Page 22 of Of Blood and Banes (The Arterian #2)

YOUR SIDE

“ H ow’s your side?” Tawny asks the next morning as I open my door. She presents me my sword and scabbard, then glances at my ribs.

I suppose Sethan’s irritation after finding me and Cole out last night wasn’t enough to keep from returning our weapons.

I’m not going to question it further. Looping the sheath around myself, I pat my side.

I’m still perplexed at the sheer absurdity of it healing overnight.

“Thank you. Surprisingly, it doesn’t even hurt anymore. ”

“I’m glad to hear it. Sethan will likely want you training with the riders when they return.”

I blink. Riders? There are more of them?

She grimaces. “I’m not sure if that was sensitive information or not. Though, I imagine you’d find out sooner or later, since you entered the blood pact.”

With Darian having been taken by Gavin and Nolan to bathe and eat, I invite her inside with a gesture. She dips her head before sliding into the room with me. I scan her face and the cut on her forehead I stitched up weeks ago, now a scar.

As soon as I close the door, I ask, “Do you have a blood pact with him?”

“I do. But I didn’t need one.”

At least I know if she has a blood pact with Sethan, she can ultimately be trusted. But I’m still not privy to asking her what she knows of Cole’s ring I wear. Marge’s warning to keep the ring hidden at all costs echoes in my head. I ask, “Then why enter one?”

“Because it shows my people I trust him. I was born and raised here, and he was not. It was quite the commotion when he was sworn in—and so I felt it was my duty to seal myself to him. As did many others in the Dragon Lands.”

“But not everyone,” I mumble.

“Correct. Those of us north of the border may share similar ideals when it comes to dragons, but we don’t all agree with what needs to be done in terms of Arterias and King Aaric. We’ve always struggled with unity—even before Sethan came along.”

“So why do you trust him?”

She shrugs. “What other choice do I have? I know our current reality is like a frozen lake, thawing as the seconds tick by. We’re all standing on the surface, so consumed about being right, we push the others to the ground, not realizing if one of us falls and cracks the ice—we all go down.

The more we push and shove, the closer we get to drowning. ”

I nod, sucking my teeth in thought. “Even the rebels have rebels.”

She narrows her eyes. “You Arterians call us rebels. But we are so much more than that. We go by Vitalans.”

A knock sounds at the door.

“You may come in,” I call.

The door swings open and Corvin enters. Directing his attention at me, he dips his head. “Katerina, my apologies for the intrusion. Sethan requests your immediate presence.”

I take a breath. Great. I can only imagine what this conversation is going to be like after having already broken the curfew rule. I follow Corvin to Sethan’s office, and he ushers me inside.

Sethan lowers his head upon our arrival, then gestures to one of the tufted chairs on the other side of his desk. “Thank you for coming so promptly. Take a seat.”

I lower myself into the chair, watching him all the while and readying myself to answer questions about my relations with Cole and why I was out so late at night. Sethan’s hands are tucked neatly behind his back as he dismisses Corvin with a dip of his head, leaving us alone.

Sethan lifts his chin in the few seconds of silence. “I’m glad to see you survived sharing a room with Darian.”

I shrug, thankful we aren’t speaking of Cole. Yet. “Or he survived me.”

Sethan’s rough beard splits into a hesitant smile before it’s whisked away. “I spoke with the elders, and they’ve all agreed to the journey to Vitalis.”

That single word wipes away my question of why his trip was so short. “Journey?”

Glancing up at the large map stretching out across the wall, I trace a trail up to the drawing of the large, stone castle tucked into the mountain range.

Even from this distance the intricate details etched into each building are immaculate, with depictions of waterfalls framing the lush castle grounds.

But Midkeep is far. So far south, I imagine it’ll take triple the time from Padmoor to the far eastern shores of Arterias.

I drag my gaze back to Sethan. “They want us to go all the way up there? Why?”

“Because that’s where Queen Elara died. What do you know of the history of Arterias and Vitalis?”

“Honestly? Not much.”

He nods. “Before King Aaric came into rule, Arterias and Vitalis were just the northern and southern capital of Osseus.”

“Oss- ee -us?”

“Yes. Osseus was the name of our entire continent. After Queen Elara died, many detested Aaric’s claim to the throne, even though he was next in line?—”

“Didn’t King Aaric kill his sister, though?” I ask, recalling my father’s journal entries.

“That’s what many of the older generations say.

It could be a rumor, or it could be true.

There’s no way to know for certain. Many of the dragon riders rose up and rebelled against Aaric’s claim to the throne.

They argued he wasn’t fit to rule after the death of his wife and daughter and felt he was too mentally and emotionally unstable.

King Aaric executed them, claiming the dragon riders were causing anarchy.

But when he executed them—it divided the kingdom.

There had always been people who were wary and jealous of dragon riders, and those people flocked to Aaric, believing in a new order of power—one without dragons.

But the rest of the kingdom rose up behind those who lost their loved ones from such a gruesome, cruel execution.

King Aaric and his followers, nearly outnumbered at the time, fled south to Arterias.

Over the years, he’s taken down our towns one by one.

And as the older generations have passed on, the memories and histories have faded into oblivion. ”

“Then how do you know all of this?” I ask, still suspicious of his motives. I need to get that journal from Cole, see what it says about breaking pacts, and why Sethan would have information on it.

He motions toward his bookshelf with the many dusty and worn tomes.

“Aaric crafted a detailed plan of erasing the history, but we were able to save some things from Vitalis before he destroyed it. The rest has been shared by our elders and council members. Aaric wants us and the rest of the realm to forget. That’s why every one of our requests for peace has been ignored —because he wants to exterminate us. He wants complete and utter control.”

I swallow. “So…what do the elders think we’ll find in Vitalis that can help us?”

He shakes his head with a frown. “I’m not sure, and I don’t think even they know.

But they say you may be the key to answers we’ve tried to find for over a century.

No one else has been able to enter Vitalis except Cyrus, since it’s guarded by magic.

Cyrus had been looking for that ring you have, claiming it could change everything.

But he died before we could take down the King.

Since you’re his granddaughter, and the prophecy is about you and Daeja, we think you might be able to pass through the magical gates at Vitalis. ”

Of course it’s me. I blow out a breath. “When are we expected to leave? And how long will it take us to get to Vitalis?”

“Well, by dragon back, it’s maybe a few days. But seeing as we need to keep your squad together so no stragglers try to escape back to Arterias, it’s maybe a few weeks or a month on foot.”

A bit slower than I anticipated, considering the distance on the map from Midkeep to Vitalis.

Sethan grabs a long, skinny wooden rod off his desk, paces over to the map, and drags a trail up it. “From here to Driftmond is a full day’s travel after we cut over the river. Then another day’s worth of travel from Driftmond to Kilamber?—”

“Why would we do that when we need to go north to reach Vitalis? Why would we go west?”

He points to a cluster of mountains with a massive volcano northeast of here. “Because Eldire is where fire dragons live. And we can’t risk running into any wild ones.”

I nod, taking mental notes.

He continues, flicking the wooden stick from spot to spot on the map to direct my attention, “Anyway, after Kilamber, we get to Vathstone and restock our supplies. We should zig- zag over the river toward Bayrock, and then it’s several days to Silkwood?—”

“Wouldn’t that slow our pace? And we’d run the risk of losing supplies to the currents if we’re having to pass through the water multiple times?” My pulse skitters at the thought of having to cross a river several times over, the memory of my brother getting swept away replaying in my mind.

“Or running into water dragons.” Sethan shrugs, as if I shouldn’t be worried about it either. “Though, with it being winter, I imagine most of them are dormant in the depths of the ocean by now.”

“Do we have another option?”

“Well, we could cut north from Vathstone near Ashfall, trim the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest near Silkwood, restock in Pinepoint, and stay in Mossmead before the final stretch to Vitalis.” He takes a step back from the map, staring up at it in deep contemplation.

He glances at me from over his shoulder. “So, what’s it going to be?”

I flinch. “What?”

“What do you think we should do? Up to Bayrock or by Ashfall?”

“Ummm…” I glance back up at the map, caught off guard that he’s expecting me to weigh in on the plan. “I guess through Ashfall, if it’s faster?”

He nods. “Very well. In that case, prepare your squad. We leave in two nights.”