Crown of Embers Read online

  As much as he wished he could tell her she wouldn’t have to, Von refused to lie. Instead, he pressed another kiss to her forehead and held on to her.

  Chapter Three

  “More than half of the Daejaran forces have refused to come.”

  Helena’s head whipped to face Timmins so fast her hair lashed her face. Before she could speak, Von snapped, “What?”

  Timmins shrugged apologetically, holding a piece of parchment up for Von to see. “According to my letter from the newly appointed ambassador, there are those that feel—” he paused searching for a politically correct phrase.

  Ronan interjected, sparing Timmins the indignity of failing to find a tactful response. “Tigaera ignored Daejara for centuries. There are many that cannot be bothered to care about the fate of the Chosen here, when none could find it within themselves to spare that same concern for them.”

  Helena frowned, but did not speak. When phrased that way, she could not fault their logic.

  Von scowled darkly. “Ungrateful, small-minded—”

  She placed a hand on his arm, cutting him off with a rueful shake of her head. “What of the others?” she asked Timmins.

  He lowered the stack of papers clutched in his hand and met her gaze with a pained expression. “Many have replied, but they are not sending the forces we’ve requested. They wish to meet with you before committing.”

  “They do not believe me,” she clarified, her voice hollow.

  Timmins winced. “They find it hard to imagine the army you’ve described, having never experienced anything like Shadows themselves.”

  “The fools,” Kragen snarled.

  “They have forgotten what it means to serve,” Von muttered.

  “Can we blame them?” Joquil asked. They all turned toward him, varying degrees of surprise on their faces as he continued, “They are not the only ones who have forgotten. The Chosen have known nothing but peace, unless they are familiar with the stories of their ancestors. The kind of war you are describing… it is the stuff of legends, not reality. They do not understand that kind of power as they hold barely a sliver of it themselves.” Joquil shrugged as he concluded, “You are asking them to imagine something they cannot begin to comprehend.”

  “So we show them; we make them believe,” Darrin said, crossing his arms.

  Joquil lifted a brow. “You think it will be that easy?”

  Darrin gestured toward Helena. “You doubt her?”

  “Never!” he snapped, offended by the implication.

  Helena rolled her eyes at their childish bickering before asking, “Timmins, how many are coming?”

  He cleared his throat. “Two representatives per realm.”

  Her jaw dropped. “Per realm? Out of all of the hundreds of territories and villages, only four are sending representatives?”

  Timmins nodded, causing the rest of the men to begin shouting in outrage. Helena’s eyes met Von’s; it was as she had feared. They could not expect others to follow her blindly, not with the lives of so many at stake. She would have to convince them and find the tribes; those long forgotten or ignored by the Chosen.

  Von dipped his head, indicating she should share her plan with the rest of the Circle.

  “We will need Miranda,” she stated.

  Timmins’ brows flew up in surprise. “What do we need the Keeper for?”

  “If the Chosen have forgotten who they are, it is time they remember. Who better to help them than a Keeper?” she countered.

  Timmins frowned but said nothing.

  “We will hold a banquet in two days’ time.”

  “Kiri, they will not be here by then,” he protested.

  Helena ignored him. “Miranda will be our esteemed guest, as well as our entertainment. After dinner we will call upon her to share tales of the Chosen’s past. All will be invited, even though many will be unable to make the journey in time. We will need to persuade,” she emphasized the word, “every bard we can to be in attendance so that they may pass her stories on to those that cannot make it.”

  “You think to sway them with stories?” Darrin asked, disbelief heavy in his voice.

  Helena shook her head. “When the representatives of the realms are all present, I will meet with them and show them what we are up against. When they return home, they will be greeted by the Keeper’s tales which will reinforce what they learned from me. I anticipate it will make a very convincing argument.”

  “Once they are swayed, others will fall in line,” Ronan murmured.

  “You will spread fear,” Timmins cautioned.

  “Not fear, truth,” Helena corrected. “We cannot ignore this threat. Ignorance is not a luxury we can afford. To remain ignorant will see us all killed.”

  It was clear her Advisor did not like the plan, mainly because of its reliance upon a woman he could hardly tolerate.

  Von squeezed her hand, urging her to continue.

  “After they leave, the rest of us will need to be ready to travel.”

  Kragen groaned. “No more tents, Kiri. I beg of you.”

  She chuckled despite herself, “I am weary of the road as well, Sword. This time, we will employ faster methods.” Her stomach rolled at the thought of the Kaelpas stone, but a little discomfort was well worth the time that could be saved with the purple stones.

  “Do we even know how to recharge the stones?” Darrin asked, following her line of thought.

  Joquil nodded. “I was able to find the spell in the archives.”

  “After looking it over, I think I might have found a shortcut,” Helena added, referring to the amount of time required to charge the Kaelpas stones.

  “Okay, so say we have an unlimited supply of stones. That doesn’t help with traveling to places you’ve never been,” Darrin reminded her.

  Helena was sorely tempted to stick her tongue out at him but checked the impulse. “We will start by traveling to places that we have been, seeking out others that can get us close to where we need to be as we search for allies.”

  Her intention became clear, the men going still around her. Joquil looked stricken, his face bleaching of all color. Helena was about to ask him what was wrong when Ronan burst out, “You cannot be serious.”

  “Helena, no. We are not willingly seeking out the Triumvirate. Or calling on the lost tribes. That is a suicide mission. They are called the Forsaken for a reason. They have no allegiance to the Chosen!” Timmins sputtered.

  She did not back down, shrugging as she said, “They are gifted, which means they have been blessed by the Mother; that makes them Her children. So what if their power is different than ours? We cannot be blind enough to believe that we win this fight on our own.”

  There was more that he wanted to say, but Timmins bit back the words.

  Beside her Von remained quiet, letting the others come to realize the value of her plan. He understood their fear and had already had time to process his own. “It’s a brilliant strategy,” he said quietly. Despite its lack of volume, his voice carried.

  “Rowena will not see it coming,” Ronan said slowly.

  “You are assuming that the Forsaken will agree,” Timmins started.

  Darrin picked up the argument, “They have no reason to side with us.”

  “They have just as much to lose if Rowena wins,” Joquil pointed out.

  Helena sat back, arms crossed while the men continued to debate. Around and around they went, until finally Von interjected, “No one has dared to approach them before.”

  “Because no one knows where to find them,” Darrin snapped. “Or do you not know what the word lost means?”

  Von glared at him but ignored the barb. “The Chosen have long been afraid of powers that we do not understand. Do you not think that the appearance of a Talyrian is a sign that it is time to get over that fear?”

  The other men faltered, not understanding.

  “The Talyrian pride is considered one of the lost tribes, according to the archives,” Helena informe
d them, clasping her hands in front of her on the table.

  “Been doing some light reading?” Ronan queried with an amused lift of his brow. Helena’s lips raised in a small smile.

  Joquil sat back, amber eyes glowing brightly as the meaning of her words took root in his mind.

  Timmins mouth fell open. “You think the appearance of Starshine is a sign that the others might also be willing to come forth? And not just the Talyrians but the rest of the Forsaken?”

  “The old man finally figured it out,” Von snarked along the bond. “You would think for one that spent his life face down in a book he would have arrived at the point more quickly.”

  Helena snickered. “It’s not like you realized the Talyrians were one of the lost tribes either.”

  She could feel his shrug as he said, “But I am the Mate, not the Advisor. My qualification for the position is not reliant upon my ability to retain useless pieces of information found in old books.”

  “I didn’t realize that you had any qualifications…” Her teasing smile faltered as his silver eyes blazed.

  “Oh, Helena. I think you’ll find that I am more than qualified.” The voice that whispered through her mind was all seductive purr and it caused a bright blush to bloom on her cheeks. Von chuckled, his point made.

  Ronan’s eye caught Helena’s and she blushed harder at her friend’s knowing smile. How had Von distracted her so easily? With everything else going on, it was indeed a testament to his qualifications that he could pull her thoughts from the matter at hand. The rest of the Circle was looking at her, waiting for her to elaborate now that they were on the same page.

  “If we cannot convince the Chosen to join us, we will need to recruit other allies. Where else should we look, if not the tribes? It only takes a few people to commit before others willingly join. What’s the expression?” Helena paused, trying to recall it before snapping her fingers. “Wisdom of the crowd! And what better way to inspire confidence than with the aid of the Talyrians?”

  A collective sigh went around the room. She had a point. None of them could deny the awe the first sight of Starshine had stirred.

  “So first we try and convince the Chosen, then we seek to do the impossible and find the lost tribes,” Timmins concluded warily.

  “What else is new?” Ronan asked with a grin. “Pretty much everything we’ve accomplished up to this point should have been impossible.”

  “Exactly. It’s just another Moonsday for us,” Kragen quipped.

  Helena laughed, relieved to see the others following suit. No one said her plan would be easy, but at least they had one. Helena’s smile wobbled as a thought took root in her mind, but so does Rowena.

  Chapter Four

  Helena grew increasingly restless as the hours slowly passed. It was the morning of the banquet and guests had begun to pour into the Palace immediately following her announcement. All were eager to take part in the first formal event hosted by their Kiri since her trial many months ago.

  Von didn’t need their bond to determine that his Mate was on edge. “Helena,” he called, trying to pull her attention back to him.

  She blinked, turning away from their window and toward where he was standing just behind her. “Yes?”

  He chuckled and shook his head. “This was your idea, Mira. Why are you so nervous?”

  She wrinkled her nose. “Just because it was my idea, doesn’t mean I’m not allowed to be terrified of the outcome.”

  Von threw her a skeptical glance. “You’re eager to face Rowena one-on-one but afraid of your people’s reaction to free food and entertainment?”

  Helena threw her hands up in exasperation. “It’s not the party I’m worried about! It’s the backlash from the stories. It’s the realms’ response to learning about the depths of Rowena’s corruption and what that means for the Chosen. It’s the fact that everything hinges on garnering the help of people that were shunned by the Chosen for centuries.”

  He placed his finger to her lips to stop the torrent of words that were spilling forth with increasing frequency. “Shhh,” he murmured.

  She frowned, not appreciating being silenced. “That only works if I let it,” she reminded him via the bond.

  He smirked and responded in kind, “It wasn’t you I was silencing, darling. It was your unfounded fears.”

  “Unfounded! Von—”

  “Shhh,” he said again, his gray eyes growing serious. “There is no reason for you to borrow trouble, Helena. Worry about the things you can control. Take them as they come. You have enough to deal with, without worrying about things that have not even gone wrong yet.”

  Helena pouted, she wasn’t sure if she was more annoyed that he had shushed her, twice, or that he had a point. She let out a breath and her shoulders fell, a small bit of tension ebbing away.

  “I’m just feeling a little stressed,” she muttered.

  Von’s eyes strayed meaningfully toward their bed. He knew exactly what they could do to let off some steam. Seeing the distracted expression on Helena’s face, any thought of getting her in bed fled. Well if that was off the table, there was one other surefire way to help her work it off. “You haven’t trained with Ronan since we’ve returned. Let’s go down and join the others for his workout.”

  She looked up at him appraisingly, her words measured as she said, “I suppose it would help kill some time.”

  He smiled indulgently, purposely taunting her. “You keep bragging about how you’ve bested all the men of the Circle, but there’s still one you’ve yet to take down.”

  Her eyes glowed at his challenge. “Do you really want me to beat you in front of your men?”

  “I would love to see you try,” he laughed, clearly unconcerned.

  Her grin turned feral. Without another word she turned toward the door, making her way to the training field, not needing to look to know that he was following close behind.

  If Ronan was surprised to see his friends stalking toward him, he did not let on. He nodded by way of greeting, continuing his demonstration without missing a beat. The others were not so unaffected by the sight of the Kiri and her Mate.

  Von and Helena moved to the back of the group; their long, easy strides in perfect time with the other’s. It was a large, sprawling mix of people comprised predominately of the Rasmiri and Daejaran forces. Also in attendance were Kragen, Darrin, Serena, Nial and Effie. A couple of months ago, Helena would not have expected the small, flaxen-haired girl to pick up a weapon. After watching her more than hold her own against an unrelenting swarm of Shadows, Effie’s desire to train only made sense. No one could afford to be caught unaware.

  Ronan pulled one of the warriors forward. “Watch closely to see how versatile this block is,” he called to the crowd, moving himself into a defensive stance. With laser-like focus, he indicated the warrior should attack.

  The dark-skinned man launched himself at Ronan without question, using a series of moves that on anyone else would have rendered their opponent unconscious. But Ronan was not any opponent. Red hair glinting like fire in the sun, he lunged, neatly dodging the other man’s flying fists to spin and land his own blow. Now behind his student, Ronan used his hands and knee to knock the man down before acting out a killing blow. Only mildly chagrinned, the man picked himself up off the ground and moved back into formation.

  “What did you see?” Ronan asked.

  “Demetrius attempted an obvious attack that you saw coming from miles away,” someone shouted with derision.

  There were a few chuckles but Ronan merely scowled until the murmuring faded back to silence.

  “His body position telegraphed where he was moving first, which allowed you to counter the movement and side-step the attack,” Nial answered smoothly.

  “Exactly. Had I not known what to look for, a shift of weight in the feet, the slight lifting of his right arm, I would have missed it and my opponent would have been successful. However, since I knew exactly what to look for, I was able to use hi
s momentum against him, using it to disable him quickly and efficiently. Now, break off into pairs and practice. Each blow landed by the attacker means two laps for the defender!”

  There were a few groans, but the men and women were eager to get to practice. Soon the sounds of grunts and punches filled the air around them.

  “Shall we?” Von whispered in her ear. Helena’s grin was more than answer enough.

  Stepping apart they moved into position facing each other, each pulling their hair up into tight knots.

  “Pretty,” Helena called, allowing herself a moment to appreciate the stark male beauty of her Mate. His obsidian hair, pulled back from his face only enhanced the brilliance of his gray eyes and the sharp angles of his cheeks and nose. There really wasn’t anything ‘pretty’ about him. He was too much of a warrior to be anything but lethal, but when she looked at him, Helena only noticed the seductive curve of his lips and the ways his muscles bunched and shifted as he removed his shirt. She licked her lips, helpless to ignore her primal response to him.

  Von winked at her, knowing by the tell-tale blush on her cheeks where her thoughts had wandered.

  For those that had stopped to watch the Couple, there was no doubt this was more than mere sparring practice. It was understood that they would not use their power to enhance their combat. This was a full-fledged test of physical skill and strategy. Those in the Circle had already moved in, eager to see them in action.

  “It looks like they want a show,” Von teased, a small smile on his lips.

  “Oh, they’ll get one,” Helena promised smugly, not hesitating before she attacked.

  Von countered the move easily, laughing as he blocked two more rapid-fire blows. “Is that all you’ve got?” he taunted.

  “Not even close,” she assured him, ducking low and using her momentum to knock him off-balance. He recovered quickly, which kept him from falling completely.

  The crowd continued to grow around them, people beginning to cheer for their champion, but Von and Helena blocked out the distraction, focusing solely on each other. Their bodies became a blur as they moved, each attack and counterattack so perfectly in sync with the other, that their movements appeared choreographed. It was a dance, but a potentially dangerous one.