Son of Winter (Dragon and Storm Book 2) Read online

  Son of Winter

  ANNA KATE LOGAN

  Copyright © 2020 Anna Logan

  All rights reserved.

  ISBN: 978-1-7343904-1-4

  For my parents. You guys are awesome, for so many more reasons than I could ever list.

  CONtENTS

  1 - Leader

  2 - Kill or Enslave

  3 - Heir

  4 - Dragon

  5 - Separated

  6 - Blending In

  7 - Prisoners

  8 - The Key

  9 - Rikky

  10 - Surrender

  11 - Water

  12 - Wards and Wardens

  13 - A Game of Two

  14 - Arrows

  15 - Iron

  16 - Casualties and Candidates

  17 - Drifting

  18 - Guilt

  19 - Tessa

  20 - Miracles and Nightmares

  21 - Infiltration

  22 - Kings and Orphans

  23 - Grrake

  24 - The Village

  25 - Queens and Questions

  26 - Handler

  27 - Letters and Doors

  28 - Captain

  1

  Leader

  T

  here it is.”

  Talea squinted against the sunlight to see the haliop nestled in the woods below them. It was almost identical to her home, back in Vissler. The haliop with its single door and a few windows, a shed, an outhouse. The standard dwelling of a lower class family in a laborer’s village. A year ago, she never imagined she’d be anywhere else…let alone the unbelievable places she’d been in the past month.

  “Right.” She crossed an arm over her chest, toying with a strand of hair. “Remind me why it’s me that has to go talk to her first?”

  Yhkon and Ahjul exchanged a glance. It was just the three of them, standing on a forested hilltop overlooking the haliop. The rest of the group was at a safer distance from the village. Uh oh, an exchange of looks. Generally a bad sign. Yhkon answered haltingly. “There’s multiple reasons…we’ll discuss it afterwards.”

  She gave him a frown. And now you’re sending me in there already anxious about this coming discussion. “How evasive.” When all he did was shrug, she sighed and faced the haliop again. “Okay, so…how, again?”

  Ahjul gave her a reassuring smile. Smiling was what he did best. “It’ll be a breeze. You’re just going to have a conversation with her, that’s it. And she’s a kind girl, I think she’ll take it well.”

  Yeah, because everyone takes being told that they’re destined to lead a war well.

  “She’s coming out. Best go.” Yhkon nodded his hooded head to indicate the figure that had just left the haliop, going into the shed. From that distance it was hard to see much, but she was tall, with long, straight hair.

  “Alright.” Talea took a few tentative steps in that direction, before glancing back at them. They both wore their masks and hoods since Yhkon said it was best to keep their identities concealed when close to civilization. Each had a sword on his hip, Yhkon’s hand resting on the pommel as it often did. An assortment of other weaponry, the pauldron and gauntlets. When she thought about it, Yhkon looked downright scary. Ahjul not so much—he somehow managed to look both the part of the impressive warrior and the part of the kind, joyful young man beneath the armor and weapons. “Maybe take off the hoods and masks when I bring her back, though? You’re not too bad,” she grinned at Ahjul, then turned to Yhkon with raised eyebrows, “but you’re kind of terrifying.”

  Since she was already walking down the hill, she didn’t get to see his reaction, but she did hear Ahjul’s muffled laugh.

  Terindi Vegn. That was the name of the unsuspecting girl she approached. Ahjul’s ward. One of the Eight. Another teenager with a freakish ability like me, lucky her. How on Kameon am I supposed to tell her about all this, again? Stopping a few paces from the shed Terindi had disappeared into, Talea called softly to the open door. “Terindi?”

  The girl stuck her head out, a slight pucker of confusion in her brow. Upon seeing Talea, the pucker deepened, and she stepped out of the shed. Up close, she clearly wasn’t fully Zentyren, having a cool tan complexion, small eyes, and a face that was softly contoured. Not to mention the coloring of her hair—it was dark brown, but with streaks of honey-blond. “Yes? Do we know each other?”

  “Um, no, not exactly.” Come on. Not too blunt, not too cryptic…“But we have something in common. That’s why I’m here.” Yep. Definitely not cryptic.

  Terindi just waited for her to explain.

  “Is there anyone else around?” she asked, lowering her voice. At Terindi’s growing frown, Talea inwardly slapped herself. That doesn’t sound suspicious at all… “I mean, sorry, okay…I’m not sure how to say this, so…” She raised her hand, forming a sizzling sphere of electricity in her palm.

  Those small, pale eyes widened briefly, then returned to normal. After studying the orb a moment, Terindi turned her attention back to Talea. When she spoke, her tone hadn’t changed pitch at all. “That’s certainly something in common.”

  Don’t get excited easily, do you? “Yeah, I know.” She offered a smile and let the sphere die out. “So, obviously, that’s why I’m here.”

  “Alright…” Terindi was chewing on her bottom lip. “Then do you know more about this whole thing than me, or are you here in hopes of finding out more?”

  This had to be one of the more unusual conversations she’d had with a stranger. Then again…maybe not. She’d had some even more peculiar discussions with Wylan and Yhkon in the early days of knowing them. “Well, a few months ago I was found by one of the others—” Noticing a flare of puzzlement in Terindi’s pale green eyes, she backtracked. “There’s eight of us. You can’t see the others’ lightning pillars, they’re too far away, I couldn’t either. Anyway, one of them found me…and we…well we went and found two others who are twins, and…” Oh bother. How am I supposed to explain this? “It’s complicated.”

  Terindi’s expression barely changed. It was almost as if she were missing some of the muscles necessary for facial contortions. “Okay, well, do you know why? Why we have the ability, I mean?”

  Talea stifled a moan. This had to be the hardest part for her to explain. “Well we’re San Quawr, you know that, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Okay, so all eight are…and there’s these guys that joined us, they’re called Wardens, they’re our guardians basically, and according to them…” She frowned. “Maybe I should just let them explain this to you.”

  “They’re here?”

  “Yeah, not far. Just on top of that hill.”

  The girl was clearly wary, even if her demeanor remained calm. But when Talea started toward the hill, she followed.

  As instructed, the Wardens removed their hoods and masks as the two girls neared. Ahjul was already smiling. He looked even more boyish when he smiled. Talea had liked him from their first meeting that night in Jalkiva, and in the month of traveling since, she’d only come to like him more. “Terindi, this is Ahjul. He’s your Warden. As in…uh, he’s the Warden assigned specifically to you.” Yhkon, remind me your reasons for why I had to be the one for this job? It clearly wasn’t that I was the best orator in the group. “And this is Yhkon, he’s the lead Warden.”

  Yhkon greeted Terindi politely, Ahjul with more warmth and a sort of shy friendliness. Terindi seemed to have relaxed some. After the two Wardens had made their greetings, she turned back to Talea with a hesitant look. “And…what was your name?”

  Talea’s cheeks flushed. “Talea.” I’m an idiot.

  “You didn’t even introduce yourself?” Y
hkon’s amused smirk only made her blush grow hotter.

  From there on, the task of explaining their story to Terindi fell on the Wardens. That was fine by Talea—as far as she was concerned, having her be the first person to make an impression on Terindi had been one of Yhkon’s less-than-brilliant decisions. Besides, Ahjul was way better than she ever could be. He probably could have claimed to be a murderer on the run and ask for help on his next assassination, and still make it hard to refuse.

  On top of that, Terindi fulfilled Ahjul’s expectations: she took it well. All of it. Even the crazy bits about prophecies and wars and the Shadow Region.

  Since she’d already heard the story multiple times, Talea lent her attention to a study of the new ward. What ethnicity was she, anyway? Not Zentyren, not Irlaish, and not Sanonyan. Must be Canadise, then. Though hadn’t Larak said he was Canadise? Yet he didn’t share any of Terindi’s distinguishing features. He had chocolate brown skin like Alili, much darker than Terindi’s.

  The bracelets on Terindi’s thin wrists caught her eye. She wore several, simple rings with colorful beads. She toyed with them as she listened to the Wardens and asked an occasional question. She was a pretty girl, even if somewhat exotic looking to Talea. Not a stunning beauty or anything, but there was a grace and a serenity in her countenance. Everything about her was composed. No matter how bizarre what the Wardens were saying was, she listened quietly—with interest, with surprise even, but always calmly.

  All considered, Talea decided she liked her already.

  They had been talking for several minutes when a tired female voice came from the haliop below. “Terindi! Where are you? What’s taking so long?”

  Terindi spun one of the bracelets around her wrist a couple of times, glancing back toward the haliop. Fortunately, they were concealed from whoever had called by the incline of the hill and the trees. “I better go. I’ll talk to my parents about all of this. Perhaps you might come back, this evening? Seven o’clock?”

  “We’ll be here,” Yhkon agreed.

  After nodding, Terindi looked at each of them in turn a moment. “Well…until then.”

  Talea smiled at her, as did Ahjul. She returned the smile modestly before walking back down the hill to her haliop.

  The three of them started in the other direction, back to where the other Wardens and wards had been left to set up camp. Talea ended up walking between Yhkon and Ahjul, feeling rather dwarfed by the two men who were both at least six feet tall. “So uh, what ethnicity is Terindi? I mean I assumed Canadise, but that’s what Larak said he was, yet they don’t look at all alike.”

  “She is Canadise,” Yhkon answered. “Canadi is split into two regions, the Northern half and the Southern half. Or at least that’s what they think. The rest of us just think that the two halves squabble but are in fact the same region. Either way, the people of either half don’t share the same physical traits. Terindi’s mother is half Northern Canadise, while one of Larak’s parents was Southern Canadise.”

  “Oh.” She smirked. “Is being a giant a normal Southern Canadise trait, or…?”

  Ahjul chuckled. “No, that’s just Larak.”

  They walked in silence for awhile. Talea shoved her hands into the pockets of her skirt. Since they’d been re-entering civilization—almost, anyway—she’d had to go back to wearing a dress, rather than the pants and shirt that had become her new normal. “Well anyway, I like her. Think her family will take it as well as she did?”

  “I doubt it.” Ahjul’s smile had dimmed. It brightened again, however, and he added, “But I’m glad you liked her.”

  Arriving at where they’d left the celiths, all three mounted, Talea riding behind Yhkon. That was a new normal, too. While their travels through the mountains to get to Jalkiva had been mostly on foot, they’d ridden for most of the return journey. Yhkon had said it was a little risky to ride celiths in mountain terrain, but it was worth it to him to make the trip shorter. Once they’d left the mountains, they’d continued on celithback and at a faster pace. The Wardens were clearly used to all the riding. Wylan was at least somewhat accustomed to it. But to Talea and the twins, the first couple weeks had been a constant battle with soreness and stiff muscles.

  Now, after a month of it, she rarely felt sore. Yhkon had often let her ride front, to give her practice at celithmanship, something he said she ought to master sooner rather than later. That was fine by her—she had come to enjoy it.

  It took a little less than half an hour to get to the campsite. They’d picked a spot a few miles from Terindi’s home and village, to hopefully avoid anyone noticing their presence. Especially anyone wearing the maroon dragon that was Kaydor’s insignia.

  She’d been learning more about this Kaydor over the past month of travel, too. Yhkon didn’t divulge much about the new king, though he made it plenty clear that he quite disliked him. She got the feeling that perhaps Yhkon had some sort of history with Kaydor, and not a good history. The other Wardens told her and the wards about him, though. He was a military man, they said. He had convinced the Leadership to start the Eradication in Zentyre almost two decades ago, and had been a primary figure in its execution. But the Leadership had changed their minds after about a year. Kaydor had remained in a top rank of the military. After that he’d become one of the Leaders, and then, somehow, he’d convinced everyone that Zentyre needed a king and that he was the perfect candidate.

  They rode into the camp at a trot, coming to a stop and dismounting. Yhkon and Ahjul tied their celiths, while Talea walked forward to meet the twins as they moved to greet her.

  “So? How’d it go? What’s she like?”

  “Did she think ya were crazy?”

  Talea smiled. “Actually, no, she didn’t seem to think that. She took it well. She’s uh, well, she’s nice. Quiet. Canadise, apparently. She’s going to talk it over with her family, and we’ll go back tonight.”

  The Wardens and Wylan meandered their way closer for a report too, though they got theirs from Ahjul, since Talea had already turned back around to stalk Yhkon as he unsaddled his celith, Eclipse. “So, why did I have to be the one to talk to her? You going to tell me your reasons now?”

  His narrow eyes scrutinized her, while something like reluctance tugged at the corners of his mouth. “Maybe, maybe not.”

  “Hey, that’s not fair. You already said you would.” She crossed her arms. “You can’t back out now.”

  Yhkon scowled at her, though she could tell he wasn’t actually irritated, and was perhaps even in an unusually decent mood. “Fine. But you’re going to learn to handle a sword, while we’re at it.” Before she could respond, he raised his voice to address everyone. “Let’s do some training, plenty of good daylight left. Gustor, perimeter check. Larak, Resh, Ahjul, see if there’s any game to be had. Wards, with your Warden for a lesson on swordsmanship.” He faced Talea again, and jerked his head in a beckoning motion. He was smiling just a bit. “Come on, get over here.”

  Giving him a suspicious grin for no reason, she edged forward and crossed her arms again, this time expectantly. He, meanwhile, withdrew his sword from the scabbard on his hip. It was certainly not the first time she’d seen the weapon, yet she still admired its beauty. It wasn’t a mere chunk of metal hewn into a blade, it was more like some sort of magnificent masterpiece of art that also happened to be a deadly tool.

  Yhkon’s gaze traveled over the sword as well, a look of satisfied pride lighting his features. He grabbed the flat of the blade and extended the handle to her. “Here. Ever held a sword before?”

  What do you think? Haven’t you been shadowing me most of my life? “Uh, no…” She gingerly wrapped her fingers around the pommel. It was sleek, black, the top and bottom embedded with bits of crystal in hues of silver and blue.

  “Go on, then.” He pushed it more firmly into her grasp. “It’s not going to whip around and kill you on its own accord. Just think of it as an enlarged kitchen knife.”

  Talea took the weapon fu
lly, smirking at him, and trying not to let on that the thing was astonishingly heavy. “An enlarged kitchen knife, huh? You know I’m going to call it that from now on. ‘Hey Yhkon, can I borrow your enlarged kitchen knife?’ ‘Hey Yhkon, can I use your enlarged kitchen knife to chop these onions?’”

  “Hilarious.” He started adjusting her hold on the pommel, prying her fingers off and moving them about. “You know, in Canadi, they name their swords. It’s quite a serious matter. A sword is practically an entity to them.”

  “What do they name them? Is there some sword named Lady Talea the Arm-Cleaver?”

  He rolled his eyes, grinning. It was rare to see him grin. “You’re impossible. Now spread your feet, a little past shoulder-width. There. Toes pointing out a bit. Weight on the balls of your feet, not your heels. Bend your knees. Not that much. Better.” He stepped back, examining the stance he’d instructed her into. “Good. This sword is rather big for you,” he pulled her wrists up, so that she held it higher, “but it’ll work for practice. In Calcaria, you’ll get a real, custom sword, like this one.”

  Always dreamed of having my own custom sword. Not. But hey, sounds kinda cool. “Right, but why do I need a sword if the whole point of all this is me having magical abilities?”

  Yhkon shook his head. “You may not always be able to use your ability. You may be in a fight where you don’t want your opponent to know you can throw lightning, see? If a bunch of Kaydorian knights were to swarm the campsite this minute, I’d rather you not inform Kaydor of our greatest asset.”

  “Fine then.” She delicately poked his arm with the tip of the blade, light enough that he probably barely felt it. “Teach this asset how to not be helpless without her ability that makes her so valuable to you, and while you’re at it, remind me why I had to be the one to go talk to Terindi?”

  Those ice-blue eyes squinted at her. “Are you being irritable and demanding, salqui?”

  “Are you calling me names in some language I don’t even know, Silquije?” She raised an eyebrow at him coyly.