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My grandmother nodded at the earth bender.
“What are you getting at?”
“There is old magic that was once performed during peace treaties, a show of strong alliances after battles or skirmishes. It is a spell calledneach-dai. Each bond creates a compulsion to protect, but that is the only similarity. The rest are quite unique, for the specifications of what would bring the most peace are set by those who willreceivea bonded.”
“What have you done, Narza?” My voice was a blade, sharp and cutting.
“It is a lifetime bond,” she went on, voice rough. “A bonded is only released through death or an exchange, where another will accept theneach-daion their behalf. I am bonded to the earth fae now and have vowed to protect them according to their specified needs.”
“What the hells?” I gaped at the earth bender. “She is a lady of the Ever.”
Valen’s face burned. “And my daughter is a princess.”
Bleeding gods. I shook my head, facing my grandmother. “What specifications? What does that mean?”
When Narza hesitated, Valen stood. “We requested she remain in our realms to shield against the sea folk should they bring a threat. Fitting since it sounds as though more are planning to bring that threat.”
“She leads the House of Mists here,” I argued in a frenzy. “She has family here.”
Valen held a bit of distress in his gaze for half a breath, then his face hardened. “I have no quarrel with the sea witch, but you are learning how devastating it can be, Bloodsinger.”
I hated every word, but he was right. I’d taken Livia with the intention of devastating her people and those she loved. I was not particularly close to Lady Narza, yet the idea she would be forced to live elsewhere knotted my chest in a discomfiting pressure.
“I agreed, Erik,” Narza whispered, approaching slowly. “This, what you fight for, what you are doing, is more important than where I live out the rest of my days. They are not cruel people. Theywon’t harm me. Theneach-daiis meant to be a peaceful bond for new allies. I protect them, but they also protect me. As the bonded, I simply comply to their parameters in the agreement. They have open shores, and I know the moves of the sea fae; the need for protection in their realms is reasonable.”
“Will you ever return?”
“I can’t stay long if I do. Already it is swiftly urging me to go back.”
“If you don’t?”
Narza tilted her head. “I think you understand deep bonds enough to guess, Grandson.”
She would die. Break the bond and die.
“You cannot keep her,” I told Valen. “She wouldn’t have betrayed you. You have a lie taster. Was her word not enough?”
“Junius had already gone to meet her folk, hoping to pass on what she’d learned, tosave timein our councils. This bond was a compromise, Bloodsinger,” Valen said. “After everything you have done, how do you expect us to trust sea fae? Not to mention, every damn heir to every damn throne is here in the Ever, but for my son. We needed to know every royal line would not be crushed from existence by misplaced trust.”
“Erik,” Stieg said. “This was how we made a swift decision. We needed assurance.”
“Really now,” Narza said, a soft smile on her lips. “You think me so fragile that I cannot defend myself? Now that we suspect Hesh, admit it, King Erik, this will show the unity you craved for our people. Should he arrive, he will be met with forces of two worlds.”
“We do not know what forces Larsson has gathered,” I whispered. “What if you are needed here?”
“You will have every support from my house, Erik.” Narza’s eyes were glass when she looked at me. “I should’ve fought harder. I should not have resigned you so quickly to being another Thorvald, beyond reproach. I was wrong. You are the king the Ever needs, and the House of Mists stands with you.”
I wanted nothing more than to fade into the floorboards. Every damn eye watched the unnerving interaction.
My grandmother was no soft, gentle woman. She was a leader, a sea witch capable of casting horrifying spells. To see this side, a bit of remorse in her features, I hated every breath of it. I did not want her to stop.
“Your people will not harm her?” I asked Valen, voice rough.
“Not in the least,” he said. “And when we return, I will personally see to it she has anything she desires. Any of her folk, as you said, her family, would be welcome to join her in our lands.”
It didn’t feel like enough. I wanted to lash at the earth bender, at the warrior. I wanted to blame them for what was done, for the deals made, but it fell on my shoulders.
“You ought to use the shell soon, Earth King,” Narza said. “You recall how it is done?”
