Book 2 - Chapter 27

“You had no choice?” the tall woman said, stepping out of reach of the man’s sword. “You sold her out to Ferrum Vale the moment you learned Crownspire burned.”

Mara turned to her. “Is this true, Kasinda?”

“It is.”

“You lying bitch!” the man roared, surging to his feet and charging her.

He didn’t get far.

The royal guards rushed forward before he closed within two meters. They disarmed him with ease—superior training and heavy armor overwhelming the pampered noble’s wild swings. In seconds, his hands were bound behind his back and he was frog‑marched toward Mara before being kicked to his knees.

Mara shook her head at him, then looked up at the woman. “Do you feel differently than him?”

“Yes, your highness. Unlike my snake of a husband, I know the meaning of the word loyalty.”

“Can you rule this city in his stead?”

“I was already ruling it, your highness. He spent more time with his concubines in our bedchambers than with our advisors in the council chambers.”

“Then it’s settled.” Mara nodded. “Lady Kasinda Crossfield, by my authority as Princess of Therondale, I appoint you sole Lady of Braemont and its surrounding hold. Your husband is stripped of his title, and your word now supersedes any other authority in these lands save the crown.” She paused. “Normally there would be a ceremony, but under the circumstances…”

“I understand, your highness. I intend to rule in ways my soon‑to‑be former husband did not—justly, compassionately, and with good sense.”

“No… you can’t…” he protested weakly.

“Yes, she can,” Lady Crossfield snapped. She glanced at the guards still frozen in the doorway. “And if any of you have something to say about it, spit it out now. Otherwise, return to your posts and spread the word.”

Several guards hesitated, as if preparing to object, but when the royal guards turned their way, they thought better of it and retreated. When the door closed behind them, Mara turned back to the kneeling man. Before she could speak, one of the black‑clad conduits on the floor let out a strangled cry as she tore the crossbow bolt from her chest.

“This one’s still alive!” a royal guard called.

That’s the one I hit by accident, Noah realized as Piper crawled back onto his shoulder.

He turned to Ciri. “We should heal her. She might have information.”

Using Mara’s grimoire, Ciri sprang to her feet and raced to the dying woman. She tore out a page as she knelt, magic ringing through the air before she pressed her hand to the conduit’s arm. Her brow furrowed, teeth clenched, as the wound began to close.

“She is still dying,” Ciri said as the spell faded. “I cannot determine why.”

A moment later, the woman gurgled out a few words before foam bubbled from her mouth. Ciri recoiled instinctively as the woman’s body convulsed violently. Noah watched in horror as the foam turned black—then the woman went still.

“A poison,” Ken said softly. “I’ve seen it before.”

“What did she say?” Noah asked.

“‘Always faithful.’”

Noah blinked, a hazy memory surfacing—but before he could grasp it, Mara spoke again. She looked down at the sobbing man, her voice turning to steel.

“Tavin Crossfield, I hereby convict you of treason. Your title is stripped, your lands pass to your wife, and your life is forfeit.” She looked to her guards. “Take him away. Get whatever information you can from him, then bring him back with a Seeker from the temple to read him his last rites.”

“At once, your highness,” one guard said, signaling two others.

They hauled the former lord out, his sobs echoing through the chamber. He wailed louder as the door opened, the sound carrying until the guards shut it behind them. Silence settled over the room.

“I imagine you have questions,” Mara said, turning to Ken, then Ciri, then Noah.

“A few.”

She looked to the new Lady of Braemont. “Kasinda, do you have somewhere the four of us can speak privately?”

“Exit through that door,” she said, pointing to the back of the room. “You’ll enter a hallway. Second door on your right leads to my library.”

“Thank you. Can I trust you to handle things here for an hour or two?”

“Of course, your highness.” She bowed her head. “You can count on me.”

As a group, they followed Lady Crossfield’s instructions. Mara’s guards entered first, swept the room, then took positions at the door. Noah stepped in once they finished, finding a small space crammed with bookshelves, a wooden table with four chairs, and several glass windows along the far wall. Plush red carpets muffled every sound, and a magical chandelier overhead cast a warm yellow glow.

Mara sat at the table and waited until Ken and Ciri entered before speaking. “Where do you want to start?”

Noah paused as Ciri gently closed the door. “So you’re a princess.”

“Yes.”

“I thought you said your last name was—”

“Rolandethe,” Ciri interjected. “An anagram for Therondale, if I am not mistaken.”

A small smile tugged at Mara’s lips. “Hiding in plain sight.”

“Okay, but why?” Noah asked, taking the seat beside her. Piper hopped off his shoulder and curled into his lap.

Mara met his eyes. “When I was young, I was kidnapped by forces loyal to Ferrum Vale. My family paid the ransom, and they returned me.”

“That sounds… traumatic,” Noah said.

“I don’t remember it. I was only two.”

Ken sat beside Noah. “I assume the royal family covered it up, which is why we’re hearing about it now?”

“Exactly.” Mara nodded. “My parents never forgot, though. They became obsessed with protecting me. I was rarely allowed to leave the castle.”

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“So the story you told us about the princess being a shut‑in…” Noah said.

“It was true. I just left out that it was about me.”

“Did your parents not feel the same way about your brother?” Ciri asked, taking the last seat.

“No. They said it was his duty to be seen, being the crown prince.”

Noah grimaced. “Sorry I called your brother an idiot.”

“You weren’t wrong.”

He placed a hand over hers. “I hate to ask, but… did he make it out of Crownspire?”

“He was in Sevalin when the attack happened, so I hope he’s okay. I sent a runner.”

He squeezed her hand. “And your parents?”

A tear welled in her eye before she shook her head.

“Shit. Mara, I’m so sorry,” Noah said softly.

He slid his chair closer, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. She pressed her face to his chest and sobbed. Ciri joined the embrace a moment later, then Ken.

Then, to everyone’s surprise, Piper hopped from Noah’s lap onto Mara’s, curled up, and began to purr.

“Thank you,” Mara whispered, stroking Piper’s fur.

“The rest of our questions can wait. We can—” Noah began.

“No.” She straightened. “You are some of the very few people I can trust right now. I want—no, I need—you to trust me in return. So we’re having this discussion now.”

“Okay,” Noah said, keeping his arm around her as the others released her. “Do you want to keep going?”

“When I turned eighteen, I told my parents I had to get out. We argued, but eventually my mother realized that if I didn’t rebel then, it would come out in worse ways later.”

Noah grinned. “Sounds like you’ve always been a good negotiator.”

“If you think I’m good, you should’ve seen them. They thought three steps ahead. I thought I was getting what I wanted, but they used it to impose compromises and restrictions.”

“Like what?”

“For starters, I couldn’t enroll as myself—too many political risks, and too much danger of being kidnapped again. So they created a new identity for me. Made me promise to check in through intermediaries. Assigned undercover royal guards to watch over me.”

“Didn’t anyone notice the princess was never at official events?” Ken asked.

“We hired a body double. With makeup and minor magic, she looked enough like me from a distance. And since princesses were meant to be seen, not heard, nobody noticed she didn’t sound like me.” Her shoulders slumped. “That poor girl is probably dead now.”

“That’s not on you,” Noah said gently.

“I know. It just feels heavy.” She exhaled. “That’s it. That’s what I’ve been hiding.” She looked at all four of them—Piper included. “I’m sorry I kept it from you. I know how you feel about lying. I tried not to lie—only to omit what I couldn’t share.”

Piper lifted her head, rubbed it against Mara’s stomach, then settled back down with a purr.

Seems like approval to me, Noah thought. “There’s something we’ve been keeping from you too. And now that we know who you are, I feel stupid for not telling you.”

“I’m sure it can’t be as bad as my secret.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure.” He looked at Ken and Ciri. “I’d like to come clean about everything.”

“You have my blessing,” Ken said.

“And mine,” Ciri added.

Noah scooted back to face Mara directly. “I’m a traveller.”

She blinked. “I’m sorry, what?”

“I’m a traveller. From the old world.”

A spark of the scholar he knew flickered through her grief. “You’re telling me this now? You knew my specialization was portals and interdimensional theory.”

“Yeah. Trust me, I wanted to tell you long before this.”

“I have so many questions.”

He raised a hand. “They might have to wait. Please. It’s important.”

She nodded. “Okay.”

“I came through a portal near Ken and Ciri’s tribe. Ciri found me and rescued me. Later, their tribe was attacked by Corrupted. We traced the source to a camp near Rookhaven. There, we found Piper’s egg—” he scratched between her wings “—and people experimenting with magic on Lord Malrec’s orders. With help from Ferrum Vale.”

“Shit,” she muttered as Ciri slid a book of evidence across the table.

“We came to the city to present this to the king and queen. We didn’t know who else might be involved, so—”

“A reasonable precaution,” Mara said. “And since they’d been negotiating with Lady Frostwing for weeks, you didn’t have a chance to present it. So you waited for open court.”

“Exactly.”

She studied the evidence, then looked at Ken. “What was your goal?”

“To stop the experiments—and the Corrupted attacks on my tribe.”

“We burned the camp,” Noah added. “But they’d discovered spells similar to the Tollmen’s. I think there’s a connection.”

Mara went still. “That’s… a terrifying thought.”

“Agreed. It’s all connected. I just don’t have the proof.”

“I do,” Mara said.

“What?”

“I’ve been getting reports since leaving the city. Minutes after the Corrupted started appearing in the castle, several black‑clad conduits headed for the tower. Dressed just like the ones here.”

“Shit,” Noah breathed.

“It gets worse. Once they reached the top, they cast a spell. Immensely powerful—bright enough to light the sky. Then creatures started pouring out.”

“Creatures?” Ciri asked.

“Descriptions vary. Tentacled beasts. Many others. An endless tide. All magically resistant.”

Ken paled. “A portal.”

“That’s the theory.”

“Hang on,” Noah said. “When you say ‘portal,’ do you mean…?”

“One that leads to the world holding the creatures that destroyed the ancient Fae,” Mara clarified.

“Okay. So we’re talking about an end‑of‑the‑world type of portal.”

“Exactly.”

“One which must be closed if we are to survive,” Ciri agreed.

“How sure are we that it’s a portal?” Noah pressed.

“It appears to fit the facts. Additionally, the presence of a Corrupted Fae—something that has seldom occurred since the fall of the ancient Fae empire—bolsters the theory. They are often linked with the empire’s destruction. This cannot be a coincidence.”

He shook his head. “Sorry, I know this is off‑topic, but… there was a Corrupted Fae here?”

“Red eyes, white hair, grey skin, fangs,” Ken replied.

The vampire, Noah realized. Ciri once told me Corrupted Fae look different. I should have asked how at the time.

“Given the circumstances,” Ciri continued, “I would estimate a greater than ninety percent probability that there is a portal.”

Noah refocused on the issue at hand as he looked at Mara. “Something doesn’t make sense. You said the Corrupted appeared before the conduits reached the tower. How did they get in?”

She raised an eyebrow. “I thought you, of all people, would have figured that out.”

The realization hit. “The waypoint. They turned it on.”

“Exactly.”

He leaned back, summarizing. “So Ferrum Vale hires the Tollmen. The Tollmen kidnap people and take them to camps. The camps turn them into Corrupted.” He paused, correcting himself. “Human Corrupted. Then they run the Corrupted through the waypoint network to attack Crownspire.”

Mara shook her head. “That’s only part of it. Hiring the Tollmen kept the army and guards busy so they could target the Lords and Ladies—creating or installing sympathizers. They destabilized the country in advance so that when they struck, our response would be weak and divided. Opening a portal ensures that we’ll exhaust our whatever forces we can rally long before their ships even make landfall.”

“It doesn’t matter. That portal needs to be closed,” Ken said. “We do not have a choice. Those eldritch creatures destroyed the ancient Fae. Ferrum Vale doesn’t understand the powers they’re dealing with—the evil they just unleashed.”

“Or they do, and they don’t care,” Mara countered.

Noah’s shoulders slumped. “I really didn’t want to do this. But if it’s the end of the world…”

“Do what?” Mara asked.

He met her eyes. “I’ll give you the design for the crossbow. If we’re up against Corrupted, we’re going to need them.” He hesitated. “And if you give me access to your artificers, I can probably make a few other weapons too—trebuchets, ballistae, incendiary ammunition. It won’t close the portal, but it’ll thin their forces.” He grimaced slightly and looked at Ciri. “They’ll probably destroy a good chunk of the city in the process though. I’m sorry.”

“Better to destroy it than to leave it in the hands of monsters,” Ciri replied before looking at Mara. “I will assist you as well. Most Fae cities had hidden points of ingress and egress. I doubt all of them were known even to you. I believe I can locate an entrance a small team could use to slip in undetected.”

“If it gets the portal closed, I’ll lead that team myself,” Ken added. “A portal here endangers everyone, everywhere. My tribe included. And the danger will only grow over time as more creatures come though. We are the closest, and we must act. Now.”

“None of you have to do this,” Mara stressed. “If you wanted to walk away from this mess, you could do it now. I wouldn’t hold it against you.”

“Not a chance,” Noah said with a grin. “We’re in this together.”

She smiled—genuinely—for the first time since they’d reunited. “Then we’d better get started.”

They stood, Piper hopping off Mara’s lap to trot beside them. As they reached the door, Noah placed a hand on Mara’s shoulder, stopping her.

“Can you give the two of us a minute? I need to ask Mara something privately.”

“Of course,” Ciri said, scooping up Piper. “We will be just outside.”

Noah waited until the door closed, then turned to Mara. “I just have one more question.”

“Ask me anything,” she said, meeting his gaze.

“You and I,” he began. “How much of it was real?”

“All of it,” she answered without hesitation.

“Do you still want there to be an… us? Because from here on out, things are going to get complicated.”

“Absolutely. I want this—us—now more than ever.”

He stepped closer, resting a hand at her hip. “This only works if we don’t keep secrets from each other.”

“Agreed.” She slid her arms around his neck, her eyes searching his.

Unable to hold back any longer, he leaned in and kissed her.