Death Wind Read online

  But Edmund’s gaze was still focused on Weylind, as if he thought Weylind would have the answer.

  Weylind lifted his shoulders in a small shrug once again. “I do not know.”

  All eyes turned to Essie. She breathed out a sigh. “I don’t know either. Not exactly. I know...I know he was tortured shortly after we invaded Kostaria. He blocked me through the heart bond for a long time that day. He hasn’t been tortured since.”

  Was the invasion keeping the trolls too busy to torture Farrendel? If that were the case, then Essie would endure ambushes every night if it would spare Farrendel.

  She had been staring at her lap, but when she raised her gaze, she caught the hopeful looks. As much as she wanted to hope, she didn’t want to hope without reason. “I’ve still caught hints of pain, and I think I would have sensed more...elation if he had escaped. He’s still a prisoner.”

  Averett’s expression fell back into a frown. Julien’s jaw tightened with a grim slant to his mouth.

  Edmund waved his hand, as if he wasn’t sure what gesture to make in response. “Then how...”

  Essie peeked at Weylind and Jalissa. She wasn’t sure how they would react. “I think...I think Melantha has been healing him.”

  Julien crossed his arms and glowered. Edmund reeled back, jaw working.

  “What?” Averett straightened. “Why would she help now?”

  Her brothers had never actually met Melantha in person, yet they were angry on Farrendel’s behalf.

  Across the shelter, Jalissa wrapped her arms over her stomach and curled inward, as if in pain.

  For a moment, Weylind’s face twisted, as if he could not figure out what expression to wear. Pain. Grief. Anger. He finally settled on a blank mask, much like Farrendel’s. When he spoke, his tone was cold. “Are you sure? If it is true, is it another trick?”

  Essie’s heart ached. It must be a particular pain, to have to hold such anger for a sister they still loved. “I don’t know. I’m not even sure Melantha is helping him. I just know his pain disappears, as if someone is healing him, and the crackle of his magic is strongest during those times. But...let me check. Maybe I can confirm with Farrendel that it is Melantha who is helping.”

  She closed her eyes, focusing on the heart bond. How could she communicate her question through strong emotions?

  Her skin prickled under all the gazes focused on her. She grimaced, though she didn’t open her eyes. “If you all could not stare at me while I’m doing this. Go back to discussing Melantha’s motives or something. Or perhaps discuss that ambush. Something. Anything.”

  The gazes swiveled away, and low voices soon filled the shelter. Essie kept her breathing even, doing her best to ignore them and not get drawn into the conversation.

  Perhaps, if she focused on a strong memory of Melantha, it would carry enough emotion and sense of Melantha for Farrendel to understand.

  The one memory that stuck in her mind...she didn’t want to send that one to him. The last thing she wanted to do was make him relive the moment of Melantha’s betrayal.

  But that memory would convey what she wanted to ask. Maybe.

  Farrendel? She could sense that he was still awake. Perhaps he had still been worried for her after what had happened. Is Melantha there and helping you? Melantha.

  Before she could talk herself out of it, she thought of Melantha standing in front of them, denying that Farrendel was her brother.

  Even through the heart bond, she felt Farrendel stiffen, as if he’d felt again the emotions of that same memory. Essie winced. Perhaps she shouldn’t have tried to use those particular emotions.

  After a moment, a sense of hard determination replaced the pain, followed by an impression of gratitude that definitely felt like it was directed toward Melantha.

  Essie frowned and squeezed her eyes shut again. What was Farrendel trying to tell her? Was this an answer to her question?

  It hurt, but she had to confirm her guess was correct. Melantha. She thought of the memory of Melantha’s betrayal again.

  No.

  She didn’t hear the word, exactly, but the impression came through so strongly from Farrendel, she couldn’t mistake it. She felt the determined edge as Farrendel all but shoved a sense of gratitude toward Melantha at Essie. No. Melantha.

  I understand. She wasn’t sure he would sense her mental nod, but some of the urgency from him faded, replaced by a sense of exhaustion.

  It was the middle of the night, and it probably had tired him to use his magic through her like that.

  Get some sleep. I’m fine. Essie tried to send him the sense of holding his hand, leaning against his shoulder.

  He relaxed enough that Essie’s tight muscles eased as well.

  When she opened her eyes, the conversation had trailed off. She squirmed. Hopefully she hadn’t been muttering to herself while trying to communicate with Farrendel.

  Averett had his head bent, peering at her. “You get a strange look on your face when you’re talking to him, you know.”

  “And you make facial expressions along with whatever silent conversation you’re having in your head. Just in case you were wondering.” Julien waved a hand at her face.

  Great. Essie would now spend her time wondering just how strange she looked when she attempted to talk to Farrendel through the heart bond.

  “Anyway...” She straightened her shoulders and faced all of them. “If I’m interpreting the emotions we were sharing back and forth correctly, then, yes, Melantha is helping Farrendel. And I think he trusts her.”

  Weylind rubbed a hand over his face, exhaustion drawing lines around his eyes and mouth that Essie had never seen on him before. Next to him, Jalissa slumped, eyes focused on her hands in her lap.

  Averett’s jaw tightened. “Will she betray him again, do you think?”

  Weylind released a breath and stared at the ceiling, as if he couldn’t face them. “I do not know. She is our sister. I had no wish to believe her capable of this kind of betrayal the first time. Now...I am no longer sure of what she might be capable.”

  Jalissa curled into a tighter ball, her face in her hands.

  So much pain and brokenness in that family. Even though she was exhausted and wanted to curl up next to Averett again, Essie forced herself to her feet. She crossed the shelter, sat next to Jalissa, and put an arm around her.

  Getting Farrendel back would help, but Essie wasn’t sure what it would take to heal this rift. A rift that had started over a hundred years ago with the elf queen’s death.

  FARRENDEL LISTENED to the sound of Prince Rharreth’s retreating boots as he left the dungeon corridor after giving them food, checking Farrendel’s bonds, and taking Melantha back to her cell for a few minutes for privacy.

  “Is he gone?” Melantha once again sat beside him, her ankle shackled to the floor.

  Farrendel stretched his magical sense, just a hint of it, until he could feel Prince Rharreth leaving the dungeon. He tried to follow the troll prince’s progress through the twists and turns of the dungeon, but he lost him quickly, not daring to tap too much into his magic. “Yes, he is gone. And I think, after the corridor we are on and that room with the spring that you mentioned, it is a left, then a right. But I lost a sense of him after that.”

  “That is more than we knew before.” Melantha gave a sharp nod, before grimacing. “I wish I had paid more attention when they were dragging me down here. But it all blurred together.”

  “It is understandable. You observed more than I did.” Farrendel retraced the route he had just observed with his mind, adding in the details that Melantha did remember. For the past few days, they had spent their time plotting the details of their escape. When the moment came, they would be ready to take it.

  “You were drugged and unconscious. You were not in a position to observe anything.” Melantha’s scowl deepened for a moment before smoothing. She raised her hands and tapped her fingers for a moment, as she did when mentally going through a checklist. After a
moment, she sighed, her hands falling to her lap. “There is not much we can plan, is there? It is frustrating.”

  He had been planning for this escape for longer than she had, and he had more opportunity to prepare.

  With Prince Rharreth leaving them together for most of the day, Farrendel had been able to store a great deal of his magic. Though, he was no longer sure if he was storing the magic or had simply figured out a way to access his magic through the heart bond.

  And last night when he was able to use his magic with Essie...that was something rather unexpected. He had been glad Melantha had been asleep at the time. There were some secrets he would keep to himself. He had decided to trust Melantha, but he was still going to be cautious.

  “No, there is not much we can plan.” Farrendel flexed his fingers to relieve some of the urge to move. With Melantha’s magic keeping away the pain of the stone, he was only mildly uncomfortable due to being unable to move and lying on rock. By the time he was rescued, his muscles would be weak from lack of use.

  “How do you have so much patience when you are the one...” Melantha gestured at him. “All I can think about is getting out of here.”

  “I have had practice with this sort of thing.” Farrendel took his own restlessness, squashed it, and locked it behind one of the iron doors in his mind containing the things he did not think about. Pain was locked behind one. Previous torture behind another. “It is best not to think too much and simply exist.”

  Melantha rested her chin on her knees and studied him for a long moment. “I understand that, now. Better than I would have before. I am sorry that I am the reason we are here, but I am glad we have had this time.”

  Farrendel opened his mouth, but he could not formulate a reply. He was glad of this time, yes. But the emotions Essie had stirred toward Melantha last night had reminded him once again of the reason he needed to be wary. Melantha had experienced a change of heart, but only because she had ended up a prisoner as well. If the trolls had treated her as a princess, giving her a luxurious room where she would not have seen Farrendel’s suffering, she would have put him from her mind and never had a twinge of guilt over what she had done.

  Something tugged at his senses, and he stilled, glancing past Melantha toward the door. “Prince Rharreth is returning and...” His stomach sank. “King Charvod is with him.”

  “What?” Melantha’s eyes widened as she glanced from Farrendel to the door, then down at herself. She leapt to her feet and tugged on the shackle as if she could rip it from the stone.

  She needed to get out of there. If King Charvod found her in here, found the blankets, and figured out how much Prince Rharreth had helped them, then Farrendel was likely going to be punished for it.

  “I will break the chain.” Farrendel gathered his magic. He had not intended to use it now. If King Charvod or Prince Rharreth sensed him using his magic, then they would bind him even tighter in stone.

  But they would do that anyway if King Charvod discovered Melantha here.

  “Wait.” Melantha knelt again and pressed both hands to his shoulders. Her magic flooded into him, almost painful with its intensity as it coated every bit of stone and troll magic holding him down.

  Farrendel choked in a breath, forcing himself to reach for his magic even through the blast of her magic. He twisted his hand and directed a bolt at the chain holding Melantha to the floor.

  The chain snapped near the floor.

  Melantha snatched both of the blankets, then glanced around, probably to check that she had not left anything else lying around Farrendel’s cell.

  After dashing across the cell, she stood on her tiptoes, stuck her arm through the barred window, and stretched.

  Lying on the floor, Farrendel could not see how close she was to reaching the locking bar. He would help with his magic, but the trolls would notice if the dungeon door were blown off its hinges.

  With a soft scream of frustration, Melantha lunged. The locking bar thunked, and she stumbled as the door swung open. She raced out.

  It was not soon enough. Farrendel squeezed his eyes shut, sensing King Charvod and Prince Rharreth in the corridor. Melantha gave a short cry. King Charvod’s voice thundered outside Farrendel’s cell.

  Farrendel gathered as much of his magic as he could and flung it into the heart bond. Thanks to Essie using his magic, he was certain all this magic in the heart bond would not hurt her.

  Somewhere far away, he sensed her mentally starting. A sense of confusion and fear flooded back from Essie, but he did not try to decipher more as he walled away all emotion.

  The door flung open, slamming into the wall. King Charvod strode inside, gripping Melantha’s upper arm. He tossed her inside, and she stumbled, falling to her knees beside Farrendel.

  Farrendel clenched his fists. He must not react. Otherwise, he would give away that he had access to his magic, and it was not yet time to act.

  Though, it might not matter. They would wonder how Melantha had broken that chain, and they might have been close enough to sense Farrendel’s use of magic to break it.

  King Charvod glared first at Melantha, then focused on his brother. “Why have you allowed her to stay here?”

  “A small compassion for a captive, nothing more.” Prince Rharreth’s face remained blank, but his gaze flicked to the broken chain dangling from Melantha’s ankle. He would know he had left Melantha more secured than she was now.

  King Charvod rounded on his brother. His hand lifted, almost as if he planned to strike his brother, but he halted and instead jabbed Prince Rharreth in the chest. “Thanks to your compassion, some of his magic was used during the fighting on the front lines.”

  Prince Rharreth started, his gaze flicking to Farrendel, before his jaw hardened. “How is that possible? No one can use their magic in a place without being there in person. Are you sure it was his magic? Magic like his is rare, only appearing every few generations, but perhaps the elves discovered another who can wield a similar magic.”

  Farrendel gritted his teeth, noticing Prince Rharreth did not say it was impossible for Farrendel to use his magic at the moment. With the broken chain, Prince Rharreth had to suspect.

  “It was his. I recognized the taint of it.” King Charvod’s mouth curled. “If there is a way to launch such an attack from a distance, I’m sure this murdering elf could discover it.”

  Farrendel glared, hardening his expression to his most dangerous mien. He had to keep the trolls’ focus on himself. They must not, under any circumstances, guess he had wielded his power through Essie.

  Next to him, Melantha tucked herself closer to his side and gripped his hand. The way she positioned herself, it was almost as if she wished to shield him from the trolls. But surely that was not the case. She had been helping him, but would that extend to placing herself in danger for him?

  “Then I have failed you.” Prince Rharreth bowed his head.

  King Charvod scowled and stomped closer to Farrendel and Melantha. He grabbed Melantha by her hair. She cried out as King Charvod lifted her to her knees. “What did you do? It must have been something you did. He would have done something before now if he could have.”

  Farrendel clenched his fists hard enough to hurt. He must not react. He must not.

  “What did you do?” King Charvod shook Melantha harder by her hair. “I shall have you punished for this.”

  She cried out, eyes squeezed shut, her feet scrambling to try to gain her balance.

  Farrendel could not sit by and watch this. Besides, they already knew he could use his magic. There was no reason to hold back.

  He gripped his magic and shoved. Blue bolts of power surrounded him, snapping through the restraints around his wrists. He raised an arm and blasted power toward King Charvod.

  A shield of troll magic sprang up before King Charvod, but a few sparks of Farrendel’s magic glanced off the troll king’s hand.

  He released Melantha, and she slumped to the floor.

  Farrendel
gritted his teeth, a headache pounding at his temples even through Melantha’s lingering magic inside him. “Do not touch my sister.”

  Troll magic surged through the stones around him. Tendrils of the stone floor reached up, trying to grasp his arms and pin him once again. The stone around his legs, waist, and chest tightened.

  He pushed back with his magic, holding the stone back. The floor trembled beneath him, shaking with the force of so much magic hurled about in such a tiny space.

  Melantha lifted her head and met Farrendel’s gaze. Slowly, she shook her head and mouthed, “The plan.”

  This was not the plan. He could fight. Perhaps he could keep them from pinning him down for a time. But they would win, as this was their home and he was weakened. Fighting now would just deplete the magic he had saved for when the time came to escape.

  If he wanted to live and return to Essie, then he could not fight now. He had to save his magic and pretend he was still weaker than he was. If the trolls suspected his true strength, they would kill him here and now.

  Melantha shook her head again, her eyes wide and pained.

  Farrendel released his magic and slumped to the floor, as if the effort of holding back the stone and troll magic had used the last of his strength.

  The stone surged around him, binding him to the floor. He cried out as stone stabbed through his shoulders.

  King Charvod grabbed Melantha’s upper arm and hauled her to her feet. “You will regret turning on us and helping him.”

  “Don’t punish her. He is her brother, after all. The failing was mine.” Prince Rharreth’s hard expression did not change. “I will accept your punishment.”

  King Charvod jabbed a finger at his brother again. “Oh, you will face my punishment as well. You have betrayed your brother and your king in aiding Laesornysh.”

  Head high, Prince Rharreth marched from the cell first, followed by King Charvod dragging Melantha with him. Just before the door slammed shut, King Charvod glared over his shoulder at Farrendel.