Page 48 of Thorns & Fire (The Ashes of Thezmarr #2)
Wren
‘After the deaths of King Soren and Queen Brigh, no heirs to the kingdom of Delmira came forwards to claim their throne of ruins. It has remained a wasteland ever since’
– The Midrealms Chronicles
T IME HUNG SUSPENDED, just for a moment, as all eyes fell to Wren. The weight of their stares was a crushing pressure that threatened to overwhelm her. She fought the urge to shrink back, to hide from the accusations and betrayal etched on every face.
Instead, she lifted her chin in defiance.
And then the room erupted.
Fists slammed atop the table, accompanied by a cacophony of raised voices; chairs were knocked backwards as people stood in outrage. King Leiko’s expression morphed from surprise to fury, and he made a move towards Wren, scattering the papers that had been neatly piled before him.
‘I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Your Majesty,’ said a familiar voice from the doorway.
Torj didn’t shift an inch, didn’t fall into his usual rhythm of brute strength and violence. His glimmering dark eyes said more than enough. Both he and Cal stood at the entrance now, their presence commanding the entire chamber.
‘This doesn’t concern you, Warswords,’ Lord Lucian told them. ‘Or perhaps you were in on this betrayal?’
Neither Torj nor Cal moved, but Torj’s gaze slid to the nobleman. ‘Though my current duty binds me to the heir of Delmira, I am a Warsword of Thezmarr. I do not answer to you.’
But Warswords or not, they could not save Wren from this. She looked to Farissa, to Audra, and both women gave her a nod of encouragement. There was no going back, no hiding this any more.
Wren swallowed hard, her throat suddenly dry. ‘I discovered the rose on my recent research trip to Delmira,’ she began.
‘But Delmira is barren. Nothing grows there,’ Master Norlander argued, not taking his eyes off the vibrant petals on the table.
‘I thought so too,’ Wren told him with a nod. ‘In all the years that I lived there after the war, it barely supported the grasslands and the heather. The earth was cracked and dry, the fields yellowed...’
Beside her, she felt Zavier go rigid as he learned the extent of her and Dessa’s secrecy. And she could sense Torj’s eyes on her, his anguish for her. It was hitting her in waves.
Nevertheless, she forged on. ‘But when I returned, I discovered that it is barren no longer. Kristopher Snowden, Odessa Chamberlain and Torj Elderbrock can attest to this. However, it was at my insistence that they kept this information secret.’
Torj stepped towards her. ‘Wren—’
But she flung up a hand, silencing him.
‘I went back to identify and source a plant that had helped me create the cure we used against the enemy’s alchemy during my time as a novice.
I didn’t know that Delmira had changed; I didn’t know what it had become,’ she told them.
‘I understand how this must look, but I didn’t keep this from you with ill intent. I was trying to avoid more conflict—’
The Master of Lifelore stepped forwards, his usually calm demeanour shattered. ‘You had no right to make that decision.’
‘Did I not?’ Wren shot back. ‘I am one of the heirs of Delmira, after all.’
But she had never seen her teacher incensed like this. ‘You don’t know the half of it. Do you even know what Delmira was like before it fell?’
Wren suppressed the instinct to look to Farissa for guidance. Instead, she waited.
Master Norlander forged on. ‘It was the crown jewel of the midrealms for agriculture. Naarva may have been the Kingdom of Gardens, but Delmira... If something grew there, it was better, richer, more potent in whatever properties it held. People would pay bags of gold for a simple sack of soil from the lands there. It was the most fertile, the most sought after.’
Wren faltered. ‘How?’
‘Well, that was the question. Generations of Embervales kept their secrets close to their chests, refusing to share their methods with the rest of the kingdoms, ensuring that theirs remained on top.’ The Master of Lifelore shook his head as though he were personally offended.
‘You should have informed us immediately.’
At last, Audra stood. ‘And what? Alerted the entire midrealms to the rebirth of a dead kingdom before we’ve had a chance to secure it?’
King Leiko glared at her and then Wren with loathing. ‘Delmira has no ruler. It is not governed or guarded. Anyone can march onto its lands and take what they want. We should have been informed. We are allies. This is a blatant disrespect for that supposed trust.’
As the cacophony of voices washed over Wren, the full weight of her decision crashed down upon her.
She had tried to do the right thing, to maintain peace and order, to listen to her superiors, those who were wiser than herself.
.. and yet before her, the past five years of peace wavered.
Alliances and friendship forged in hardship were crumbling under the weight of this revelation.
And now, rage simmered in Wren once more.
Lightning pricked at her fingertips, and outside, thunder shook the sky.
Audra’s eyes flashed in warning. But Wren wasn’t in control. She couldn’t help it as the power surged through her, as it demanded that she yield. She thought she had mastered it years ago; she had always shown more command over it than either of her sisters, and yet here she was, losing hold—
Torj was suddenly at her side, covering her hands with his, stopping the storm from breaking.
‘Delmira needs to be protected,’ King Leiko declared. ‘I shall have my army march there at once.’
Audra’s voice projected across the chamber, as steely and commanding as ever. ‘Unless permitted by the rightful heir to the kingdom, to invade Delmira, ruler or not, is an act of war , an act against the peace accords of the midrealms. Thezmarr will answer accordingly.’
‘Are you threatening the King of Tver, Guild Master?’ Lord Lucian asked.
‘I am reminding the King of Tver of his oaths,’ Audra said coldly.
The king’s gaze shifted to Wren, full of ire. ‘Is there anything else Princess Elwren deigns to share with us?’
‘I didn’t know any of this until a few weeks ago. Our kingdom was barren , as far as I know.’
Lord Lucian sneered. ‘So now it’s your kingdom...’
Torj took a step towards the nobleman, bracing a hand on the wicked blade at his belt. ‘You forget yourself, Devereux.’
‘The truth of the matter is that Delmira is no longer barren. The kingdom belongs to the Embervales, as it has throughout history,’ Audra proclaimed.
‘If this is something you object to, you need to make it known. We will reconvene to continue this tomorrow morning at the eighth hour. Meeting adjourned.’
Wren didn’t realize she was shaking until Torj pushed her gently back into her chair. He stood silently by her side as they watched the chamber empty, with countless glares shot in her direction.
The weight of everything was crushing. Somehow, she had wound up with the fate of a kingdom in her hands. Again.
She only looked up when the door clicked closed.
The faces that stared back were of those she cared for: Torj, Cal, Kipp, Dessa, Zavier, Farissa and Audra. And Wren couldn’t bear it, couldn’t bear the pity etched into their expressions.
She went to Dessa first, tilting her friend’s head gently to the light so she could scan her for injuries. ‘Are you alright?’ she asked, noting where a trail of blood had dried on Dessa’s neck. Wren reached for her kit, but Dessa batted her hands away.
‘I’m fine, Wren. I swear. You have bigger things to worry about.’
Wren wanted to drop her head into her hands, to hide away from it all. But instead, she looked to Audra, whose mouth was set in a grim line.
‘That won’t be the last time such notions are voiced, Elwren,’ the Guild Master told her.
‘I can station warriors at Delmira’s borders for the interim while we work out what to do, but I cannot give a rulerless kingdom a permanent guard.
And I fear this will only get worse, especially once the People’s Vanguard are made aware. ’
Wren nodded slowly, then turned, seeking the keenest mind in the room.
Kipp’s eyes locked onto hers in understanding. ‘You know what you need to do?’ he asked.
‘It’s time to call Thea back.’ Wren took a trembling breath and rose to her feet. ‘Delmira needs a queen.’