House of the Raven (The Eldrystone #1)

40. CHAPTER 40

40

RIVER

“Loreleia and Simón made my already miserable life unbearable. I harbored thoughts of repaying the favor, but with their absence, perhaps their children can bear the weight of retribution.”

Rífíor - Veilfallen Leader - 21 AV

V aleria sleeps, strapped to the cot in the corner. Calierin’s magic didn’t slow Amira’s descent in time to avoid a collision. Despite the clash, the young queen seemed fine when we pulled her off her sister. Valeria, on the other hand, suffered a broken collarbone, and perhaps a concussion. Calierin mended the broken bone, and I’ve been watching Valeria closely, ever since we left Nido.

Nothing can happen to her.

Not until she tells me where that damn bird took The Eldrystone.

I searched her bedchamber before making our escape, but Cuervo was nowhere to be seen. That creature has been nothing but trouble since the beginning. I should have snapped his neck when I had the chance.

We left Queen Amira in the rubble. I’m sure her people came to help her and will set her right. She never was of any importance to me. Calierin and the others are angry because I didn’t let them kill her. In their minds, that was our goal for invading Nido, but I deceived them, and now they’re demanding an explanation. I still don’t know what to tell them. How to keep the amulet’s nature a secret from them after what they witnessed, after they supported me in Nido, despite the way I changed our plans.

The last thing I need is more people vying to possess The Eldrystone.

At least Orys Kelakian is gone. He was always a blight on my kind. I know enough about him to be glad he is no more. Over two decades ago, he left Tirnanog to escape punishment for his crimes. When he unexpectedly attacked Nido the very day I installed myself as a guard, I thought he only wanted revenge, but when I realized he was also after The Eldrystone, things grew more complicated.

As best as I could, considering how busy I was with Valeria, I tried to keep an eye out for him. I imagined he was puppeteering Amira from afar or within, but it didn’t occur to me that he was posing as her closest adviser. I didn’t know Orys had that level of power. It is uncommon for anyone to pose as another person for an extended period of time, and he did it for hours on end during our journey to Alsur, so I discounted him.

He was skilled and powerful. I have to give him that. But of course, no one is a match for The Eldrystone.

Simón Plumanegra’s death was unexpected. I had hoped to be the one to bring about his demise, but that satisfaction was denied to me. Nevertheless, Orys’s intervention provided me with valuable insights into who possessed the amulet. He had come to confront Valeria because she was the one who thwarted his initial assault, the very person who disfigured him and the reason he was incapacitated for over a decade. There was only one way an eight-year-old child could have accomplished such a feat: she had worn The Eldrystone on the fateful day that Loreleia Elhice died.

It only took one overheard conversation between Amira Plumanegra and Emerito Velez to confirm my suspicions and discover that the new queen was also after the amulet. Without fail, the greed for power infects all of those who learn about Niamhara’s conduit. It is a curse for which the goddess made no considerations, a curse that has dealt me the cruelest of misfortunes.

After that, my focus belonged solely to Valeria. I searched her possessions before Amira was able to do so and determined Valeria was keeping the amulet well hidden. At that moment, it seemed to me that she was fully aware of what she had in her possession. Then I discovered evidence to the contrary.

It was then that my fortitude failed me. From the instant I laid eyes on her, something that had stayed dormant awakened in me. Her zest for life captivated me, made me remember my younger self when fate hadn’t yet dealt its merciless blow. The spark in her dark eyes, the tilt of her smile, the curve of her hips—all merged to create a seductive charm that eroded my determination day by day.

While Valeria obstinately kept the amulet hidden, I believed that earning her trust would be a more effective strategy, yet it proved to be a mistake. I hated the lies I told her, even as I convinced myself they were necessary. And in the end, getting closer to her tested my mettle and revealed my weakness.

She made me want to forget, made me feel as if her embrace was the heaven I’ve always needed. Yet, it was but a fleeting moment of madness, and any uncertainty about surrendering myself vanished when I saw The Eldrystone in her grasp and the glint of its power in her eyes.

Valeria stirs now. Her head moves from side to side on the pillow, and she makes whimpering sounds as if lost in a frightful nightmare.

I stare at my hands as I sit on a low stool, elbows propped on knees. There’s a bucket with cool water next to the cot. I could wet a rag and press it to her forehead, but I dare not touch her.

Her lids flutter open. I watch quietly as her eyes rove drunkenly over the damp walls, the flickering torchlight, and at last, my face .

There is such sadness in her expression that I must fight the urge to get up and leave, just so I don’t have to witness what I have done.

“Amira?” she says in a raspy voice.

“She will be fine. We left her in Nido. You are now my prisoner.”

She turns her eyes away from me, closes them, swallows thickly.

“I will never give you The Eldrystone,” she says, and even though she’s staring at the wall and her voice is broken, I feel her conviction in the depths of my bones.

“We will see about that,” I say.

“I would rather die than let you have it.”

“Death is swift and merciful compared to all the possible ways this could go for you.”

Now, her eyes meet mine again. “It will be my pleasure to suffer in order to deny you what you want.”

“Feeling jilted?” I mock, trying to appeal to her womanly pride.

“You bet I am,” she responds, surprising me. “I trusted you, Bastien .”

I hate that name on her lips.

Tears fall and slide down her smooth cheeks. “I had feelings for you.”

I stand up abruptly, knocking the stool down. This admission… Where is her pride? How can she admit her weakness? This is not the Valeria I know.

“You broke my heart,” she goes on, each of her words embedding themselves like hooks into my being.

“I don’t give a shit about The Eldrystone,” she spits. “I would have given it to you… had you asked, Bastien . But you, River of the veilfallen, you will never have it. Never.”

I throw my head back and laugh. “You almost had me convinced, but you’re like everybody else. Power corrupts the weak, and you’ve had a taste. Now, you will do everything in your power to wield it again. But you should dispel that notion, little princess. Because here, without the amulet, you are nothing, and you will forever be nothing unless you give me what is mine.”

“Forever may be a long time for you, fae, but I’m only human and fragile. I assure you, I will break, and it won’t be in the way you are hoping. I’ll take the secret of The Eldrystone’s location to the grave. I’ll let Niamhara’s conduit be lost for all eternity, the same way you are.” Her voice devolves into a whisper as her eyes drift closed and the sleep of the unwell sweeps her away.

Lost for all eternity, the same way you are.

Her words leave a lingering echo in the dimly lit cavern.

Angry, I run a closed fist over my mouth, wishing to erase so many of the things I said.

How does she know my deepest fear? I need The Eldrystone. Ever since her mother, Loraleia Elhice, took the amulet from me, I have been lost.

I don’t care what it takes, however. I don’t care if I have to break her down and rebuild her a thousand times, Princess Valeria Plumanegra will not deny me what is mine.

CONTINUE VALERIA AND RíFíOR'S STORY IN ECHOES OF THE RAVEN