Awakened by Magic (The Four Kings Book 1) by Katy Haye (10)

Chapter Ten

I was used to becoming a part of the forest when I hunted, or merging with the lake when I fished. This was something more than either. The beat of my heart melted into the drumming of the stag’s hooves, so I didn’t know where I ended and he began. The air ripped away any sound but itself, cocooning us in a blur of speed. Trees whipped past and the ground fell away, the stag’s hooves eating up the distance between me and Essa.

The sun arced high in the sky, then slid down to the horizon as I rode. Night fell, but the stag never faltered. I didn’t know what magic the kings had used, but I couldn’t doubt that they were using magic. The stag didn’t stop for rest or food, and I remained alert and fresh. At one point, in the distance I thought I saw a faint light and I remembered stories of a willo’ the wisp, seeking to distract unwary travellers. But the stag never wavered, galloping sure-footed and steady towards the Emperor’s citadel.

Dawn lightened the sky again, and as the sun rose high overhead we finally began to slow. The trees became more sparse, then they stopped altogether. The stag halted, pawing at the ground as though impatient that it could go no further: two steps ahead, the ground fell away.

The forest ended on the shores of a vast lake. Rising from the centre of the lake was my destination: White Island, capital of the Empire of Charnrosa, and home to the Stalwart Emperor’s citadel.

Eyes fixed on the tall stone walls of the citadel, I slithered down from the back of the stag, patting his shoulder. “Thank you for helping me.” He snorted and tossed his head, backing away from the open air and the water, back to the shelter of the forest.

A few strides and I might step into the lapping water. That was the only similarity to the river at home. This waterway was vast. The trees on the far side were as small as my thumbnail. The citadel in the middle held my gaze. Hunkered in the centre of the water, the edifice was dark and cold. I wasn’t sure whether the stone was truly grey, or if that was simply a reflection of the water.

According to the tales, the first Emperor’s palace on the lake had been a thing of wonder. A town on water, the island surrounding the palace had been paved with acres of white strongstone which reflected the sun and made the whole island glow during daylight. A bridge of the same stone had linked the palace with a town on the far side.

Since the Stalwart Emperor had seized power, matters had changed. The town hugging the lakeside had dwindled, its inhabitants driven away by the Emperor. A colossal wall had been built around the perimeter of the island, turning the palace into an impregnable fortress; the whole place had become a citadel and testament to the Emperor’s power.

And the Emperor sat in his citadel like a spider in the middle of its web. Surrounded by enchantments, there was no way into the citadel unless the Emperor wanted you to enter. I doubted discouragement was needed often. The wall of greystone that surrounded the citadel was forbidding enough. If the glowing strongstone was still there, it was invisible now. The citadel didn’t glow, it … glowered.

I swallowed down a shiver. Glower was the right word. A sense of … I wasn’t sure whether it was right to term it evil, but a sense of wrongness emanated from the island. The forest belonged here, some of the trees centuries old. The lake belonged here. The citadel… The citadel was a misfit that had forced the natural world to make way for it. It echoed the behaviour of its chief occupant: to take what he wanted and never mind what he spoiled to get it.

A crash made me swing round in time to see the stag vanishing back through the trees. I couldn’t blame him. Half of me wanted to go with him. The shiver I’d been holding back broke loose.

But fear was a pointless emotion. My mother must have felt fear when she faced the Emperor’s men, but she hadn’t given in to the emotion, she’d kept her head. She’d sacrificed herself so that Essa and I might escape.

I wrenched my attention back to the building. I had to ignore my fear; yoke it to something worthwhile. Like snatching Essa before she… My thoughts trailed off as movement on the island caught my attention. The stag had carried me so quickly, so wildly, that I’d assumed I must have overtaken Essa and the guards who had stolen her away.

Cold slid through me as I watched the scene across the water. Broad gates swung open in the stone walls. I heard the grinding of massive hinges even from this distance, the sound amplified by the lakewater. The scrape of metal against stone set my teeth on edge.

A group of seven people, their forms shrunken beside the massive building, walked through the gates. Six wore identical clothes, the uniform of the Emperor’s guards. A slim figure in brighter dress walked in the centre of them.

My heart stopped, all animation crushed. I’d come as fast as I could, yet I was too late. Like my father, I’d failed to protect Essa. Unlike him, I cared what had befallen my sister. A piece of my heart walked into the citadel with Essa. A piece I had to get back or be forever incomplete. Perhaps I should be glad she could walk and wasn’t carried in unconscious, but it was a small consolation. Essa was amongst enemies, swallowed by the Emperor’s citadel.

They vanished from sight and the gates swung back, the clang of their closing making my shoulders twitch. I felt as though they were closing around me, the air turning greyer, colder, shaded with despair.

Feared thrummed through me and again I beat it back. I had to think, to plan. So, matters were harder, but no worse than before. At least now I knew where Essa was, and I knew that she was safe. At least, she was still alive and well enough to move by her own volition.

Now, I just had to get her out of the citadel before either of those conditions changed.

I hunkered down on the edge of the shore. This was like hunting. I needed to find a way into the beast’s lair without calling notice to myself.

Which would be helped if I could even see a way into the palace. The gates Essa had vanished through were easily visible on this side of the hulking building, the silver of their metal standing out against the duller grey of stone. But I could see no way to reach those gates across the lake. My scanning eyes found no bridge, no path, not even stepping stones.

There was no way save swimming to reach the citadel in the middle. And it would be a long way to swim. Except that there had to be another way because Essa and her guards hadn’t looked wet. Magic. It must be.

The harsh cry of a rook made me jump. I glanced back, seeing two of the birds fighting in the top of a nearby tree. I thought of the crows Vashri had sent before, and of my idea that they might fly me where I needed to go. My need was even more acute now.

“Could you send enough birds to carry me to the palace?” I muttered.

I didn’t expect a reply, but Axxon’s voice resounded in my head, sounding amused that I’d even asked. “I think the Emperor might notice that,” he told me.

I couldn’t disagree. “Can you suggest something better?” I snapped. My stomach clenched at my ingratitude. Axxon had helped me, and I was grateful for it, but I could think of nothing else while Essa was still a prisoner.

“Use your magic.”

“I have no magic,” I hissed. Every time I blinked I saw Essa, vanishing into the castle, her back to me. And I stood here powerless, arguing with the voices in my head.

“It has gone to sleep, you must simply awaken it.”

My teeth gritted so hard I could barely get the words out. “It’s not sleeping.” I wished the kings would change their constant cry that everything would be marvellous if sleeping things just woke up.

“It doesn’t matter whether you use your magic or not.” A new voice joined the ones I already recognised. He had a lilting accent I didn’t recognise that made me think of the river as it bubbled and ran past Myledene. “You have other talents you can use,” he said easily.

My eyes cut to the lake. I recalled my first thought of how it could be crossed. Sometimes the simple solutions were the best ones. “Are you the king of water?” I challenged.

“How did you guess? I am Nashrey. You may call me Rey.” A smile radiated from his voice and I could imagine the broad grin that went with it. Reassuring warmth flowed down my spine.

“Nice to meet you, Rey. Now, I have somewhere to be.” I was smiling myself as I toed off my boots, checked the clear water for depth, and dove in.