Page 50 of Thorns & Fire (The Ashes of Thezmarr #2)

Wren

‘Alchemy is often considered a lonely discipline, but what many novices and adepts fail to realize is the necessity for community, for lasting connections within the craft. The mind is a blade, but many minds make an army’

– Alchemy Unbound

W REN BARELY REMEMBERED how it had happened. One minute she’d been writing a desperate plea to Thea, overcome with guilt, and the next she’d been in the eye of a violent storm, with Torj’s arms around her. He had held her so tightly, as though he could fight fate itself and anchor her to the world.

The Bear Slayer hadn’t flinched at her power this time. Instead, he had embraced it, embraced her , while the feel of him flooded her senses, washing away the chaos within. He hadn’t said a word; he had simply been there, pulling her back from the darkness.

Now, as he escorted her back to the main building, his cloak wrapped around her shoulders, Wren felt utterly raw and depleted... but an ember of something forgotten glowed in the otherwise hollow pit of her chest.

They didn’t speak until they reached the residence halls and Wren brought them to a stop. ‘I have to see Dessa,’ she told the Warsword at her side.

‘Wren...’ he protested gently. ‘I think you need to rest. You can talk to her tomorrow.’

Wren had already raised her fist to knock. ‘They hurt her. Because of me . I have to make sure she’s alright. I was distracted before – I didn’t check properly. Not like I should have.’

Torj didn’t protest again. She knew he understood.

With her heart in her throat, she pounded on the door. ‘Dessa? Dessa, are you in there?’ Panic gripped her in a way that usually had her hurtling back to the past, but she rooted herself in the present, in the rapping of her knuckles against the timber. ‘Dessa!’ she half-shouted.

Relief surged through her as the door opened a crack, a head of red hair peeking out. ‘Wren?’ The door widened, and Dessa stepped back, her face forlorn, her eyes red. The shallow cut at her throat from where the dagger had pressed was scabbed over, but the sight of it made Wren’s stomach lurch.

With a brief look, she told Torj to stay outside as she swept into Dessa’s room, the door clicking closed behind her.

‘Wren, I-I...’ Dessa stammered. ‘I’m—’

But Wren swept her friend up in her arms, hugging her tightly. ‘I’m so sorry, Dessa—’

‘ You’re sorry?’ Dessa choked into Wren’s neck. ‘ I’m the one who betrayed you. I’m the one who let the secret out.’

Wren grabbed her by the shoulders and held her at arm’s length so she could double-check her for injuries.

‘You did no such thing, you hear me? I put you in a terrible position, your life was at risk , and you still didn’t say a word.

This is on me. And I’m so sorry for it. I’m sorry for not being a better friend. ’

Tears streamed down Dessa’s cheeks and Wren wiped them away with her thumbs, cupping her face.

‘Please forgive me?’

Dessa shook her head. ‘There’s nothing to forgive. I thought I let you down, that I ruined everything.’

‘You didn’t, on both counts,’ Wren assured her. ‘It was me who let you down.’

‘No—’

‘Yes,’ Wren said firmly. ‘And it won’t happen again. That’s not the kind of friend I want to be.’

‘You’re not.’ Dessa smiled through her tears. ‘I’m just sorry they found out. I know that’s not what you wanted.’

‘It wasn’t going to be a secret for ever, Dess. It’s too big. But what happened?’

Dessa sighed. ‘I was in the conservatory working on my own opus, a few benches away from where you left your samples. Some of King Leiko’s advisers were taking a tour of the grounds with some novices, but one of them.

.. I think one of them was an alchemist. He stopped when he saw the roses.

He started touching them, plucking at petals and examining the leaves, saying that he’d never seen a rose so perfect. ’

Wren’s skin crawled. ‘And then what?’

‘And then he found your notes—’

‘That’s not possible... I keep my notes locked away in my room. I—’

She saw Dessa’s throat bob. ‘It’s my fault.

The last time we worked together I took yours by mistake.

I’d only found them among mine that morning.

I put them on your desk with the roses so I’d remember to give them back to you and.

.. he saw them. He saw the map of Delmira.

And by then I’d come over to your station to make sure he wasn’t tampering with your work, which gave me away.

He shoved the map into my hand and dragged me before the king. The rest, you know.’

‘Gods, Dessa. I’m so sorry. You didn’t deserve that.’

‘Neither did you. I should have been more careful.’

‘Please don’t blame yourself.’ Wren hung her head, the next words tumbling from her mouth in a raw admission.

‘I don’t remember the last time I was sure about anything, the last time I felt like I wasn’t on the edge of making some monumental mistake.

What is going to become of alchemy as a discipline with a tyrant at the helm?

What of Drevenor? Once more of this poison spills out into the world, there’ll be no putting it back. ’

Dessa was quiet for a moment before she nudged Wren. ‘Do you want a cup of tea?’

A weak laugh bubbled from Wren’s lips. ‘What?’

Her friend went to where a small pot hung over the hearth. ‘I say this with love, Wren, but... you look exhausted. A cup of tea won’t solve all your problems, but it’s a good place to start.’

Wren’s whole body sagged with relief. ‘I’d love that.’

The women sat cross-legged on Dessa’s bed, steaming mugs of tea between their palms, and Wren sank into the warm comfort of female friendship once more. It was a balm like no other, she realized. She needed it.

When she’d settled in, Dessa told her about her progress with her own opus – the memory device to help her ailing father. She told her how much interest the masters had shown in it, how excited they were on her behalf.

‘I’m worried I won’t have enough time, though,’ Dessa admitted. ‘It’s such intricate work, it can’t be rushed... but our presentation day is so close now.’

Wren knew the feeling well. ‘The pressure is mounting, isn’t it?’

‘Truly,’ Dessa agreed. ‘You’d think during this time of upheaval we’d be shown a bit of grace, but...’

‘Knowledge is the victor over fate,’ Wren replied.

Dessa huffed a dry laugh. ‘And the mind is a blade... Drevenor stops for nothing, not even a possible war.’

‘I think we’re beyond the realm of possible now,’ Wren said gently.

‘I think you’re right.’ Dessa heaved a sigh. ‘Shall we talk about something else?’

The conversation shifted to romance, as it tended to with Dessa at the helm – but for once, Wren wasn’t the subject in question.

‘Things are over between Kipp and me,’ Dessa admitted, draining the rest of her tea.

‘Zavier mentioned it. I’m sorry.’

Dessa sighed. ‘It was fun while it lasted, but after we went with you to Delmira... I realized my priorities are with the academy. I want to put my work before all else, until I meet someone who feels like home... Does that sound ridiculous?’

‘No,’ Wren told her. ‘It sounds wise.’

‘Well, I have my moments.’ Dessa poured them both a fresh cup. ‘And you? Have you fixed things with your Bear Slayer?’

‘No,’ she admitted. ‘It’s not easy.’

‘The good things never are, Wren.’

Wren let out a rueful chuckle. ‘I’ll say.’

The next morning, as the early light bled into the council room, Wren’s head was already aching.

She sat beside Zavier, who’d been strangely understanding about her keeping Delmira a secret, while Lord Lucian Devereux, King Leiko, and Lady Liora had graciously come to the conclusion that the Embervales were indeed the rightful heirs to the kingdom.

The newfound state of said kingdom was another thing entirely, and the rulers raged and bickered about what to do with the information.

Meanwhile, Darian Devereux watched everything unfold with a bored expression, and Kipp sat at the far end of the table, his auburn hair falling over his eyes as he scribbled away in a small notebook.

‘If we keep this hidden from the common folk, it’s more fodder for the People’s Vanguard to use against us. They’ll say we’re hiding resources, that we’re deliberately keeping them in the dark,’ Lady Liora argued, her face flushed with passion.

‘And if we announce it to the midrealms, people will flock to Delmira and ravage the lands,’ Audra countered.

The dispute had gone on in circles like this for the better part of an hour, and to Wren’s further dismay, the chronicler Magnus Crane sat in the corner, scribbling away on a roll of parchment, glaring at her whenever he got the chance.

Apparently, history was being written in this very room, by a biased fool.

Rubbing her temples, Wren glanced at Kipp, who was still quiet on the outskirts of the room, sipping from a mug she suspected contained something stronger than tea. But the strategist’s eyes were bright with interest, his brows knitted together as he followed the debate back and forth.

At last, he cleared his throat. ‘Until there is a structure in place for the governing of the kingdom, we cannot let this information spread,’ he told the seated party.

‘If Delmira is as superior as claimed, whoever holds the kingdom has an advantage in the conflict ahead. The last thing we can afford is for the enemy to get their hands on more potent ingredients, or to win over more of the common folk with promises of land. The People’s Vanguard nearly bested us in Drevenor’s own halls.

If they can enhance their concoctions, it will be over for us. ’

‘Kristopher is right,’ Audra said. ‘Currently, only the silvertide rose from Delmira has been effective in Wren’s experiments against the dark alchemy. If they get wind of this, we’d be giving them the very blade that ends us all.’

‘So what?’ King Leiko interjected. ‘We’re to wait until the Embervale girls – who have previously rejected the crown, might I add – decide the fate of the whole midrealms?’

The way he spat the word girls had Wren’s blood boiling, as though she and Thea were still teenagers running around Thezmarr.

They were women – women who had defended the midrealms and nearly lost everything.

She had listened to men talk about her as though she wasn’t there for long enough, and she was done .

Wren got to her feet and stared down the King of Tver. ‘I may not wear a crown, Your Majesty, but I deserve your respect – or have you forgotten my role in the war? How I saved you? How I brought you back from the brink of insanity?’

‘That’s hardly—’

‘I’m still speaking.’ Wren had learned from the women who came before her how to make her words sharp enough to cut glass.

Audra. Farissa. Anya. Thea. She rarely used that tone, but the utter disrespect in this chamber called for it now.

‘I have summoned my sister here, and as the only living heirs of Delmira, she and I will decide how to handle this development. I assure you, I have no intention of hiding resources or abusing power, but nor will I hand the enemy the best chance we have at defeating them. Unless you have any genuine questions or suggestions, I have work to do.’

Wren waited a moment, watching as the realization dawned on each face before her that they had no choice but to wait, or declare war on her homeland.

‘Good,’ she said curtly, before leaving the room.

Torj was waiting for her outside. ‘That went well...’

‘You heard?’ she asked.

‘I heard you put those pricks in their places.’

A smile curled Wren’s lips. ‘Someone had to.’

‘Elwren!’ a voice called after them, and Wren turned to see Audra hurrying towards her. ‘I’d like a word with you in private,’ the Guild Master said without preamble.

Before Wren could answer, Audra was leading her into an empty room, dismissing Torj with a wave. When the door clicked closed, Audra faced her.

‘I have a list of Warswords for you to choose from,’ she stated, producing a piece of parchment from the folds of her cloak.

Wren stared blankly at the yellowed square. ‘What?’

‘It was never my intention to break my word to you,’ Audra continued, still holding out the list. ‘I agreed that in exchange for you creating the cure, Elderbrock would no longer be in your service, that we would find you a suitable replacement once Thea returned to her regular duties. I have not forgotten my promise.’

Wren stared at the tally of names as Audra pushed the parchment into her waiting hand.

‘I’ll have your choice of guard here within the next two days, and I’ll have the Bear Slayer removed by the end of the week,’ the Guild Master told her.

‘I don’t want a replacement,’ Wren blurted, pushing the list back.

Audra’s brow furrowed. ‘You don’t?’

It was as though Wren were watching herself from a distance, a stranger to her own actions, her own words, even as they threatened to carve her open anew.

‘I’m his to protect,’ she said. ‘And he’s mine.’