Page 26 of The Empty Throne

Oskia urged the giant caribou to an evenfaster pace, throwing all caution to the wind because caution wasnot going to get her away, was not going to keep her free.

The western gate came into view a few minuteslater—but so did many other guards. Fuck.

Drawing her sword, Oskia kept going, holdingon tightly to the reins of the caribou as she charged dead straightat the man wearing the vivid blue hat of a captain.

Thankfully, her sword was a cutlass, a hugeadvantage while riding saddle. Better still, her challengers wouldhave orders to take her alive. She suffered no such burden.

Still one against… well, a whole lot… wasinsurmountable odds. Her only chance was to break the line and getthrough the portcullis before it closed. Thankfully, in weatherlike this, opening and closing it was not a simple matter.

Oskia brought her sword up, readying forattack, and screamed as she drew close—and stopped screaming,overcome by shock, as right before her eyes the snow turned intocrashing water, like a stormy tidal wave slamming into the wall ofguards, knocking them from their caribou, sending soldiers flying,scattering, like toys swept up in a rip current.

In her hand, the sword seemed suddenlyhot.

She saved her shock to deal with later,urging the caribou on, charging for the gate, slicing down thehandful of guards that managed to regather and come after her.

The portcullis shook, chains rattling—but shemade it through right before it slammed down with a shudderingcreak, the frozen metal shattering in her wake. Whoever had madethe gate was going to lose their heads for that.

Not her problem.

She raced on, the great caribou taking thesnow with little effort for some time. By the time exhaustionforced it to slow, and then stop, they were well away from thecity.

She'd eschewed her own caribou before becausethey weren't cheap, and having a personal one would draw attention,but now she had one she certainly was not going to complain. Stillbe wiser to hire a sled once she reached the border with Kenten,but this would make travel a good deal easier.

Especially now that Clan Fazekas would beafter her.

She dismounted as they came to a clearingbeneath a copse of trees. Much further north and there'd be no moretrees, the frozen ground too impenetrable for them to grow.

Once the poor, overworked Caribou wasattended, she set to building a fire and then to making her bed soshe could rest in relative comfort for a few hours.

Though she was exhausted from the tumultuousday and hours of running, she made herself fix some food, an easycamp soup, adding jerky to soften it up to make it easier to eat.As the soup cooked, she finally drew her sword from its sheath andlaid it across her lap.

Before, back in the manor, it had shimmeredas though with pearl dust. Now the beautiful etchings sparkled likediamonds caught in the light. Whatever magic had slept in the swordwas now fully awakened, though only Holy Shatar knew what had wokenit.

Waves. The snow all around her had turnedinto rushing, crushing waves. Despite the cold. Despite thedistance from the sea. The smell of the sea had been strong, thebiting wind so much like the wind that came off the water as shewalked along the beach near the manor.

The family stories had said the sword heldthe magic of the sea, but all the family she'd ever known hadlaughed it off as overblown myth. Talismans were uncommon, andtalismans as powerful as this were as rare as her Witch Eyes.Spirit eyes, Terekians called them, though her magic had little todo with Sobeki's spirit walking.

Seemed the family legend had more truth to itthan any of them ever realized. Still didn't explain where it hadcome from after so many decades missing, but that must havesomething to do with her mother. Something she'd never knownow.

Sighing, Oskia sheathed the sword and set itaside, and fussed with the soup some more before making a cup oftea. She would eat, rest for a few hours, and then push on. If sherecalled correctly, there was a town not too far from here, anotherday's travel or so. Another day after that she'd reach the borderinto Kenten, where she'd be relatively safe and could travel muchfaster straight on to the royal capital, where she would at lastfind all the answers she sought.

Oskia pinched her eyes shut, ignoring thewaves of guilt, the look of disappointment and utter heartbreak onSobeki's face in the moment he learned what she'd done. The rest ofher friends would be bad enough, devastatingly so. It was hurtingSobeki, though, that was going to break her.

How could she abandon Cremisio like that,though? How could she let them be taken by Kenten? Because that waswhat would happen. An alliance was how it would start, andsubjugation was how it would end. Their beautiful country, the landof Holy Shatar herself, would be crushed, buried, forgotten, and anextension of Kenten would take its place. That was how it alwayswent when a big country faced off against a small one. Cremisio wastoo perfect and powerful a location to be ever left in peace.

But she would fight for their independence aslong as she had breath in her body.

Even if that meant betraying everyone shecared about and breaking the heart of the man she loved.

Nine

The fucking weather had kept Cohea trapped inthe village for days. If there'd been any sort of decent light atall, he might have risked it and pushed onward, but heavy snowcombined with Endless Night guaranteed only death.

So he'd waited. And waited.

Now there were guards in the city, bearingFazekas colors and crest, according to his hostess, and it was onlya matter of time until one of them found him. Until the womanlending him use of her stable had an idle conversation with thewrong person and they came hunting, and then he would be well andtruly fucked.

He could fight his way out of much, even outof that damned tower, but pinned down in a small village in themidst of a blizzard in the midst of Endless Night?

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