Ch. 1
Jules sits at a table in a tavern in the middle of a town she has never heard of. She has just come from a long day at the library searching for any bit of information on the Alchemist. She spent more blood-iron than she wished to rent a room upstairs and to buy discretion, but the cot mattress smells like mold, and the air is stuffy with the smell of starch. Her meal consists of a hunk of salted meat dropped in the middle of a bowl of mashed yellow peas, what the locals call pea soup. She can only imagine what Ina and Liam are having for their meals tonight. Her mouth salivates at the thought - not only of the food, but of the people she left behind.
It has been a lonely few months on the road – Jules had not stayed in one place longer than a week. She can't make it any easier for Caro to find her. She spends her days searching through dusty tombs, books, rolls of parchment, and anything else she can get her hands on in the hopes of learning more about her past. She latches onto every myth, legend, and folktale she can find about the Sorceress or the Alchemist. "I need to find out how to best her" she thinks to herself. Her nights are spent drowning in nightmares about everyone she left behind - she dreams of Caro slitting their throats like she did Roan's.
Her thoughts are swirling around in her mind, not unlike the untouched meat in her soup. She pushes it around and around, waiting for it to become appetizing. As she watches the meat move slowly through the thick liquid, she think to herself for the thousandth time how her quest would be made easier if she had simply let him come with her. Liam had all but said he was an expert on the subject of the Sorceress and Alchemist. He has obsessively studies all he could, traveling the country not unlike how she was now. He sought out scholars and accomplished men who devoted their lives to studying these myths and legends discerning what is fact and what is pure imagination. It had taken him years to learn everything he knows. "How long would it take me?" she asks herself.
"Addie!" A deep voice calls her out of her reverie. She looks up, searching for the face she hardly knew, yet is seared in her brain. A girl, not much older than herself being banished from Everless, and is now working in a tea shop, serving men who are waiting to die. She comes face to face with the assistant at the library instead. Sometimes she forgets what name she's given these strangers. "Do you want some company?"
"I was just about to call it a night actually, but thanks for the offer." she says as she pushes back from the table and slowly rises to her feet. She's in no mood to be nice, but she's already learned not to make a lasting impression, and people remember you if you act differently than they expect.
"You sure? I've been thinking about your situation. We had a scholar a few years back who knew everything backwards and forwards about what you're interested in." The look the assistant is giving her is not entirely focused, as if he's had a few glasses of wine before coming over here. He's distracted yet hopeful. It's obviously he's had just enough wine to convince himself that she owes him something because he had helped her this afternoon in the library.
"How would that help me if he no longer resides here?" She attempts to keep the annoyance out of her voice. She is itching to leave and get back to her room where she can be alone with her thoughts. She half convinces herself that it's time to move on – she's only been in this town for a few days but any attention is too much attention when you have a murderous goddess on your tail.
"Of course, he doesn't reside here anymore, he ran out of time last year!" The assistant slams his cup down on the table and is grinning wide, as if he's just finished the ending to a rather fantastic joke. He looks up at her and smiles as if she should understand what he is getting at.
"Yes, well if you'll excuse me, I must be going." She quickly gathers her things and turn to leave. Her impatience is wearing thin.
"I know where his research is." His tone is almost teasing. She turns quickly and stares him down willing him to tell her. "And I might be willing to help you get access to it."
Again, she stares him down, not trusting herself to speak. As desperate as she is to learn everything she can, she will not fall for any tricks. If he can genuinely help her, great. If not, she'll move on and find what she can on her own.
He is clearly waiting for her to ask what he wants in return. So instead she says cheerfully, "Why don't I meet you at the library tomorrow and we can get started. I'd be very thankful for any help you can give me. And I'm sure, as a scholar, knowledge for its own sake is thanks enough. Same time then?" She turns and walks away, leaving him with a look of confusion on his face as if she were speaking ancient Semperan. She all but runs up the stairs to slam and lock the door to her small stuffy room, glad to be rid of his company.
Liam wakes with a start. His dreams always start out pleasantly, but always end the same - with Caro slitting Jules' throat and drinking her blood. For the past two weeks he has had the same dream, and he always wakes drenched in sweat, breathing hard, and tangled in his sheets. Once the terror in his heart settles, he always begins the day with the same hope as well. He hopes Hinton has some news today. As far as anyone else knows, he requested the boy to be his steward, but in truth, he pays the boy to spy on the Queen's guards. As frightened as the boy had initially been of Liam, the kindness Jules had shown him outshone all, and his loyalty to her was the only reason he accepted the position.
There are two swift knocks on the door before it is swings open, and Hinton throws himself into the room. It's as if he were being chased, but Liam can hear no footsteps or clanking of metal that proceeds the guards, no nothing. He's used to Hinton. He assumes the boy is between nine and thirteen, old enough in his opinion to know the difference and act respectfully, yet the boy carries an air of dispassion, as if he were forced to grow up too fast, yet still refuses to let go of his childishness. Hinton takes his duties of espionage very seriously, and is quick to check in before heading back out. He spent last night in the servants' corridors outside the northern guard house. Apparently, guards are more talkative at night when they assume everyone else is sleeping.
"There's word, my Lord," he begins before the door has even closed. He stops short taking in the sight of Liam still sitting in bed, the sheets wrapped around his legs, his brow and chest wet and shining in the morning light as if he had run a marathon. He just stares at the boy, disregarding his current position. A million thoughts run through his mind - have his guards found traces of her? Have the Queen's? Has she been captured? Dragged in front of the Queen? Murdered?
"My Lord?" Hinton asks meekly, as if he were worried about Liam's sanity.
Liam propels himself out of bed, "Tell me." He says using his most commanding voice, his back to the boy, pulling on his trousers. He needs to hide his emotions better. If word spread of his weakness he could end up like his brother, or worse. The thought brings him back to the guards' hut when he last saw her. 'Caro killed Roan because she thought I loved him. You can't come with me, Liam. It'll only get you killed.'
"They say the Queen still intends to marry a Gerling." He pauses for effect. "The alliance between the two families is too great to lose, they say. She has one year from the day of her coronation to grieve and move on or she will lose her crown." The boy is talking rapidly, tripping over syllables in his haste. He is obviously excited about the news. No one in their right mind would refuse the request to marry THIS queen. No one but him.
Hinton's words bring him back to the present moment. "Marry a Gerling?" He asked dumbfounded. To his knowledge, there was no real advantage to either family for Ina's and Roan's marriage, only that the Queen's reach, and therefore Caro's, would extend even more protectively over Everless. He can't let that happen.
"No." He whispers it under his breath. Then louder, "No! I won't allow it." He turns abruptly to Hinton, his hands balled into fists, "I need you to go to Lady Varissa. Tell her to expect me within the hour. Then get back to your primary duties. Now!" He is yelling at the boy, daring him to defy him. No wonder everyone is afraid of him. Hinton nods his head stiffly, as if he is attempting to hold back tears. He turns and leaves as quickly as he arrived.