Chapter 12

OUTLANDS

 

 

 

"Daison, I'd like you to meet Princess Arianna, guest of Prince Fenris. Princess, this is my speaks-before-thinking apprentice, Daison."

—Kayla Windhelm

 

It takes another three days before my sword is finally done. It seems surreal that I helped make the beauty I hold in my hands. Kayla grins like a fool. "You did an amazing job, Ari."

I look up at her and smile. "I really think this was more you than me. But thank you."

I worked the pendant stone Es gave me into the hilt, and Kayla helped me etch elaborate designs into the steel, so it wouldn't just be a stab and swipe kind of blade, but a real work of art.

I slide it into its custom black scabbard and practice drawing the sword. It hangs from one side of my hip, with the dagger Daison made on the other.

The boy stands in the shadows, beaming. He's become more comfortable with me recently, and we've fallen into a camaraderie that I enjoy. "You're a natural at blacksmithing," he says.

I'm about to argue, but Kayla cuts me off. "He's right. You have a gift for this. I hope you keep practicing when you leave."

I don't like thinking about leaving Stonehill, but my month will be up soon. I'm supposed to go to Dean next. Kayla knows how I feel about that, and she squeezes my hand. "This too shall pass," she says. "And then you can choose from your heart."

"You know I can't." My breath hitches. "You know he doesn't want this."

"My brother has a lot of secrets that keep him trapped in his own darkness. You might be the one who can help him into the light. Don't give up on him just yet."

I nod and push away unhappy thoughts as I swing my sword, practicing the moves Fen has drilled into me over weeks of training. I have muscles where none existed before, at least none you could see. I even have abs. I'm quite impressed with myself, to be honest.

"What's its name?" Daison asks.

"What?"

"Your sword. Every proper sword needs a name. What will you call yours?"

I raise the blade, admiring the swirls and eagles etched into the steel. "Spero. It means hope."

"Fitting," says Kayla.

Daison shrugs. "I would have gone with Dragonslayer or Heartbreaker personally."

I sheathe Spero and sigh. "Do you mind if I beg off today?"

Kayla laughs. "Let me guess, you want to show your sword off to Fen?"

I blush. I'm too easy to read. "Yeah. Basically."

She shoves me out of the smithy. "Go. Show off. You deserve it. But I'll expect you back here tomorrow ready to work."

I salute her in mock seriousness. "Yes, ma'am."

She rolls her eyes at me. "Cheeky girl. Get gone."

I walk quickly back to the castle, enjoying the weight of steel at my hip. I feel like a kid at Christmas and can't wait to share my excitement with Fen.

He's in the training arena talking to his soldiers when I approach.

His eyes fall to my hip, and he raises that one sexy eyebrow with the scar. The soldiers leave us, and he walks to me. "It is finished?"

"Yes!" I draw Spero and hand it to him to examine.

He studies the design, then raises the blade and considers its weight and balance before handing it back to me. "You did well. It's a perfect fit for you. Are you ready to begin training with real steel now?"

I nod.

He grins. "Very well. Prepare yourself." He pulls out his sword, and our blades clash together as he takes me through one of our sparring forms.

I can feel the difference in using a real sword versus wood, and I know I'm going to need to get even stronger to be a decent fighter. Working in the forge has helped build muscle, but I need more stamina than I have. I know I have untapped potential in me. I just need to push harder.

I'm sweating hard when a messenger runs at us, as if being chased by lions. "Prince Fenris! You must help! The Fae. They're at the walls."

My heart drops into my gut. I freeze, but not Fen. He's already shouting commands, rallying troops.

He turns to me and grips my arms so hard they will bruise. "Get into the castle and barricade yourself until I come back. I'm sending Roco and Marco with you for protection."

"No, Fen. I'm not going to hide when people in Stonehill need help. I'll find Kayla. We can evacuate the city while you and your soldiers fight off the attack."

He frowns. "You are too important to risk."

"I'm not a piece of property, and I'm not a political prop to use when it suits you," I argue. "I make my own choices."

"I could have you locked in your room until I return." He looks serious, and I can tell he's worried.

"Fen, listen to me carefully. If you lock me away, the consequences will not easily be undone."

He places a hand on my shoulder. "And if you die or get hurt, those consequences will undo me. Do not die, Princess."

"I won't."

He finally nods. "Fine, but stay within the city walls. There's a secret way out through the mountains. Kayla will know where it is. Get them out and get to safety. I'll find you."

I consider whether I should use my horse or just run, and I decide on running. Kayla's forge isn't that far away, and I won't have time to deal with my horse.

Heavy snow falls from the sky. It crunches under my feet as I retrace the steps I took just a few hours ago.

My mind is focused as I approach the center of the city. Fen's soldiers take formation at the gates and archers line the walls. I run to Kayla's forge and fill her in on what's happening. She looks at Daison, who has dropped his tongs. "Ring the bell and alert the people," Kayla says. "We need to get everyone out."

When he's gone, she pulls a leather bag from her counter and begins filling it with bandages, vials and jars she keeps on a shelf in case of injury. "Hand me that one over there," she says, pointing to a jar filled with brown sludge on the shelf behind me. I hand it to her.

"We must hurry," she says. "Go help Daison round up the people. We must lead them through the mountain pass quickly. There is a storm brewing tonight. If we aren't fast enough, we will be snowed in." She shoves the bag at me as she fills another one. "Keep this with you, just in case."

I take it from her. "I'm on it!" I run out and find Daison.

He rings the city bell and yells for people to hurry. "We haven't much time. Raiders are coming!"

That gets them moving faster, and buzz begins to spread. The Fae from the Outlands are here. They are here to kill and steal and rape.

To hurry things along, I go door to door, sharing the news as quickly as possible, helping pack when needed, carrying babies and guiding young children while their parents pack. As I do, I get small glimpses into these cloistered lives. I see the things they value most and the things they are willing to leave behind to burn, if it comes to that. They are a practical people, for the most part, choosing food, clothing, bedding, but almost everyone also has a sentimental item or two they can't leave behind. A special book, a cherished piece of jewelry. One woman brought her husband's old shaving kit, though he's been dead for many years now. "I can't leave it behind," she told me. "It still smells of him."

I can't bear to think this magical crystal city might be gone by nightfall, if Fen and his soldiers can't keep the raiders out. And I realize I don't understand war at all. I don't understand fighting and bloodshed and the need to kill others who are different from you. I know the Fae see themselves as the heroes of their own stories. We all do, don't we? But how can they justify what they are about to do? This village isn't full of soldiers. It's full of normal everyday people. Families just trying to get through their lives.

Kayla leads a long line of people towards the side of the castle. There, behind a waterfall, lies the mountain passage. I run up to the blacksmith, out of breath. In the distance, the sounds of battle thunder. The clash of steel. The last screams of dying men.

"Where's Daison?" Kayla asks.

"I thought he was with you? I was helping others prepare to evacuate."

She pauses, as people pass by her into the side of the mountain. It's snowing again, and the wind is blowing more forcefully than before. The cold chills me through my cloak and clothing, and I shiver, startled at how fast the storm is growing.

"We have to get out of here," she says. "I'm going to find Daison. You lead everyone."

She turns to leave, but I grab her hand. "Kayla, I don't know the way. Only you do. I'll find Daison, and we'll catch up to you. He's probably just helping someone pack."

I see the indecision in her eyes, but she relents, knowing I'm right. "Ari, please find him."

"I will. See you soon."

I run back towards the city just as burning arrows fly over the wall and land in bushes and barns and houses. Fires begin to rage out of control.

I run faster, calling for Daison, worry gnawing at me the longer it takes to find him.

Flames rise up around me. Smoke chokes me. I pull my shirt over my mouth and keep looking for the boy.

"Daison! Where are you?"

I hear a moan from behind and turn around. A pile of burning wood. A foot sticking out. "Daison!"

I look around for something I can use to move the rubble without burning myself, and settle on a wooden plank near a half finished house. I grab the board, a rusty nail digging into my skin. I ignore the pain, and rush back to Daison. All around me is chaos. Fire. Smoke. The smell of burning flesh.

I ram the plank under the burning logs and push down. The wood tumbles toward me, spraying me with embers, singeing my hands. I bite down in pain, and realize I bit my tongue. Warm blood fills my mouth.

I block out the burn between my jaws, the fire on my hands. I jam the plank forward, moving away more wood. Sparks hit me. This time, I don't flinch. I shove the board forward again. The last of the wood rolls away.

I drop the burning plank and grab Daison by the feet. His body is blackened by fire. Part of his face has melted away. He smells of cooked meat. "Oh Daison."

I don't know what else to do. I pull off my cloak and use it to pack snow around his body to cool the burns and numb him.

His eyes flicker open. "Ari… " His voice is a cracked whisper. I lean down closer to hear him. "Ari, a little girl is trapped. Help. Her."

He coughs and his body spasms. For a moment, I am frozen, my hands numb. Then I run to the burning house and yell for anyone who might be inside. I hear a girl scream, and I rush in, covering my body with my arms. The girl sits in the stone fireplace, one of the only places not on fire. I reach for her. "Come to me. I'm here to help."

She shakes her head, her pink curls bobbing around her pointed ears.

"Sweetie, I can't reach you in there. Come on out and let's find your parents."

Slowly, she crawls out. I grab her hand and pull her into my arms. I rush outside, flaming wood falling behind me. We get back to Daison. His body still shakes and spasms.

"I've got her, Daison. Now we need to get you both to Kayla and out of the city."

"I can't, Ari. Save the girl."

I hold his hand, the one not burned, my throat constricting. "No, this isn't over. You'll make it!"

"Tell Kayla… " He chokes and blood stains his lips. "Tell her it's not her fault. She's family. Always."

His eyes close and his chest stills and my heart breaks, all in the same moment.

I don't know what to do. I can't leave him here, but I have to get the girl to safety. The city is burning.

I check Daison's pulse three times. Then I cover his face with my cloak and look at the girl. He died trying to save her. And I will die too, if I must.

I stand, tears staining my face, and grab the girl into my arms. I carry her past the smoke and rubble. I carry her to the waterfall by the castle. I do not know how long it takes. I only know that I must succeed. When I reach the stone steps, I glance down and see Daison in my arms. But it is just a vision. A trick cast by madness and sorrow.

This world cares nothing for me.

It cared nothing for Daison.

I am half conscious. Half mad.

And then I hear it.

Water. Splashing.

I fall to my knees behind the waterfall, and the girl drops to the ground. Someone takes her hand and pulls her toward the tunnel. They try to lift me up. They cannot. They yell. They take the girl and disappear. I sit there for minutes, hours, eternity.

Something licks my hand. Nudges my head.

"Baron?"

He growls.

Slowly, my head grows clearer. "What's going on, boy?"

Baron whines in a way I've never heard before. He scratches his paws on the ground. "I don't understand what you want me to do, buddy. Is it Fen? Is he okay?"

War cries bleed through the wails of wind and snow. A bluster of snow swirls around me and Baron. I shiver and try to pull my cloak tighter. It's no longer there. It's still wrapped around Daison.

Baron takes a few steps towards the gate.

I hesitate.

He looks over his shoulders, checking to see if I'm coming, then walks again. I have no idea where he wishes to go, but I know in my gut I must follow.