Page 141 of A Sword of Ice
Ryker.
Shula.
Uric, grunting in pain, his limbs weak and gnarled like the roots of an old oak, kneeled as best as he could, looking up at Valerio through white lashes, dark gaze flashing. “Myking,” he whispered with reverence.
Weylyn… Weylyn cocked his head to the side, taking in the prince, theking, with curiosity. Like he was deciding if it was worth it or not to pledge his allegiance to him. They stared at one another, energy cackling between the space that separated the two. Eventually, Weylyn stepped forward and dropped to one knee, though he did not speak, and he did not bow his head.
It was as much subservience as Valerio would get from him.
There would be no coronation, no crown or ceremony to commemorate the new King of the Fae.
But there would be war.
There would be blood.
It would be Valerio picking up the broken pieces that had been left behind, trying to put together the scattered courts and armies meant to protect them.
This small group was all he had. It wasn’t much; there were only eight of them plus two familiars, but it wasenough.
It had to be.
Valerio visibly swallowed, his throat bobbing up and down. “I cannot be your king,” he whispered, an echo of heartbreak slipping past his lips. “I cannot yet accept that my father is gone. Not without proof.” He turned to Weylyn. “If you feel him with your magic, you will tell me. Until then…” He looked at the line of them. “I will be king regent, until we know for certain that my father is gone.” He pivoted on his heel then and briskly walked away from them, heading towards a copse of trees and vanishing into the darkness.
Iona’s ears strained.
He didn’t go far, as she could still make out his footsteps in the darkness, and when his breathing grew heavy, she forced herself to her feet and turned away, as did everyone else.
Valerio needed a moment to collect himself, to come to terms with everything that happened. They would let him mourn in peace, and when he was ready, they would discuss what came next. They had to, despite how difficult it was. The mourning could wait; their sorrow at all that they had lost pushed to the backs of their minds to make way for other thoughts and other things.
Iona walked towards Shula, touching her arm. “Do you still have the map?”
Shula pulled it out of her pants pocket, unfurling the folded edges. “I do.” Her eyes darted around. “Do you want to look for the next Elemental now?”
Iona shook her head as she took the map from the fire Fae’s fingertips. “I want to know where we’re at, first.” What she didn’t say was that an idea had begun forming in her mind, and she needed to confirm something.
“We’re in Tuath,” Shula said.
“How do you know?”
Shula gave her a pointed look. “I was with Piriguini’s Traveling Circus, remember?” Her gaze did a sweep of the terrain. “I recognize certain places almost instantly. We are still in Tuath. The sky has more smog here than anywhere else because it’s the kingdom with the highest number of iron camps. The earth here has blackened over time.” Her foot nudged against the ground, scraping away the dried grass to reveal the dark earth underneath.
Iona found herself tucking away that information for later. “What would we do without you?”
Shula pressed her lips together like she was trying to avoid laughing. “Ask Uric where he deposited us?”
“Ha, ha, very funny, Azzarh. Now, show me what other tricks you have up your sleeve and tell me if you remember anything worthwhile about the kingdom of Tuath.”
“Like what?” She didn’t lean over the map like Iona rapaciously did, biting her bottom lip as she stared at the cities scattered around this kingdom. The capitol was nestled towards the east, closer to the Lagnh Sea.
Iona knew the emperor ruled over Illyk and that he’d given free reign over the kings of Illyk. Each one resided over a kingdom, each one implementing their own rules, all the while following the supreme law of the emperor.
The King of Teg had been a spoiled brat, focused on pulling riches into his own castle while ignoring the rest of the kingdom. It was why Porir had been awash with Fae that lived right under his nose, and why it’d been such an impoverished city to begin with.
She didn’t know anything else about the rest of the kings or kingdoms, but maybe Shula did.
“In your travels, did you ever see soldiers?” Iona asked.
“All the time. They were everywhere.”
