Lies of Murk by Eva Chase
20
Corwin
The Hall of the Heart isn’t exactly where I want to be right now, while each passing hour without any sense or news of my mate weighs heavier on me. But the rest of life in the winter realm goes on even if I wish I could pause it.
And some of that life is ending.
“We’ve lost four to the curse since your mate vanished, with two more fading away as we speak,” Laoni says, her hands braced on the top of the gleaming marble table. I wonder if the others can guess at the full reason for the glimmer of panic in the back of her eyes. “It’s only coming on faster.”
“It should taper off some once—once those who are undergoing it for the second or third time are no longer included in that number,” Terisse points out, but she sounds pained. None of us want to think about those who got their second chance succumbing to the curse after all… least of all Laoni.
Uzziah frowns. “If we settle the matter within the next few weeks, it shouldn’t come to that. Have you had no contact with your mate through your bond still, Corwin?”
“None,” I say, with the jab of anguish that comes with the admission. I’d never tell them that Whitt has, but we haven’t learned anything useful that way regardless. “You can be sure we’ve tried every other strategy we can think of to track down the Murk responsible. I actually have a proposal to make that might speed up that process.”
Laoni raps her knuckles on the table. “Well, then, let’s have it.”
She wouldn’t be so eager if she knew what I was going to suggest.
I prepare myself for the arguments I expect to come. “Talia was stolen on Seelie land. It seems most likely that her captors would have gone for the nearest portals to escape into the human world. One of Arch-Lord Sylas’s cadre-chosen and I have made discoveries about the sort of magic the Murk have been using to cover their presence, but it’s very subtle. But it may be able to lead us to the area where they left the Mists—and where their new spies are traveling from.”
“Excellent,” Uzziah says. “What are we waiting for then?”
I draw myself up a little straighter. “I think our best chance is to combine forces with the Seelie. A large squadron of our strongest sentries and soldiers alongside theirs, searching the fringelands and collaborating with our magic to draw out the traces of the Murk’s passage. Sylas and I could oversee it together. We’d only need whatever manpower you can provide.”
Laoni’s lips twist as I suspected they would. “We send our people over to their realm to make up for their failings?”
I fix her with a hard stare. I’m past the point of being intimidated by her disapproval. “Laying blame is less important than recovering Talia, wouldn’t you say?”
“It’s not so much the laying of blame.” Her hand clenches and then flexes as she forces her fingers to uncurl. “You know I want to see our people healed. But we can’t sacrifice their future safety either. I’m only concerned about the precedent it might set—that the Seelie will feel we’ll be at their beck and call in other situations as well.”
“There must be ways to mitigate that risk,” Uzziah says.
Terisse’s head droops, her expression clouded. I can’t tell what she thinks of any of this.
“I don’t think it’s risk at all,” I say. “The Seelie understand as well as we do that these are extreme and unexpected circumstances. Is this an urgent matter or not? Coming up with vows or whatever else to try to offset any possible future entitlement will only delay our chances of success—and give the Murk more time to switch up their strategies.”
Neve stirs at the far end of the table. It’s never clear how much she’s listening to these discussions, but her voice rings out perfectly clear if dry. “We must protect our people now. We’ve managed to find peace with the Seelie. I don’t see why we shouldn’t work with them on this. I agree.”
I offer her a quick smile, but Laoni is shifting her weight on her feet. “I’m not saying we shouldn’t do it. I only want to be sure we don’t commit to more than we’re comfortable with.”
I will the edge out of my tone. “We won’t be committing to anything. It’ll be a one-time operation, albeit on a large scale. This is the time when we need to decide what really matters. You’ve balked at and challenged the alliance with the summer realm plenty of times.” I glance around the table at all three of my colleagues who’ve contributed to those challenges. “You’ve gone as far as deceiving our people to try to prove your point. None of that has exposed any true problems. Hasn’t this resistance gone on long enough? Now our entire realm is threatened by your reluctance.”
Laoni’s eyes flash, but Terisse’s shoulder’s stiffen. Maybe she’s thinking, like I was, of the moment during my confirmation ceremony with Talia when she pretended to be cursed. She speaks before Laoni can.
“Corwin is right. We’ve stretched out the conflict so long, and maybe that’s why we lost the cure in the first place. Perhaps if we’d been more coordinated before, Lady Talia would have been better protected that night. If the Seelie will work alongside us, then I say we take all the help we can get.”
She glances at me then with a look I think I can read an apology in, and my heart lifts just a little despite all that’s weighing on it.
Uzziah lets out a huff, but he can’t seem to find any argument to offer the three of us. And we could carry the majority if we wanted anyway. “All right,” he says after another pause. “If we’re going to do it, we should get on with it and make this happen now.”
Laoni’s lips have flattened, but then her shoulders come down. She looks more defeated than accepting as she nods to me. “So be it. I have people adept at seeking spells whom I can ask to join the effort. Are there any other sorts of magical affinity that would be helpful?”
At least she’s asking practical questions now that she’s done balking at the idea. “Yes,” I say. “The Murk’s primary method of disguise seems to involve a reflective element. Skill with detecting illusions or rebounded light would be particularly welcome.”
Terisse snaps her fingers, the clouds that appeared to be hanging over before having departed with her newfound conviction. “I have just the man who’d be an excellent addition. Shall we all confer with our flocks and then send along those who’ll be participating?”
Everything’s proceeding faster than I’d dared to hope, but I can’t complain about that. “I want to put word out to the nearest flocks as well so we can gather as large a group as possible, and I’ll need to inform Arch-Lord Sylas so he can do the same, but we do want to act quickly. Have your people head to Heart’s Cadence within the next two hours. We’ll set off then.”
We disperse from the Hall, my steps toward my palace much lighter than they were entering. Zelpha and Verik join me before I’ve made it halfway there.
“We’re going ahead,” I say before they need to ask. “I’ll see to our own flock folk. You and the others reach out to any nearby domains you think will contribute.”
Zelpha’s lips curl with a tense smile. “I’d imagine they all will, if it’s toward bringing Lady Talia back. And we will bring her back.” She gives my arm a companionable bump with her elbow that’s the most reassurance she can offer while maintaining her professional demeanor in public view. Then the two of them leap from the ground in raven form.
By the time the two hours I asked for is up, I’ve gathered two dozen of the most adept magic-users from my own flock, and a couple hundred fae from other flocks have assembled around the palace. They’ve already been at work conjuring carriages.
I leap into my own carriage, Verik and half of my flock folk accompanying me in that one, and motion to the others. “Follow my route. We’ll meet up with the Seelie forces on the other side of the border and head to the fringelands as swiftly as we’re able to.”
On the summer side, the warm air washes over me with a rush of leafy scents I’m coming to appreciate. Sylas is waiting with his own squadron of wooden carriages, containing nearly twice as many fae as I’m bringing. Whitt stands by his side. We exchange quick nods of encouragement and set off without another word. There’s no argument between the three of us about how urgent this mission is, both for our people and for ourselves.
Taking in all the vehicles soaring across the summery landscape, a little more hope blooms in my chest. With all of us put to the task, combining our talents, surely we’ll get closer to rescuing the woman we lost.
I just have to try not to focus on worrying about what state we’ll find her in when we do. I will not be crippled by my grief. I’ll take all the love I have for my mate and turn it into the strength to get her back.
During the journey to the fringelands, my coterie and I take to raven form to fly from carriage to carriage and make sure all of the fae with us are clear on our strategy. All the gazes that meet mine are bright with determination. I may feel the loss of my mate deeply, but I’m not alone in missing her.
The weather grows hotter and muggier as we near the hazy forests at the very edge of the Mists, the opposite of what we’d face on the winter side. The heat turns my stomach, and many of my fellow Unseelie look uncomfortable, but no one complains. I pass on the suggestion to adjust the warming charms on our clothes to cooling ones, which eases the discomfort a little.
Deep within the fringe forests, where the portals glimmer with their dark sheen here and there just up ahead, we halt the carriages and disembark. Normally even when we’ve assembled together, the summer and winter fae have kept to their own kind. Now, Sylas urges everyone to mingle.
“We want to make full use of our varied skills,” he says. “We can’t fully collaborate if we’re still keeping ourselves separate.”
I step up beside him to show I’ll be working closely with my own Seelie counterpart. After a few hesitant murmurs, the two groups of fae merge, until it’s hard to pick out who’s wolf and who’s raven at a glance. Then we set off.
Sylas and I chant the first spells, and the others raise their voices to match ours. The Heart’s reach is thinner here, but between all of us, magic thrums through the air. It ripples over my skin and across the landscape. I walk slowly amid the crowd, every sense alert for the slightest hint of one of the lingering spells we’re scanning for.
We’re starting the search with a relatively small area to condense the power of our efforts. When one stretch of forest turns up nothing, we move on, continuing our chant. Sweat beads on my face and trickles down my back, but I ignore it.
The first shout comes after perhaps half an hour. There’s a trace of a shadowy illusion at the base of one tree, with an odd quaver to the magical energy that sits uneasily with me. We mark that spot and tramp onward. My spirits are lifting, but one hint isn’t enough to be sure it’s more than random chance.
Then another call rises up, and another, and I taste a prickle on my tongue that leads me to the faintest glimmer where a few beams of sun seep through the fog. We mark all of those as well. Then, across a few more miles, we find nothing.
Sylas calls a halt to the search and tells everyone to refresh themselves with the drinks and food we’re all carrying. He turns to me, his expression both pleased and serious.
“It’s still a somewhat large span, especially considering how the portals shift around.”
“It is.” I inhale slowly, and a small smile crosses my lips. “But we’ve narrowed it down. More than one of the Murk have passed through that stretch, and none nearby elsewhere. Many of them must be coming through one of the portals in that general area. At least now we have a starting point instead of wandering the human world aimlessly.”
“Indeed.” Sylas looks toward the portals. “Now the real search can begin.”
