Chapter 31: The Next King

I had no air. My lungs burned in my chest as I tried to breath the void. But there was nothing, nothing.

It felt like being buried under a heavy blanket of sand as cold as snow. What I could feel of myself felt frozen down to my bones. The sensations intensified, and my panic burned through the dizzy haze. I was dying inside a dark nothingness.

I couldn't scream without air.

I couldn't struggle without a body.

I was ending. I was gone.

And then it was over.

I gulped air, my eyes streaming. Coughing, I bent over with my hands on my knees, trying to will through a bout of nausea. Next to me, Pyren was having a similar reaction. I made a note of this in my head. If I could kill him, it would be now when he was vulnerable.

He regained his bearings before I did.

We were standing in a circular room paved by long black flagstones. There was no light save for a few dying embers in a fire pit in the centre of the floor. There was a damp smell and dust crackled under my shoes when I swayed to regain my balance. A single door led out.

He had done it. He had used the spectre to somehow move us to somewhere else. It had happened so fast, I couldn't understand the mechanics of it. All I knew was that we were somewhere else entirely and I was shattered.

"Where are we?" I asked

"You wished to see Marin," Pyren said, gesturing towards the door.

"What is this place?"

"Don't play coy, Yael." He was in a foul mood today. "I'm lenient with you, but there are limits. You will see her, and then you will comply. Don't test my patience with your questions."

I didn't want to invoke Pyren's anger, so I walked to the door, trying with all my might to find as many details as I could—anything to indicate where we were. But there were no windows to this place. Beyond the door, I could barely make out a spiralling staircase that led downward.

This was a tower. A closed, windowless tower. The cold seeped in through my dress. I began descending.

How far did the power of the spectres go? Spectres appeared and disappeared within minutes. They could not cross the sea, but they were everywhere in Vynam, present in every room of every house, in every forest and mountain.

They were there and not there. As if they existed in every place at once.

Were we even in Delen right now?

The stone the tower was made of, that was a hint. But it was too dark to see. I didn't recognise it. I didn't know of all the stones used for building in all of Vynam, or of any book that catalogued them.

I reached a passage that broke away from the staircase.

"Continue down, Yael."

I managed to catch a glimpse of a long corridor, with many doors on either side before I went on.

There were three more such corridors to this building. I was finally instructed to enter the one at the very bottom.

There were dozens of doors set inside the black stone walls. I was chilled down to my heart. The place was eerily quiet.

The corridor created a T at the end with another, where I saw even more doors. "Is this where you hold the loved ones of all your cuckoo-bird-spies?" I asked. There were others like me, countless others, and all suffered the same anguish. All were innocents used for the lords' pleasures.

"No questions, Yael. Walk."

Was this a trap? No. With the power he had, Pyren could just pluck me away and do as he pleased. It would serve no purpose. "Why did you need Waryn out of the way?"

"Delicate matters beyond your comprehension," he snapped. "Now, one more question out of you and you won't ever get to see your sister again."

I continued walking, but felt a tingle in my spine as a small victory had been won. Pyren wasn't trying to break me. There had been a purpose, but not an apparent one. If he knew the storm his task had invoked in my mind, he would have been dismayed to discover that he had allowed for it to dissipate.

I counted doors, memorising what I could. Here, I saw what looked like nail marks over the black wood of a door, there a crack in the stone, possibly created by mice.

I shrill scream from somewhere far off broke my concentration. I looked up and down the corridor, it had come from one of the upper floors.

What was this place? And Marin had been held here for months.

I fought to regain what I had lost. Was it the fourteenth or fiftieth door now?

"We're here."

He turned the smooth brass knob, and I was surprised to find that the door was unlocked.

What kind of jail had open doors? Why didn't anyone escape?

Because there was something worse here than locks and chains keeping them in place.

I squinted my eyes from the sudden bright light that spilled out from the open room. When I finally adjusted to the change from the darkness of the corridor, I could see a small square cell that had nothing but a bed. The floor and walls had been painted white, and the room was illuminated by the early dusk light that spilled in from three rectangular windows near the ceiling.

Large enough for light and air, not accessible for a visual.

Pyren moved aside and let me walk in.

I passed him with my heart clogging my throat and the pressure of tears building behind my eyes. In the bed lay a small figure, thick, tangled black hair cascaded around a face that was too narrow and too pale to belong to Marin.

But when she opened her eyes—a darker brown than mine—I knew it was her.

"Marin," I whispered, and she turned her head to look at me.

"Who... who are you?" she rasped, rising tentatively to a sitting position and hugging herself defensively. When the duvet fell from her body, I gasped. I could see every bone in her arms, her collarbones jutted out like spikes from a white shift that was too big for her frame.

"Marin," I said, this time my voice shaking with rage and despair. "What did they do to you?"

"Who..."

I threw off the golden Aspertin mask. Could she even see me beyond the glow of serum? Was I as unrecognisable to her as she was to me? Here I was, a Lady who flourished and glowed while Marin wasted away. This was everything wrong about Vynam experienced on my own flesh and blood. Outrage churned in my heart. "It's me, Marin. It's Yael..."

"Yael?" She squinted her eyes, trying to see my face.

"I'm going to get you out of here, Marin. Soon," I said, my words stumbling all at once off my tongue. "You have to resist and hold on. I will come for you soon."

"This place is evil," Marin said to me and looked beyond my shoulder at Pyren standing in the doorway. She raised a trembling hand, pointing a twig-like finger at him. "And he...he's..."

I broke forward. I was afraid to touch this creature, this abomination of my sister. The real Marin had a plump round face and a hefty bosom. She had dimples that dug gorges into her cheeks.

But I gently lay a hand against her forehead, like mamma did to us when we were poorly. She could finally see me. She believed who I was.

My lips moved without a voice, forming three words meant only for her.

"He will pay."

***

I wheezed, almost falling to the floor, my hand grasping for a nearby wall. The second journey through the void on the mist of the spectre was even worse than the first. The constricting sensation felt strong enough to crush my bones.

We were in another quiet, dusty space. This one had a low ceiling and felt underground. There were a couple of chairs set out by a cold hearth and a shuttered window that flitted in dying rays of sunset.

I didn't allow myself to recover. I lunged at Pyren, still struggling to breath himself, going straight for his throat with both my hands. "You liar!" I shouted hoarsely. "She's dying. You're killing her. She won't survive even if you give her back to me."

Pyren's fist collided with my chin and his body twisted out of the grasp of my fingers before I could firmly form a hold. He clutched my shoulder, swinging his knee into my stomach.

I was on the floor, coughing and gasping.

"And you think attacking me will help, little hatchling?" He stepped towards me, and pushed my head down with his boot. "Your sister will die in that place if you don't comply with everything I say. I will keep her alive as long as is necessary. When I exhaust my need for you, she will be made well enough to come with you."

He increased the pressure of his boot on my head. "But have no doubt, Yael, she will die if you try to take her out of there without my aid."

I whimpered. "Please, Pyren, why like this?" I was proud enough to beg. "Why does she have to suffer? Please. Her life is still my life, even if she were made comfortable."

"Do you think spies don't turn against their masters?" Pyren voice was pitched loudly enough to bounce off the walls. "How else does one rein in a creature such as you? You have done nothing but plot your escape from me. You are subversive and cunning. That is how I made you. Your parents and your sister, it is all planned. Your hope will be the failure of my objection. You must be made weak to obey."

I clenched my teeth together as strongly as I could. He wanted silence as my response, and that was what I gave him.

He released me and I rose achingly to my feet. He turned from me and began speaking at once, his manner changing completely as if the disturbance had never happened.

"In four weeks, on the night of The Pinnacle Ball, the greatest lords of the north will hold a conclave for the reinstatement of the position of high king. The separate states, they have failed. We are on the brink of war, and this is the only way to ensure our future. The conclave will decide who will be king."

That was not the same as Waryn's narrative. He described a bloody take-over, another squabble that would never truly unify Vynam.

"And what will I do during this time?"

"You will keep Waryn Eloroan away from the conclave. He's not to interfere. You must foil any plans he has made to invade this meeting. You will be my agent in their circle."

"And who is the master I serve?" I asked, despite knowing that I shouldn't antagonise Pyren further.

I expected more violence, but he just smiled. "We serve the future king."

***

I had the maids draw me a bath and soaked away the filth of my journey with Pyren. Every privilege and comfort I had was at Marin's expense. My heart was black with fury, and nothing soothed the fire that burned in my blood. I couldn't find a way out. The trap that had been built for me was unescapable.

Emil appeared when I was in my room, brushing my hair before the fire to dry it. He was as quiet as a spectre.

"Teach me how to travel through the mists," I said to him without turning to look at him. I brushed my hair, stroke after stroke. "I need the power to defeat my enemies."

He would tell me that I'm not ready, that I must assert more control. But I heard the soft hiss of his movement, and felt his hand on my head. "I will," he said.

Pyren didn't know all my secrets.

Or did he know about Emil too? Was he the one who sent him?

Giving me power when he was trying to make me weak would not help Pyren. Emil didn't lie. He was the only one who spoke nothing but truth.

I didn't want to believe that there was a speck of falsity inside him.

"Must it always hurt so much?" I asked

"Hurt?"

"When that man took me with the spectres, I felt like I was drowning and the pressure was great enough to break my bones."

"Ah." Emil settled cross-legged on the rug in front of the fire. "If done correctly, it doesn't have to hurt. I will make you stronger than him."

I smirked. It gave me immense pleasure to know that Pyren's power was clumsy. "You'll teach me the correct method."

"I am able to, yes."

I still wore the cotton bathing mask. It was damp from my bath. I took it off, throwing it aside. "Then, let's begin."

***

"The initial alliance that started the plot to reinstate the king has failed," Leah said to me later that night in the small, secret room in the Eloroan house. Her voice was hoarse and something about her proud gait was subdued. Waryn was standing with his back against the wall, arms crossed. Occasionally, he sent angry glances at Leah.

Nava wouldn't even look at her.

"They were clumsy," she continued. "Too many people found out. And now, everyone knows, including Lady Liora Somaer. She and Lord Dolev Eloroan understand they cannot stop this movement, but want to avoid a car at all costs. Their reasoning was that we shouldn't exhaust our military forces on one another when a war with the south states would be inevitable the moment the north announced it was unified under a king. The other houses have agreed to a conclave that will be held on the night of the Pinnacle Ball. The participants of the conclave will only be the strongest lords of the north."

That meant Somaer, Eloroan, Acavia, Kiri, Aspertin and Ulumie.

I nodded. The different perspectives were meaningful. Pyren said that having a king would prevent war, but even I knew that that would be the beginning of the bloodshed.

"As it stands," Leah continued. "Acavia and Aspertin have each rallied the lesser houses, and now, after Aspertin lost his alliance with the Canid over the incident with Lady Golia Ulumie, they're of equal power and rivals for the crown. They cannot compete with the Fel families, unless the Kiri chooses a side."

"So, you want me to ensure that Aspertin doesn't have an alliance with the Kiri."

"Yes," Leah said. "And I've ensured that Kiri will never have an alliance with Acavia either."

"You... You did that to Yoav?"

"Of course I didn't," Leah said. "Yoav killed himself."

She was lying, or going for the convenient truth. I couldn't judge her myself, I was a murderer too.

But Nava was ready to judge. "You left him very little choice."

Leah clenched her teeth together. Her eyes gleamed as if she were on the verge of tears. "I did what had to be done and I did it for you."

"Who told you that I wanted such a thing done for me?" Nava said.

A few tears ran down Leah's mask. "This is the only way we could win."

"And what about what it's doing to you."

"It's not the first time we do something like this. You know what he was like. Am I the only one focused on bringing them down?"

"You mean stealing the crown," I said.

"That's the only way to do it," Leah said, regaining her composure when she had to speak with me. "The north wants to be unified and eventually the south will follow."

"After a war," Waryn said.

"A war is coming whether we like it or not," Nava said. "I think we could do better than them, Leah. I need you to be better than the rest too."

Leah pressed her lips tightly together but didn't say anything more.

I looked between Waryn and Leah. Finally, my gaze settled on Nava "But who are you supporting?" I remembered the conversation from the night of Afali's murder. They were supporting an heir of the Jura line—the line of the last high king of Vynam.

"That's not for you to know..." Leah said, dismissively.

Every one of these lords were the product of a well aimed marriage that could be traced back a dozen generations.

Except, there was one person in the room whose parentage wasn't as straightforward. One whose mother took to her bed any lover who could please her.

"It's you," I said, not taking my eyes off Nava. "But how?"

Nava began to speak, but Leah cut her off.

"Who told you?"

"You did," I said. "Do you think I wouldn't have guessed?"

"She has a point," Nava said.

"No, she doesn't," said Leah.

"At this point, there's no harm telling her," Waryn said.

Leah opened her mouth, eyes flashing as she looked at both of them before glaring at me. "Fine," she said acidly, crossing her arms. "You're both so keen to work against me..."

"I'm the firstborn daughter of Lord Sol Wrenar of house Logeas," Nava said to me, pointedly ignoring Leah.

"Logeas?" I said. "That's..." I tried to remember the maps I've seen, tracing my finger through the air. "Southwest?"

"In Paldina," Waryn said.

"And what about Logeas?"

"My father was a direct descendent of the Jura line. He is the great nephew of King Lyren."

"Why doesn't anyone know about this?" I asked.

"His grandmother had to go into hiding when the civil war began, but she married into the Wrenar branch of the Logeas, so unimportant that no one discovered their secret until my father was killed during a riding accident."

"So you just plan to mix thing up and swoop in with the truth and claim the throne?" I asked.

"More or less," Leah said. "Now that it's started, it can't be stopped."

"Who was behind the plot to begin with?" I asked, looking at Waryn now. "You said that that would be the person who has my sister."

I knew it was Pyren who took Marin, but who was his master? If I could find that out, I could begin to comprehend how to break free.

Waryn and Leah exchanged a glance. They knew. They knew the answer and for a moment, they debated whether to give it to me.

I straightened my back, ready for a confrontation.

"It was the Kiri of the Usi that started everything," Leah said.