A Baron of Bonds (Conduit of Light #2)

39. Rev

Chapter 39

Rev

Ah, Karus.

There she was as she always should be, draped in silk and roses, a picture of Felgren and Viridis as it once was wrapped up into one powerful woman.

She bit her lip. I don’t think she was conscious she even did it, and I laughed, shaking my head.

I blew air out from my lungs, long and slow, my eyes taking in every detail of this woman. I flicked my gaze to Clairannia, one brow raised and she mouthed the words back to me, I know .

“But have not the strength,” I spoke, reciting one of the lines from our song. I stepped into the room, hands shoved in my pockets, holding the rhyzolm tightly as it pulsed with a fierce pull, reminding me that I was near immense power.

I already knew.

She laughed moving toward me, her gown sliding across the floor. “Nor do I, my love.”

We were inches apart, her chest meeting mine as I brought my hands to her face. “So I’ll see you at dawn?” I whispered.

“Not just dawn,” she answered, running her hands up my chest to my neck. “I’ll see you at dusk, in the afternoon, all through the night. I’ll see you every day, every evening, and all the time in between.”

“Promise?” I brushed my thumb below her red lips.

“Promise,” she returned, lifting her head to reach me, her lips soft on mine, as we took our stolen moments once again, the world coming to a standstill.

“Alright. How are we doing this?”

Karus and I walked through the castle halls, leaving the conduits and faerie behind.

“Are we going in quiet, just there to listen and gather information? Should we address our situation and let them know how we plan to move forward training conduits? Do they know you’ve gathered more than usual? Do they know you’re training a male channeler?”

Her questions came quickly as she pulled me along with her, the skirts of her gown swishing over the carpeted halls, sliding around corners in a graceful ease.

I could do nothing but watch her.

She looked like a queen. A Baron in her own birthright, and I wished more than anything that she already was one. I wished that I could present her as a Baron of Felgren before the other leaders so that they understood her importance and power on the isle. I knew titles were important to all three of them.

She needed to pass the Baron trial first—after the conduit trials which she wanted to take.

I could not tell her the Baron trial was coming.

I could not warn her beforehand, or I would negate the outcome.

She stopped and faced me when I had not answered any of her questions.

“I’m sorry. What?”

“Is this too much?” She gestured to her dress and her crown.

“No. This is a perfect representation of who you are in Felgren and what you mean to this isle.”

“Then what is it? What’s wrong?”

“Why do you think something is wrong?”

She huffed and tilted her head, patting my chest. “I can feel you, remember? Something is nagging at you.”

I pulled her closer. She should always be this close. “It’s nothing. Just anxious to get home. You are beautiful, you are strong. You don’t need to be anything but you in this meeting. You tell as much or as little of your story as you wish. We will listen, we will answer their questions as we best see fit, and we will begin our journey home tomorrow.” I kissed her forehead and mumbled, “I just feel sorry for the channelers.”

She pulled back and grinned at me gloriously. “And why is that, Baron Revich?”

“Because once we arrive, they’ll have to go one more day—maybe two—without me.” I cupped her cheek, adjusting her golden floral crown slightly. “Because when we get home,”—I moved my mouth to her ear—“I plan to keep you.”

“This way, Baron and Karus of Felgren.”

The same guard who led us to the throne room had returned, finding us pulled close together in the brightly lit corridor.

Karus stiffened and I could feel from her that she did not want to move. Her hand gripped my arm and excitement breezed across her open neck in the form of goosebumps at my promise to love her when we returned home.

The guard cleared his throat when we had not moved to follow him, and I drew breath again, pulling away with difficulty.

Her cheeks flushed, and I kissed her temple before taking her hand in mine. I nodded to the guard in a silent acknowledgement that we would follow.

His eyes passed over our attire, Karus in her representation of the forest itself, and me in my Baron’s clothing.

Clairannia had commissioned a new shirt, pants, and vest, the cut of each somehow perfect for my height and build. The black silk vest was patterned with tiny leaves and the gold buttons were each embossed with a sun and moon together in an embrace. The amount of detail she had commissioned for both of us was perfection, and I’d find some way to make up to her for the ceremony she had missed.

We passed through the throne room, its thistled mosaic floor gleaming in the soft light of lit sconces. Our steps echoed across the empty hall as we were led through the doors on the opposite side, up another staircase, and finally to a room near the Queen’s study.

The guard opened the door and I thanked him. Karus stepped inside while I stayed in the hallway. The guard was as tall as me with brown and gray hair pulled back at the nape of his neck. His beard was trimmed short and the lines that creased at his brown eyes implied he laughed often. With my hand outstretched, I asked, “What is your name?”

“Mychael, Baron.”

“Thank you for your help, Mychael. What guardship position do you hold here?”

“The Prince, Sir. I am one of Prince Philius’s guards.”

I nodded, the slightest pull of channeler power coming from my rhyzolm as I shook his hand. Its faintness was enough to tell me it was possible he did not know he had it.

“It’s good to meet you, Mychael. I’ll leave you to your duties.”

He let go of my hand and straightened his shoulders. “They are here, Baron. The Prince will also attend this meeting.” He nodded to the inside of the room where I saw Prince Philius embracing Karus so tightly, he was crushing the flowers on her gown.

I’d never seen him sober in my time here, and as I stepped into the room, Mychael behind me, I recognized the relief and pain on the Prince’s face.

To give them space, I instead turned my attentions to the Lady of the Spire. “Lady Lamoral, it’s a pleasure to see you again.” I crossed the open room, my eyes quickly darting to the expansive table in the middle which held a topographical map of the isle.

“Baron Revich, you are looking well these days.” Her sultry grin crossed her face as she rose from her seat to give me her hand. I kissed it lightly. “And I see why. It seems that you have been telling little lies and keeping this lovely creature,”—she nodded toward Karus—“all to yourself in that great big forest of yours.”

I nodded, narrowing my gaze. I had met her twice before, traveling to the Spire to look for new channelers to train. Renn and Rell had come from her city, and she had been accommodating to my task.

She’d also offered herself up on a silver platter.

She leaned in close, looking up at me with sparkling blue eyes. Her golden hair had been slowly turning gray, and the lines of her face suggested she laughed often. She was beautiful, regal, and putting her efforts into a lost cause. She had been for years.

“The offer still stands, you know,” she whispered at my neck. “You can always bring your lovely companion along if you’d like.”

I stepped back. “You’re better off, My Lady, seeking someone else to warm your bed. I am a one-woman Baron.”

“Oh, that saddens me to hear. Your predecessor was not so. I do not see why you cannot follow in his footsteps.”

“My predecessor was also a murderer,” I retorted.

“It’s not like they go hand-in-hand, Baron Revich.” She smiled wide, her hand patting my chest. “This is a night of celebration! It’s been decades since all of the leaders of Arcaynen were together in one room. And your companion ceremony!” She took a glass from the table and raised it high, before swallowing all of its fizzing contents in one gulp. “Come, I’ve brought my daughter with me. Do you remember little Lanna?”

I looked back to Karus who was now speaking urgently to the Prince, her brows furrowed as she gestured with her hands. The Queen also watched them from the back of the room where she stood with her captain and Geyrand.

“Lady Lanna, you remember Baron Revich, don’t you?” Lady Lamoral leaned back to me and whispered, “Of course, she does. She talks about Felgren constantly.”

I grinned and bent down to the girl’s eye-line. When I had last seen her, she’d still been in her toddlerhood, running from her mother’s throne room in ruffled skirts, battling with a wooden sword at one of her guards. Now, she stood taller, her chubby cheeks thinning out into that gangly look young children are known for.

“How are you, Lady Lanna? I see you did not bring your sword this time?”

She smiled and dimples formed on her cheeks. “My mother would not let me, Baron Revich. She said this is not a meeting of swords.”

I laughed and nodded. “Well, your mother is quite right. I didn’t bring a sword either and would hate to be underdressed.”

“But you have magic!” She delighted, showing a mouth of two missing bottom teeth. “You don’t need a sword! Can you show me some?”

“Lady Lanna, it is not polite to ask—” her mother began, but I was already on my knees and pointing to the floor before her.

“It is said that there are great fae warriors in Felgren Forest.” My magic left my hands, forming wisps of wings and limbs, emulating a fae creature with a long pointed sword who thrust and cut through the air. “These creatures have great strength and cunning, once battling the monsters of Felgren and forcing them into hiding, dwindling their numbers greatly.”

She laughed and clapped at my display of magic as I displayed a mock battle scene with the blue tendrils.

“Have you ever seen one in real life?” she asked, reaching out to touch the wisps of magic, her little fingers falling through the wings of the fae.

“I have not. In all my years as Baron, I have never seen such creatures.”

Her face fell and a pout formed on her mouth.

“But,” I continued, “that does not mean they are not real. There are many things in Felgren I have not seen, and many I likely never will.” I chuckled when her blue eyes, the same hue of her mother’s, looked to mine and sparkled. “When you are a great Lady of the Spire, you can visit us in Felgren, and we will look for these warriors together.”

“Really? Are you really saying so? Or is this another one of those things that adults do where they make promises they do not intend to keep?”

I winked and raised my hand before her. “On my honor as a Baron, I promise you, Lady Lanna.”

She giggled, bringing her hands to her mouth and watching me as I rose from the floor.

“You are quite charming, Baron Revich.” Lady Lamoral put her hand on my arm and smirked. “I hope you intend to keep your promise, as I will hear of it for many years to come, I’m sure.”

“I do, of course.” I glanced back down to her daughter. “It’s good to have something to hope for.”

I turned to look at Karus again. The Queen was now in conversation with her and the Prince, and all three of them spoke in hushed tones.

The Lady of the Spire sighed. “Oh, where is that Madame Zoreyah? Just wait until you see what she brought with her.”

Karus caught my eye, anger darkening the green hue of them. I tilted my head downward, a question if she needed me.

She shook hers slightly, her shoulders relaxing. She drew a deep breath through her nose, holding it a moment before exhaling through her lips. I kept her gaze and repeated another breath with her.

“Madame Zoreyah.” The Queen moved to the door, welcoming the young Madame of the Mountains. She held her infant daughter in her arms, and, to my surprise, a black muri padded into the room beside her. Its large, yellow eyes scanned the room, stepping in front of Zoreyah in a protective stance, its feline face nudging her hip.

“My babe needed to eat and rest after such a journey, Your Majesty. Thank you for waiting for me to arrive.”

“Of course, dear,” Queen Rina replied, ignoring the enormous beast.

Karus gaped at the animal. The only time she’d ever seen one of the large cats, it was being consumed by the Blight.

The Madame bundled her child tighter into her saffron blanket and tucked her into the basket on the back of the muri, folding straps across to hold her tightly. The muri stalked carefully across the room, finding a quiet corner and lowering itself to the floor. It laid itself down, its cargo unmoving as it placed its head onto its paws and closed its eyes.

“Madame Zoreyah, you’ve met Baron Revich, I believe.” the Queen gestured to me, and I bowed my head as she returned the nod. “And let me introduce you to the daughter I raised with the Prince. This is Karus.”

Karus stepped forward, her hand outstretched. Zoreyah was young, no older than twenty, and she smiled quietly, her lightly bronzed skin tattooed in golden circles that draped over her arms and across her chest. Her dark, copper hair had been twisted into two large buns that reminded me of the pastry Karus and Moira loved to make with Lia.

“Hello, Madame Zoreyah. I am happy to meet you. One of my dearest friends is a conduit of yours in the Attatok Mountains.”

She gave a small smile and took Karus’s hand. “Yes, Figuerah is most loved. It is my people’s hope that she returns to them soon.”

Karus’s shoulders dropped. “She returns very soon, Madame. She is here, in the castle, and ready to leave with your company when you wish.”

Lady Lamoral rushed to the Madame’s side, taking her hand. “Zoreyah, my lovely, please come closer to the fire and warm yourself. Motherhood becomes you, but it also drains the best of us.”

“If everyone would take a seat, we can begin our discussion of the utmost importance to the isle.” Queen Rina motioned for all of us to move closer to the fire and sit. Karus found my hand and led me to a pair of crimson chairs.

Geyrand and Captain Yarah moved to the Queen’s side. Prince Philius watched Karus with his arms across his chest.

The Queen took a deep breath. She wore a gown of deep purple, her golden crown woven with her dark coils, similar to the Prince’s. Their likeness was more obvious in the dim light—the long shape of their noses, the square of their chins. But the Queen’s eyes were a dark chestnut, whereas the Prince’s were a golden brown. They flicked between Karus and myself, then darted to our clasped hands.

“Though I am most grateful to see you all here, in Hyrithia, I do not welcome you with good news.”

Lady Lamoral pulled little Lanna into her lap, wrapping her arms around her daughter.

“The Blightress has shown herself,” The Queen began, “She has taken Karus to her land, claiming to seek more power.”

I turned to watch the faces of the other leaders on the isle. Both women held the Queen’s gaze with no sudden realization that the Blightress existed.

So, only the Baron of Felgren had been left out of this little detail.

“I would like to share with you what I know and we can discuss the correct call to action against her. I have been sending my own people on expeditions to the Northern Steppes for years now, with little success on information of the Blightress. The entrance to her land is filled with syphoners, and it is rare that my people return to me. They either die, or the syphoners keep them alive and she…feeds power from them. They do send letters to the guards of the north, and we have been able to piece together that her land is no longer a vast desert, but a marshland full of dangerous creatures.”

She took another deep breath and nodded toward Karus. “It was Karus’s mother who was last seen alive from this land. Almost thirty years ago, she returned, heavy with child, and covered in black ash. I was able to comprehend some of what Arah had been through. The Blightress could sense Karus growing inside her mother and chose to keep her alive, instead of murdering her as she had done to the rest of the expedition.

“There she kept Arah, feeding magic to her growing child while watching her mother slip into a mindless woman. At some point, Arah escaped with help. I do not know the details of this, but I do know that Arah was able to burn some of the syphoner fields and find her way to the guards of the north where they brought her to me. She died hours after Karus was born.”

My fingers were being squeezed so tightly, I sent a sliver of my magic around our clasped hands, whispering, “ Compaynen”, in an effort to ease Karus’s body. Her shoulders relaxed and she straightened, inhaling deeply.

“I raised Karus, then named Ash’Arah, alongside my son. It began as a way to watch this child who was born of her channeler mother and the meddling Blightress. I feared what magic she held, and I was correct in my assumption that Karus was powerful. At a very young age, her power began to manifest in ways I had not seen nor heard of from any channeler. Her anger turned to fire; her pain turned to withered fruit and wilted flowers in the castle garden. I chose to raise her to control those emotions and not rely on others for comfort, as I surmised that if she was ever broken, her power would manifest itself into something great and terrible.”

All eyes in the room darted to Karus as if she might explode right then and there.

I wanted to take her into my lap. I wanted to hold her there, protect her from their stares and their questioning if she was inherently good or bad. Then I wanted to lash out at them all for daring to even consider it.

She stared straight ahead at the Queen, listening to the story of her origins that she’d never been told.

The Queen began again, “When Baron Heimlen came to me to discuss taking Karus to train in Felgren, I refused. Not only was the Treaty still in place, she was my daughter, and I would protect her from her own power at all costs.”

“Except one.” All of our heads turned to the Prince, his response low and dark.

The Queen ignored him and continued. “Baron Heimlen was willing to kill to bring Karus to Felgren. And yes, when my son was inflicted with the Black Fever, I finally agreed to his terms. He was to take Karus to train in Felgren until she passed the conduit trials, then she would return to Hyrithia and stay.

“I made this decision solely to save the life of my son and more lives of my people. Baron Revich has informed me that Heimlen was able to control the disease through channelers. He killed thousands of them this way, hiding from my people that he had the cure because he had created the disease in the first place.”

She swallowed. “I, however, had guessed at the truth, but chose to save my son, knowing some of the risks Karus might face.”

I turned to Karus in question. She nodded slightly, her eyes lowering to the floor.

I rose from my seat, taking a step toward the Queen. “You knew?” My nostrils flared, and I struggled to control my words. “You knew that Heimlen had murdered your people, and you let him take Karus anyway?”

It was shame that crossed the Queen’s face, the first I’d ever seen from her.

“Yes, I knew. Or at least, I had guessed as much. He’d been sending letters for months, and the timing was too perfect for the truth to be otherwise.”

Rage, disgust, disdain—I understood Queen Rina better now. I didn’t hold back my scorn as I shook my head and said, “You call her your daughter, but you do not deserve the title of her mother.”

Karus rose beside me and raised her chin, addressing the Queen, “There is a statue. In the market square. ‘In honor of the Savior of Hyrithia’. Why do you let your people believe his lies seven years later? Why do you let his likeness stand before the very people he chose to die for his cause?”

“My people needed to heal,” she answered. “They needed to believe that their loved ones had not died in a campaign to retrieve a channeler to Felgren. The people of this city needed to rally behind someone they believed to be a savior?—”

“A savior because you lied to them!” Karus moved forward swiftly. “You let your people believe and continue to allow them to believe these lies. When will you tell them the truth? When will you decide they deserve to hear it?”

The Queen closed their gap. “Do you really believe for one moment, Karus, that they would not have stormed into Felgren had they known? If I had told them the truth, they would have demanded war. They would have wanted to fight for their people. We would have been right back where we were over a hundred years ago before the Treaty. When you stand by your companion’s side in Felgren and help make the difficult decisions there, then you can talk to me of choices .” She seethed her last words, cheeks flushing in anger.

Karus shook her head. “They deserve to know. Your people deserve the truth. They deserve it just as much as I did.”

“What exactly happened in that forest?” Lady Lamoral broke the strained silence. “Baron Heimlen is dead; Karus still lives. What does all of this have to do with the Blightress?”

The Queen brought her attention to me. “Baron Revich, perhaps you would like to explain?”

I turned my body to Karus, who slumped ungraciously into her chair. I took both of her hands in mine and kissed them. She nodded, murmuring, “They need to know. All of it. Even the heart.”

I cupped her cheek, leaned in and kissed her.

I didn’t care where we were or who witnessed it. I’d choose Karus first every time I had a choice to make.

I stepped toward the Queen, any respect I had previously held for her gone, and I turned to the leaders in the room.

I gripped the rhyzolm in my hand, just to monitor the power before me. Madame Zoreyah had strong magic, Lady Lanna had potential, but Lady Lamoral did not contain any of Felgren’s magic. “Baron Heimlen was a manipulator and a murderer. He groomed me to find the most powerful channeler on the isle, which led me to Karus. As his chosen heir, I did not know of his intentions and means to get her to Felgren. I was blind to all of it, though I should have questioned more of it.

“When Karus was brought to Felgren, she didn’t want anything to do with it. At first, she fought hard to persuade us that she held little power and was useless to Heimlen’s plans. But this rhyzolm,”—I pulled the stone from my pocket to display—“said otherwise. When a Baron searches for channelers to train, he uses one of these and it pulls him toward someone with great magic. You see, she would have been more convincing if not for the connection I felt through this stone every time she was near.” I chuckled, dropping the stone back in my pocket, looking at her, “Actually, she didn’t have to be near. I could feel her miles away while I was in Felgren and she was still here, in Hyrithia.

“She began to love Felgren and chose to stay once it was revealed to her that the forest needed saving. It was great news to me since I had already fallen so hard for her and couldn’t imagine my life holding any joy if she’d left it.”

Karus bit her lower lip and smiled at me.

I held her gaze for a moment and continued, “Felgren Forest has been under darkness for some time. A Blight. Black vines choke life and magic from its soil, and it has ravaged through thousands of acres for years. Heimlen needed the most powerful channeler I could find so that he could train her to fight the Blight with him. He intended to do this without either of them surviving the fight. His ‘legacy’ as he called it, would need to continue on, and he wanted to be known as the Baron who saved the forest.

“But Karus was more powerful than either of us knew. She could feel a pulse in the Blight—a heartbeat. We have since learned that heartbeat comes straight from the Blightress.”

“How do you know this?” Queen Rina stepped forward slightly, hanging onto my every word.

“I did not tell you everything.” Karus stood and moved beside me, taking my hand once again and for the millionth time, it fit perfectly in hers. “When I was in her lands, I had been spit out of a portal that ended in a cave. This cave held a massive heart. It hung from the walls and its pulse…” She shook her head. “It’s her heart. She confirmed this to me.”

Lady Lamoral pulled her daughter closer to her chest. “So, this heart of the Blightress beats through the Blight? But why? What does the Blightress have to gain from taking over Felgren with her vines?”

The Queen quickly replied, “Power. It is what she seeks after centuries.”

“Not just any power,” Karus corrected, “Power she believes was always hers. She seeks to regain the power of the Baron.”

The Queen’s eyes narrowed and her lips pursed.

Madame Zoreyah spoke, “What will she do with this power if she wields it?”

Karus shook her head. “We do not know.”

Lady Lamoral stroked her daughter’s hair. “What did you do about the Blight? Were you able to destroy it? And why did Baron Revich tell all of us you were dead?”

“I was able to use a spell that simulated the sun and caused the Blight to wither and recess. Heimlen died using what power he had left to keep the spell intact. Most of the Blight is gone, but hundreds of acres remain. And it has infested our library, Viridis.” She looked to me, her eyes sorrowful, remembering what happened next. “When I used my magic to hold the spell, I began to fade. In order to hold it as long as I did to destroy as much of the Blight as I could, my memories left me one by one. And if Rev had not stopped me, I don’t think I would have lived through that night.”

“You couldn’t remember who you were.” Madame Zoreyah whispered.

“No. I held nothing of who I was. And anytime the ones who loved me tried to help me, I’d rage and fall to pieces. Eventually, I found friendship with a faerie. I lived in the Fortress with her each day, never remembering who I was or how I had come to the forest. For seven years, I did this. And every day, Revich held onto hope that I would return to him.”

“Hope he didn’t give us,” the Prince spat, stepping our way, marred fists at his side. “He lied, Karus. He does not deserve you, he does not deserve our respect, he does not deserve his title.”

His fist flew through the air and caught my jaw, twisting my head, causing me to stumble back.

Karus gasped and reached for me just as the Prince’s fist reeled back for another hit. I was ready this time, catching it in my own hand, grabbing his other wrist before he could land another blow.

My magic flared over my fingers, pushing him back in his rage.

“You use your power to hold me? Why don’t you try fighting fair?” he challenged, still pushing on my grip.

“You hold power too, Your Highness,” I spoke calmly. “Why don’t you use it?”

“Baron Revich, that’s enou?—”

“You know I can’t. The only time it’s come to me was when I learned about my sister, you fucking?—”

“Bullshit,” I countered, “You’ve barely tried, I bet. Use it now, Philius. Use it now to hit me again. C’mon, it won’t be a cheap shot this time.”

I was more curious than angry. I understood why he hated me, but I wanted to see if he could pull from the forest. I wanted to see if he could do what I suspected he could if given the proper training.

I dampened my power, only holding his fists by strength alone as he gritted his teeth. His eyes raged as a spark of orange light jolted through his hands to mine, sending me stumbling back to hit the table behind me.

I grinned in satisfaction.

There he was.

He lifted his hands again to send another blow but before he could even try, he flew back, crashing into the wall and slumping to the floor. Green tendrils of power encased his hands at his side and Karus stood over him.

“You will not touch him again.” Her command came soft and powerful as her magic slipped over every inch of his body.

“He wanted me to—” he choked.

“I don’t care, Philius,” she interrupted. All I could see was her back to the rest of us in the room as she bent down closer to his body. “You will never seek violence against him again, do you understand?”

Chills flickered down my spine, and I tried to steady my heart beating furiously for her.

By the hands of the Spire .

Fuck, that was the worst one yet—probably because I was too focused on the woman defending me to be clever.

She turned quickly, her magic falling from his body as the Queen rushed to his side.

“Are you alright?” Karus brushed her fingers across my jaw, which I assumed would soon begin to bloom in purple.

“More than alright.” I grabbed her waist and pulled her against me. “I’d say both of those displays were worth it.”

She kept her back to the room and pressed her body to mine, her mouth on mine, her teeth scraping my bottom lip, pulling away from it slowly.

Ah, fuck.

“How did you remember who you were?” Lanna had slid off her mother’s lap, holding her hands in front of her dress, looking up at us with curiosity.

I’d forgotten she was there and straightened immediately, pulling my vest down and running a hand through my hair.

The Queen rose with her son from the floor and Karus continued her story as if nothing had happened.

“The rhyzolm. I found it one day in the forest. I had lost it there years ago, and when I held it, memories started to return.”

“So, you knew everything that had happened?” Lanna asked.

“Some of what had happened, yes. Some of it had to be explained to me. Like what happened after my memories had faded with the sun.”

“But how did a stone return your memories?”

The little girl was asking the real questions.

“Love, Lady Lanna,” Karus bent down to meet her eyes, holding out her hands for the little girl to take. “Love is the strongest power you can wield. Love can last through time, overcome pain and fear. Love was imbued into that stone and holding it, I remembered that I was loved.”