Page 46 of Court of Treachery

HARPER

“Iwant you to understand why you’re not dead.” Erika’s voice loomed behind Harper in the dark corridor. She jumped and whirled around, her pulse instantly thundering and her chest clutching with panic. Erika lurked nearby—a threat shrouded by shadows.

“What?” Harper stammered, conscious that she did not even have her knife upon her and the others were beyond shouting distance. She backed into the wall, fingering the rough texture of the stone behind her.

“If they had not been there to defend you, you would already be gone,” Erika said. Harper could hear the scowl in her voice.

“I haven’t done anything wrong.” Harper straightened and stepped forwards again. She refused to cower, even though she was no match for the nomad woman.

“I know. And that’s why I’m sorry.”

Harper gaped.

“Anything ofhimis a reminder.” Erika stepped into the faint light, her hand lifting the fringe she always kept flattened over her forehead.

Harper gasped.

For the first time, she could see the scar marring it. Saradon’s Mark, branded into Erika’s forehead.

“How? Why?” she breathed.

“This is why I hate him so,” Erika answered in a low voice. She swept her fringe down again, her attention fixed upon the floor, in another time and place. “I am one of the Indis, the warrior nomad tribes. Five hundred years ago, most of my people bound themselves to Saradon’s cause.”

Erika bared her teeth. “When he was defeated, our people were hunted and exterminated like vermin, almost to extinction. To this day, some support his ways.Fools. So our persecution never ended. One day, they came for us.”

Harper stayed silent, transfixed.

“They killed any who were not useful, and those who were a threat. The matriarchs, the men, ones who would not bow to them or change their ways. Submission is not in our nature. The Indis win—or we die. That is our way. They branded the rest of us and sold us into slavery. My mother was killed. My father. My brothers. Inhisname. I was nine.”

Harper sank against the wall. “I’m so sorry.”

Erika let out a harsh bark of laughter. “It’s not your fault. I eventually got my revenge. In a way, you are just like me. We have our ancestors’ bad blood, but we are not them.” Erika looked at her, her hard eyes glinting. “You are one of us. I will fight with you, defend you. But if you ever betray us, if you ever take up his cause, Iwillkill you. Do you understand?”

Harper narrowed her eyes. It surprised her to feel relieved, not scared. She understood that Erika now trusted her, truly, for the first time. “I do.” And now… Now Harper knew where she stood with the nomad woman. And why Erika was as hard and unforgiving as she was. She had suffered unimaginably as a result of Saradon, however indirectly.

Erika turned and strode away without another word. When she had gone, Harper let out a deep breath.I did not see that coming.

Their departure was upon them in no time. A company of dwarves led by König Korrin’s own command, as well as Jarl Halvar’s group, assembled in the halls of Keldheim, ready to depart through the thirl door. Harper fell in with Brand, Aedon, and Erika amongst Korrin’s dwarves. Korrin stood before them all, resplendent in his full armour of many-hued plated metals, embellished with enamel inlays of wolves, dragons, and gods across his body.

“We travel silently. We strike hard and fast. We return with our kin.” König Korrin’s voice rang through the silent hall. The entire room saluted him at once, fists to chests.

Harper wished she could have spent more time training. She could wield her slim blade with better skill than before, and her magic had come on in leaps and bounds, but she had seen what awaited them beneath Afnirheim and was under no false illusions that her paltry skills would see her through. She was glad for her companions now more than ever, knowing what they journeyed toward.

It took hours of tramping through dimly lit caves and up a steep incline before they reached Keldheim’s thirl door. At the king’s touch—Harper could not see much, trying to crane her neck over those standing in front of her—the thirl door opened, and light and fresh air tumbled in. The breeze was so cold, a welcome change from the moist, warm, stale air of the caves, that Harper pulled her cloak tighter, grateful for the thick wool. After walking through the thirl door, they followed the könig’smen down into the thickly wooded valley, where the sky was lost to the green canopy above and, once more, the confining darkness under the evergreens consumed them.

At midday two days later, with little rest, they approached Afnirheim. The mountain stood as silent as any other, but the könig took no chances. His scouts melted between the trees, weapons out, in a wide, sweeping line before them. Up they climbed to where Afnirheim’s most obscure thirl door nestled right at the top of the tree line, tucked into the cliff and shrouded by the towering pines. The narrow stairs, cleverly hidden amongst clefts in the sheer faces, forced the dwarves to ascend in single file. The host dithered impatiently at their foot, waiting to climb.

Just as Harper had seen it in her vision, it was an innocuous cliff with no hint of a door, but Korrin knew where to look. At his touch, light flared briefly, illuminating the outline of the door. When he placed his palms upon it and pushed, it clicked open.

“I’ll need your help with the könig’s plan.”

Harper startled at the sound of Aedon’s voice in her mind. She had not become entirely at ease with being able to speak into another’s mind, though Aedon had her practise until she could manage it. It reminded her far too much of Dimitrius. And it still felt far too intimate for her liking. She still could not bear to be near Aedon, knowing what she now knew of her mother and his brother.

“Yes?” she answered dutifully, waiting for her turn to file through the open door into the darkness of Afnirheim.

“Goblins thrive in the dark. They almost have night vision, like an owl. Dwarves, on the other hand, need light to see,which goblins abhor. So we, dear Harper, are going to make sure our friends can see. You’ll just have to follow my lead. All right?” She heard his grim glee as he looked toward the mountain with anticipation.

She, in contrast, felt sick to her stomach. “Yes.” She focused on trying not to vomit.

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