapped her hand over his chest. "As I recall, you were breathless at the sight. "

"I'd just climbed up a cliff face," Marieke said, outraged.

"I don't think that was it." Zev shook his head. "You were overawed by my physique."

She pulled her hand free, swatting him away with a laugh that she hoped would hide the color surging into her cheeks. He might have promised to hold nothing back, but she didn't feel the need to confess that even then, before she knew him, she had been a little overawed by his physique.

The door to their sanctuary opened, and they turned to see Kiarana framed in the entrance.

"You're more relaxed than I expected," she commented.

Marieke stepped back, trying not to look guilty as she put a bit more distance between herself and Zev. The elf had a point. In the euphoria of Zev's kiss, she'd almost forgotten that Jade was not only alive, but had tried to kill her mere minutes before.

She threw Zev a wry look that made him raise a brow questioningly. It was a little inconvenient, this habit he'd developed of only kissing her after a barely foiled attempt on her life.

"I'm afraid there's no sign of Jade," the elf told them. "She won't be back here anytime soon, though."

"But she might be waiting for us when we emerge from the jungle," Zev said heavily. Judging by the tension that had returned to his posture, he'd also come out of his blissful oblivion.

"You could stay here," Kiarana said with a smile. "Rissin is itching to conduct some experiments, and he won't be the only one. He will be the most vindictive one, though," she added. "He's very sore about you escaping him in the canyon, even though the method of escape has fueled his curiosity even more."

"We're not going to willingly subject ourselves to experimentation," Zev said. "Does the offer to provide us safe escort back to the human road still stand?"

"I haven't heard my grandmother rescind it," Kiarana said. She spoke absently, her eyes narrowed on Zev. "What's different about you?"

"Nothing," he said, sounding defensive.

The elf shook her head. "There's an extra weight on you. You don't feel it?"

"I do," Marieke said quickly. "Jade put some kind of enchantment on him, and I can't figure out what it was."

"That doesn't seem good," Kiarana commented, although she didn't seem especially perturbed.

"Never mind that," Zev said impatiently. "What are we going to do about Jade?"

Kiarana shrugged. "That's your own affair. She's no danger to us."

"But she spoke like she intends to start some kind of war with the Council of Singers in Oleand," Marieke said.

Kiarana just stared back, her expression polite but disinterested.

"And she's been using your talismans to help carry out her plan!" Marieke said, frustrated.

"Any trades were conducted with full circumspection," Kiarana said. "Her use of the talismans has nothing to do with us."

Marieke ground her teeth in frustration, and judging by his next words, Zev felt it, too.

"And I suppose her threat to kill Marieke has nothing to do with you, either?"

"That is correct." Kiarana nodded, pleased with their comprehension. She tilted her head to one side, the movement making the tips of her ears wobble as she examined Zev again. " I will confess to some curiosity regarding this enchantment, though. It seems sophisticated."

Neither of the humans responded, and after another moment's reflection, she gave a swift nod.

"It's worth the use of power."

With the words, Kiarana pulled out what appeared to be a magnifying glass. It was similar to ones Marieke had seen in the academy's library, except that it was ringed with gold, and magic pulsed faintly from it as Kiarana twisted it. The elf held the glass up to Zev, clicking her fingers imperatively until he bent down so that she could reach his head.

She didn't linger long on the area, moving the glass to his chest instead. She sent Marieke a cheeky wink as the glass hovered over Zev's admittedly impressive muscles.

"It's concentrated on his feet," Marieke said, unimpressed.

The elf shifted her focus down to Zev's boots, her green eyes lighting with interest at whatever the glass was telling her.

"You're quite right, so it is." She frowned in concentration for a moment, then let out a melodious whistle. "That's sophisticated, all right. And powerful. Root and bedrock, she'd better not try to use that on any of us, or Grandmama will expel her permanently."

"What is it?" Marieke demanded, alarmed. "What's she done to him?"

"It's a tracking enchantment," Kiarana said, straightening up. "And it's a work of art, frankly."

"So she is planning to follow us," Zev said, his tone grim but unsurprised.

Kiarana shook her head as she stowed the glass back in her pocket. "Not by use of that enchantment, she's not. This one is much fiddlier. I know a little of your human ways of magic, and I suspect it's part of the storytelling song Grandmama talks about. "

"What do you mean?" Marieke asked, uneasy.

The elf folded her arms behind her back, quite at ease.

"It tracks in reverse. It doesn't show her where you go next, it shows her where you've come from to get here. She's probably following the trail right now."