20. Eldrin

Chapter twenty

Eldrin

F inally, the day that would decide everything had arrived, and I didn’t know whether to be relieved or terrified.

Our delicate balance was beyond tiring, wearing on me to the point that I would’ve despaired if I had to keep up this pretense forever. It was hard to protect Amber, while trying not to make it look like I was absolutely devoted to her. To be friendly with Amber, while not showing that she consumed every thought. To obey Vanir, while hiding that I wanted nothing more than to slam that crown into his throat. Not down it, into it, so that the blood and gristle and all rendered into a pulp and tore his life from him. Unfortunately, that dream could never become a reality.

Today could change everything. It would change everything .

After spending the early morning hours strolling near Amber’s room, close enough to hear if anyone tried to enter, I was able to step away when the guards changed at dawn with those I trusted. Besides, the palace would soon be bustling and it would be harder for another murder attempt to take place. Luckily, elves didn’t need nearly as much sleep as humans, and we could choose to rest in a state that was close to wakefulness if needed. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to watch Amber as I had these prior weeks. However, I still had a body, and that body had its needs.

While Siliana was preparing Amber for the festival, I took a few moments to eat and rest. After a short sleep, I sat in the palace’s dining hall with other elves, many of whom were consuming the same cream-white bread with berry jam and herbal tea as me. Despite the crowd, I was left alone to gather my thoughts, and steady my heart that was threatening to lurch through my chest. There was so much that could go wrong today, and only a few paths for it to go right. Siliana was right—it was far too likely I’d be giving Vanir what he wanted.

“My, look what I found,” Ivas said, strutting towards me. I tried not to frown. Ivas was my brother’s “companion,” who had decided to interrupt us during the party where Amber had met Vanir. I was just as happy to see him now as I was then. Other elves stopped eating and turned to watch. Encounters between us were rarely uneventful .

Ivas was dressed for the festival in a tight dark purple tunic and breeches and black leather boots. Around his torso was a jeweled ribcage, likely crafted from a deer. Vines and flowers gathered on his shoulders, spilling over a large cloak that covered the entire ensemble.

“Is this Eldrin, alone?” Ivas practically cooed. “Why are you here and not with your pet?”

I ground my teeth. It was not worth picking a fight with him. Not here. Not now. Not when we were so close. “She is preparing,” I said.

“Ah, I suppose she has a lot to prepare for today, doesn’t she?” Ivas said, jutting out his large chin. “This is only the first, isn’t it? With so many important events to come.”

“Indeed.”

“You know,” Ivas said, sauntering around the table, “I think I shall enjoy getting to know Amber. His Majesty is very generous, after all. He loves my ideas.”

“Yes, His Majesty is generous,” I said, eying a gold necklace around Ivas’s neck that I didn’t recognize. Another gift from Vanir? I remembered Amber’s comments about Vanir’s greed and cruelty. I had been so consumed with my own guilt and failures, so desperate to believe that I hadn’t made a horrible mistake, that I hadn’t seen what was in front of me.

“Well, I think Amber will learn to be generous with me, too, in time. Humans always are a little stubborn at first, aren’t they? ”

Taking a deep breath and digging my skeleton hand into my thigh until it hurt, I took a drink to buy myself time to think. Was Ivas behind the attempt on Amber’s life? Unlikely. Vanir wouldn’t have been so clumsy if he wanted Amber dead, and Ivas wasn’t known for doing things without Vanir’s approval. Vanir was cruel, but luckily, my brother was the mind behind their despotic union, a union that was rumored to be physical, though I had my doubts that was the situation.

Ivas wanted something from me, from this encounter. Now, what was it? To get a reaction out of me? If so, his comments about Amber were certainly a valiant attempt. No, there had to be something else.

“What is it?” I asked, setting down my ceramic cup. “Surely, you didn’t come here just to speak in riddles.”

“No, never,” Ivas said, his smirk dropping into a sneer. “I just feel like you’re putting so much effort into something so temporary.”

“What is temporary?”

“Why, your little pet.”

“Indeed, as it was always intended to be.” I nodded respectfully. “She will be queen and then Vanir will be responsible for her care.”

“Oh, Eldrin. Somehow you are both boring and too expressive. A unique combination.” Ivas stalked off, giving me a little wave as he did so and ignoring the gawking onlookers. “You’ll see.”

Once he left, the chatter resumed, and I went back to my tea, though any joy I found in the flavor was gone. I sloshed the liquid around my cup, watching it leave a pale green layer on the sides.

That could have gone worse. Neither of us had to be restrained, and no one died.

But something Ivas said left my stomach uneasy, and not the part about him being with her. That was just talk. No, I was concerned about something far deeper. He was taunting me about Amber being a temporary ward, yes, but there was something more to it. Something I was missing.

A sudden chill ran through me, as if the fall winds were freezing my veins. I had to resist the sudden urge to flee the room and act on my suspicions, though my body seized, desperate to do something .

What if Ivas knew something I didn’t? What if there was something more to Vanir’s plans for Amber?

What if the barrier wasn’t the reason Vanir wanted her after all?

I narrowed my eyes, watching Ivas stride out of the room, his dramatic cloak trimmed with expensive furs trailing after him. Another new gift, one of many, now that I bothered to notice them.

The sound of musicians tuning their instruments and preparing for the festival started outside, their strings and flutes carrying through the open windows. Laughter quickly followed, people already starting to celebrate before it officially began.

Whatever I was going to do, I had to do it quickly. I only had a couple hours before the festival events started, and luckily for me, Ivas was already dressed. His rooms would be vacant. Even servants had a day of leisure today, so most rooms would be empty. But even if I managed to make it inside, would his rooms have the information I needed to protect Amber? Did that information exist at all?

T o avoid attracting attention from anyone Vanir may have sent to watch me, I went back to my own rooms and dressed, as everyone expected. These were the same rooms I’d had my entire life, even when I was my father’s heir. Vanir didn’t seem to feel the need to move me, since he took the king’s suites. And he likely had other concerns than where I laid my head. I half-expected that Ivas would’ve taken my rooms out of spite, but Ivas had his own grand apartments—arguably better than mine.

Today, I paid the room’s décor even less attention than I normally did, the onyx mosaic of skulls and vertebrae on the floor something that had welcomed me almost every day of my life. My clothes for today were laid out on a bench, three different options that my attending servant provided for me. By this point he knew me well, and knew that I changed my mind enough when it came to events like this that multiple options were a good idea.

Before I did anything else, I had to dress. The closer the time moved to the start of the festivities, the more that people would wonder why I wasn’t ready to attend. So, yes, while I was going to be wearing ostentatious finery, somehow—just for today—it would help me blend in. The garments set out for me were simple compared to what Amber would be forced into—gowns with delicate layers that required a helping hand. As for me, I could get into my garments alone, and I ended up choosing something especially easy—they were basically just breeches and a robe that left my chest bare. On the shoulders rested a small skull of a primate that was treated with a hardened lacquer, and accented with real vines, flowers, and bones. I brushed my hair, changed my clothing, and that was it. Less than five minutes of work and I was now ready for a formal court event.

I confidently strode through the palace halls, making my way to Ivas’s rooms that were located in one of the suites devoted to royal family members, careful to turn down a few other hallways first to make sure that no one was following me. No one was. Vanir likely assumed that there were too many eyes for me to get into too much trouble today, and he was likely right. And this wasn’t trouble. I was…gathering information. There was nothing troublesome about it. Or so I repeated to myself. If caught, it wouldn’t do to act flustered.

I was about to turn the corner to the hall to Ivas’s rooms when my brother’s familiar raw voice echoed down the hallway. Cursing silently, I leaned against the wall, hiding from view as best I could without looking too suspicious. As soon as I heard footsteps, I’d start walking the opposite way. I was doing nothing wrong.

Nothing wrong.

I had decided to take this path to the main courtyard—that was all. And I stopped to rest.

Several moments passed, my breath steadied, and then I listened. At first it was nothing of note, just discussions about whether the music was arranged for today and where Vanir wanted the visiting nobles to stay, not that the kingdom was large enough for much “visiting” these days.

“She’s still practicing for the dance?” Vanir asked. “How quaint. I thought she would’ve decided not to attempt it once she saw the other dancers.” There was only one “she” that they could be talking about.

“You did order her,” Ivas pointed out.

“I thought she’d give up by now and plead illness. And she’s still trying?”

“Yes. Trying hard, too,” Ivas said.

“Admirable. But pointless, considering. ”

“You don’t think she’s attempting to gain your favor? I think Lady Siliana would have mentioned the role the dance plays, and the opportunities.”

“I’m sure the answers to both of those possibilities is ‘yes,’” Vanir said. “But like I said, it doesn’t matter. It’s pointless.” A pause. “Remember.”

“Oh. Right, the barrier.”

“Exactly. Not like she will need my favor for long. Remember—they still think I have that remedy.”

The two of them cackled and I clenched my fists, trying to recall what I knew of the magic that formed the barrier—and it was precious little. How did the barrier get strengthened? I had assumed that it was like any shielding magic—a prayer and a few drops of blood. The original barrier around the Darkening Woods took the lives of thirteen elves to create it thousands of years ago. I had assumed that since this was just a strengthening and not creating something new, and the barrier was much smaller, that it would, at most, just take some blood.

I should have known better—that it would require something more. A life.

I cursed myself, cursed the day I decided to let Vanir have all of this power. My fury was dampened only by necessity, my fists shaking.

Amber wouldn’t need Vanir’s favor for long, because Vanir didn’t think Amber was going to be alive long enough for it to matter .

How many people knew the truth? Vanir and Ivas, for sure, and likely some of the sages who were devoted to the trees and listened to their secrets. Possibly a few archivists, bound to secrecy. Not many knew the details about the magic supporting the barrier, because that would open it up to being destroyed. By this point, the original thirteen were no longer mourned and were regarded as heroes, and no one likely suspected that any sacrifice of the sort could be demanded again.

But why tell Amber—and everyone who wasn’t a sage or Ivas—that she was going to be queen…unless it was all to make her go willingly to die. Did they even need a mortal to support the barrier? Was that Vanir’s lie too, to avoid the politics of sacrificing one of his own people, who were already discontented from the shifting of the worlds and his own abuses? From how Vanir was speaking, he didn’t have the promised remedy at all, the one that would remove the poison from Amber’s blood for good. Another lie to convince Amber to die with a smile on her face. I gritted my teeth—I had brought her here, only to be used and killed.

“It’s going to be a long month for us,” Ivas said. “I cannot wait for this to be done.”

“Nonsense. It will go quick, the barrier will be restored, then I’ll get my condolences at the sudden and unexpected death of my wife and all of this will be behind me. And if I’m lucky, I’ll finally be able to do something about my brother. ”

“From what I’m hearing, he’s doing exactly what you expected.”

“Good.”

I didn’t stay to hear more. I had questions—lots more—but I had heard enough. And I had to act. Did Vanir really plan all of this? Was it all his idea? The king had counselors, ones sworn to serve the Darkening Woods, and Vanir wasn’t necessarily the most clever man, even if he was ruthless. He had a tendency to banish or exile councilors rather than attempt to sway them. A few had died, suspiciously in retrospect, but Vanir had to be careful he didn’t upset too much of the court too fast. I cursed my own folly yet again—I should have suspected more of Vanir. I shouldn’t have thought that anything was beyond my brother. How many times would he have to harm or threaten me before I learned that Vanir would do anything to anyone if it suited his purposes? What was he doing to our people that they were so afraid to protest? The Darkening Woods was on the precipice of a reckoning, with sides already cast, and it was far too likely that many innocents would die in the process. Including Amber.

Regardless of who knew about the barrier, I couldn’t stay in Great Glen. Neither of us could. If we didn’t get that remedy, Amber would die from the veinwart’s venom, whether Vanir sacrificed her or not. There was no path to life for her in this city. I would take her as far from here as I could, we would find a cure, and then we would flee, back into her world where no one could hurt her. Yes, our departure would break the barrier, but Vanir was on his own. He should have been honest with his people if he didn’t want the consequences.

As quickly as I could, I rushed to Amber’s room and pushed open the door, finding Siliana putting the finishing touches of cosmetics on Amber. I closed the door behind me and fished out some weapons that I kept hidden under the bed. Ones Amber didn’t seem to know about by the way she exclaimed, “What are you doing? What’s that ? Are those daggers?”

“Eldrin?” Siliana asked warily.

“Siliana,” I said, buckling the knives around my waist and hiding them as best I could under the robe. “I cannot tell you why I am here, because it will endanger your life to know. All I can ask is that you leave and go someplace for an hour or two. One that isn’t associated with the festival. When asked, you can then tell them the truth—that Amber was ready for the festival, and you left her with me.”

Siliana nodded, worry marked around her eyes. “I see,” she said knowingly. “I will go to the tree to pray that our world is reunited. I won’t be the only one there on a day such as this.”

“The tree?” Amber asked.

“The shrines I told you about,” Siliana said.

“Oh.”

Good, I was pleased with Siliana’s idea. That was an excellent way to get Siliana safely away, and kept ignorant of the treason I was about to commit. Sadly, this wasn’t the first time we had to have a similar conversation. A nearly identical one occurred the night my father died, and I told Siliana that I was leaving to “see a good friend.” That good friend happened to be Oristan and his father, who quickly notified the lords and ladies of what had occurred, and of the coup that was taking place. That was how—through extensive negotiations—I lived, provided that I swore oath of allegiance to King Vanir. My oath was brutal, but it was necessary—I vowed not to shed Vanir’s blood. It was a bit more dramatic than Vanir’s oath of kingship, in which he vowed that he would give of himself in service to the land. But I was a deposed heir, and drastic measures were deemed necessary. We elves of the Darkening Woods took our oaths seriously. The magic that fueled us required it. And exacted the price of breaking them.

Siliana gripped Amber’s hands firmly and wished her well, gave me one more desperate look, and then left without another word, her soft footsteps fading on the stone floor. She knew better than to say anything else, and there was nothing she needed to say. Every goodbye carries the possibility of death, and this one was all too likely to come to fruition.

Once Amber and I were alone, I dug through the room and found her a light cloak, one appropriate for today’s weather, and handed it to her. Anything more than that would raise suspicions, including supplies. I frowned at her shoes, those delicate slippers that were little more than fabric with a thin leather sole, but that was another thing that couldn’t be helped.

“Where are we going?” Amber asked.

“You have determined that we’re not going to the festival?”

“I’m na?ve, not oblivious,” Amber said. “Shouldn’t we put on something…sturdier? I’m guessing you don’t need daggers for a walk through the gardens.”

“No.” I put finishing touches on buckling the weapons while I talked. “If anyone sees us, and someone will, they need to assume that we’re just going for a little walk until the festival. Anything else will be noted. Remember the path we took to the glade?” Amber nodded. “We will take that route again, but turning to go near the lakes instead. And then we will disappear.”

“Why?” she asked, her lips pursed. “I’ll go, of course, but…why?”

I lowered my voice. “He will kill you if you stay.”

Amber’s skin turned ashen. “Oh.”

I took her hand, not daring to touch the rest of her. Not yet. “Don’t worry,” I said solemnly. “I didn’t fight Vanir before, but I had nothing to fight for. Now I do. Until the last of my life is cleaved from me, I will keep you safe.”

Amber let out a long breath and gave me a small smile. “I know. I trust you.”

I smiled back, though my heart wrenched. I was going to put her trust to the test. If she was caught after today, it was very likely Vanir wouldn’t keep her alive long enough to bond with the barrier. He would get rid of us both as soon as he could.