Kanin: Crystal Kingdom Part 25

I took them from her, and as I flipped through them, I saw that Bryn had been handwritten on each one. "What are these?"

"I wrote to you while you were gone, but I didn't mail them because I had no idea where to send them." She stood with her arms folded over her chest. "Also, the Hogdragen are checking all the mail going in and out, so that wouldn't have gone over well."

"Thanks, Ember." I stood up. "That was really nice of you."

She shrugged. "I missed you, and it was the only way I could talk to you."

"I missed you too." I smiled at her, and I tucked the letters in the back of my pants, next to the dagger, safely protected from the elements. "But I should go now."

"I don't know when I'll see you again," Ember said, and there was a hesitance on the word when, since it really should've been if. "Take care."

"You too."

I walked out of her house onto the balcony. I hung over the edge, and then dropped down carefully into the yard. I took a step backward and looked up to watch Ember closing the French doors.

Then I turned around and ran right smack into Ridley, who smartly put his hand over my mouth to prevent me from screaming.

"What are you doing here?" I hissed when he removed his hand.

"Looking for you. Finn told me you went back to get Ember, and I didn't want to leave you behind."

"What about your mom?" I asked.

"Finn is taking her out with the rest of the parents," he explained. "Where's Ember?"

I shook my head. "She's not coming." He didn't press any further, and it was for the best. "Do you have any idea where Konstantin and Baltsar went?"

"All I know is that Konstantin was trying to show Baltsar weak points in the town."

We hopped the fence out of the yard and started the trek back to the cemetery. We cut through alleys and backyards, taking much the same route I had on the way to Ember's house. But it was starting to get brighter out, and we no longer had darkness to help cloak us.

It had begun to snow, heavy wet flakes, and while it was only a flurry now, it felt like it could take a harder turn.

Two blocks from the cemetery, we paused, waiting in an alley. An Omte soldier was patrolling the street, and Ridley stood with his back pressed against the nearest house, craning his neck around to watch the soldier. I crouched down beside him, trying to get a better look.

Both of us were so focused on the Omte soldier in front of us that we didn't notice anyone creeping up behind us, until I heard Helge Otack's gravelly voice say, "Well, isn't this a nice surprise?"

SIXTY-THREE.

overtaken Helge Otack was the Viceroy to the Omte Queen, and while that sounded like a cushy job, Helge looked more like an old biker than a politician. His leathery skin showed signs of a hundred bar fights, and his scraggly hair hung past his shoulders.

Even under the thick brown winter coat he wore, it was still obvious that Helge himself was a large man. He easily towered over us, making him appear strong by human standards, and he had the Omte strength to boot.

When he grinned down at us, I realized that two of his front teeth had been replaced with gold caps, but that was really all I had time to notice, because then Helge was moving.

Before either of us could act, Helge grabbed Ridley. Ridley tried to fight him off, hitting and kicking him any way he could, but it was futile. Helge wrapped one arm across Ridley's throat, and grabbed his hair with the other hand. Ridley clung on to his arm as Helge lifted him from the ground.

I pulled the dagger from the back of my pants and held it out toward him, not that I knew what to do to stop him.

Helge clicked his tongue at me. "Think carefully before you move with that knife, little girl. How long do you think it will take you to reach me? One second? Two? Because I can have your friend's neck snapped in half that."

"Just let him go," I said, watching Ridley struggle against Helge. "You don't want him. You want me. I'm the one that made the Queen's most-wanted list."

"Maybe so. But who says I can't have you both?" Helge grinned, and I heard a growl behind me.

I glanced over my shoulder to see a giant Omte soldier standing a few feet back at the opening of the alley. I turned again to Helge and kept my eyes on Ridley as my mind raced, trying to decide what to do. I could hear heavy footfalls as the Omte stepped closer behind me, and I waited, gauging his movements until I thought he was right behind me.

Then, in one fell swoop, I crouched and whirled around. I raised the dagger up quickly, jabbing underneath the jaw and straight up through the head of the Omte. His blood ran warm over my hand, and when I yanked the blade out, it made a sickening wet sound.

The body collapsed to the ground, and that should've been a relief, except there was another Omte guard standing right behind him. He saw what I'd just done to his friend, and he did not look happy about it.

He growled and lowered his head like he meant to charge at me, but just before he did, I saw movement to his left. An arm cloaked in a black jacket was wielding a long sword, and with the guard's eyes still locked on me, the sword sliced through his neck, decapitating him.

Baltsar stepped into the alleyway, holding his bloodied sword, and Konstantin pushed past him. He grabbed my arm, yanking me away. I looked back over my shoulder, at a grinning Helge holding Ridley hostage.

"Helge has Ridley," I said, trying to pull away from Konstantin.

"Helge also has guards coming. We can't fight them all, and we need to go before they get here," Konstantin said, still dragging me. I tried to dig my feet in, but the ice kept making them slip.

"They'll kill him," I insisted, barely able to keep myself from shouting, but I couldn't draw further attention to us.

Konstantin stopped long enough to turn on me. "No, they won't. Not yet. Mina will use him as bait. Let her."

I wanted to protest further, because it killed me to leave Ridley. And even though I knew Konstantin had a point, it felt like too great a risk.

Still hanging on to my arm, he broke the door in to a public outhouse. He went inside and kicked out the wooden base for the toilet. We couldn't risk being seen, which meant that we couldn't go back to the cemetery, so this would have to do.

Baltsar jumped in first, but I waited a moment longer. Konstantin put his hands on my face, forcing me to look up at him.

"You can't save him if you're dead," he said roughly. "But I won't make you come with me. This is your choice."

He jumped down through the hole, and I looked back, as if I could somehow still see Ridley. I realized painfully that if Helge was going to kill Ridley, he would already be dead. Helge would've snapped his neck the second we walked away so he could go round up more of his guards.

It was either already too late, or I needed to get out of here if I wanted to come back with a rescue team. I closed the outhouse door, making it a bit more difficult for the guards to figure out where we'd gone, and I jumped down after Konstantin and ran after him through the sewers.

SIXTY-FOUR.

tempest By the time we made it back to our camp, the snow was coming fast and heavy, creating whiteout conditions. The wind had picked up, officially turning it into a late-spring blizzard. They were rare for Doldastam, but not unheard-of, and it started to feel like even the weather was against us.

My mom was waiting at the bottom of the hill for us to return. Finn and the families had arrived at camp before Konstantin, Baltsar, and I, even though we'd run most of the way back. I didn't know if Konstantin's leg was still bothering him, but he pushed himself on it just as fast as Baltsar and I.

Mom hugged me as soon as she saw me. But I just stood stiffly and didn't embrace her in return. Through the thick snowflakes, I saw Konstantin and Baltsar heading toward the King's tent, so I untangled myself from my mom and ran after them.

"If it keeps up like this, the men won't be able to see any of us commanding them," Ludlow was telling Mikko when I pushed my way into his tent. Snow came up behind me, forming a drift in his doorway.

Mikko stood on the opposite side of the table while his advisers, Finn and Ludlow, stood across from him. Baltsar moved up to take his place beside Ludlow, while Konstantin lingered by the entrance.

"As much as it pains me to say so, I agree," Finn said. "We should wait until the storm dies to make our move. We can't properly give orders or create a formation if we can't see anything."

"We can't wait. We need to go in and get Ridley." I stepped forward, but Konstantin put his arm out, blocking me and holding me back.

Mikko cast his severe gaze on me. "What's become of Ridley Dresden?"

"Give me a minute with Bryn," Konstantin said. "Baltsar, fill the King in."

Baltsar cleared his throat. "The Omte surprised Ridley and Bryn as they were retreating..."

I didn't hear anything he said beyond that because Konstantin had started pus.h.i.+ng me out of the tent. When I tried to resist, he put his arm around my waist and carried me away.

"Put me down! What are you doing?" I demanded, but I didn't really fight him. After everything that had happened that morning, I didn't have the strength to defy him on things that weren't life-or-death.

He set me down once we'd gotten far enough from the King's tent and the campsite that we could have some privacy. Bright white snow swirled around us, getting caught in his raven curls and eyelashes.

"I'm saving your a.s.s," Konstantin said finally.

"How was that saving me?" I shot back.

"You were about to go in there and demand the King send a rescue mission after Ridley, even though you know that's suicide. Look around!" He gestured to the growing snowstorm. "We can't conduct our men in this, not if we want to win the war. And a rescue mission would only get us caught.

"Right now Mina only knows about me, you, Ridley, and Baltsar," he explained. "She already knew you, me, and Ridley were working together, and she'll likely a.s.sume that Baltsar is just someone else we picked up along the way. Even capturing Ridley, she hasn't found out anything new.

"But this army" He pointed back to the campsite. "That's news to her. And if we go in with the kind of team we'd need to rescue Ridley, she'll figure out that we have a lot more muscle behind us."

He stepped closer to me, his gray eyes locked on mine. "Right now she has no clue what we're really up to, and we can't let her find out until it's too late."

I wanted to argue with him. I wanted to grab bigger weapons and gather all the men I could and storm the palace, tearing it apart until I found Ridley. But no matter how much the truth hurt, I knew Konstantin was right.

"I know it's hard setting your feelings aside to do the right thing." He smiled bitterly. "Believe me, I know better than anyone. But you can't let your feelings for Ridleyor for anyonecloud your judgment right now." He paused, still looking down at me. "We need you, Bryn."

I breathed in deeply, relis.h.i.+ng the way the cold air stung my throat and lungs, as snowflakes melted on my cheeks.

"I can't leave him there for very long," I said thickly.

"She won't kill him," Konstantin a.s.sured me, and with a gloved hand he gingerly wiped away the melting snowflakes from my face. "Not yet. She'll want to find out everything she can from him, and then she wants us to fall into a trap trying to rescue him. Ridley is strong and smart, and he's still alive. I promise you that."

I lowered my eyes. "He came back for me. It's all my fault."

"It is not your fault," Konstantin growled in anger, startling me into looking up at him. "Ridley chose to go back, and he wasn't paying attention in that alley either. You can't always take the blame for everything, Bryn. Sometimes bad things happen for no reason and sometimes they happen because other people f.u.c.ked up. It's not always on you."

He sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you."

"No, it's okay. I think I needed to hear it." I brushed my hair back from my face. "So what do we do now?"

"You should go get your parents settled in. The snow will have us hunkered down for a while." He squinted into the oncoming storm. "Things are only going to get worse before they get better."

I wasn't sure if he was talking about the storm or the war, but it was true either way.

SIXTY-FIVE.

disturbance The tent was sagging low on me again, and I knew I would have to go out and sc.r.a.pe off the snow soon before it collapsed on me entirely. The batteries were going out in the little electric lamp, making it flicker dimly, but I tried to ignore that.

I lay on my back with one arm underneath my head, buried under my sleeping bag, with Ember's letters spread out around me. The snow hadn't let up yet, so the rest of the camp had gone to bed.

Everyone else around me was probably sleeping, but every time I tried to close my eyes, all I could think about was how last night Ridley and I slept curled up against each other, and tonight he was being held in Mina's torture chamber. The very last place on earth he wanted to be.

So I lay awake, reading through Ember's letters over and over again. It was my fifth time through reading her final letter, and it still made my stomach twist in knots. To read about how Doldastam had slowly collapsed, becoming a twisted dictators.h.i.+p under the harsh rule of a paranoid madwoman.

It also made me realize how much I'd missed out on in Ember's life, and Tilda's, my parents', and Ridley's. So much had befallen them, and I hadn't been able to help them with any of it.

I also missed Ember terribly. She had been shouldering such a huge burden these past few weeks, with Tilda reeling from Kasper's death, and Ridley dealing with the trauma of Mina's torture. Not to mention that Ember had taken time out to check on my parents when n.o.body else would. And all the other trackers and royals she was trying to train so they could protect themselves.

I wished I'd been able to talk to her more, and I couldn't wait for the day when this was all over so I could thank her for everything she'd done and tell her how proud of her I was.

Putting her letter down, I let myself indulge in a fantasy for a moment. One where there would be peace again, and Tilda, Ember, and I could go out together for a few gla.s.ses of wine the way we had before. And when I'd finished, I could go home and curl up with Ridley. Even though it hurt to think of Ridley, I couldn't help myself. I closed my eyes, remembering the feel of his skin against mine and the safety of his arms.

But it hurt too much, so I moved the thoughts along, trying to think of all the other things I would do when this was over. Like taking Bloom for a very long ride. And having dinner with my parents and asking my mom to make her gooseberry pie for me. And Konstantin would The thought of Konstantin jarred me out of the daydream. We had grown close, and he'd definitely become someone I could rely on. When this was all over, I did want him to be a part of my life still, but I realized painfully that I had no idea where he would fit in it.

A scuffle outside brought me from my thoughts, and I grabbed the dagger from where it sat beside me. I opened the flap, pus.h.i.+ng back the foot of snow that had built up around the tent since the last time I'd cleared it away.

Next to the King's tent a campfire burned, and it cast enough light that I could see two guards dragging someone toward the large tent.

"Let me go," a woman insisted. "You've got it all wrong."

The guards didn't listen, so she broke free. With a few well-placed punches, she had knocked them both to the ground, and the ease of her fighting immediately made me think Omte.

I jumped out of the tent, wielding my dagger, ready to stop any Omte who dared come into our camp. She stood over the guards with her back to me, snow clinging to her dark hair and fur-lined jacket. When she turned around, I got a good look at her for the first time, and I recognized her.

In her late twenties and beautiful, especially for an Omte, she had the face of a warrior, with determined dark eyes and smooth olive skin.

"Bekk Vallin," I said, but I didn't lower my dagger.