From the Ashes (The Elder Blood Chronicles, #3)(99)

“It was an attempt to teach you humility and remind you that your former life no longer has any bearings upon you. The dead do not care what you wear, Finn Sovaesh,” Fiona snapped.

Finn smirked and pointed a finger at Seth with a raised eyebrow. “He apparently does, Fiona.”

“He does not count. He is simply trying to gain favor with you by pandering to your earlier vices,” Fiona shot back and glared at Seth as if her expression alone could dismiss him.

“On the contrary, Fiona. The recently deceased do, in fact, still notice details as trivial as clothing and I’m sure Lord Death will be dealing with the recently dead very soon. He will have to. The line of spirits already extends well past the city. Ignore them much longer and many will become lost souls, Milord,” Seth said smoothly, his eyes twinkling at Fiona’s anger.

“Then I suggest we return to your lessons, Milord, and stop wasting time with this one,” Fiona snapped and turned her back on Seth completely as she set her withering gaze on Finn.

“Go, Seth, and bring me proper clothing when you return. Fiona is right. I do need my practice,” Finn said with a heavy sigh as he turned back to the table once more and pulled on the magic. Carefully he began to pull the fragments back together, but couldn’t help smiling as he heard the sound of wings behind him. Even if he wasn’t trustworthy and Fiona apparently hated him, there was no doubt in Finn’s mind that Seth would prove useful and entertaining.





Chapter 19





Kithvaryn





Warm arms wrapped around her and Jala sighed in contentment. Her eyes still closed, she nuzzled closer to the warmth and smiled. “Finn,” she breathed. All of her frustration and pain melted away with the strength of his arms. “I had the most horrible dream,” she mumbled as a wave of icy wind brushed across her face.

“I’m not Finn, Jala, and it’s not a dream.” Sovann’s voice shattered the fragile illusion her dreams had built and Jala’s eyes snapped open.

They were huddled together, pressed against a wall and the ground beneath them was lurching with a sickening pitch. Another roar of wind sent waves of water crashing down beside them, but the thick cloak Sovann had wrapped around both of them shielded the worst from her.

“Where are we?” Jala demanded, her eyes frantically searching the sky above for any sign of stars. Her father had taught her a bit about the stars and a glimpse would have given her a slight clue of her location. The sky however was shrouded with thick black clouds and driving rain.

“In hell,” Sovann muttered as he raised the edge of the cloak to block another torrent of water.

“No, that looks different,” Jala pointed out dryly, her eyes searching frantically for Marrow. There was no sign of her familiar anywhere around her and she felt panic rising in her chest. “Where is Marrow? Where is Valor? And most importantly, where are we?” she demanded once more, her voice rising in pitch with each word. The last thing she could remember was raising the dead of Goswin. It had taken everything she had to see the last of the souls brought back, but with the help of Zachary and the witches they had finally managed it.

“Marrow is with Valor. I think he is trying to calm him down. We are on a ship and should be very near Kithvaryn if the damned boat doesn’t capsize. I’m not sure what you said to Valor but he is certainly living up to the title Stormlord. I just wish he would have chosen a better time to do it,” Sovann explained, his voice thick with misery.

“What? I have no idea what I said to Valor that would upset him. Are you sure the storm is of his making and not simply the weather?” Jala gasped, her eyes searching the surroundings once more. She could see the shape of the ship now that she was looking for it. They were sitting in a recess on the deck and leaning back against the door to the hold.

“I’m positive the storm is of his making. It started in Goswin not long after you finished your magic. Valor was helping you back to Anthe’s and we had planned to rest there until you were able to travel. Then Valor’s expression darkened and so did the skies. He handed you into my care and stalked off around the time the snow began to fall. Within an hour it was a blizzard and not long after that, Anthe was very politely asking me to get Valor the hell out of her country. She has well over ten thousand homeless people right now and a blizzard was the last thing she needed,” Sovann grumbled and held up the cloak once more as another wave sprayed water across their feeble shelter. “The bloody storm followed us to the coast and now across the sea. I did have us in the hold for a while but it started to flood below. I made this damned ship with magic, Jala, it has no leaks in the hold. The flooding is from all of the bloody storm waves.”

“I need to talk to him,” Jala said quickly as she pulled herself free from the cloak. A lance of pain in her chest pulled her up short and she leaned back against the door as she struggled to find the source of her injury. Staring down, her eyes locked on her breasts and she groaned softly. She hadn’t even considered what the effects of being away from Legacy for so long would be for her. It had been a simple arrangement to find a wet nurse in Merro for her child. It was apparently not such a simple thing for her. With a sigh she wrapped her cloak tightly around herself and pushed away the problem for the moment. It was uncomfortable, but it was nothing that would kill her anytime soon, nor would her throbbing head. Valor’s temper on the other hand might very well kill them all if she didn’t resolve the problem.