Crystal Crowned

  “Easy enough.”

  “I don’t like it,” Aldrik announced. “It’s too risky.”

  “Ah yes, and shall we sit here and wait for it to become less risky as the world is spiraling into chaos around us?” Elecia shot back in all her snarky glory. “Aldrik, I am going home. I want to see my mother and grandfather. I want letters on my father’s status.” In Aldrik’s silence, Elecia turned to Fritz. “Are you in?”

  “I, um . . .” His blue eyes darted between the two nobles.

  “You are,” Vhalla encouraged her friend, placing a palm on his shoulder. She addressed Aldrik, “It’s the best chance we have.”

  “Is this what you choose?” the Emperor asked her.

  Vhalla smiled tiredly at his sad eyes. He knew what he was doing. More training, more grooming, more assurances that she would be ready for the crown that he would place upon her brow in Norin. If she said no, her friends would remain safe for a while longer. Perhaps, with enough time, they could conceive a new plan.

  “It is.” There wasn’t a trace of doubt in her voice. No matter what turmoil brewed within her, she didn’t let it show. Aldrik never betrayed his uncertainty; she wouldn’t either. “We will move tonight.”

  Elecia gave her an approving nod before immediately launching into a conversation with Fritz about the type of illusions she needed. Vhalla tuned them out for a moment. She watched the sun set over the gate and knew it would set on their fates all too soon.

  Come nightfall, Elecia had almost completely changed and reequipped herself. Her father had not let her leave Hastan without a good set of leathers and an even better set of steel. She had two blades strapped inside her boots, a small dagger on her hip. The woman checked the weapons ten times over, militant that they were just so.

  The rest of them followed suit. The Western army had been honored to spare weaponry for the Imperial company. While they didn’t wear heavy plate for ease of mobility and wanting to remain inconspicuous, they all had some leather and steel. The five of them left their threadbare travelling cloaks at the roadside; once they passed into the West, it mattered less to keep a low profile.

  Vhalla, Jax, Fritz, and Aldrik mounted as the stars winked into existence. Elecia remained on foot, hidden by the tall grasses.

  “Start the fog,” Elecia commanded Fritz. “Slowly at first, let it thicken when I’m halfway.”

  “You got it, boss.” Fritz failed in his attempt at levity.

  “The rest of you, don’t forget my horse.” She tilted her head toward the rider-less steed. “I’m running through the gate, but I want to ride to Norin.”

  “Be careful,” Aldrik ordered.

  “Don’t be foolish enough to start doubting me now.” Elecia grinned and took a couple steps away. “You, both of you,” she pointed to Vhalla and Aldrik. “Just focus on getting through. Especially you, Aldrik; our world needs you to rally behind. No one else can fill that role.”

  Vhalla knew what Elecia was really urging Aldrik to do. So did Jax, judging from the way he inched closer to her. Their Emperor couldn’t be reckless on her behalf. Vhalla patted the dagger on her thigh thoughtfully. One way or another, she wouldn’t let that happen.

  “Stay close to me,” Aldrik whispered softly to her.

  “I will,” she promised.

  The dim light of the half moon was fading. Elecia crouched low, almost on her hands and knees, and began her slow trek through the fields leading up to the gate. It was a longer distance than Vhalla had originally thought, since they had stopped far enough out that they wouldn’t raise suspicion.

  Elecia slowly blended in with the earth as she inched forward; eventually she became completely invisible in the darkness. Fritz squinted, watching a distant point, where they assumed Elecia would be. As he focused, a fog began to rise from the fields. Fritz slowly lifted an open palm and the clouds intensified.

  “Won’t they realize it’s magical?” Vhalla breathed, not wanting to risk breaking her friend’s concentration.

  “If they look carefully, they can.” Aldrik gripped his reins. “We’ll have to hope they don’t have a reason to look carefully.”

  The gate was growing hazy. The torchlight of the encampment surrounding it faded to floating orbs in the mist.

  “We should move.” Some mental timer of Fritz’s had clicked into its next cycle.

  Slowly, they inched their horses through the fog-filled expanse. For the time being, they remained on the fields, the soft earth masking the horses’ hooves. Vhalla struggled to remain as still and taut as possible so her saddle didn’t rattle and ruin everything.

  Crossing half the distance, they stopped again. Sweat rolled off Fritz’s brow. His hand was balled into a white-knuckled fist and the world held its breath between each of his soft pants.

  Suddenly he sprang to life. Fritz drew his hand fast across his body, as though he was throwing something off into the distance. Upon the road, hazy figures appeared. Up close, they looked like nothing more than dense fog, but from the gate they would certainly be seen as riders.

  “Emperor,” Fritz spoke between gasping breaths. He was using an unfathomable amount of magic. Vhalla wondered how long he could hold such a complex illusion for. “Throw flame from there to the gate, on my mark.”

  Aldrik followed Fritz’s nonverbal gestures and gave a sharp nod. There was a whole shift in the Emperor’s form. Vhalla watched him transition from the man she adored into the Fire Lord the world feared.

  Without further warning, Fritz cast his arm forward, nearly falling out of his saddle in the process. He grunted at the unseen magical exertion. The shadows began their phantom attack.

  Aldrik flicked his wrist, sending a tongue of flame from the illusion soldiers to the camp. It was more effective than expected as one of their non-crystal shelters burst into flame. Cries and shouts filled the night air, followed by a screech that rattled the heavens. One of the beasts had left its perch in response. Large, leathery wings flapped, and the gleam of talons was barely visible through the haze.

  “Come on,” Fritz pleaded.

  “Come out and play,” taunted Jax with a bloodthirsty gleam in his eyes.

  The beast swooped down off its perch, gunning for the illusions. Fritz swept his palms to the side and the fog riders dodged effortlessly. He pushed the magical burden to the right side of the camp and a good many of Victor’s loyalists poured out.

  The beast cried, ascending once more to circle the sky. Vhalla wondered if it had somehow seen what was happening. Or if Victor had seen what was happening through his magical connection with the crystals. Its screeches could be a language in their own right, and it was trying to convey to the soldiers below the truth. If it was, she hoped no one could understand it.

  Aldrik snapped his reins without word, trusting the three of them to follow his lead. They charged together, a second blurred streak through the fog. Fritz struggled to remain upright in his saddle, but he hung on.

  The distorted and formless blur of Victor’s camp gained shape. Things had been set up to stay. Buildings were erected rather than tents, and latrines had been dug. Vhalla scowled at the crystal jutting up from the earth. Such a thing should’ve never existed.

  The moment their horses crossed over onto the pristine stone of the East-West Way the soldiers who had remained in the encampment were alerted to their presence. Shouts rose only to be echoed by those who had chased the shadow riders. Vhalla’s head whipped back to Fritz. The Southerner was blinking, bleary eyed, his body halfway limp. The thinning of the fog wasn’t just her imagination.

  Her heart raced. It pounded in her ears louder than Lightning’s hooves, and, for a brief moment, it gave her the illusion of the Bond. Vhalla gained strength from the beautiful lie.

  The other beast launched off the gate, and fire arced through the sky. Aldrik and Jax moved in unison, creating a protective canopy of flame above them, thwarting the monster’s attack and setting buildings to flame at the same time.

  Wit
h a flash of light, the gates sprang to life. Vhalla let out a holler of laughter in relief. There was no sign of Elecia, but if the woman had made it this far, she’d see it through the rest of the way. The massive doors sighed as they pushed against the ground, easing open.

  A burst of desert air hit Vhalla’s cheeks, and she’d never felt anything sweeter. It was as though, despite everything, the wind still reached out to her. That it knew her Channel still lived deep within her, seeking it out. It called, promising that her future was there in its dusty breeze.

  “Single file!” Aldrik bellowed. The heavy doors were moving slower than a glacier.

  “Close the gate!” a man shouted from a high crystal ledge.

  “Not on your life!” Elecia proclaimed, triumphantly. A dagger protruded from the man’s eye, and the Western woman threw the corpse aside, adjusting her bandana proudly.

  “If you have time to pose, you have time to get down here!” Jax called up to her, throwing out another arc of fire.

  Elecia ran down the pitch of the short roof below her, falling to the ground with a roll. She recovered, scrambling to her feet and launching into an all-out run. Two screeches filled the air, and Aldrik focused on maintaining a shield of fire large enough to cover the three of them.

  Vhalla did as she was supposed to do. She focused on getting herself through the gate. Everyone had a job, and hers was to follow orders and keep herself alive.

  “It’s the Fire Lord!” a woman growled.

  These were Tower sorcerers; of course someone would recognize Aldrik’s magic. But when Vhalla cursed, Aldrik laughed.

  “If you know who I am, why do you even try to fight?” He opened both arms wide. Two walls of fire ignited the camp, and most of the soldiers who were trying to rain their own magic upon them.

  A scream wiped the expression from Aldrik’s face.

  Elecia rolled on the ground, tackled by an icicle-wielding Waterrunner.

  “Elecia!” Vhalla cried.

  “‘Cia!” Aldrik used the childhood nickname in anguish.

  Elecia threw the man off, pouncing on his chest and slitting his throat viciously. “Go!” she screamed.

  Vhalla began to turn Lightning.

  “By the Mother, woman, go.”

  Vhalla’s heart beat in her throat. She had fallen to the last in their line, and if she didn’t go, Elecia likely wouldn’t make it. Another tongue of flame licked at a sorcerer behind Elecia, the woman running in a desperate attempt to catch up.

  She turned forward and braced her heart at the feeling of leaving her friend behind.

  They crossed through the doors, barely enough clearance for them to race through single-file. A whole encampment greeted them on the other side. But the crimson, phoenix-bearing pennons that fluttered were a welcome sight.

  Western soldiers, likely those who had been sent to help the East, had been roused by the commotion. A line stood across the road, swords at the ready.

  “Let us pass!” Aldrik ordered at the top of his lungs. “By the order of your true Emperor, let us pass!” He shot a ball of flame high into the sky for emphasis, and it lit up the ground below like a small sun.

  The soldiers parted, and the Emperor’s company continued to race down the East-West way. Fire and ice erupted above them as the Western army joined the fray, fighting off the beasts and pushing through the gates. Vhalla swept her eyes quickly over her group. Aldrik in front, Fritz at her side, Jax pulling up the rear.

  Vhalla whirled her horse in place, Lightning whinnying in protest at the sudden demand.

  “We must go back.”

  Her heart was about to break a rib, her breath frozen in her chest. Vhalla tried to make sense of the commotion at the gate. Western soldiers swarmed the opening. Groundbreakers attempted to raise stones to prevent the gate from closing. Firebearers kept the abominations at bay. They had kicked an ants’ nest, and Vhalla only cared about finding one in the swarm.

  “Vhalla—”

  She knew Aldrik would tell her to keep going. She knew she had made her choice. She was the one who had agreed to Elecia’s plan, knowing the risks. Now she had to live with the knowledge that she had gotten her friend killed.

  “No, no, it’s my fault. I must go back for her.” Vhalla’s voice cracked for the first time in a long time.

  “Vhalla—”

  “I shouldn’t have left her behind. I was closest.” Vhalla remained focused on the gate, not allowing Aldrik to interrupt her. “She was my friend, she was to be my kin, and I just left her! Why did I let her do it?”

  “Because you knew I could.” A female voice stopped her. Vhalla slowly drew her gaze to Jax’s horse. Wrapped tight and pressed to the back of the Western man was a set of emerald eyes Vhalla knew well. She’d been hidden by Jax’s cloak, but now she grinned in all her triumphant glory. “I didn’t know you cared so much. I want to make sure you’re at my real Rite of Sunset when the time comes. I think you’ll bring a tear to every—”

  Elecia’s word was reduced to a grunt as Vhalla threw her arms around the other woman. It was awkward from their saddles and Jax seated next to her, but Vhalla didn’t care. She squeezed Elecia tightly, reassuring herself that the woman was alive and well.

  “I thought you were dead.”

  “Is this whole embracing nonsense going to be common when you become my cousin?” Elecia drawled. “Because it’s really not a thing here in the West.”

  “I thought I killed you.” Vhalla smiled at Elecia’s abrasiveness and pulled away some.

  “If I got killed, it would’ve been my fault because I wasn’t where I was supposed to be—not because you had given the order for us to move as we did.” The woman’s voice had softened significantly. “It may be hard for you to believe, Vhalla Yarl, but the world isn’t always about you.”

  Vhalla laughed in relief. Elecia freed herself from the Easterner’s clutches and dismounted to return to her own mount. The woman gave Vhalla one more small smile, and a nod to Aldrik.

  “Let’s keep moving while the beasts are distracted.” Aldrik appraised the gate once more. “We’ll rest at the first noble estate we come to.”

  They rode into the dawn. Vhalla watched the sun rise over the dunes, and relief swept through her. They’d made it from the East. There were a million things that remained for her to worry over: her father, Hastan, Victor’s advances, and the creation of abominations. But, for a brief moment, she let herself appreciate the wind in her hair. She relished her friends surrounding her. And she believed that something great awaited them.

  WHEN THEY FINALLY rode up to a manor, the lord was all too honored to put up the Emperor, future Empress, and their company. He welcomed them with open arms the moment they made their identities known. Over breakfast, he prattled off a long-winded explanation of how he was some distant relative of Aldrik’s. Thankfully, he finished just in time for them to be shown their rooms. Aldrik had his own, Elecia paired with Vhalla, and Fritz with Jax.

  It was the first time Vhalla had really found herself alone with Elecia, Vhalla realized as she dabbed her face dry with a washcloth. She’d known the woman for over a year, and she had never spent much time one on one with her.

  “So, is he really related to your family?” Vhalla struck up conversation, using the lord’s story as an easy starting point.

  “Who knows?” Elecia yawned, collapsing into the bed. “The West is old, and the branches of the family trees are wide- reaching.”

  Vhalla thought about this for a long moment. She vividly recalled her prior experiences with Western nobility. Vhalla sat heavily on her edge of the low bed.

  “What is it?” the curly haired woman asked tentatively, clearly unsure of offering her ear.

  “I won’t trouble you with it.”

  Elecia rolled her eyes dramatically. “Poor Vhalla, shouldering her burdens all alone when she has so many people wanting to help.”

  “You can be rather sharp, you know that?” Vhalla grinned faintly.

>   Elecia shrugged. “I’m honest. I can’t help it if you take that harshly.”

  “I like it about you.”

  “You like something about me?” Elecia gasped dramatically. “And here I had been thinking we were enemies.”

  “I didn’t know what to think of you for a while.” Vhalla reclined, settling the covers over herself.

  “Well that much was mutual. I had no idea what Aldrik saw in you.”

  “Had, past tense,” Vhalla pointed out.

  “Past tense.” Elecia didn’t try to scramble away from her word choice. “I still think you’ve a long way to go, but you’re making strides.”

  “Thank you, truly.” It meant a lot coming from the Western woman.

  “Yes, well . . .” Elecia was clearly uncomfortable. “That wasn’t what had you sighing earlier.”

  “Are you sure we can trust this lord?”

  “Has he given you indication otherwise?” The question was serious when it could’ve been skeptical.

  “He hasn’t, but . . . how do we know he’s not a Knight of Jadar?” Vhalla knew better than to think the Knights of Jadar were gone just because she’d thwarted Major Schnurr. He had certainly been one of their leaders, but the organization had survived over a hundred years, and she suspected it would survive a lot longer.

  Elecia considered this for a long moment. “Even if he was, the Knights would be unlikely to make a move right now.”

  “Because of Aldrik?”

  “In part,” Elecia agreed with a nod. “If it’s between having one of Western blood or a Southerner sit on the Empire’s throne, I have no doubt which they’d choose. Even given their loathing of our family.” There was bite to the last remark. “Beyond that, their goal has always been the crystals. With the caverns opened, they sort of lost that race. I’m certain they’re in the middle of a crisis of purpose and, since my grandfather is smart, he’ll use it to his advantage to regain that loyalty.”

  “I don’t know if I’d want their loyalty.”

  “Bitterness is unbecoming, Lady Empress,” Elecia teased.