Quintana of Charyn Read online

  When Phaedra reached the small clearing, she searched the area for anything that resembled a hiding place. When she saw what looked to be a shelter made of bracken and bramble, she bent to peer in and saw the Princess instantly.

  ‘You can’t stay in there,’ Phaedra called out. ‘Do you want a repeat of what happened with the Queen of Lumatere?’

  ‘Well, I’m not returning to the coven,’ Quintana responded briskly.

  Phaedra got to her knees and crawled into the space, half-impressed with the underground nest Quintana had built for herself. It was a space big enough for two or three, but the Princess refused to make room. Phaedra shoved the girl aside and wrapped her blanket around herself, shivering, but soon Quintana clutched at the end of blanket and they were forced to huddle together. And there they sat for a while in hostile silence.

  ‘You need to give me most of that blanket,’ Quintana ordered after some time. ‘I’m with child and I’m covering up for two. I don’t like the cold. Did I not mention that?’

  Phaedra bristled. ‘More than once.’

  The Princess watched her closely.

  ‘Are they still bickering? What are they saying back there?’

  ‘That we have a lot in common, you and I. Both useless.’

  The Princess curled her lip in disgust. ‘What does one have to do in this kingdom to be considered useful?’

  Phaedra had to agree and was glad to hear that the Princess recognised Phaedra’s efforts.

  ‘I don’t see any of them staking rodents and catching hares,’ Her Royal Awfulness continued. ‘I think I’m the least useless Charynite in these parts, if you ask me.’

  ‘And me? I saved your life!’ Phaedra said. ‘A thank you would be appreciated.’

  A show of savage teeth this time. ‘Oh, you’re one of those,’ the Princess said.

  ‘One of what?’

  ‘One of those who need to be told their worth over and over again by others. Do you know who tells me my worth, Phaedra of Alonso?’

  The Princess pointed a hard finger to her own chest.

  ‘Me. I determine my own worth. If I had to rely on others I’d have lain down and died waiting. See this,’ she said, pointing to her belly. ‘This is Charyn. It can ill afford a cursebreaker who’s waiting for everyone’s approval.’

  She studied Phaedra suspiciously. Phaedra could sense she was not going to like the next words that came from Quintana’s mouth.

  ‘You’re more useless than I am. That piece-of-nothing girl Ginny told me your Mont husband sent you back and that ugly hag Cora mentioned it, too.’

  Phaedra bristled. Not only did the Princess have the habit of repeating everyone’s favourite description of each other, but Phaedra’s marriage to Lucian was now being discussed with vigour among the women. How many of them had ridiculed her behind her back?

  ‘Did your Mont husband not enjoying swiving you? Is that what it was?’

  Phaedra was mortified to hear such filth come out of the girl’s mouth. She yanked Cora’s blanket away.

  ‘If my father were here, he would wash your mouth out to hear such a word,’ she said.

  ‘Well, he’s not here, Phaedra of Alonso. He’s too busy trying to starve the people of the valley. Do you know what Gargarin of Abroi says?’

  ‘I don’t care!’

  ‘That it is what a man does for strangers that counts more than what he does for his family.’

  ‘Oh, really,’ Phaedra asked. ‘And what have you and your father done for strangers?’

  The girl’s hand suddenly gripped Phaedra’s mouth.

  ‘You’ll not enjoy my response to that question,’ the Princess said. ‘You don’t seem the type to stomach such filth.’

  She shoved Phaedra away. ‘Leave me in peace. I’ll take care of the little King on my own.’

  There had been silence between the three of them for most of the next day. Gargarin had suggested that they first return to the inn for their horse and then head north to the Lascow Mountains. If there were any chance of raising an army, it would be with the people grieving the heir Tariq and his family.

  ‘What are your thoughts?’ Gargarin asked Froi.

  ‘Whatever you think is right,’ Froi replied.

  When they reached the inn, however, Gargarin and Lirah’s horse was gone. Stolen. The stable boy knew little, except that out of all the horses taking shelter, theirs was the only one gone. Froi was suspicious.

  So Lirah rode with Gargarin on Froi’s horse and Froi kept up with them on foot. Once or twice he felt Lirah’s stare, but he couldn’t meet it. He thought of what he had told them in Paladozza that last day when he escaped with Quintana. About who he had once been on the filthy streets of the Sarnak capital. There were too many ugly memories. Too much shame. He didn’t want to see judgement in Lirah’s eyes. Froi didn’t have to worry about seeing anything in Gargarin’s eyes. Gargarin refused to look at him.

  They travelled further into the woodlands that evening. It was a peculiar place where branches hung low, and bare limbs in a blue-grey mist hovered over them like the long, thin spectre of death that sometimes haunted Froi’s dreams. He knew they would soon be back in the stone terrain he had become used to. But, for now, these woodlands were a strangely familiar reminder of winter in the forest of Lumatere. Rather than feeling comforted, Froi was reminded that he no longer belonged in that kingdom.

  When they were deep in the heart of the woodland, Lirah stopped the horse.

  ‘I can go on,’ Froi said, his voice curt. Did they think him weak? Had he shown in any way that his body didn’t have the strength it once had?

  ‘Well, I’m tired,’ Lirah said, dismounting. ‘I need to rest, so we rest.’

  Froi made himself scarce, collecting kindling and ignoring Gargarin, who sat hunched on a log scribbling.

  ‘We need to write a list of where she would have gone,’ Gargarin said, not looking up. ‘We can’t leave any stone unturned. Tell me of those last moments.’

  Those last moments outside the province of Paladozza. When Olivier betrayed them. And Quintana cried. For Froi. And he made a promise to protect her. And failed. And the sound of arrows as they flew past his ears. The way they felt when they tore into his body time and time again. Froi had never been injured before then. He remembered the time in Yutlind Sud when he had seen Finnikin lying face-down in a filthy river with an arrow in his side. Worse still, he remembered Isaboe’s despair. Is that what Quintana thought? That he was dead? Was she afraid?

  ‘I told her to run …’ He shook his head. ‘I lost consciousness …’

  Gargarin muttered something and went on scribbling. Froi despised himself for every moment of his life since he made that decision to take her from the Provincaro’s home in Paladozza. More than you, he wanted to shout out to Gargarin. I despise myself more than you.

  When it was time to sleep, Gargarin and Lirah bunked down in a hollow that seemed large enough to protect them from both the cold and rain. Froi chose to squeeze himself under two fallen logs close by, and he watched the world outside with a misery deepened by the sleet and cold. But soon after, Lirah squeezed in beside him. With a rough hand at his chin she began to dab at the cuts on his face with some sort of sap from a plant she had picked while they had set up camp. Froi tossed his head, pulling away, but she grabbed his face again.

  ‘Push me away and I’ll hurt you more than that Lumateran ginger cat.’

  For an instant he imagined the amusement Finnikin would find in the description until he realised that there was nothing Froi could ever say again that Finnikin would find entertaining. He felt Lirah’s stare on him the whole time as she dabbed and cleaned the wounds, and when Froi could no longer ignore her and pretend Gargarin wasn’t there, his eyes clashed with hers. He was tired and bereft without his friends and because he ached for Quintana, he spoke the words that had choked him since he awoke in Arjuro’s cave.

  ‘I couldn’t protect her and I’ve let down my queen and her king and …
he …’ Froi pointed in Gargarin’s direction, ‘he won’t even look at me.’

  And this time her fingers were gentle and she pushed his cap up from his eyes.

  ‘I’ve seen Gargarin weep twice in his life,’ she said quietly. ‘Once when they arrested his brother for the slaughter in the godshouse, and some weeks ago when we received word in Paladozza that a lad struck by eight arrows lay dead on the northern hills. De Lancey sent his men to retrieve your body, but it was gone and we waited a week to discover the truth. That you were with the Priests of Trist in the caves, saved by Arjuro.’

  Froi let her clean the rest of his grazes.

  ‘And you?’ he asked. ‘What did you do?’

  ‘I’ve wept enough in my life. I have no tears left.’

  Not one for great sentimentality, she finished her task and shuffled out from under the logs. ‘I’m not giving up the comfort of a better shelter,’ she said, her voice cool. ‘And you’d be a fool not to join us.’

  He watched Lirah hold a hand over her head to protect her from the rain as she made her way back to Gargarin.

  It was some time before Froi joined them. Lirah made room and sat between Froi and Gargarin and he saw her lips curve into a smile. After a while, Gargarin reached across her to pass Froi his journal. Froi took it, looking at the map.

  ‘We’ve sent messengers to the Turlan and Lascow Mountains. She won’t go north to Satch of Desantos because of the plague,’ Gargarin said. ‘Any ideas?’

  Froi pointed east on the map. ‘Perhaps to the ocean. On the last night we were together at De Lancey’s in Paladozza, she told me that she had always wanted to see the ocean. She loved the stories of the sea sirens. Perhaps she’ll go searching for the safe places from the tales she loved.’

  ‘Not much to go by,’ Gargarin said. Froi watched him swallow hard. ‘If Quintana was dead … we would know of it soon enough. It’s been some time now. She has the sign of a lastborn on her nape and a babe in her belly. A Charynite would have to be hiding under a rock not to know that a girl fitting that description is the Princess.’

  ‘She’s not dead,’ Froi said.

  ‘How do you know that?’

  Froi felt strange to say the words. ‘It’s as if I hear her tune … not the words, but the beat. I’ve always sensed it. It strums in my blood.’

  They were quiet after that, except for the rustle of Gargarin removing his pelt cloak to wrap around them. Lirah tugged Froi closer and covered them all, and that night, despite the rain and cold and the cramped space of their dugout, Froi placed his head against her shoulder and slept.

  Early the next morning, he left them sleeping in a bid to find anything edible. At least with the rain there’d be slugs and that would have to do for now. He was interrupted by the faint sound of neighing, and although it could easily have been a Charynite travelling upriver, wanting to get as far from the Belegonian river crossing as possible, Froi wasn’t convinced. Finding the closest sturdy tree, he climbed quickly and looked out towards the direction of the sound.

  ‘Sagra!’

  He twisted around once, twice, three times to search in every direction, his knees almost buckling from under him. The woodlands were swarming with riders, travelling towards the centre. A small army was coming from three different directions to trap their prey. Froi didn’t have to guess who they hunted. He scampered down and hit the ground, then ran towards the shelter and watched as they disappeared into the woods. The soldiers must have waited, finding a way to surround the three of them, ensuring they were too deep within the woods to escape.

  ‘We’ve got company,’ he said, reaching the shelter. Lirah and Gargarin crawled out, quickly gathering their possessions.

  Froi had to think fast. If he attacked from up high, he could slow down Bestiano’s men. He only had one longbow with very few bolts, but it would be enough to get Lirah and Gargarin to safety. Although he sensed movement from south of the woods, those men moved stealthily, and he could barely make out their presence. He was better off attacking those who were visible.

  ‘Get back into the shelter,’ he ordered. ‘They know exactly where we are and they’ll be pelting us with arrows in no time. When I give you the signal to take the horse and run, you do it.’

  ‘Which direction serves us better?’ Gargarin asked.

  ‘North. Those men are sluggish. There’s perhaps nine or ten of them. I’ll have enough barbs to slow them down. Whatever you do, don’t head towards the river or cross the border. Sagra only knows what the Osterians and Belegonians have got in mind.’

  Froi turned, searching for the tallest tree, but Gargarin grabbed his arm.

  ‘You know it’s me they want. If I surrender –’

  ‘It won’t be a surrender!’ Froi said. ‘It’ll be a slaying. Don’t even try to fool me into believing you can bargain for your life. That army is after you, Gargarin. For a kill. You’re the only person who stands between Bestiano and the palace.’

  An arrow flew into the clearing and landed close by.

  ‘The shelter,’ Froi shouted, spinning around. He found what he was looking for and began his climb up a tree close to the fallen logs where he had first taken refuge. Although an easy climb, he tried not to look down. He was high above the ground and he knew it would be a backbreaking fall if it was to happen.

  But you won’t fall, because you can climb anything, Froi. Remember the gravina.

  He cursed himself for not exchanging Arjuro’s coins for more weapons. He knew he could not afford to miss, not with only eight arrows in his quiver. He had to hit his marks. He reached the top branch and a quick glance on all sides told him that those from the north and east had picked up speed. He couldn’t see the men coming from the south, but knew they were there. They were the ones to fear. They were perhaps Bestiano’s best-trained men.

  Securing himself in the crook of the tree, Froi waited … waited … needing the riders to be within his range, fighting the urge to fire a bolt, knowing it was an arrow he could not spare. He begged himself patience, and with a steady hand he held the bow taut. Waited. And then when those from the north were near enough for Froi to almost catch a glimpse of their faces, he took his chance and fired … once, twice, three times. Retreated. Waited. He quickly peered out and saw he had hit with precision and he felt bitter satisfaction in seeing the men fall. But behind him, he heard the air whistle with arrows, and prayed that Gargarin and Lirah were protected by their shelter. He retreated again, knowing he needed to clear a path for them both to the north. But when he looked in that direction, the riders were no longer there. Froi felt the hairs on his arm raise. He didn’t want to be playing cat and mouse with them now. Desperate to see where they were concealed, he crawled onto the exposed tree limb, balancing himself until it afforded him a better look. He took aim. One man went down and then another. But just as he aimed for the last, he felt the sharp nip of an arrow at his thigh, causing him to lose balance. Fighting to stay straddled upright, Froi failed, and toppled off the branch, his hand shooting out to grip the branch, leaving his body hanging from just one arm.

  ‘Froi!’ Gargarin’s voice sounded far away.

  ‘Stay in the shelter!’ Froi shouted, beads of perspiration on his skin as he tried with all his might to reach the tree with his other hand. That was all he needed. Two firm handholds. He dared not look down, knowing his fall would not be broken, but his body would be. With his arm so weak, Froi couldn’t hold on for much longer. He heard the whistles of arrows as he hung like a well-marked target on a practice range, his body a beacon.

  ‘Take the horse. Head north!’ he called out, his voice straining.

  He could hear shouting in return but he was too high up to understand their response. Had Lirah and Gargarin already been taken? He felt his hand slipping and knew he didn’t want to die this way. Not from a fall. He closed his eyes and summoned the strength to hold on, but Froi was too weak. His body had not yet recovered and he couldn’t save himself. And he prayed, realising
while he hung from this tree in the kingdom of his birth, that Sagrami wasn’t just a curse to him, she was his guide as well. Not Trist or any of the gods of Charyn, but Lumatere’s mighty Goddess. He prayed to her with all his might. Don’t let me die. Not now, he begged.

  Why? she demanded to know.

  Because I deserve to live.

  A hand suddenly gripped his wrist.

  He wondered if the hold came from the realms of the gods. But he didn’t care. All he knew was what the Goddess was whispering to him, He’ll never let you go. How could you have ever doubted him?

  ‘I’ve got you, Froi.’

  ‘Finn?’

  Lucian issued the order more than once as he travelled down the mountain. It was firm and spoken in a tone that was not open to discussion.

  ‘Go. Home.’

  His cousins Constance and Sandrine followed, all the same. Their brothers and fathers had refused to allow them horses, so the girls had resorted to riding on donkeys. Lucian’s peace and quiet on the mountain was all but over.

  ‘If Tesadora has returned to her work with them, why can’t we?’ Constance shouted back.

  ‘Because it’s not your work,’ he said. ‘It’s not our duty or our work to take care of them. It’s Charyn’s.’

  ‘But the valley dwellers are running from Charyn,’ Sandrine argued. ‘So why would we expect that the very kingdom they’re running from will feed them?’

  Lucian didn’t have a response for that. He had a response for very little these days, despite the questions that plagued him. And the guilt. He had held a knife to his wife’s throat. His wife who had betrayed him.

  What he did know for certain was that there was talk of starvation in the valley and it was his duty, not as a Lumateran but as a man, to see how the valley dwellers were faring. He watched them for a while across the stream. They looked frail, older than the last time he had seen them. Harker was working with Kasabian on the vegetable patch that was yielding very little. Harker’s movements were furious as he hacked at the earth. After all they had done to get to this valley, he had lost a wife and daughter to plague. But had he? If Phaedra was alive, it could mean the others lived, as well. Cora, too. And the other girl whose name he could not remember. He crossed the stream and within moments Constance and Sandrine were hurrying ahead towards Tesadora, who was on the rock face of one of the higher caves. He was about to follow, but stopped at the sight of Rafuel sitting outside one of the lower caves with Donashe and his men.