A Court of Bones & Sorrow (Lunaria Realms #2)

Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

Samara

As I slipped through the double doors of the library, I was still reeling from what I’d seen in Draven’s memory. But I tucked that away for later once I saw the scene before me. Roth was the only one there, and they were pacing.

Roth did not pace.

They sat perfectly still with a book in their hand, absorbing all the knowledge it contained before moving on to the next one. In fact, Roth would regularly yell at us for so much as breathing too loud while they were reading.

“Roth.” I closed the distance between us until I stood in front of them. Roth stopped, orange fractures winding through their hazel eyes like fire. Usually, Roth’s dark red hair was tidily swept back and they kept the sides closely shaved. Today, it just sort of flopped over to one side. I brushed my fingers beneath it, feeling the overgrown sides. “You’re due for a shave,” I mused.

I wasn’t sure if it was possible to have more polar opposites than Kieran and Roth. While I’d known them both for a long time, it was easier to slip into a relationship with Kieran. He was cuddly and usually open with his emotions. Roth and I had known each other at Drudonia, but this romantic aspect of our relationship was new, and I was still learning how to navigate it. Roth did not cuddle. They also didn’t tell me how they were feeling or whisper sweet nothings.

But they looked at me like I was a treasure when I recited Fae poetry, and they asked me my opinions on translations or history. Roth desired my mind as much as my body, maybe even more so, and I loved being consumed by them.

“Where are the others?” Roth rasped.

“They’ll be here soon,” I soothed before leading them over to a chair. They thunked down into it and wrapped the soft, dark blue shawl I’d gotten them a little tighter around their tunic. Roth was somehow always cold. They’d mumbled a thanks when I’d given it to them but had proceeded to wear it every single day since.

I brushed my fingers against the two embedded gems on the dark silver ring I wore on my pinky, letting Cali and Rynn know we needed to talk. If they weren’t available now, I’d have to fill them in later, but Rynn was vital to my plan, so it’d make this a lot easier if she could join now.

“What are those?” Roth eyed the leather satchel I’d set on the table, the flap open and revealing the journals inside.

“Journals written by my mother.” I pulled one of the books out and passed it to them. “There are more. We found them last night in a secret room in a cave down by the beach, all written by Harkers.”

“What language is this?” They carefully flipped through the pages.

“I don’t know,” I said softly. “But my mother taught it to me. She said her mother taught it to her.”

“I’ve never encountered it in any other writings.” Roth frowned. “But some of these words . . . they’re familiar. We use them in our common tongue.”

Before we could dive further into the odd linguistics of the Lunarian language, the library doors swept open, and Vail, followed by Alaric, stalked in. I glanced back and forth between them. Alaric’s expression was flat, and his fingers were curled at his sides like he was imagining strangling someone. Thin lines of silver raced through Vail’s eyes as menace practically poured off him.

Okay. Clearly they were pissed at each other. What exactly had Alaric said to get Vail to come here?

I decided it was not my problem because they were both here and I was used to dealing with them in pissy moods anyway. I pressed down on the gems on my ring again to get Rynn’s and Cali’s attention.

“What?” Cali snarled, her shadowy form appearing suddenly in the middle of the library. Alaric jumped, and even Vail looked a little unnerved. All Furies had shadow magic, which put everyone on edge because it made them very wraith-like. The more talented ones could appear in shadow form like Cali, but unlike her, others’ forms were less defined and it was hard for them to hold any type of shape.

Cali appeared before us exactly as she looked in real life, only made of shadows instead of flesh.

Darkness billowed outward as she spread her wings wide, causing the individual strands of her hair to flutter around. There was another secret about Cali that only Rynn and I knew. She could also turn her shadows solid for small snatches of time, something that no other Furie could do . . . but all wraiths could.

“I wouldn’t have annoyed you if this wasn’t important,” I told her. “Are you okay?”

Cali’s lips hardened into a flat line. “I’m fine. Don’t worry about it.”

As if that were possible. “Okay,” I said instead. “We’ll give Rynn a few minutes, and if she can’t make it, we’ll ge?—”

Shadows swirled next to Cali, and Rynn’s lean frame appeared a second later. Her shadowy form was a little less well-defined than Cali’s since she was using a spell Cali had crafted specifically for her. But I could still make out her expression enough to see Rynn was worried.

That in itself wasn’t unusual, because Rynn constantly worried about everything, but she was also in the thick of some complicated Velesian politics that she was trying to shield from me. This also meant my request was going to make her life even more difficult, but I didn’t see any way around it.

“Good, we’re all here.” I grimaced and leaned my butt against the table where Roth was sitting, the others standing around in front of me. “We have a lot to go over. First, Rynn, Cali, let me catch you up on our special guest here at House Harker.”

Ten minutes later, I’d told both of them everything about Prince Draven. How he’d been waiting for us when we’d gotten back from the temple, the suspicious marriage proposal, and every conversation we’d had with him since he’d been here. I left out his relationship with Kieran because I didn’t feel right discussing that without Kier here, but sooner or later, that would have to be brought up as well. As much as I wanted to leave Kieran’s personal life out of this, his history with Draven was relevant.

“Why the fuck didn’t you tell us sooner?” Cali exploded. The shadows responded to her tension and skittered across the room.

Rynn’s head turned sharply. “Calm down, Cali,” she ordered. The pissed-off Furie whipped around to glare at her, but Rynn didn’t back down. Dominance radiated from her as if she was in her considerably larger and more lethal lycanthrope form instead of her current lithe human skin. “Find your center, take a few deep breaths, and settle down.”

“Fuck you and your peaceful Velesian bullshit,” Cali grumbled, but I could see her shoulders dropping a little as she concentrated on her breathing. The Velesians were the only ones of the Moon Blessed who actually transformed into predators, yet in many ways, they remained the most human of all of us.

While Cali reined herself in, Rynn looked at me. “I agree with your assessment that there is more to Draven than it appears. I’ve only met him twice, but both times, his soul was . . .” Rynn cocked her head in a purely lupine gesture. “He was unsettled.”

I nodded in understanding. Most of the Moroi discounted the Velesians because they had little magic of their own. But they could shift into their beast forms and were in tune with the environment to a sometimes eerie degree. A Velesian might be able to sense if the growing season would be poor and the crops wouldn’t be bountiful, or sense predators nearby, but they couldn’t give you any concrete facts. Only feelings.

The Velesians trusted their instincts, while the Moroi scorned them for it.

They also occasionally had visions, but because of the increasing tensions between our people, they were less inclined to share those visions with us. It was one of the many ways the divide between the Moon Blessed was hurting us all.

“Roth has some things to share,” I explained. “And then I have more to tell you all, in addition to what I think our next step should be.”

“You mean your scheme,” Cali muttered, but she appeared less feral, so I let it slide.

“I’ve discovered two things.” Roth swept a hand through their hair. “Those black stones the humans used for the ritual aren’t originally from Lunaria. The Fae did something to either bring them here or summoned creatures who could create them.”

They flipped open a book, pulled out a folded piece of paper, and started reading .

Once they were doom

Now they are salvation

At great sacrifice we called

They answered with death

From fire and chaos

A glittering dark was born

Stones lead to home

Where vengeance calls

“I bet that sounded a lot prettier in the original Fae,” I grumbled.

“Not all of us are fluent in those languages.” Alaric slid me an amused look before focusing on Roth. “If the Fae went through some ‘great sacrifice’ to get those stones created, then they must be important to them.”

“We already knew that.” Vail shrugged, unimpressed. “It’s clear that’s what they’re looking for in the outposts they’re raiding.”

“True,” Roth acknowledged with a dip of their head. “This is merely confirmation that there is something important about those stones, and also, more can’t be made, at least not easily. I wasn’t able to find anything else about what the Fae did to acquire them in the first place, but whatever it was isn’t something that can be easily repeated.”

“It’s in our best interest then to make sure they don’t get their hands on any more than they already have.” I looked at Rynn. “You were the one who noticed they were raiding old human towns. Can you work with Roth to come up with a list of all known settlements, and we’ll try to get to them before the wraiths do?”

“We’ll have to do it quietly,” Vail said. “If they realize what we’re doing, they’ll increase their attacks.”

I nodded. “We’ll get the list to you and trust your judgment on that. ”

“There probably aren’t many settlements in the badlands, but I can take care of any of those,” Cali said. “And if there are any in the Northern Ridge, I can take those as well.”

Rynn frowned. “That’s Avala territory. The Alpha Pack won’t like you poking around there.”

“It’s amazing how much I simply don’t care.” Cali’s wings stretched out further before snapping inward. “Besides, they won’t even know I’m there.”

Rynn didn’t look convinced but didn’t argue, instead, she just shot me a concerned glance. I gave her a barely perceptible nod in return. Cali was always a little wild, but she wasn’t usually this antagonistic, definitely not towards us. There was zero chance of us getting her to tell us what was wrong with other people around though. We’d have to corner her about it later.

“What else did you find out, Roth?” I asked. The information they’d shared so far was useful, but I didn’t think it was what had them so worked up.

“The other day, when you were reading an Unseelie poem, some of it reminded me of something I’d seen before”—their eyes darted to me, orange fractures flashing across the light brown for a second—“but then you distracted me and I forgot.”

“I’m so sorry I gave you mind-melting orgasms,” I deadpanned.

Roth ignored me, raising a book with a dark red covering and gold foiling off the desk. A Fae poetry book. Human books were always bound with simple leather. Roth flipped through the pages and then turned the book around so it faced us. On one page was the illustration of a crown. It looked like two bands that had been joined together, and a short poem was written in Unseelie on the opposing page.

“Most of the poem is so vague that it’s hard to follow, but I think the Fae brought this crown with them from wherever they came from,” Roth explained. “It’s described as follows, ‘ A crown of two parts. Glittering gold and frosted silver. One half to see a soul. Another half to bind it. ’”

“Well, that’s not good.” Rynn sighed.

The others started talking about what this could mean, but I was trying to control my growing panic as I remembered my mother’s words from the journal.

“This crown had been so simple. Just a simple silver band with delicate carvings. Parts of it had even appeared broken.”

“Samara?”

I snapped out of my spiraling dread to meet Alaric’s steady gaze. “I think Velika has the crown. Half of it anyway.”

“What?” Roth paled even further. “What makes you think that?”

“That was the part I was going to tell all of you.” I waved a hand at my bag and the journals it contained. “I read through some of my mother’s journals. She talks about Velika wearing a simple silver crown with odd magic. My mother suspected it was a Fae artifact, and she was searching these lands to find more before Velika did.”

“Did she mention anything specific about the crown?” Rynn asked. “Or about Erendriel or the wraiths being Fae? About Velika’s alliance with them?”

“No.” I shook my head. “Every hidden Fae hideout she and my father found was empty. She mentioned the wraiths acting strangely, but I don’t think she knew they were the Fae, and she made no mention of an alliance between them and Velika. I think she only had strong suspicions about the Sovereign House but no actual proof.”

“We need to tell Carmilla,” Vail said firmly.

I pursed my lips, trying to think of how to phrase this so Vail wouldn’t tear my head off. He was fiercely loyal to my aunt, and so was I, but unlike Vail, I could separate my own personal feelings from the situation at hand. “We need to make sure Carmilla is safe,” I said carefully. “But we can’t tell her any of this yet. First, she’s at the Sovereign House, and we can’t risk alerting Velika to what we know. If Velika’s half of the crown gives her the ability to bind a soul to her, then there is a chance Carmilla is compromised.”

The very idea of my aunt’s will being taken away from her made me sick. But Carmilla trusted me to keep House Harker safe, which meant I had to consider the possibility that Velika would use her as a weapon against us.

“No.” That one word so full of fury echoed in the space between me and Vail as he took a step closer to me. Cali immediately slid between us, and I had no doubt that if Vail continued towards me, she’d solidify enough to tear out his throat. He bared his teeth at her and his eyes bled silver.

She gave him a wicked grin in return, and I could practically see her eyes daring him to do something about it.

“Enough!” I snapped and slid around Cali to stand in front of Vail. I was reasonably sure Vail wouldn’t attack me . . . and I couldn’t let him know Cali had the ability to become corporeal. I knew Vail already considered her a potential threat based on the calculating way he watched her, looking for weaknesses. He had treated Cali with respect on account of how many times she had saved rangers, but if she ever changed from potential threat to actual threat . . . I had no doubt Vail would do his best to destroy her.

Or try to, at least. My money was on my friend, but I’d rather avoid that fight altogether, which meant keeping him away from Cali so she didn’t do something stupid and give herself away. Seriously, what was she thinking antagonizing him like this?

A low growl rumbled from Cali’s chest, and the hairs on the back of my neck rose, but I didn’t turn around to look at her. No matter how strange she was acting right now, I had to believe she would never harm me. I would keep my friend sane through sheer force of my own will if I had to.

“There is nothing I won’t do to protect Carmilla.” I met Vail’s unrelenting, predatory stare. “She is my aunt and the only family I have left, but if we storm the Sovereign House and tear her out of it, Velika will retaliate, and we have no idea what that crown can actually do. If she’s already bound Carmilla to her, we don’t know how to break it. We need answers, and we have to find them before showing our hand.”

“And where exactly do you propose we find these answers?” Vail crossed his arms and took a few steps back.

Tension still wound through him, but the silver faded until it was only a sliver against the dark grey. Better. I let out a breath and moved to stand next to Cali, who was still staring at Vail like she was imagining carving him apart with her talons.

“My parents were planning on searching another Fae site before they were killed.” Grief briefly rose to the surface before I ruthlessly suppressed it once more, keeping my voice even, if a little flat. “That trip they took to Velesian territory wasn’t just to try to repair relations between them and the Moroi. My mother wanted to get permission to search around Lake Malov.”

“Shit,” Rynn spat. “That’s going to be a problem.”

“I know.” I gave her an apologetic look. “But we have to go there. The wraiths have avoided that area too, so there is a real chance that if something is there, they haven’t found it either.”

Rynn frowned but didn’t disagree.

“What’s so special about Lake Malov?” Roth’s piercing stare locked on Rynn. “I’ve heard the rumors—it’s not just the wraiths that avoid it, other monsters do too. In some ways, it’s the safest place in all of Lunaria. Yet the Narchis Order steers clear of it and forbids anyone from going there. I’ve searched through every text and book I could find, but nothing explains why. ”

“We don’t know exactly.” Rynn shifted back and forth on her feet. “Velesians may not have blood or shadow magic, but we feel things. The land whispers to us, and we’ve learned to always listen to what it tells us.”

“And what does the land around Lake Malov tell you?” Alaric asked.

“To stay the fuck away.” Rynn shook her head, appearing to be genuinely rattled at even discussing the lake.

“We can’t.” I sighed. “Maybe the other half of the crown is there and that’s what’s causing the discontent? My mother said she could feel the magic from Velika’s half of the crown and that it felt wrong.”

Rynn rubbed her face, causing the shadows to lose their form slightly. “There is a gathering of the packs in one week. All the Orders will be there, and my pack is hosting it in Fervis territory. Lake Malov is only an hour from us. That will be our best opportunity to slip past the patrols unnoticed, but we’ll have to be quick.”

“All the Orders?” I raised an eyebrow. The Velesians were broken up into three Orders: the Narchis, the Fervis, and the Avala. The Alpha Pack was of the Avala Order and was the one Rynn was to join to further the alliance between them and her birth Order, Narchis.

The Fervis Order was the most volatile of the three, and anytime all of the Orders met up, it was almost guaranteed to result in bloodshed, which meant it would definitely be the perfect opportunity for us to explore.

“All of them,” Rynn confirmed, moving restlessly again and causing tendrils of shadows to swirl around her. “Cade made it very clear they’re all expected to come.”

Ah. That was why she was so uncomfortable. Cade was the leader of the Alpha Pack and the one who had negotiated for Rynn to join their pack. He was also the one Rynn corresponded with the most—and most of those conversations were fraught with tension.

“Alright, that’s our best opportunity then,” I said evenly. “We’ll have to figure out the exact timing, but once we do, whoever goes can meet Rynn and Cali near Lake Malov.”

Everyone nodded in reluctant agreement except Cali. “I can’t go there,” she said in a low, haunted voice and wrapped her wings around her body, shadows dripping off them. With mournful eyes she met my stare. “Something in that place . . . calls to me. All Furies feel it, but I seem to feel it more than any other. If I go there, I will lose myself.”

Even from her shadowy form, I could see the genuine fear in her eyes. I knew then that whatever was going on with my friend, she was aware of it, and it terrified her.

Fuck it.

Without giving a shit what the others thought, I moved towards Cali and wrapped my arms around her shadowy form. I could sense her wavering for a moment before the shadows became solid and my friend hugged me back.

Alaric sucked in a breath, but Vail and Roth kept quiet.

“Whatever is going on with you, Cal, we have your back,” I whispered. “We’ll survive this, and then we’ll figure out how to help you.”

“Our ties are eternal.” Rynn moved closer, her hand hovering around Cali as if she wished she could join in on the hug.

Cali shuddered beneath me, and for a second, darkness spread throughout the room before being sucked back into her. I felt it the moment she became nothing but shadows again, the dark wisps tickling my skin as they pulled away.

“Me, Vail, and Rynn will go,” I declared.

“No.” Alaric shook his head. “I’ll go with you, and you know Kieran will want to come too. ”

Roth was looking at all of us, a torn expression on their face. They’d spent the majority of their life behind the wards of Houses or Drudonia. Roth wasn’t a fighter by any stretch of the imagination, but even they didn’t seem keen on me going out into the wilds with only Vail at my side until we met up with Rynn.

“You have to stay, Alaric,” I said softly. “House Harker needs someone to run things while both Carmilla and I are away. And I won’t risk Kieran.”

“That’s not your decision to make.” Alaric’s eyes flashed a brilliant turquoise before fading back to light green.

“She’s the Heir,” Vail growled. “It is her right.”

“You would say that,” Alaric snapped and stepped towards Vail. “Maybe the third time will be the charm and you’ll actually claim her life on your next attempt.”

The Marshal of House Harker straightened as he met Alaric’s accusatory stare, and then he looked at me, his expression the same as when I’d told him to never doubt my devotion to House Harker. I hadn’t been able to decipher it then, but now I could see the emotions brimming in his eyes. Respect. Yearning. Confliction.

Once again, I was confused by Vail’s reactions. Even worse . . . my feelings for him were getting confounding as well. Waking up surrounded by his scent this morning had been nice, really nice, and that was an absolutely insane feeling to have about someone who’d tried to kill me recently.

I didn’t think he would try to kill me again, but I hadn’t thought that the previous times either. The situation in the temple wasn’t entirely his fault—it was his bloodlust that had been driving him. Even if I wasn’t sure I was safe around him, he was the only option I had to get me through the wilds quickly to Lake Malov.

Vail watched me steadily, and I got the impression he understood every conflicted thought that had just raced through my mind .

“I pledge on the grave of my parents that I will protect Samara with my life.” I inhaled sharply as a muscle in Alaric’s cheek twitched. He knew the Marshal was speaking the truth, but he still didn’t like it.

“It’ll be okay, Alaric.” I laid a hand on his forearm. “We have to do this, and you know it makes sense for the three of us to go. Vail can get me there safely, and Rynn is the most familiar with the area.”

He tore his gaze away from Vail to look at Rynn. “Do you? Know the area, I mean?”

“Yes.” Rynn nodded confidently. “It’s not a pleasant region to be around, but I wandered there often when I was a child. It was one of the few places I could be alone.” She worried her bottom lip. “Lately, I’ve found myself going back there for the same reason.”

This time, it was Cali who looked at me with concern. The three of us all had our issues. Cali struggled with her rage and magic, I struggled balancing being the resilient Heir of House Harker while also processing the grief of losing the two most important people in the world to me, and our sweet Rynn, she struggled with being used as a political pawn her entire life and never knowing who she could truly trust amongst her own people. I had no doubt her parents cared for her in their own ways, but that hadn’t stopped them from agreeing to send her away to join the Alpha Pack when she’d come of age.

“What about the prince?” Alaric grimaced. “We won’t be able to cover your absence for so long.”

“We have at least a few days to figure that out,” I said. “We’ll just need to keep him occupied for a few hours after we leave so we can create some distance. Maybe mention that more of the spine-backed boars have been spotted and I wanted to investigate myself. Let him know he’s welcome to stay here and wait for my return.”

Alaric snorted. “That’ll go over well. ”

“It doesn’t matter.” I shrugged. “Vail and I will keep off the main roads and won’t stay at any of the outposts. He won’t be able to track us.”

“I’ll review the list of old human settlements. There may be some close enough that I can investigate them before we have to leave. I need to update Emil as well so he can help with the searches.” Vail strode towards the door to leave but stopped when I called out to him.

“Vail, if you find any, tell me. I want to see them for myself.” The hand at his side bunched into a fist at the command in my voice, but he turned his head slightly and jerked it in a short nod before leaving.

“I’ll find out more about the meeting so I can determine the best time for us to do this, as well as the patrols in the area. They’ll no doubt be increased with all the Orders gathering in one place.” Rynn waved goodbye and vanished.

Cali stared at the space she’d been standing in before swiveling her head towards me in a movement that felt distinctly predatory. “Be careful.”

In a blink, she was gone, a few shadows swirling in the air before dissipating.

“Do we need to worry about Cali?” Alaric asked in a calm, measured tone.

“She’s fine,” I said with a confidence I didn’t entirely feel.

Alaric looked at me for a long moment, and I could see the doubt in his eyes, but he didn’t voice his concerns. “I’ll be in my study whenever you’re ready,” he finally said before he too left.

It took me a moment to remember he’d agreed to feed from me. I was a little surprised that not only had he not changed his mind but that he’d reminded me.

“I’ll do some research on Furies while you’re away,” Roth said quietly. “We understand them the least out of all the Moon Blessed, but I have a few scrolls that detail cases of Furies losing themselves. Perhaps I’ll find something useful.”

They wouldn’t. Rynn and I had poured through every scroll, book, and scrap of information we could find over the years. Nobody knew why the Furies were so volatile, but I appreciated the sentiment all the same.

“Stay with me tonight?” I swallowed, feeling a little unsure of my request. Roth’s eyes flicked up from the book they’d already started reading, and they arched an eyebrow. “If you grab whatever books you want and head to my suite now, the prince won’t see. He’s out with Kieran. I’ll tell Kier he has to sleep in his room tonight.”

I wasn’t exactly sure where Roth stood in regards to Kieran. They obviously had no problem with me being in a relationship with him, but as far as I knew, Roth wasn’t attracted to Kieran. Even if all we did was sleep, I didn’t know if they would be comfortable sharing a bed with him as well.

One corner of Roth’s mouth quirked up into the barest hint of a smile. “You will return to your room after dinner,” they ordered, and a thrill ran up my spine. “I will have you until midnight, then the pretty one and the grumpy one can come. You’ll be passed out by then because I plan on being quite thorough, but they can at least sleep next to you. Want me to take these back with me?”

It took my mind a second to focus on the leather satchel Roth was holding up, the one that contained the Harker journals.

“Yes.” I cleared my throat. “Thank you.”

Roth swung the bag over their shoulder and flicked their left arm towards the table, the bloodred ribbons they kept wrapped around their forearms unwinding and maneuvering around the stack of books until they were in a neat little bundle. Then Roth winked at me before sauntering towards the door with their ribbons tugging the bundle of books behind them. “See you in a few hours.”