Crystal Storm (Falling Kingdoms #5)(26)
No one should have such a horrible burden all alone, she thought, sickened by the very idea of what he’d shared with her. “The Kindred. If the crystals are returned here, will that help you?”
He cocked his head. “It won’t fix what is gone, but it would save what’s left.”
Lucia nodded, feeling the resolve building within her. “Then that’s what I need to do. I need to find and imprison Kyan, wherever he is now, locate the other Kindred orbs, and bring them back here. Then my world and the Sanctuary will be saved.”
Of course she knew it wouldn’t be nearly as easy as it sounded.
Timotheus didn’t smile at this suggestion, but a sliver of hope flickered in his eyes.
“Are you going to say something?” she prompted when he fell as silent and still as his fellow immortals during his speech. “Or are you going to direct me to the nearest gateway so I can get back to the mortal world?”
“You must have heard me say earlier that I’ve disabled all gateways.”
She waited. “So . . . enable one again.”
“Without more elders, that will take time.”
“My magic could help you.”
“No. It must be mine. You must hold on to yours for when you next face Kyan.” He nodded, as if to himself. “You will stay here in the tower. Rest. Eat. Regain your strength. As soon as I can, I promise I will help return you to your world so you can attempt to do what is necessary to save us all—if that’s truly what you want.”
It was. Lucia had never wanted anything more.
CHAPTER 8
MAGNUS
LIMEROS
“Tell me, Father,” Magnus said, holding tight to the reins of his horse with his gloved hands. “Have you hidden my grandmother in a block of ice? Is that where she’s been all these years?”
The king didn’t reply to this, not that Magnus expected him to. He’d stayed silent for the half day they’d been traveling so far. They’d acquired five horses from the innkeeper before they’d left that morning, and they rode single file, with the king and Milo at the front, Magnus in the middle, and Enzo and Cleo bringing up the rear.
He preferred to ride in front of the princess. Without her constantly in view, he could think without distraction. So far, Magnus could tell they traveled east, but he had no clue as to their final destination.
He wondered if the four men trailing behind them knew?
When the king demanded a rest near a river, Enzo and Milo got to work building a small fire. Magnus slid off his horse and approached his father. He was disturbed that the man looked even worse than when they began—his face as pale as the snow they stood on, so pale he could see the blue and purple veins beneath his skin.
“Amara has soldiers following us,” he said.
“I know,” the king replied.
“Plan to do anything about that? I can’t imagine your new wife would be pleased to know you lied to her about the reason for this journey.”
“I’m sure my new wife would be surprised if I hadn’t.” The king nodded to Enzo and Milo. “Take care of them.”
The guards nodded, mounting their horses, and galloped off without delay.
Magnus knew perfectly well what “take care of them” meant, and he didn’t object.
“How much farther will we be traveling?” he asked.
“We’re headed to the Reaches,” the king replied.
Magnus’s eyes widened. “The Reaches? So it seems my block-of-ice theory isn’t that far off after all.”
The Reaches was a stretch of land close to the Granite Coast, consisting mostly of frozen moors and icy valleys. It was the coldest place in all of Limeros. The ice there never melted, not even when those in the west experienced the brief temperate season that they considered summer. There was only one village located in the Reaches, and Magnus assumed that that frozen little town must be where Selia Damora had been kept hidden all this time.
The king didn’t divulge more information. He turned his back to Magnus and went to the river to fill his waterskin. Magnus walked over to Cleo, who had her fur-lined cloak pulled tightly around her face.
“How do you stand this temperature for so long?” she asked him.
He barely noticed how cold it was. “It must be my frozen heart.”
“Here I thought that had melted just a little around the edges.”
“Oh, no.” Magnus couldn’t help but smirk. “All Limerians have frozen hearts. We melt into puddles in places like Auranos, with its relentless heat.”
“You’re making me miss Auranos. I love the warmth there. And the trees, the flowers . . . flowers everywhere. And the palace courtyard . . .” Her voice trailed off, and Magnus could see the wistfulness in her eyes. She took a seat on a fallen log, pulling her gloves off to warm her hands at the fire. Magnus sat down beside her, keeping his father in view.
“There are courtyards in Limeros,” he said.
She shook her head. “Not the same. Not nearly the same.”
“True. Are you thirsty?” He offered Cleo his waterskin.
She eyed it warily. “Does that contain water or wine?”
“Sadly, only water.”
“That’s too bad. I could use some wine today to help warm me up.”