Resistance: The Umbra Chronicles Book 3 Read online

  I got to my feet, lightened and lifted by the winds that swirled around me, catching at my hair and the hem of my tunic and cloak. My fears had vanished. Of course, they had. I was the scariest thing in the Kingdom right now.

  Chapter Thirteen

  I strode towards Aine’s screams, blasting anyone who tried to assault me. I barely had to break stride. I went around the carriage, ready to flatten anyone who’d laid a hand on her. We’d been through hell together one night, and today, in this shadowy dusk, I was going to save her.

  Except… she was kind of doing a good job of that on her own.

  She wasn’t screaming. Well, she was, but they weren’t cries of pain. They weren’t cries of fear. They were cries of rage and power as she swung her dagger towards a man lunging towards her. He darted out of the way and tried to catch hold of her as she recovered from the strike.

  But she wasn’t recovering. She was striking again.

  He fell to the ground, quickly followed by the man stalking behind her that I hadn’t even had time to notice. Aine didn’t pause in her smooth, fluid motions as she slit his throat. She didn’t even need magic.

  This wasn’t the same timid girl whom I’d known the last time I was here. She’d grown up. She’d become something else.

  This was the Dark Queen.

  There wasn’t much more. The guards tidied up the rest while Andras stepped over a body and sauntered towards us like we were on a picnic. He wiped his sword blades clean on the hem of his tunic and slid them back into their scabbards.

  ‘All right, Princess? Emer?’

  ‘Apparently,’ I replied. ‘Aine, where did you learn to do that?’

  She dropped the dagger and I realised it wasn’t even hers. She’d managed to take it from an attacker. Aine. The girl who’d let her stepmother and sister take every advantage over her. The girl who had been too afraid to tell her stepmother that the man chosen to marry her was a violent, dangerous man. The girl who had gone through with the wedding ceremony to a man who terrified her because she didn’t want to make a fuss. The girl who had taken more from me than she’d deserved.

  ‘How?’ I demanded.

  ‘What?’ she asked. She looked around at the carnage she’d wrought. ‘I must have had a surge of adrenaline. They say you do, you know, in a crisis.’

  ‘Aine, I’ve seen you in a crisis. That’s not how you respond to a surge of adrenaline.’

  ‘I was so frightened,’ she said. ‘I didn’t know what I was doing.’

  ‘Aine, you’re a terrible liar.’

  ‘Unlike you.’

  That stung and I let her see that it stung. Even Andras winced. But I gritted my teeth, because I wasn’t letting this go. ‘Yes, Aine. Unlike me. So, I know a good liar when I see one. You’re a terrible liar and you can’t possibly get away with it. So, spill. How the hell did you learn to do this? Because I know damn well that the last time I saw you, you weren’t able to do this.’

  ‘How would you know?’ she countered. ‘It’s been six months since you were here. A lot of things have changed. And you never knew me all that well.’

  I stepped forward until we were nose to identical nose. ‘I know because one dark moonless night, you and I were on a road together, and if you had the ability to do this, you would have done it then.’

  She paled but didn’t back down. ‘Maybe I was hiding it. Maybe I just didn’t want to reveal my abilities. I don’t remember you leaving a trail of bodies behind you that night, either.’

  ‘All I have is magic,’ I retorted. ‘The only thing I know about swords is which end is supposed to go in my enemy. Even then, I’ve been known to get that mixed up. That night, I had no more magic. Sir Cai took it all. I had no power to protect you. I had no power to protect myself.’

  ‘You have power today. Why didn’t you just use that power to get away from here? You could have just run. You don’t have to remain our prisoner.’

  ‘Prisoner.’ I let her see that that one hurt even more than the last. I took a step away, towards Andras, then spun back to her. ‘Prisoner? I thought we were family. And I am here…’ I was suddenly overwhelmed by a surge of anger. ‘Prisoner!’ I spat. ‘Prisoner! When I have risked everything to help you and your stupid family. When I have risked everything to save a world I really don’t give a shit about. I only care about this stupid, stupid world because the people I care about are in it. And I damned well don’t know why I care. I’m just as stupid as the rest of you.’

  I bent and picked up a rock close by my boot, throwing it as hard as I could at a nearby wall. Aine flinched at the sound of the impact but didn’t turn around to look at it. ‘What do you want from us, Emer? Why do you even bother? Why are you here?’

  I swooped and picked up another rock and flung it to smash against the wall. If I didn’t, I was going to smash her. And I hated that I had this anger inside me. I’d never been the nice one. I’d always been the one with the temper, the ungrateful one, the one that none of the Guardians liked. I’d killed Maldwyn and it hadn’t even made a dent in the anger inside me. I was still smashing rocks.

  ‘I want my sister to be okay. I want her to be happy. I want her to be safe. That’s all I’ve ever wanted.’

  ‘Then why aren’t you with her? Why come here to complicate my life?’

  ‘Complicate your life? Aine, you don’t know what complicated is. But you know what? You’re going to. You’re going to learn, in the years that come, that the darkness you’ve seen was only the beginning. For some reason, I care about that. I want to save you from that. I want to save-’ the name was wrenched from me, ‘Elisabeth from the world that we grew up in. And the only way we can be free of that darkness is to stop your wretched sister. You can change this world. Your father can change it. Oisin can change it. But you’re all doing nothing! And I don’t know why some nobody who was raised without even a name of her own has to tell you all this!’

  ‘Nobody? Emer, you’re Umbra’s heir.’

  ‘Nobody,’ I snapped. ‘I am nobody. And I don’t care. I have nothing. My sister resents me. Lynnevet is dead. Caradoc is dead. I can’t even save my own son and he’s barely more than a baby. Even Rhiannon, Aine, your own baby, she grows up to be the most damaged person I’ve ever met. And none of you seem to care about any of this.’

  Aine blinked. ‘Rhiannon?’ she asked.

  ‘Yes, Aine. Rhiannon. Your daughter. Your daughter who spends her life growing up in the so-called care of your filthy sister. Your daughter who was branded on the face with sorrow signs when she was just a child, who spent her life having her magic harvested by your sister every month after the full moon.’

  ‘You’ve seen my daughter?’ She barely whispered it.

  How had I not told her that before? And what kind of monster was I to tell her the horrors of Rhiannon’s life in such a way as this? I snatched a breath. It felt like a while since I’d done it. I’d been spitting venom for so long, I don’t know when I last drew air into my lungs. But that breath tasted like blood and only the sting of shame I felt was enough to dull my anger.

  ‘Not as a little girl, Aine. From my time. She’s grown up, a few years older than me. We met when we were both Aoife’s slaves. She slept in a tomb half the time, because Aoife liked to throw her out of the castle every now and then to live with her discarded slaves in the tunnels of Cairastel.’

  I put my hands up to run through my hair, pushing it hard away from my face. ‘I just don’t get you. You know that terrible things are going to happen to your own child and you don’t do anything about it. You waste time here when you should be riding to Rheged. The people would crown you Queen. They loved you. Aoife is relying on enslaving the Draceni to replace the Camiri army who are rebelling against her now. She doesn’t even have an army. You could defeat her. And yet, here we are.’

  She shook her head. I became aware that Oisin had joined us, standing silently beside Andras. ‘How can I believe your crazy stories?’ she asked.

  I sh
rugged. ‘Who could make this shit up? Yes, I lied before. But not for myself. Only to save my sister. What do I have to gain from lying now?’

  ‘You’re asking me to turn my back on everything I’ve ever wanted. My mother, Emer. My real mother!’

  ‘You don’t lose anything by turning your back on that poisonous, lying bitch. She’ll eat you up, I guarantee it. Don’t you think it’s a huge co-incidence that we were attacked at the camp, when she knew we were going there today?’

  ‘She cares about my charity work.’

  ‘She wants you dead.’

  ‘No…’

  I felt my shoulders sag. ‘Fine, Aine. Whatever. But you know I’ve never done anything but protect you.’

  ‘That’s true.’

  I never could let things go. ‘You’re damn right that’s true. Now get in the damn carriage and we’ll go talk to your stupid father and hope he has more bloody sense than you. Somehow, I doubt it.’

  She got into the carriage without complaint. Oisin and I followed her. He watched me closely, sitting on the cushions opposite us, but didn’t press me for answers about the massive tantrum I’d just had.

  We went to see the King when we returned to the Palace. I was afraid the guards would stop Oisin, but they naturally had no idea who he was. Aine simply told them he was accompanying us and that was the end of it. We went straight to the King’s study, at the top of the tower. I’d been in this room as a princess, as a thief, and as a criminal brought to justice.

  My heart pounded. How would I be received in that room today?

  Aine asked Oisin, nicely, politely, if he would mind waiting outside while we spoke to our father first. Oisin replied nicely, politely, that he didn’t mind at all. We went in.

  The King was there, sitting at his messy, enormous desk, scattered with books and papers, a pen in his hand, but the paper before him ignored. Beside him sat Saoirse, her loose dark hair glossy and sleek in the last of the daylight refracted from the stained glass in the window. Our arrival tore his attention from her, but his bemused smile remained, and the fingers of his spare hand were still tangled in her hair.

  ‘We have returned from Am Dien, Father,’ Aine said. She went to him and dropped a kiss on his brow.

  I was jealous. She acted like this was something she’d done every day of her life. I had to remind myself that she hadn’t even known him before I arrived in Rheged the first time. I hadn’t known I had any family at that time, either. I should be glad that she’d found the home she’d always dreamed of. I should take heart and hope that one day I could find a home, too.

  ‘Did you have a nice day, daughter?’

  Aine caught my eye. Slowly and deliberately, I raised one eyebrow. A nice day? Well, I suppose it depended on how you looked at it.

  ‘The day was… eventful, Father. Great deeds have been done today.’

  He smiled indulgently. ‘You do good work, daughter.’

  I nearly rolled my eyes. I disguised the beginning of the movement as looking away at something. That last ray of sunlight was fading and Saoirse’s face was deepening into shadow, but she saw me. Her voice was sharp. ‘Why would you roll your eyes at that, Emer?’ she demanded. ‘My daughter’s work is important. You never cared to help other people. You always were so selfish.’

  Aine looked uncomfortable, but Andras hit the roof.

  ‘Selfish?’ he repeated. ‘You weren’t there, madam. You didn’t see Emer save the lives of a thousand Rhydda today, at the risk of her own life. Such a person is not selfish. Since your judgement of her is so obviously flawed, perhaps the fault lies not in Emer, but in you.’

  ‘Andras!’ the King leaped to his feet. ‘For the sake of my son’s affection for you, I tolerate a good deal, but I will not tolerate disrespect of my wife. Ferdas, take him back to his room and keep him there under guard.’

  Ferdas took hold of Andras’s arm and pushed him from the room. They met Gwydion, coming into the room as they left. Andras and Gwydion stared at one another, practically caught in the doorframe. Andras’s face was filled with bitterness and anger. Gwydion showed no emotion at all.

  Aine turned to her father. ‘Emer did save many lives today, Father. Even mine.’

  ‘What did she do that was so special?’ Saoirse sneered.

  ‘I sent Kiaran running with his tail between his legs,’ I replied. I wasn’t keen for the King to know that I could change into a dragon. It didn’t take a genius to realise that he would see it as nothing but a threat. ‘Your troops ambushed the Rhydda. It was not successful. And your assassins are currently having their blood washed off the streets. You will note, Saoirse, that Aine and I remain unharmed.’

  ‘What a relief.’ Saoirse put her hand on the King’s arm. ‘I worry so much for the safety of my dear daughters. Even you, Emer.’

  But the King was frowning. He stood up, dislodging her hand from his arm. His gaze went from Aine to me to Oisin. ‘What is this about danger? What ambush? What assassins?’ He stepped towards Aine, hands outreached. She put her hands in his like she’d known him all her life. ‘What transpired today?’

  Aine cast a sidelong glance at me. ‘We were attacked, Father. At Am Dien. It’s true. It was terribly dangerous. There were so many soldiers, and a man riding a dragon. Emer… fought on the side of the Rhydda. She was very brave. They were so impressed they made her an honorary Rhydda. She is now known to them as Emer of the family Ganainn.’

  The King bowed, almost reflexively. ‘Emer of the family Ganainn, I honour your name.’ It sounded like he’d said it a thousand times to a thousand different people. It was probably some ancient tradition. I felt left outside. I had been isolated from both Meistri and Camiri communities when I was growing up. I was an exile to everyone. I felt the lack of familiarity with these customs like I’d felt the lack of a parent.

  ‘Wait a minute.’ The King turned to focus on me. It was so easy to dismiss him. A quiet old man, swamped in facial hair and wrapped in a simple robe. But his mind was as sharp as the point of a wand. ‘The family Ganainn? There is no family by that name. It means the nameless family. It doesn’t make sense.’

  ‘I made a new family today,’ I replied, feeling Gwydion’s attention on me, too. ‘It didn’t seem right to me that there were people who weren’t part of a family. So, anyone who doesn’t have a family name is free to join mine.’

  ‘A new family?’ The King gaped at me. ‘Such a thing hasn’t been done for five hundred years.’

  I shrugged, awkwardly. ‘I didn’t have a name most of my life. I wouldn’t inflict that on anyone. The Rhydda were good enough to allow me to share in their community. So, I’m going to share my name with anyone who wants it.’ I held out my wrist to show him the phoenix tattoo. ‘This is our family marking. They tell me it’s an old custom.’

  The King came close to examine the tattoo. He folded back his sleeve to expose his forearm to me. It bore a similar marking, etched with ink and needles, showing a crown with what I first thought was a sword through it, but then realised it was a wand. ‘I value these traditions, Emer. This is the marking of the family Caelorann. I apologise. Had I known that you didn’t know your family name, I would have told you.’

  His eyes met mine, candid and open for once, so I was candid in return, and spoke quietly, just for him. ‘I didn’t feel welcome.’

  His lip twisted. ‘For that, Emer, I apologise.’ He put his hand on my shoulder.

  I couldn’t help it. I twisted away under his hand. I hated being touched by older men. Even an innocent touch reminded me of Maldwyn. I suspected it would be decades before I could stand it without shrinking. ‘I’m sorry,’ I said, even as I shrank from him. ‘I was hurt.’ It was a lie, but not a lie. I’d been hurt today. I’d been hurt in the past.

  The King saw, as always, more than I gave him credit for. He’d seen me shrink from an innocent touch before, too. Andras had covered for me then, but I think the King could tell that a disproportional response like that didn’t come from
a recent wound.

  ‘You have a tattoo?’ Saoirse appeared at the King’s side, twining her hand around his. ‘How disgusting. You see why I could never control her as a child, darling?’

  He met her inquiring gaze, but his own was impassive and Saoirse quickly realised she was on unstable ground, even if she didn’t know why.

  Gwydion spoke up before she could change tack. ‘Who have you brought back with you, sister? I passed him on the landing when I came in, a well-spoken gentleman.’

  Saoirse gasped and lay a hand against her breast. ‘Do you mean to tell me you brought someone all the way into the palace and haven’t even introduced him to the King? Darling, I’m so sorry. I wish I could have taught my girls better manners, but my dearest Aine was stolen from me by the evil Lynnevet, and Emer refused to learn.’

  ‘Why don’t you just let him in?’ I asked, suddenly weary.

  Saoirse turned on all her wiles for Oisin’s entry.

  ‘What is your name, good sir?’

  He bowed. ‘My name is Oisin, madam.’ He didn’t ask for her name.

  She practically fluttered her eyelashes at him. ‘I’m so sorry my girls left you waiting in the hall. It was terribly wrong of them. So ill-mannered.’

  ‘I would not intrude on a private moment,’ he said smoothly. ‘Good manners are always at the service of compassion. I would not have my first meeting with new allies to be rushed.’

  ‘Allies?’ Saoirse laughed, laying a hand flat against her chest. ‘Good sir, you speak like a politician.’

  ‘So he is,’ I said. ‘Your Majesty, I have the honour to present to you Oisin, King of the Draceni.’

  Saoirse screamed. Guards came running into the room. Chaos reigned for a moment. Gwydion caught her flailing hands and spoke soothing words in her ear. He pulled her to a couch, her feet catching on the carpet in reluctance as he drew her down to sit beside him. Aine fluttered from Saoirse to the King to me and skirted Oisin as if afraid he might turn into a dragon at any moment.