Kingsbane

“And you are a soldier. My adviser, and my protector.”

“Yes,” Simon answered quietly. “Always, Eliana.”

“Then advise me, as you have done, and protect me, as you will no doubt continue to do—at least until I have no further use for you—and until then, get out of my way.”

With that, she pushed past him and left him standing alone in the shadowed hall.

• • •

That night, Eliana sat at the desk in her room, unable to sleep, with a pile of ancient books lying open before her.

She glared at the nearest page of tiny text, trying for the fifth time to read the opening paragraph of the chapter Simon had marked for her:

Parents who are curious about a child’s elemental leanings may begin lessons with the child, under the guidance of temple acolytes, as early as the Church deems appropriate. Every child’s capabilities are, of course, unique. One child may be capable of accessing the empirium as early as the age of eight (though this is rare, and such tutelage should only occur under strict Church guidance). Another child, even one in the same family, may not do so until some years later, or may never exhibit elemental powers whatsoever. A young windsinger from the Mazabat capital of Quelbani, for example, was not able to access the empirium, and therefore use her God-given power, until the age of seventeen—

With a muttered curse, Eliana slammed the book shut. Dust puffed into her face, and she sneezed and cursed again, more loudly, and kicked the nearest leg of the desk.

“I know a way to save Navi,” came a voice from just behind her.

Eliana whirled, hand flying to Arabeth at her hip before her mind caught up with the truth.

She glared up at Zahra’s drifting dark form, the wraith’s inscrutable face hovering some four feet above Eliana’s own. Zahra’s body shifted from one moment to the next—first a shapeless cloud; then the echo of the stately, eight-foot-tall angel she had once been, magnificent wings of light and shadow fanning out from her back; then flickering into nothingness.

“Also,” Zahra continued, her sonorous voice a balm to Eliana’s tired mind, “I should tell you that Simon is, as we speak, storming about the palace in a remarkable temper. Well done, there. I heartily enjoy watching him fume.”

“Really, Zahra,” Eliana scolded, “you’ve got to stop drifting in and out of rooms just because you can. It isn’t polite.”

“Coming from you, a paragon of manners and etiquette, that means almost nothing.”

Eliana smiled, so grateful for the interruption that at first the wraith’s words didn’t truly register. Then she stood, her heart pounding. “Wait. Did you say you know a way to save Navi?”

Zahra looked inordinately pleased. She pushed a ghostly bundle of her long, white hair over her shoulder. “I do. I know of a place that will, in all likelihood, have at least a small supply of the crawler antidote.”

“In all likelihood.”

“I must admit the possibility that I am wrong. Though I don’t believe I am.”

“Is it far?”

“Not so very far, no.”

“Is it dangerous there?”

“Extremely. In fact, my queen, it is with great reluctance that I speak to you of this now, for it is not a place I wish you to visit. But…” Zahra drifted closer, reaching for Eliana’s shoulder. The wraith’s touch was a gentle breeze, chilled and silken. “I know she is dear to you, my queen, and that her condition pains you.”

“Thank you.” Eliana returned Zahra’s touch as best she could—a brush of her hand against Zahra’s arm, her fingers dipping into icy water, smooth as honey. “How long will it take us, to travel to this place?”

“A few hours. We will need to move carefully.”

“What is it called?”

“In Astavari, it is called Annerkilak. In the common tongue, it is referred to as the Nest. One of the most dangerous underground markets in the world, and one of the few that deal in stolen angelic goods.”

Eliana nodded. “Such as the crawler antidote.”

“And as you can imagine, such a place is heavily guarded, and not only by humans. By wraiths as well. A contingent of them, loyal to no one but themselves—not Red Crown, not the Emperor. They oversee everything within the market’s borders. Only those they wish to find the Nest are able to. It is a game for them, making trades and bargains, tormenting thieves, reveling in riches. A distraction from their misery.”

Eliana turned away to stand before the windows. Beyond them, the night sky stretched across the snow-capped mountains. Morning was beginning to touch the far eastern sky.

“Do the kings know about this place?” she asked after a long moment.

“Yes. It is a difficult balance they must strike—allowing the Nest to exist and its wraiths to play as they will, but preventing it from rising up and swallowing the city whole. A place like the Nest is inevitable in such a world as ours, and the kings have bigger battles to wage.”

“And Simon? Does he know?”

“As far as I can tell, no,” Zahra said archly. “Though, as you know, my queen, my ability to read that horrible, clawed-up mind of his is less than reliable.” She paused, scowling. “I hope you won’t ask me to tell him, or ask him to join us.”

“On the contrary. If we go there—when we go there—we will leave him here to stew and wonder where we’ve gone.”

Zahra’s words stretched around a dark rib of a smile. “A most excellent plan, my queen.”

“You’ll hide me from him? Ensure his ignorance?”

“He will not be able to follow us, my queen. I can promise you that. But there is something I must tell you.”

Hearing a note of hesitation in Zahra’s voice, Eliana turned, eyes narrowed. “I’m sensing I won’t like this next bit.”

“You sense correctly. You see, my queen, I refuse to take you to the Nest until I know you can protect yourself.”

Eliana raised her eyebrows. “Have I not proven that a dozen times over by now?”

“That was before.” Zahra’s bottomless dark gaze shifted to Eliana’s scalp, where the wound from Navi’s attack throbbed faintly beneath her hair. “You are no longer the Dread of Orline. You are breakable. And my ability to protect you goes only as far as my unpredictable strength. Particularly as I will be expending considerable effort to mask our movements, both from Simon and from the wraiths who live in the Nest.”

Eliana opened her mouth to protest, but Zahra drifted lower to meet her eyes.