Allegiance (River of Souls 3)

“It’s … it’s what he said before. He…”

He mumbled but she could not understand him. He had lost too much blood. She had to get him back to Duenne as quickly as possible. She nearly laughed to think of time, here in Anderswar. She had to bite down on her lip to break the panic. Come, my love. I will not fail you now.

Her heartbeat slowed. Her vision spiraled down to the point between breaths, the point between magic and the mundane, between terror and courage. She had forgotten Anderswar and its void. She could think only of Duenne and its towers. Of the streets filled with bellsong and a wind that carried the scent of Veraene’s endless plains. Of a golden palace where Tanja Duhr and her beloved once lived.

The mist ebbed from them like the tide rolling out. Once more she saw the worlds wheeling beneath them. Above, bright points marked where souls journeyed to their next lives. Ilse gathered Raul into her arms.

“Ei rûf ane gôtter,” she whispered. “Komen mir de zoubernisse. Komen mir der wërlt.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

HER BODY HAD turned numb. Her breath had frozen inside her. Her thoughts came to her in single words, collecting like raindrops from the mist, until they gathered the weight to plummet from nothing into substance, into the pool of consciousness.

Black. Void. Death and blood. A senseless babbling in her ears.

It was like a game of word links drawn from the nightmare that was Anderswar.

Gradually, as though from a distance, she became aware of her surroundings. She drew a deep breath and felt an ache deep within. Voices thrummed in her ears, like that of Lir’s jewels before they returned to magic’s plane. Raul lay motionless in her arms, his skin burning with fever. She pressed her face against his chest. If he was so warm, she told herself, he could not be dead.

A hand gripped her shoulder. “Ilse.”

She jerked her head up. Benno Iani bent over her. His eyes were buried in darkness, lines etched into his face. And that look on his face, as though he had witnessed something impossible.

“You are home,” he whispered. “Home. Do you understand?”

She could barely comprehend what he said. Home? What did that mean? She blinked and tried to take in her surroundings. She was dimly aware of many, many people gathered around. There was the gleam of swords, and the brighter, sharper glitter of jewels. She lifted her head to see a vast open space. The palace, she remembered. They were in the middle of the grand audience hall where she had argued for Raul’s innocence.

“Benno,” she whispered. “How…”

“You and he vanished five days ago. Your shadows appeared in this chamber yesterday. I’ve been waiting.” In milder tones, he said, “You must let him go.”

Ilse released her grip on Raul. She fell backward, into a cloud of scented silk. Her head lay pillowed on a woman’s breast, and a gentle hand brushed the sweat-soaked hair from her face. “You must never, ever frighten us so,” Nadine murmured into her ear. “I am a selfish creature, remember? I cannot bear to spend a lifetime thinking I might have saved you, but did not.” She kissed Ilse lightly and her breath fluttered against Ilse’s cheek. “My love, my brave and true love. Do you know what you have done? You have saved the kingdom. Come. Do not weep. Lord Iani will cure your beloved of whatever ails him.”

“I will hold you to that promise,” Ilse whispered.

Nadine laughed and helped her to stumble over to Iani’s side. Iani barely acknowledged them. His attention was locked on Raul, who lay shuddering and sweating on the marble floor. Raul’s shirt was soaked with sweat and blood, his golden eyes staring upward as though he could see to the river of souls and beyond. All around the magic shimmered in a thick cloud.

“A curious knot,” Benno murmured. “I wonder … Ah.”

He rocked back onto his heels, his face gone blank with amazement.

“What is it?” Ilse said. She clutched at his arm. “What is wrong, Benno?”

Iani did not respond at first. He rubbed his free hand over his eyes, stared again at Raul. “I did not think it possible…” Then he glanced around, as though suddenly aware of the audience that surrounded them. “He is ill,” he said in a louder voice. “He needs quiet and rest. With that, he will recover soon enough.”

He stood and, with an air Ilse had not thought possible from the man, barked out orders. A litter for Lord Kosenmark, another for Mistress Ilse. They were to take both of his patients at once to the duke’s new suite of rooms. Tell the kitchens to send up trays with food fit for invalids. He flung out his hands and runners scattered to obey. Then Iani reached down to Ilse. “Come. I will tend you both together.”

The litters arrived. Benno oversaw the carriers settling Raul and Ilse on the cushions. Nadine covered Ilse with a blanket and smoothed her hair from her face. “Do not kill her from neglect,” she said to Benno Iani in a soft silken voice. “Or I shall hunt you down.”

“That I believe,” Benno said just as quietly. “You forget, however, that she is just as much my friend as Raul Kosenmark is.”

* * *

THE CARRIERS RAN without pause through the corridors, up a winding staircase, and into a different wing, one far grander than the one Ilse remembered. A dozen men and women in the royal livery stood guard along its length. More guards in the Valentain uniform flanked the double doors that marked the Kosenmark suite. One lifted her into his arms and carried her through the doors, into an apartment that might serve a prince, if not a king.

Once inside, attendants took over and laid Raul on a bed of soft linens and feather quilts. The guard carrying Ilse set her on a second bed. She struggled to stand up, but her body refused to obey, and she collapsed into a heap. Iani came to her side at once. “You and he spent days between Anderswar and the ordinary world,” he said. “You must have nourishment. And speaking of which…”

Servants arrived with bread, hot broth, and watered wine. Nadine had insinuated herself between them and knelt beside Ilse. “Allow me,” she said. She raised Ilse and arranged the pillows so that Ilse could sit upright, then fed her spoonfuls of broth. Her manner was brisk and gentle as she coaxed Ilse to take yet another sip of the broth.