Note from the author:
Book two ends on a major cliffhanger, and book three is not yet complete. Read at your own risk!
Also, book two is actively undergoing some revisions for a second edition.
Chapter 1
The little valley at the border between Iridalys and Tephraya was virtually untouched by humanity, despite the fact that there was a little village not far away. Perhaps this was due to the fact that the valley was hidden behind a wall of stone and trees. Few even knew that it existed.
There was plenty of animal life, however. Birds proliferated in the valley, and their songs could be heard from the early morning until late at night. There was one place in the valley, however, where a metallic clanging sound kept them away throughout the day. This was the place where a former princess and her bodyguard had taken up residence after fleeing from their pursuers.
Kathryn had been the princess of Iridalys before her unfortunate marriage to the prince of the neighboring Navinor ended in disaster. Accused of murdering her own husband, she had no choice but to escape and find refuge in the little valley. Still, Kathryn didn’t seem to mind her new station in life or her new friends. She was quite cozy with Chance, despite the fact he’d been sent to spy on her, and was equally friendly with the young healer who had taken them into his home. She even looked like a different person. While her piercing green eyes were still impossible to disguise, she’d dyed her hair a dark brown instead of the much more noticeable copper color she’d been born with, and instead of fancy dresses and jewelry, she wore a simple brown dress that she almost felt suited her better.
For his part, her bodyguard Ren wasn’t quite as comfortable. He disliked keeping secrets, and the fact that their stay in the little wooden cottage that always smelled of herbs was coming to its close was still unknown to Chance or to Ren’s old mentor Brenin. Ren would be escorting Kathryn to the dangerous desert kingdom of Tephraya to fight the strongest warriors in the world in a deadly arena, and the last thing he wanted to do was communicate that to Brenin, who was already frustrated with the lack of caution that had led Ren to wind up wounded in the young healer’s hands in the first place.
Despite his concerns, the days passed naturally. Every morning, the inhabitants of the hidden valley woke up to a teapot whistling, the smell of eggs frying, and a gentle breeze. There were no enemies to contend with, no wild animals to worry about, and even bad weather seemed to respect that the little valley was someplace to be avoided at all costs.
Kathryn took the opportunity to both teach the healer, Calix, about verdant magic and also learn from him about herbs, poisons, and antidotes. She casually asked for books about Tephrayan poisonous plants and creatures as well, and he gave them to her without question, seeming almost excited that someone else shared his morbid interest.
Ren spent his time on less peaceful pursuits, attacking the training dummies he’d created with his blond braid flying and his blue eyes intent on his target until the straw flew all around the little clearing and he had to make new ones. The sound of clashing weapons obviously upset Calix, who would clap his hands over his ears and disappear into the cottage the moment they started. But surprisingly, he didn’t scold or try to stop the young fighter.
Brenin could tell something was off. Whenever he wasn’t out hunting for small game and scouting for threats, he would watch Ren work himself to the bone with a determined face. Then Brenin would ask Ren why he was training so hard, Ren would give him some vague answer about wanting to keep in shape, and Brenin would give up for the moment.
Chance was the least industrious of the group. Rather than reading, training, or hunting, he lounged in a wooden rocker in the garden and called out encouragement to Ren during his practice. When he wasn’t encouraging Ren, he took naps. Occasionally, he cooked a meal for them all or visited the village on his horse, and most nights he offered to tell them stories, which all but Ren refused to listen to for more than a few minutes. These stories were all dramatic and heroic and obviously false narratives about his antics during the wars. It was clear from Chance’s thin, almost delicate frame and lazy green eyes that he was no warrior. Still, the stories were fun.
In this way, three weeks had passed before they knew it, and it was the day of a festival in town. Ren and Kathryn didn’t intend to go, and Calix always avoided people at all costs. But Chance seemed particularly restless that day.
Chance waited until Ren was completely focused on training to sneak up behind him and say loudly, “You should take her ladyship to the festival.”
“Blazes, Chance; what’s wrong with you?” Ren snapped, panting and wiping the sweat from his face with an angry gesture. “I’ve told you not to sneak up like that!”
Chance waved his hand dismissively. “If you’re going to run off to Tephraya, you should expect people to sneak up on you. Those desert mercenaries are brutal.”
Ren started violently, his face paling. “How did you-”
“Come now, I saw the bulletins in town, and it only makes sense that you’d be an ideal candidate to fight in the Contest. Plus, you’ve been acting like you’re getting ready to fight another war,” Chance said lightly.
Ren lowered his sword, his head drooping. “Yes,” he said. “Kathryn says it’s the best option for us.”
“And of course you’ll go right along with whatever she asks. Really, Ren, you must be the most loyal fellow I’ve ever met! Or perhaps you don’t know how to stand up for yourself.” Chance shook his head sympathetically. “If you don’t want to fight, why don’t you say so?”
“It’s not that I don’t want to fight. I love fighting.” Ren sheathed his sword. “It’s part of me, ever since I was a child. I’m just not sure this is the right choice. Tephraya is a terrible place from everything I’ve heard.”
“Believe me, whatever you’ve heard, it’s worse,” Chance said softly. “How much do you know about it?”
“I know they have slaves. I know their leader is a tyrant that they call the Desert’s Wild Fury because of his fighting power in crushing rebellions in the past,” Ren replied.
“Well, that’s true, but he’s the least of your worries. The government in Tephraya isn’t like here, where we have the king and the Generals. The king there holds absolute power over the lords and the people in the cities. But outside the cities, there’s no law. Every tribe has its own traditions and ways of living, and some are violent. As for the slaves, you may have heard there’s also a slave rebellion going on at the moment. So you’re right; it’s not exactly a safe place to be. My personal suggestion would be that you stay where you’re less likely to die in an arena or out in a desert to wild animals or tribal mercenaries.”
“I go where Kathryn goes,” Ren said flatly.
Chance shrugged. “You’re free to do as you like, of course, but why do you feel it’s still your job to look out for her?”
“Because I love her.”
Chance was genuinely so surprised by the frank words that he wasn’t sure he’d heard right, until he saw how red Ren’s ears had turned as the younger man turned his face away.
Then Chance rubbed his hands together with a very pleased expression, saying, “This is the sort of drama that plays are made of! Why don’t you ask her to marry you and stay with you somewhere the sun isn’t always trying to kill you, along with everything else?”
“Because she’d say no. She’s said no before.” Ren caught himself and frowned at Chance. “Come to think of it, I don’t even know why I’m talking to you about this.”
“Because I’m charming and friendly,” Chance said easily. “Back to the original topic, you have to realize Xian may attend. Or didn’t you think of that?”
Ren shoved Chance away and said coolly, “That’s perfect. I wanted a rematch with him. This time, I’ll take him down for sure.”
Neither of them noticed that Kathryn had finished talking to Calix and was coming closer to listen to their conversation.
“Ah yes; it’s completely reasonable to do the exact same thing you’ve done three times before and expect a different result,” Chance pointed out.
Ren shrugged. “I’m getting stronger,” he said flatly. “And I’ve had some time to analyze his fighting style, as has Kathryn.”
Chance frowned. “What do you mean?” he began.
Kathryn decided it was high time she spoke up. “My father trained me,” she interjected. As Chance looked at her curiously, she explained, “It was one of my duties while Illian was away at the war. I was to learn to analyze battles, both large-scale and individual, and fighting styles, and to find weaknesses.”
“And you’ve done that with Xian?” Chance asked curiously.
Kathryn nodded, holding up the piece of paper she was writing on. “Yes. I’ve been working on it for a while now.”
Chance clapped cheerfully. “Who knew you were so clever!” he exclaimed. “So then, it seems you have it all figured out. Perhaps Ren will even get out without too many serious wounds this time.”
Ren rolled his eyes. “The wounds weren’t even serious,” he argued.
“Serious enough,” Kathryn said quietly. “But if we play our cards right, Ren should be able to keep him off balance throughout the entire fight without too much difficulty. This time, it will be his loss.”
Studying her sharp green eyes, Chance couldn’t help but believe her. He said more respectfully, “I see. All the same, are you really not going to the festival?”
“I don’t think so. We’re rather busy. Calix told me he’s going, though. I was surprised until he said there would be more people selling herbs there,” Kathryn said offhandedly.
“I see. Well, as long as you’re going to spend the night scribbling about tactics, there’s something you should know about Xian,” Chance replied. “And also about one other thing. Could I speak to you privately? Just for a moment, Ren.”
Ren frowned. “Why?” he said shortly.
“It’s all right,” Kathryn interrupted. “Go back to practicing.” She walked away with Chance and Ren watched, wishing he could overhear them.
Kathryn turned to Chance. “What’s so important you couldn’t say it in front of Ren?” she challenged. For some reason, he looked a little worried.
“Ah…well, I thought I should tell you that I let him know you’re planning on entering the Conquest of Champions,” Chance confessed. “Don’t be very mad at me, please. I like you and Ren just fine, only it’s rather dangerous to be disloyal to the king, you know.”
Kathryn actually laughed out loud, and Ren frowned suspiciously as he watched. Catching her breath, Kathryn chuckled, “And did you think I’d order Ren to kill you or something? I already knew that you’d tell Illian.”
“Oh. Well, I thought you might have guessed,” Chance tried to recover his dignity by appearing nonchalant. “But don’t you think you might be in danger because of me? Illian won’t be particularly happy.”
“I don’t need him to be happy,” Kathryn replied easily. “There’s not a great deal he can do to me, at least, unless he starts a war with Tephraya. And I really don’t think he’s in any hurry to do that after everything we suffered in the last wars.”
“Maybe,” Chance muttered. “But Xian will probably be waiting, since Illian will tell Gregory.”
Kathryn flinched, and her face went ashen at the thought. But she kept her voice even as she replied, “Ren can beat him.”
“Well, I sure hope so. Maybe this little tidbit I heard about Xian will help.” As Ren glowered from afar, Chance leaned closer and whispered something in her ear that made her eyes widen.
“The rumor is that Xian used to be a Viper.”
Kathryn started violently. She pushed Chance away and demanded “Is that true? Or is it another one of your stories? From what Ren said, Xian is the farthest thing from one of those dirty assassins.”
Chance shrugged. “It could be either. It’s only gossip, but if it’s true, it might help you understand his background and weaknesses a bit better.”
Kathryn’s brain reeled. It couldn’t be true, of course. Everything in her strategy depended on Xian being an honorable man who would be easily annoyed by dishonorable behavior on the part of his opponent. But if he was really a Viper…
She pushed the thought out of her mind and decided Chance was lying to her. It was part of his job, after all. Soon after, Chance left to take Calix into town for the festival, and she was relieved for the break from his constant chatter. She watched Ren practice for a few minutes and then went inside to read up on some more poisons.
Later as Brenin, Ren, and Kathryn were eating around the fire, they heard hurried footsteps rushing through the underbrush. Ren instinctively reached for his sword, and Kathryn her dagger, but in the next moment, Calix burst through the trees, looking terrified, his face streaked with tears. Chance was only a few steps behind him. “Calix!” he called worriedly.
The boy darted past the fire into the little cottage, slamming the door behind him. Chance stopped and spread his hands helplessly to the confused group around the fire.
“Some man in the village decided to accuse him of murder,” he said.
Kathryn stood up. “I’ll talk to him,” she began.
“Better not. He’ll be in a rough state for a while. It’s just the way he is,” Chance replied.
Ren glanced at the cottage with a worried face. “He’s just a child. Why would that man accuse him of murder?”
“It’s not just that man,” Brenin said flatly, a grim look on his grizzled face. “I’d heard about this before in a different village. They claimed Calix killed a child there.”
“I don’t believe it,” Kathryn said quickly.
Brenin shrugged slightly. “It’s not uncommon for healers to face these kinds of accusations. Sometimes, it only takes one time of a treatment failing for everyone to turn against-”
The sound of something thudding to the floor within the cottage interrupted his words. Kathryn rushed to the door and threw it open. Nothing seemed out of place, but she could hear Calix’s painful, raspy breathing. She ran to the blanket he’d put up to shield his sleeping area from prying eyes and threw it aside.
Calix seemed to be having some sort of seizure. His eyes had rolled back into his head and his body was stiff and would jerk violently every few seconds.
Ren demanded, “What’s wrong with him?”
“I…I don’t know!”
Kathryn felt panic rising within her. She forced it down and knelt beside Calix, raising his head slightly so it wouldn’t hit the hard floorboards. “Just breathe, Cal. Breathe.” Her own voice seemed to come from far away. In the short time she’d been here, Cal had begun to feel like a little brother. She was terrified he was dying.
But after a moment, the seizure calmed, and Calix lay gasping for breath, his dark eyes confused and frightened. Kathryn held him, repeating, “You’re all right now, Cal. Everything is all right.”
The others stood helplessly watching until Kathryn looked up at them, understanding dawning in her thin face. “I think I know what happened in there,” she said softly.
Ren raised an eyebrow. “You know why he has seizures?”
“I think I do. Can you step outside for a moment? I want to talk to him alone.”
The men stayed outside while Kathryn sat next to Calix to talk with him. The boy was so frail and white he looked like he was dying, and she had to catch herself from freezing up in fear once again. She shook her head to clear it and said gently, “Are you feeling better?”
He turned his head away from her. “No,” he said.
“Cal, why do you do this to yourself?”
He started and stared at her. “Wh-what do you m-mean?” he stammered.
“The poisons. You weren’t testing them on rats.” She laid a hand on his arm. “You were testing them on yourself, because you can’t bear to see anything else suffer. Isn’t that right?”
He cringed away, clutching his blanket closer. “I-I-”
“Cal. Why on earth would you do that to yourself? How many times have you had seizures or made yourself ill from it?” Kathryn’s voice shook a little. She couldn’t imagine anyone so lost and broken that they would willingly poison themselves over and over again. Cal couldn’t meet her eyes. “Cal, what that man said…he was wrong about you. We all know that.”
“It’s t-true though,” he whispered. “I’m r-responsible. I’m a-a m-murderer.”
Kathryn didn’t know quite what to say. After the silence had stretched on for several minutes, she laid a hand on his arm again. “Do you want to talk about it?” she asked softly. “If you don’t, that’s all right.”
He was quiet for another long moment. At last he said, “In m-my old village, I was a h-healer after my p-parents died. They t-took good care of everyone, and I th-thought I could do it too.”
But Calix had only been a child. As he stammered out the words, the picture became clear to Kathryn. He was only 12 when an epidemic swept through the village, and he saved many lives. But the epidemic killed his parents.
The things his parents had taught him stood him in good stead throughout the next year, and he became the healer of the village and was well loved by everyone. But one day, a child who had apparently accidentally eaten some kind of poisonous plant was brought to him. The child was a little boy of about five years old.
“Peter,” Calix whispered. He seemed ashamed to even let the name cross his lips. His fists clenched and he struck himself in the head in anguish as he said it, almost without realizing it. Kathryn gently restrained his hands.
“What happened to him?” she pressed in a low voice.
“I-I k-killed him. It wasn’t o-on purpose. I th-thought I knew the s-symptoms. B-but it turned out I made a m-mistake.” Calix looked up at her with distressed, hollow eyes. “The w-wrong antidote reacted with th-the poison. H-he died.” His voice rose, “I h-had to test the poisons on m-myself! I had t-to know wh-what happened. If only I h-had studied a b-bit more! If only I had-”
The girl squeezed his hands tightly, her heart throbbing. “Shh. Cal. You poor thing, have you really spent all this time thinking it was your fault?” The unexpected empathy and grief she felt for him welled up and made her words heartfelt and earnest. “You were only 13, taking on the job of an adult, saving people’s lives. Everyone makes mistakes, only theirs usually have only small consequences, so they think they can judge. But who is that man to judge you? Do you think he’s ever saved anyone in his life? Has he ever pushed through such a terrible experience and gone on to save even more lives?”
Calix didn’t reply, but tears welled up in his eyes and began to streak his face. Kathryn held his hands in silence for a minute. Then she said, “Calix, can I tell you a secret?”
He looked at her inquiringly, and she continued, “I had a young friend once. Well, actually he was a servant at the palace. He would have been about your age. He had green eyes, just like you, and his name was Gabriel. Ren and I grew quite fond of him. He was a gentle soul, and he liked plants and animals very much.”
Calix’s panicked breathing began to slow as he listened to the story. He was no longer crying. Kathryn smiled sadly at his sharp little face. “After a few years, when I was 16 and he was 13. I was with him when he climbed one of the trees near the castle. It was a tall tree, but he was pretty brave about those kinds of things. I was scared, but he told me it would be fine and I believed him. He fell, and I suppose he hit his head. That was all it took.”
Calix sat up and looked directly at her, studying her face as tears streamed from her eyes in spite of her attempts to hold them back. She forced herself to finish. “It was all my fault. I should have stopped him. I was older, and I was supposed to be the clever one. I was supposed to protect him.”
Her hand clenched into a fist, but loosened as she remembered that Calix was still watching her with those sharp, thoughtful eyes. She went on, “Sometimes, we do the best we can and we make mistakes. For people like you and me, the greater things we’re meant to do, like healing or leading a kingdom, the worse consequences those mistakes may have. But we have to do our best anyway and believe that we can do good and make a difference; that we can save lives too. And maybe one day, we can be happy again. Calix…I think you deserve to be happy.”
She smiled at him, this time a real, gentle smile that seemed to light up the darkness around them. “It’s all right to be sad about everything that has happened and the mistakes you’ve made. But it’s also all right to be happy and live your own life.”
The tears spilled over again at the sound of her kind words, and Calix clung to her, weeping bitterly. She held him and patted his shoulder. “You don’t have to carry this burden anymore, Cal. It was never yours to hold.”
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