Page 82 of A Baron of Bonds
“I would like to share with you what I know and we can discuss the correct call to action against her. I have been sending my own people on expeditions to the Northern Steppes for years now, with little success on information of the Blightress. The entrance to her land is filled with syphoners, and it is rare that my people return to me. They either die, or the syphoners keep them alive and she…feeds power from them. They do send letters to the guards of the north, and we have been able to piece together that her land is no longer a vast desert, but a marshland full of dangerous creatures.”
She took another deep breath and nodded toward Karus. “It was Karus’s mother who was last seen alive from this land. Almost thirty years ago, she returned, heavy with child, and covered in black ash. I was able to comprehend some of what Arah had been through. The Blightress could sense Karus growing inside her mother and chose to keep her alive, instead of murdering her as she had done to the rest of the expedition.
“There she kept Arah, feeding magic to her growing child while watching her mother slip into a mindless woman. At some point, Arah escaped with help. I do not know the details of this, but I do know that Arah was able to burn some of the syphoner fields and find her way to the guards of the north where they brought her to me. She died hours after Karus was born.”
My fingers were being squeezed so tightly, I sent a sliver of my magic around our clasped hands, whispering, “Compaynen”,in an effort to ease Karus’s body. Her shoulders relaxed and she straightened, inhaling deeply.
“I raised Karus, then named Ash’Arah, alongside my son. It began as a way to watch this child who was born of her channeler mother and the meddling Blightress. I feared what magic she held, and I was correct in my assumption that Karus was powerful. At a very young age, her power began to manifest in ways I had not seen nor heard of from any channeler. Her anger turned to fire; her pain turned to withered fruit and wilted flowers in the castle garden. I chose to raise her to control those emotions and not rely on others for comfort, as I surmised that if she was ever broken, her power would manifest itself into something great and terrible.”
All eyes in the room darted to Karus as if she might explode right then and there.
I wanted to take her into my lap. I wanted to hold her there, protect her from their stares and their questioning if she was inherently good or bad. Then I wanted to lash out at them all for daring to even consider it.
She stared straight ahead at the Queen, listening to the story of her origins that she’d never been told.
The Queen began again, “When Baron Heimlen came to me to discuss taking Karus to train in Felgren, I refused. Not only was the Treaty still in place, she was my daughter, and I would protect her from her own power at all costs.”
“Except one.” All of our heads turned to the Prince, his response low and dark.
The Queen ignored him and continued. “Baron Heimlen was willing to kill to bring Karus to Felgren. And yes, when my son was inflicted with the Black Fever, I finally agreed to his terms.He was to take Karus to train in Felgren until she passed the conduit trials, then she would return to Hyrithia and stay.
“I made this decision solely to save the life of my son and more lives of my people. Baron Revich has informed me that Heimlen was able to control the disease through channelers. He killed thousands of them this way, hiding from my people that he had the cure because he had created the disease in the first place.”
She swallowed. “I, however, had guessed at the truth, but chose to save my son, knowing some of the risks Karus might face.”
I turned to Karus in question. She nodded slightly, her eyes lowering to the floor.
I rose from my seat, taking a step toward the Queen. “You knew?” My nostrils flared, and I struggled to control my words. “You knew that Heimlen had murdered your people, and you let him take Karus anyway?”
It was shame that crossed the Queen’s face, the first I’d ever seen from her.
“Yes, I knew. Or at least, I had guessed as much. He’d been sending letters for months, and the timing was too perfect for the truth to be otherwise.”
Rage, disgust, disdain—I understood Queen Rina better now. I didn’t hold back my scorn as I shook my head and said, “You call her your daughter, but you do not deserve the title of her mother.”
Karus rose beside me and raised her chin, addressing the Queen, “There is a statue. In the market square. ‘In honor of the Savior of Hyrithia’. Why do you let your people believe his lies seven years later? Why do you let his likeness stand before the very people he chose to die for his cause?”
“My people needed to heal,” she answered. “They needed to believe that their loved ones had not died in a campaign toretrieve a channeler to Felgren. The people of this city needed to rally behind someone they believed to be a savior?—”
“A savior because you lied to them!” Karus moved forward swiftly. “You let your people believe and continue to allow them to believe these lies. When will you tell them the truth? When will you decide they deserve to hear it?”
The Queen closed their gap. “Do you really believe for one moment, Karus, that they would not have stormed into Felgren had they known? If I had told them the truth, they would have demanded war. They would have wanted to fight for their people. We would have been right back where we were over a hundred years ago before the Treaty. When you stand by your companion’s side in Felgren and help make the difficult decisions there,thenyou can talk to me ofchoices.” She seethed her last words, cheeks flushing in anger.
Karus shook her head. “They deserve to know. Your people deserve the truth. They deserve it just as much as I did.”
“What exactly happened in that forest?” Lady Lamoral broke the strained silence. “Baron Heimlen is dead; Karus still lives. What does all of this have to do with the Blightress?”
The Queen brought her attention to me. “Baron Revich, perhaps you would like to explain?”
I turned my body to Karus, who slumped ungraciously into her chair. I took both of her hands in mine and kissed them. She nodded, murmuring, “They need to know. All of it. Even the heart.”
I cupped her cheek, leaned in and kissed her.
I didn’t care where we were or who witnessed it. I’d choose Karus first every time I had a choice to make.
I stepped toward the Queen, any respect I had previously held for her gone, and I turned to the leaders in the room.
I gripped the rhyzolm in my hand, just to monitor the power before me. Madame Zoreyah had strong magic, Lady Lanna hadpotential, but Lady Lamoral did not contain any of Felgren’s magic. “Baron Heimlen was a manipulator and a murderer. He groomed me to find the most powerful channeler on the isle, which led me to Karus. As his chosen heir, I did not know of his intentions and means to get her to Felgren. I was blind to all of it, though I should have questioned more of it.
