War Storm (Red Queen) - Victoria Aveyard Page 0,194

trying to understand—and ignore the fear threatening to return. Don’t be a coward. He’s far away, imprisoned if not dead. He’s not your problem anymore.

Mother shares none of my terror. She just blusters. “Why keep him alive? I swear, these Calore brothers are trying to out-idiot each other.”

I try to be more thoughtful. I speak if only to mask my unease. “Perhaps the older brother can’t do it. He seemed softhearted.” He must be, to allow himself to be so manipulated by a Red girl.

Tiora is just as observant as our mother, and she tries to be gentle as she explains. “There are rumors that Maven isn’t there anymore.”

The queen of the Lakelands blanches. “Well, where could he be?”

There are few options, and I run through them quickly. Of course, one is more obvious than the rest. And woefully awful for that lightning girl. At least I escaped Maven Calore. She, it seems, cannot. “I suspect Montfort,” I say. “He’s with the newbloods and the Scarlet Guard. With Mare Barrow.”

Tiora bobs her head, thinking as she nods. “So when the Reds left . . .”

“He’s a valuable hostage, yes,” I tell her. “If Maven is still alive, Tiberias is vulnerable. Nobles might still be loyal to his brother.”

Mother surveys me like an adviser, not a daughter. It thrills me, and I feel my spine straighten, flattening my back against my seat as I draw up to my full height. “Do you think that’s possible?” she asks.

I chew on the answer for a moment, weighing what I know of Norta and its Silvers. “I think those Silver houses just want a reason not to back Tiberias. To hold on to their country as it was.” Both my mother and Tiora, a queen and a queen to be, watch me silently. I raise my chin.

“I say we give them a reason.”

TWENTY-NINE

Mare

It’s nightfall when we reach Ascendant, gliding through the mountains in almost pitch darkness. I try not to think about being smashed against the black slopes. But the pilots are skilled, landing our airjet on the alpine runway with ease. The rest of Montfort’s Air Fleet, as well as the transport convoys carrying the bulk of their army, is down on the plain. They’ll have to climb the Hawkway to get to the city, or disperse along other roads and travel routes throughout Montfort to return to their posts. The country will then take up defensive positions, guarding its own borders, on the off chance the Lakelanders decide to try their might against the mountains. Or prod the raiders and Prairie into doing their work for them.

Farley, Davidson, their attendants, and I make the trek into the city in silence, walking the steps beneath an arc of glittering starlight. I watch the sky as we go, trying to name the constellations. I refuse to think about either Calore brother. Not the one we left in Norta, nor the one marching with us, bound in chains, held at gunpoint. He chatters occasionally, asking questions about Montfort. No one answers, and his voice dies slowly, left to echo into nothing. Before we reach the premier’s home, Maven is taken away, down another flight of steps, where more guards appear to flank him. Montfort won’t risk losing another prisoner. Maven won’t get the gentle treatment given to Bracken’s children. He will be being taken deep into the city, to the prison below the Ascendant main barracks. I try not to watch his silhouette as it grows smaller and smaller. He never looks back.

Farley outpaces everyone, even Kilorn and his long strides. I don’t have to be a mind reader to guess her thoughts are of her daughter, left behind with the rest of our family.

Davidson was good enough to send word on ahead, so his palatial home is ablaze when we approach, the many windows and balconies lit by warm candles and lights. Familiar figures cast shadows across the stones, and we beeline for them. My mother hands off Clara, the baby girl sleepy but smiling as Farley lifts her up. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Davidson embrace his husband, Carmadon, before my mom does the same to me. Her arms squeeze my shoulders tightly, and she hugs me to her chest with a deep sigh. I relax as I only can with the rest of my family, letting them usher us inside and up to our rooms.

The reunion is sentimental as ever, even though it’s become a habit. I leave,