Winter King by Sloane Murphy
2
Cade
As I travel through the towns surrounding the palace into the city that borders with where some of the Hunters have seized, the sights devastate me more than I could have ever possibly imagined. The death and destruction that lines the streets I am meant to protect, it is humbling and condemning.
I failed in protecting my Court.
The Hunters surprised us all. An attack like this would have taken a lot of strategic planning and intimate knowledge of how both Courts work, so how no whispers of rebellion made it to the palace… especially with as talkative as the lower Fae can be.
Erion and I will have to look closely at those around us to discover who could possibly have been working with the answers, because there is no doubt in my mind that they would have had help. Not only to release those who were in the cages, but to infiltrate the palace guard with such accuracy.
I dismount from Shadowwind as I enter the outskirts of the city. A young man, though I say that sparingly, he can’t be older than seventeen, wonders the streets, his clothing torn, his face dirty, and no adult to be seen.
“Young man, where is your family?” I ask, and he turns, startled as if he had not noticed us here.
“Your Majesty, I apologize. I did not see you. My family are dead, my home is gone. The Hunters burned it all. I was not home when the attack happened, I was still making my way back from the front lines. Now I have nowhere to go and no one to turn to.” He says it with such detachment that my heart breaks for him. The toll of the war followed by this attack has devastated and traumatized my people more than I could ever have imagined. My rage burns within me at the thought that this could have been prevented if only my father and the Summer King could have put their pettiness aside long ago.
“Where will you go now?” I ask him, but his eyes just look vacant.
“I have not thought that far ahead. I am just trying to see which of my friends survived. I will think of myself later, once I know that they are safe. There is nowhere for those of us who have lost everything, so for now I will just do what I have done best the last few years of my life, and that is fight through regardless.” His quiet selflessness and strength spark within me. There must be more that we can do that we have not thought of. I turn to Lex who is behind me.
“We must use the space on the palace grounds to find a place for all people to stay but have nowhere else to go. Call upon the Autumn Court for food, water, and other supplies needed. Create centers in each town and city to help those who require it. The centers will have beds for those who require them as well as creating a place where we can get a list together of all those who have fallen in these attacks.” The young man who was before me has gone into the distance, I can see him helping another man to lift the debris of what was once he's home while he removes the belongings that remain. I never would have thought that so many could be so devastated within such a short amount of time. The houses around the palace were probably those least affected as the Guard were able to reach them first. It makes me wonder where the patrols of guards were for the rest of my people, and I make a note to myself to speak to the captain to find out exactly what happened.
Lex heads back to the palace while the rest of my men dismount and join me as I head towards the young man and the man he is helping to offer our assistance. The day is long, and the work is never-ending but we have helped as many as we could on this day. I have helped rebuild houses, bury the dead, and tear down what was left of peoples’ lives whilst they try to find some semblance of happiness in the things that remain. It occurs to me that the divide between classes of our people has gotten worse than I had ever noticed, and for that I will feel more shame than I believed possible. When the sun has set, we head back to the palace with people that we have collected, who have nowhere else to go. The journey is long and we collect even more people on the journey back, but knowing that I can do something for these people rather than just feeling helpless about everything else sparks something inside me that I hadn't realized I had lost. A hope. That things can be different, and that my dreams and hopes for our people are not out of reach.
We arrived back at the palace and I can see that Lex has been busy. Tents cover the side rounds of the palace, some with symbols of beds, others with the symbols for food and showers. I nod to my men to ensure the people with us get situated as I head back inside to deal with whatever chaos is waiting for me.
The front doors of the palace open as I reach them, and the entire hall is a body of movement. People carrying supplies out to the tents outside, injured people lie and sit on the floor next to what looks like a medical room where I can hear the murmurs of healing filter through. I head to my office for a moment of respite, away from the chaos and the sadness of the people in our kingdom. The fact that so many have been able to cling to the smallest of things to keep their spirits up in spite of everything inspires me, and yet I can't find it within myself to be happy with anything without Emilia here. I know that she would be proud of what we have done today with the start we have made to make the lives of our people better. Though I know there is so much more that needs to be done, and the work has only just begun.
The door to my office opens and Lex enters the room. “Cade, we have made a start with what we have and I have reached out to the Autumn Court for further help. I have also sent people to the Summer Palace to start there what we have started here, though considering that they have no current leadership, things may be slower over there. Erion really needs to head back for further progress to be possible.”
“Once he returns, he will go back to the Summer Court to take his rightful place as king. But we can continue with progress for now while he is searching for Emilia, we must do as best we can to ensure the survival of both Courts. It's paramount that all of our people see that both Royal families are willing to do what is necessary for our people as a whole, rather than just for those of our Court as it has always been. Tomorrow we will go back out and venture past the borders and into the summer territories, we will do what we must, with what we have until Erion is back.”
“As you wish. I will make sure that the Guard have what they need to make sure there is no issue on the palace grounds with the people that have gathered here. Is there anything else you need for tonight?” he asks, looking as tired as I feel.
“No that is all for tonight. Remember to take care of yourself, my friend. We all have only so much energy after everything these last few weeks. I have a feeling that more is yet to come, and we must be prepared.”
“No need to worry about me. My people do not require as much rest as yours, our magik is closely tied to the Earth. It recharges in a way that it is not like the Fae who manipulate the elements rather than becoming one with its true magiks.”
* * *
I pace back and forth in my office as I wait for Erion and Bray to return. Their message came in yesterday morning announcing that they would be back today. It’s been two weeks since they left, two weeks that I’ve had to put on the mask my father taught me to wear so well. To lie to everyone around me and act as if everything is fine while I do what is expected of me. Make decisions about how to deal with the rebellion, deploying our already weathered soldiers to try and protect our people, calling on the other Courts for help, organizing relief for our people who have lost their homes.
This, and a dozen other things that deserve my full attention, but all I can think about is that I don’t know where she is, or why she left.
She wouldn’t just leave, not without saying something at least. We’ve been through a lot, more than anyone our age should have to live through, but I know Emilia. This isn’t her style. She wouldn’t leave without a word.
Not after everything.
I’ve tried to use my power to reach out to her each day since we were meant to marry, and I can feel her there, just out of my fucking reach. It’s enough to drive a man insane, and my Court have had long enough under the reign of a mad king, so I’m distracting myself with the things that I have control of.
I wonder how my father would have dealt with the rebellion of this kind. The Hunters made up nearly half of the numbers in our guard, as well as the guard for the Summer Court. Along with the number of Fae that they gathered to their cause, we have no real idea of their allies, their strongholds. The numbers we do have are staggering, and while we are still working out the full count of the dead to get an estimate of their forces, it pains me to know that we probably don’t even have a fraction of the information we need. Information we need before we can even begin to plan how to take back the land that they have taken, and to ensure the safety of Eressea.
I had no idea that the Hunters felt so betrayed by those who ruled them. The fact that so many Fae fought on their behalf, makes me wonder if that is truly why they fight, or if that is just another distraction.
The door opens and halts my thoughts. I look up and find Cybil hesitating in the doorway. “Your Majesty, I…” she pauses as she enters the room and closes the door.
“What is it, Cybil?” I sigh taking a seat behind my father’s large dark desk. “And please, still just call me Cade, you basically raised me.”
“As you wish, it’s just, I think I might have found something that might be relevant to your… current situation.” She wrings her hands as she speaks, I’ve never seen her so off kilter.
“It’s fine, come on,” I encourage. Anything she might have found is another potential piece of the puzzle.
“Well, I was searching Emilia’s room yesterday, to see if there was any evidence of where she might have gone, and I found her crown hidden under her bed. I gathered it up and I noticed there was something off with it. I touched it to see what it was, and then a small while after, when I was still in her room looking for something else, I fell into a deep sleep.” She looks around the room, as if scared. “It was as if I was drugged. And all I can think is that the crown, the extra piece, it was poisoned. I think your Emilia may have been taken.”
“Where is the crown?” I ask, trying to contain the rage bubbling inside of me, it is not Cybil who deserves it.
If someone has taken her, hurt her… I don’t care who it is, I will wipe their existence from this world without hesitation. I will scour this realm and the next to find her.
“I put it back under her bed, I didn’t want anyone to know I’d found it. Only a few people had access to that crown.” I can see the toll that the knowledge of this has already had on her, the tired lines on her face deeper than usual.
“Thank you for letting me know, I’m sorry you were hurt in the process. Go, rest. Even if the poison put you out, you’ll need to rest while you recover.”
“Of course, anything. If you need me, you know where to find me,” she says with a tired smile and leaves me in silence once more.
The door barely closes when Erion enters the room looking tired and dirty, followed by Lex. “What the hell happened to you two?”
“We have been all over Eressea, at least the parts that aren’t currently held by the Hunters. We couldn’t get past their defenses without people realizing there was something wrong. We haven’t found even a trace of her, so if she’s still here, she must be in their territory.” Erion sighs as he sits in the chair opposite me, with Lex following suit, while Bray remains standing by the door.
“You don’t think she would have gone back to them?” Lex asks, and I glare at him.
“What do you mean, gone back to them?” Erion asks, his eyes bouncing between us.
“I mean, that your sister was in a relationship with one of them before she came here. Rumor has it, that’s why she was sent here. She left when the fighting started but returned,” Lex says, his tone unwavering, like he didn’t just punch my old friend in the gut with his words.
“She would never…”
“She would. You know she never saw the differences the way the rest of us did. She sees the best in everyone, it’s her biggest weakness,” I tell him with a sigh. “But no, I don’t think she’s gone with them. Cybil found something this morning. Emilia’s crown. Hidden under her bed, though I’m assuming it rolled under there. It contains traces of a sedation poison. I think she was taken. And the people who had access to that crown were few,” I tell them, trying to keep my voice steady and not show just how fiery hot my internal rage is that someone around us could have done this.
“You mean, the person could be in the palace?” Erion asks.
“We should speak to the jeweler,” Lex adds. “He’s going to be the best person to start with. If it wasn’t him, he’ll have a good idea of who handled the crown before it reached Emilia.”
“You’re right, I will speak to him first. Erion, my friend, I’m afraid we’re at the point where you need to go back to the Summer Palace and take your place there. We need to deal with this rebellion while we search for Emilia, but we can’t do that if you’re here. I’ve sent relief to Avaenora, but assembling the people without someone who they know and trust has proved to be a challenge. We’re basically set up here and both the Spring and Autumn Courts have sent supplies to help, but structure is needed over there. We have laid the ground work to match what we have put in place here, but your people are too proud to accept our help without your input. We’re at a point in Ringa where we can start to rebuild, and our injured are either healed, or are going through that process. Our soldiers have been healed, and those who wanted to continue with their service are filling the gaps in the guard that were left behind by the Hunters.”
“While I want to argue, I know you’re right. I dropped in while we passed through, and the whole of Avaenora is basically still chaos. I’ll go back, help with the relief effort there, sort the Royal bullshit, make sure our soldiers are back and have homes, and deal with any traitors I find in the mix. What a fucking headache. Can I take Bray with me? I know it’s unusual, but he was great while we were out, and if you trust him, I know I can trust him since we have the same goal.”
“Sure, he’ll be the best person to keep communications between us as it won’t seem suspicious either. If you need anything else, just reach out, but while you’re gone, we’ll keep looking into the crown lead. Now go and clean up. Lex, if you can go and see the captain and make sure he has what he needs to recruit any more people to the guard while we have them here? I have a feeling the next few weeks are going to be trying, even if we find Emilia quickly, we still have everything else to deal with.” I sigh and they stand, leaving me with my own dark thoughts once again.
I'm not sure that I have everything I need to do this. I never realized just how hard it would be to separate what I must do and what I want to do. If I had the choice, and I was a free man, I'd leave all of my responsibilities behind and I would go and find Emilia no matter what the consequences. But I find myself in charge of not just my Court but I must also help Erion with rebuilding our entire land. The devastation to our cities by the Hunters is worse than I would've ever expected. Our people have lost so much, yet stay so strong, and I have to put them first, but I can't get the fact that Emilia is gone out of my mind. She plagues my every waking thought, and it is hard to be who I need to be without her here. My father would probably roll in his grave if he knew my priorities, but he also never really knew true love. Knew how it could consume you, and make everything else seem insignificant.
