Water's Wrath (Air Awakens Series Book 4) (10 page)

Vhalla turned to meet Tim’s eyes. The woman wore a mischievous grin. Vhalla smiled back. To Tim, it was a game, a fantasy she was playing a part in. But Vhalla’s life wasn’t a storybook. She was returning to the South and showing herself as more than a piece on the carcivi boards of powerful men and women—
she was a player
.

She rested for two more days before finally leaving. As soon as the seamstress had finished Vhalla’s cape, Vhalla announced her intention. The Festival of the Sun was starting, and the last thing Vhalla wanted to do was engage in the revelries. Spending her time on the road, away from the celebrations, was a far better use of her days.

It was a gray morning when Vhalla said her goodbyes and set off on her mount, stolen from the dead Knights.

“Is it all right?” Tim asked. The white puffs of their breath became fainter as the chill of the dawn slipped away.

“It is.” Vhalla gripped the reins and adjusted her cape again. The cloak was a heavy wool, sturdy, made for the mountains in winter, and long enough to drape over the haunch of the horse. For the first time, Vhalla looked like a noble on a journey. Her hand went up to her watch, caressing it thoughtfully.

“I trust you have a plan.” Tim settled into her saddle. “A plan to
not
be marching to your death?”

Under the tall pine trees, the soft clanking sound of the stirrups filled the silence as Vhalla mused over how to respond. “Not really.”

“So, you’re going to ride back into the capital with a target on your back and deliver yourself neatly?”

“That’s as far as I’ve made it in my head,” Vhalla affirmed. She really didn’t have an idea of how returning to the capital would go. All she knew was that she wanted a public stage to put the Knights in their place once and for all.
What better place than the greatest stage in the world?

Tim let the silence linger, but Vhalla could almost hear the woman shouting her unasked questions. They’d been together for a few days, but Tim had kept her inquisitions fairly tame.

Vhalla sighed softly. “Go ahead, ask what you want.”

“What?” Tim squeaked, startled.

“We have a long ride, and since you’ve chosen to come with me, I’m not going to have it be filled with awkward silences,” Vhalla explained.

“Oh, sorry.” Tim laughed uncomfortably, passing her reins from hand to hand. “I suppose I want to know what everyone else wants to know.”

“I don’t know what that is.” Vhalla could guess, but she wasn’t going to hand Tim information mindlessly.

“After the battle, you left. Where did you go?”

“The Crossroads.”

“Why?”

“Because I wanted to.” Vhalla saw Tim’s expression deflate from the corners of her eyes.
She wasn’t talking with Ophain or Aldrik, just an average woman with no experience in subtlety
. “I wanted to escape everything for a bit,” Vhalla explained further. “I needed to be no one.”

“So then, did you really kill those Western Lords there?” Tim ventured.

“I did.” Tim’s eyes were wide at Vhalla’s response. “They would’ve killed me, or worse, if I hadn’t fought them. They weren’t just lords; they were Knights of Jadar trying to use my powers to start a new war. More of the same ilk that died at the windmill.”

“Oh, that’s different then.” The woman easily shrugged off the idea of Vhalla committing murder in self-defense.

Vhalla appraised her traveling companion. Tim was soft-looking and girlish, but she had been in war as well. She had killed and carried invisible scars just as ugly as all soldiers did. Yet, despite that fact, Vhalla withheld the information that she’d killed Tim’s direct superior, Major Schnurr.

“Why are you really going back to the capital?” Vhalla asked her own unsaid question.

Tim sucked on her teeth in thought. “I want to train with the archers in the guard. They said there’d be a position for me.”

“They told you that after the war was over,” Vhalla pointed out. “You chose to go back to Mosant instead.”

“Oh, fine,” Tim laughed. “I want to travel with you.”

“That may not be the best idea,” Vhalla remarked dryly, watching the trail curve ahead of them.

“Maybe not,” Vhalla’s companion agreed. “But I feel like my fate is linked with yours.” The statement stilled Vhalla. “For a time, I was you. I saw and heard things I’d never seen or heard before. I was there to watch the rise of the Windwalker. Then I found you again. This is your story, but I want to see how it ends.”

It would likely end with a violent death
. Vhalla spared Tim any further warning and kept the thought to herself.

“Plus,” Tim added, “you’re a Lady of the Court now, right? If you build out your household, maybe you’ll find a place for my set of hands.” Tim laughed brightly.

Vhalla cracked a small smile.

The woman’s company proved to be more welcome than Vhalla ever expected. Tim already knew much about Vhalla, so when they broke for camp, Vhalla spent the majority of the time learning about Tim. The young woman was transparent, and it was a welcome reprieve for Vhalla’s mind. It wasn’t necessary to exhaust herself quizzing or dancing with words to find the truth.

The two women spent the night huddled together under a single blanket for warmth, and as time went on, Vhalla allowed the young woman to snuggle closer and closer. Sometimes, she’d lie awake, listening to Tim breathe in harmony with the sounds of the forest at night. Tim was warm,
but not nearly as warm as Aldrik
.

At a leisurely pace, it only took three days to reach the capital. Vhalla hoped she’d missed all the festivities of the Festival of the Sun. They paused at the intersection of the Great Imperial Way and the Capital Road. High above them, the palace glittered despite the perpetually graying sky as winter drew nearer.

“You’re sure about this?” Tim asked once more.

Vhalla adjusted her cloak, making sure it was splayed just so over the horse’s haunches. “Very.”

As they ascended the mountain, it didn’t take long for Vhalla to be noticed. Citizens stared in slack-jawed awe at the woman wearing the black cloak. Vhalla held her head high, prepared for their judgment.

After the first series of houses, people began running alongside and ahead of her. More citizens lined the street, but none stopped her.

Word spread far enough ahead that a man had time to prepare to address her. “Is it true?” he called from a second-floor window of a tavern. Vhalla pulled on the reins, slowing her mount, prompting him to continue. “Are you her? Are you the Windwalker?”

“I am,” Vhalla announced.

Murmurs rippled through the people lining the road. Vhalla nudged her horse, pushing it forward again. They didn’t spout words of hate. Instead, Vhalla’s ears picked up words like
hero
and
champion
.

How fickle people were,
she smirked to herself. Sorcerers were scary; she still had no doubt that such was the reigning perception in the South. There was too much history surrounding the Crystal Caverns that she was beginning to understand better for that hate to root into. But she had become something more than a sorcerer. She’d become the Windwalker. Which was something different than all who had ever come before her and had a reputation to match.

By the time she was crossing the gate of the capital city of the Solaris Empire, horns were heralding her arrival. Vhalla was certain it was in warning, she knew guards were being called for her arrest. This only forced her to ride faster into the city.

Men and women blurred together, but no one stopped her. Vhalla saw bold black pennons bearing the silver wing displayed, like she had seen in the Crossroads. She wondered if the soldiers who had returned home from the war had kept the mantra that the winds of the Windwalker were lucky.

Vhalla was nearly standing in her saddle now. Her heart racing as she sped through the streets. She was over halfway to her chosen destination when a guard made a dash to try to stop her.

Tim sped up and stopped, blocking the man’s progress to Vhalla. “Go on!” she called.

Wind picked up the mountainside behind her as Vhalla crossed under an archway to her final destination. Her gamble had paid off, and she pulled hard on her reins, stopping the horse with a whinny and a loud clamor of hooves before the sunlit stage. A long row of guards were positioned before the stage, blocking the path between her and the Imperial family.

Emperor Solaris stood center. Baldair and his mother stood back and to his left, a Northern girl hovering half a step away. Guilt surged through Vhalla at the sight of Baldair. She wondered if Jax’s body was ever found or if the Knights of Jadar had hidden it. She’d have to tell the prince the fate of his loyal guard herself, but now was not that time. Vhalla’s eyes swept to the Emperor’s right.

There he was
.

He looked nothing like the haggard man she’d dreamt about. His hair was not only styled, but it had been cut as well to taper neatly at the nape of his neck. His face seemed less gaunt, though there were still dark circles beneath his eyes. Vhalla suppressed insane laughter. He wore the same coat as when they had first met.

“Emperor Solaris!” Vhalla shouted, using her magic to amplify her voice so the mass of commoners could hear her. “I have come for my justice.”

The Emperor’s eye twitched slightly at her getting in the first word. “For your justice?”

“The Knights of Jadar have laid false accusations against my name.” Vhalla sat tall in her saddle. “As a Lady of the Court, I demand a fair trial before the Mother to prove my innocence.”

Just as the Emperor was about to speak, a man entered the stage, followed by several others. Vhalla’s eyes narrowed slightly as the Head of Senate stepped into the sun. He regarded her with equal disdain, and Vhalla seriously weighed the options of freedom and justice versus the satisfaction of killing him on the spot.

“Senators,” she addressed those who had just arrived. “I have come to prove my innocence.”

“Guards, arrest this woman!” A Western man stepped forward, casting his finger toward her. “She is a slayer of lords and ladies! A wind
witch
!”

The guards glanced between the Emperor and the senator, seeking confirmation of orders.

“Arrest her!” the man raged.

“If she has accusations of murder against her, then she is to be taken into custody,” Egmun finally spoke. “Fetch irons.”

Vhalla shook her head, laughing softly to herself. A hush fell over the people as they strained to hear the reason for her strange reaction. Vhalla reached into her saddle bag.

“If it is irons you desire to put on me,” she said as she straightened, “then make sure they are stronger than the ones the Knights of Jadar shackled me in!” Vhalla threw the crystal cuffs, propelling them with the wind to the feet of the Senators.

Chaos erupted.

“Lies!” the Western senator raged.

“Citizens of the Empire,” Vhalla cried. “I am not your enemy. I have never been your enemy.”

“Order!” the Emperor boomed.

Every man, woman, and child focused on Vhalla with avid attention.

“On the Night of Fire and Wind, I fought to save you.” Her heart was beating so hard it hurt, so hard she could choke on it. “I went to the North in good faith of the Empire, as punishment for crimes I did not truly commit. I fought against the Knights of Jadar when they sought to bring down our army on the march.
They
were behind an attack that nearly caused the death of our future sovereign.”

Murmurs erupted.

“Lies! She lies!” The Western Senator’s face was red with rage.

“Enough, Lady Yarl!” the Emperor called. His words went unheeded again.

“I fought for your Empire, and when the Emperor saw fit to grant me my freedom for my service, others sought to chain me.” Vhalla jerked her head in the direction of the Western senator. “Yes!” she screamed. “Yes, I killed those men at the Crossroads because they sought the tainted powers within the Crystal Caverns!”

The crowd was worked to a near fever-pitch.

“They sought to bring a new war upon the Empire.” Vhalla met the Emperor’s eyes. “Once more I have defended the Empire, and my reward is to be more chains?”

“Justice for the Windwalker!” a woman screamed.

“Justice for the Hero of the North!” another cried.

The Sunlit Stage filled with their demands.

“Are you going to let her spout these lies?” Her ears picked up the strained words of the Western senator.

Those upon the stage were quickly losing their control of the situation as the crowd slipped into anarchy. Wind howled through the archways,
howled for her justice
. Vhalla met the Emperor’s eyes with a level stare and waited.

Fire arced across the sky. The crowd was silenced as they shied away from the wave of heat. Aldrik had taken a step forward.

He stared down at her, and Vhalla met his gaze as an equal—for the world to see.
What was to become of them now?

“It seems a trial is not necessary.” His voice filled the square. It filled the cavernous volume of her chest as two perfectly dark eyes met hers.

“My prince!” Egmun was aghast alongside the Western Senator.

“Senators, you exist so that the will of the people may be channeled to my father and to me.” Aldrik motioned to the masses that were growing by the second. “The people have spoken.”

“But a trial—”

“Is not needed for one who is so clearly innocent.” The crown prince pointed to the crystal-laden irons. “Unless you have an alternate explanation for those?”

The Western fumed in silence.

“She is a Lady of the Court.” Aldrik shifted his focus back on her. Everyone could’ve screamed at once, and Vhalla was certain she’d somehow still hear the frantic pulse in his neck as he stared at her once more. “She was given her freedom by the Emperor. And I, as the future Emperor, will pardon her for any crimes that were committed in her own defense against the Western madmen who call themselves the Knights of Jadar.”

The crowd did scream then. It was deafening, but her ears were already ringing; they were echoing Aldrik’s words so loudly that Vhalla felt the resonance of his voice in her bones.