House of the Raven (The Eldrystone #1)

11. CHAPTER 11

11

VALERIA

“The once-magnificent Realta Observatory was constructed in mere days, crumbled to ruins within minutes on the day the veil collapsed. For miles, the sound of shattering glass was heard. For centuries, our astronomical eruditos will feel its loss.”

Erudito de la Academia Alada, Diego Fontana XI - 10 AV

I lunge forward, dagger raised, and go for the closest guard. He is taken aback by my attack and is too slow to draw a weapon or build any kind of defense. Seeing as he will pose no opposition, I change the grip of my dagger and slam the hilt against his temple. He crumbles to the ground, unconscious, his knees unhinged.

The guard behind him steps forward. She has long hair arranged in a braid that begins at her hairline and goes down the middle of her head. She’s more prepared and goes for a low attack, sweeping her leg toward mine in order to knock me off my feet.

I jump just in time to avoid being tripped and land in a crouch. I immediately spring forward, aiming for her middle. She falls backward and hits her head on the ground, hard enough to daze her. When I roll away, she stays there, blinking at the sky and shaking her head from side to side .

A third guard comes my way. This one looms large, standing at almost seven feet in height. I send a kick toward his stomach and nearly break my ankle. It’s as if my foot struck a brick wall. I stagger back, taking several steps away from the mountain of a man. I think I’ve seen him around, guarding different posts around Nido.

“I don’t want to hurt you, Princess Valeria,” he says, coming at me with his arms outstretched. “Please, come peacefully.”

“Hells devour you!” I give him the fig sign, whirl, and run.

I crash into a tree. I stumbled back, shaking my head, and trying to dissipate the stars flashing in my vision. When I can see again, I realize that what stands in front of me is not a tree but Guardia Bastien. He stands as impassively as if a mosquito tried to ram through him.

He snatches my right elbow so hard I cry out.

“Enough of this foolishness,” he says, relieving me of my dagger.

“Give it back. It’s mine.”

“I will, once we’re inside.”

He starts dragging me away. I fight to get free, but it’s as if his fingers have turned to stone around my arm.

Cuervo sweeps in, talons extended toward my captor as he croaks in rage.

Guardia Bastien places a forearm over his head. “Shoot that thing.” He points at a guard with a crossbow. The man hesitates.

“Don’t you dare hurt him,” I spit. “Let me go, bastardo.”

Guardia Bastien continues dragging me along, even as I lean back with all my weight, trying to resist him.

Cuervo comes at him again. Guardia Bastien grabs the crossbow from the other man. I lash out and knock it to the ground.

Changing my tactics, I say, “All right, I’ll go. Just don’t hurt my bird.”

I act resigned and start walking, then I perform a maneuver that has served me well in the past. I smash the heel of my boot into his toes. Or at least, I try. He moves out of the way too fast, and I miss him .

With an angry growl in the back of his throat, he shakes me. “Will you stop?”

My brain rattles inside my skull. The man is strong. Damn him!

“Unhand me,” I shout. “You have no right to do this.”

“I’m just following orders.” He doesn’t let me go, of course. Instead, he hurries his step and pushes me through the line of trees that surrounds the back of the palace.

“Is that what you’re doing? Or is it something else?” I demand.

He glares at me sidelong, lips seals. However, I sense he wants to say something.

“Why won’t you answer me?”

“Whatever is between you and your sister is none of my business. Now, shut your mouth.”

In an almost imperceptible movement, he slides my dagger under my satchel’s strap and cuts. It falls to the ground where he kicks it, making the contents spill all over the place.

“Hey!” I protest, while his gaze hungrily peruses the strewn items. Disappointment washes over his face.

I shove him, rage getting the best of me. He’s looking for the necklace. I know it.

He shakes me again. “Keep walking.”

I struggle for part of the way, but my efforts are half hearted. He’s too strong for me, and even if I manage to get away, there are half a dozen guards following behind us.

Twenty minutes later, he delivers me back into my bedchamber, leaving my dagger on a side table. It’s only then that he lets go of my arm. I rub at the sore spot, sure that tomorrow I’ll have finger-shaped bruises there.

I glare at him with the bulk of my hatred. There is no sympathy in his bottomless dark eyes .

“Stay here,” he growls. “I would suggest you rest. You’ll have a long day ahead of you tomorrow.”

“What do you care?”

“You’re right. I don’t.” He shoves me further into the room, then steps out and shuts the door.

“I hope you burn for an eternity in each separate hell, and I hope it’s very, very slowly,” I yell at the door, feeling as if my head is going to explode from anger. But it’s useless. A lion could roar in that man’s face, and he wouldn’t bat a single eyelash. It’s as if he’s made of rock, and his feelings are shoved so far up his bottom that nothing can get through to them.

I stomp around the room, thoughts racing as I try to figure out another way to escape. If only I could fly like Cuervo, like Father used to do, I would spring wings and leap off the balcony.

Puta madre! How did he know where to find me?

It had to be Amira. She told him about the secret passages. How could she? Now Guardia Bastien and the others, all non-Plumanegras, know of their existence.

As I seethe in frustration, I find my feelings toward my sister morphing. She’s doing this. She killed Father. She deserves to—

I shake my head. No, I can’t lose trust in her. She isn’t responsible for this mess. She’s being manipulated by that miserable sorcerer, and I’m going to find a way to stop him. I won’t give up, no matter what. He wants that necklace, and that’s my leverage. He believes I have it and thought I would take it with me to Aldalous. He has no idea I overheard the conversation with Emerito.

Maybe Amira won’t send me away. Maybe she only threatened to do so in order to unearth the necklace .

The thought fills me with hope. Perhaps in the morning, I will find that she’s changed her mind, and a different scheme will be in place.

But why not simply ask me where it is ?

That question has been ringing inside my head for a while now. The most logical answer is that she doesn’t want me to know the necklace is important. But why not try some sort of subterfuge? Something like… “Say, Val, do you remember Mother’s necklace? I was thinking about it the other day, and I haven’t seen it in so long that I can’t remember what color it is. Do you still have it?”

Anything along those lines would make more sense than all of this. There’s only one explanation. This indirect approach means she really, really, really doesn’t want me to know how important the necklace is.

After much pacing and worrying, I develop a headache. Reluctantly, I remove my boots and lie down. I beg for sleep if only to stop my mind from whirring, but it doesn’t come. Dawn finds me sitting on a chair out on the balcony. Sunlight breaks through the clouds, cheery and warm—so at odds with the way I feel.

Cuervo finds me there. He lands on the railing and looks at me askance.

I lean forward, sitting at the edge of my chair. “Are you hurt?”

He opens his wings to demonstrate nothing happened to him.

“I’m glad. That was stupid. Don’t ever do that again, all right?”

He makes a sound like a huff.

“I mean it, you hardhead.”

Cuervo turns around and fans his tail feathers as if to scorn me for trying to tell him what to do.

“Watch it, Don Cuervo!” I shake my head. “That’s all I need, a foolish bird taunting me.”

With another huff, he leaps off the railing and flies away.

Sometimes I’m happy he has a mind of his own. Sometimes… not so much.

With a sigh, I get up and stretch my stiff body. I’ve just reentered my room when my door bursts open and Emerito waltzes in.

“Haven’t you heard of knocking first?” I demand .

He ignores me, then waves a group of man servants in. “Take those three trunks and load them on the carriage.” He points at the luggage stacked in the corner, then talks in my general direction. “We leave in an hour. Plenty of time for you to get ready.”

“ Pathetic meddler,” I mutter under my breath.

His eyes flash to mine.

I give him a simpering smile. He has always doted on Amira, ever since she was little. He was waiting for the day she became queen. No doubt, he’s the happiest man alive now. The closest adviser to the queen.

For the first time, I wonder if he has anything to do with Father’s death and if he does…

“Emerito,” I say, pronouncing his name with care and gravity.

My tone catches his attention, which is exactly what I want.

“Can I ask you a question?” I incline my head to one side, pointing to a corner away from the servants.

At first, he seems annoyed, but in the end, curiosity gets the better of him. Hands behind his back, he approaches me.

“This might sound like a strange question,” I say, “but have you noticed anything strange about Amira?”

I pay close attention to his expression. Does he seem surprised? Confused? Suspicious? Angry? Any of these emotions might give away his involvement in all of this. But today, it seems Emerito has taken a page from Guardia Bastien’s book. His features are impassive, giving nothing away.

“I’m sure I don’t know what you mean, princess ,” he says. “Unless you are referring to the grief over the death of her father or her concern due to her new role as queen.”

“Never mind,” I say. “Perhaps what I’ve noticed is simply a sister’s intuition. Perhaps it’s nothing. ”

“I’m sure it is nothing.” He pauses. “A word of advice, don’t make trouble for her. Fulfill your duty. She has enough on her plate as it is without a spoiled brat making things harder for her.”

“A word of advice to you,” I say with an edge of threat in my voice, “don’t let your britches get too big for yourself.”

He looks me up and down with disdain. My threat means nothing to him because he feels he has climbed higher than me in Nido’s hierarchy ladder. And perhaps he has, and I’ve fallen far lower than I ever expected.

I turn to leave, invisible to the servants filing out with my luggage. I walk after them, but before I exit, Emerito has the last word.

“We leave in an hour, not a minute later.”

I don’t dignify his haughtiness with an answer, and instead leave the room in search of a strong cup of tea, something to fill my stomach. I don’t bother to go to the sunroom where breakfast is always served. Instead, I find what I need in the kitchen, then go in search of Jago.

On my way to his chamber, I drink half of my tea and eat half of my fig pastry. His door is locked, so I bang on it with my foot. When he doesn’t answer, I yell his name. He’s a heavy sleeper.

At last, I hear grumbling inside. He lets out some colorful curses and yanks open the door. His belligerent expression falls when he realizes it’s me.

“Val.” He ushers me in and wraps me in a hug. “I’m sorry. I wanted to go out there and help you. You don’t know how hard it was to do what you said.”

“You did the right thing.”

“Did I? It doesn’t feel like the right thing at all. It feels like I abandoned you.”

“If you had helped me, if they had seen you, I would not be able to take you with me to Aldalous. I’m sure Amira would force you to stay. We’re leaving in an hour.”

“Are you sure she’ll let me go? ”

“She has to. I’ll think of something if she refuses.”

He nods.

“I’ll see you in my bedchamber in an hour then. I have to go see Nana. I’ve been avoiding it. Here.” I shove the cup of tea and pastry toward him. “Breakfast.”

He shrugs, takes it, and starts eating.