Rise of the Shadowcouncil: Heir to the Darkmage, Book 4 (paperback)

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Chapter 1

Salty spray flew into the air as the ship plunged into a trough, the icy droplets spraying Lira’s face and dancing with her water magic. A picturesque sunrise had turned into a golden morning, specks of sunlight glittering like gold dust across the turquoise ocean, the breeze soft and cool. The creaks and groans of a ship at sea sounded behind her, mixed with the occasional call of one crew member to another.
It made her feel oddly content. The simple beauty of the day sank into her skin, easing some of the hard edges of the past two years, reminding her that not all was darkness. And for once she let that peace settle over her.
It was going to be impossible to find again in the months to come.
Their ship plunged into another trough and sent seawater flying high. Lira blinked and swiped at her face with the sleeve of her shirt. Enough admiring the sunrise. There was still much planning to be done.
She hadn’t moved from her spot at the prow since exchanging combative words with Alyx Egalion as they sailed steadily away from Rotherburn. Egalion hadn’t returned, and none of the others on board had come to speak to Lira either. She wasn’t surprised—no doubt Egalion had filled them in on the deal Lira had made with Lucinda, and they would be predictably furious with her. And Tarion … well, he was likely devastated about his father, whose survival seemed unlikely as soon as Lucinda learned Egalion was reneging on her word.
She was glad they’d left her alone. It had given her the time she needed to think. Even now, ignoring stiffened muscles from standing too long and the creeping fog of exhaustion at the edges of her thoughts, she remained. The water surrounding the ship soothed her, a gentle susurration against her magical senses as she worked through her situation for the hundredth time since Egalion had walked off, trying to figure the right path forward.
She hadn’t had any luck yet.
Lira was once again dancing to Lucinda’s tune, agreeing to do what the woman wanted. Lucinda’s instructions to Lira and Egalion had been clear enough. Bring the Mage Council under their control. Use that power to subdue the kingdoms and any resistance they might summon. Then allow Lucinda’s people to resettle on their continent. Do that, and Ahrin Vensis and Dashan Caverlock, whom Lucinda currently held hostage back in Rotherburn, would be returned to them.
What had gone unsaid was that Lucinda would then expect to take that absolute power from Lira and Egalion. Presumably she’d have some other leverage to force them to hand it over.
Lira suspected that had always been the woman’s end goal: to rule the continent herself. Her country’s desperate need to save themselves from the mercilessly encroaching hordes of razak and nerik merely provided the justification she needed to take control of the Seven and use what was left of Rotherburn’s resources to reach that goal.
But Egalion had already decided to sacrifice her husband and ignore Lucinda’s orders. Which meant Lira not only had to accomplish the task alone, but with the most powerful mage in the world opposing her.
If she failed, Lucinda would kill Ahrin.
“You are a fool. Sacrificing everything to save the thing most dangerous to you.” Lucinda’s words echoed through Lira’s memory, sharp with the same contempt that had been written all over Lucinda’s face. “She will destroy you, Lira.”
Lira lifted a weary hand to rub at aching temples. She’d spent days thinking Ahrin was gone, the Darkhand’s death hitting her so hard it had felt like walking around with a severe concussion. And then to see her, alive, chained up in Lucinda’s cage, rigid with panic. Captured for leverage. The relief had been so profound, combined so inextricably with horror and anger … even now, she shook when she thought about the blind terror on Ahrin’s face.
Yet Lucinda’s parting words wouldn’t let her go. Lira’s hands curled into fists, the violet light flickering around her forearms betraying her deep agitation. With an effort, she slowly wrestled all the emotion away. She couldn’t afford it. Her words to Ahrin back in Rotherburn had been truer than any she’d ever spoken.
She would do whatever Lucinda wanted if it meant getting Ahrin out of that cage. Yet Ahrin Vensis was no damsel in distress. She was more capable than anyone Lira had ever met. She’d get herself out. Lira just had to buy her the time to do it.
Which brought her back to doing Lucinda’s bidding.
Lira took a deep breath, spent a moment checking and reinforcing her mental shields—no doubt Egalion would be regularly attempting to read her thoughts—then refocused her mind.
Every time Lira had gone up against Lucinda and tried to outwit her, she’d failed. She hadn’t even come close to winning. It would be beyond stupid to think she could try again and succeed this time.
Since the first moment she’d met the Seventh, Lira had been juggling too much—her desperate need to belong in the Mage Council’s world against an equally strong desire for vengeance against Underground for her kidnapping and torture. Her mistrust of, and deep love for, Ahrin. The yearning to accept the hand of friendship that her fellow students at Temari had extended, despite the fact their privileged lives represented everything she hated. Her fury at the Mage Council for locking her away for life. Her desperate desire to be both like and unlike her notorious grandfather—a desire that hid the aching emptiness where her mother’s love had once been.
Lira’s fists tightened again, but with a deep breath she loosened them. Behind her, a sailor shouted something to a fellow crewmember, who whistled in response, triggering more whistles along the length of the ship. Moments later, wood groaned as another sail unfurled, catching the stiffening breeze. The sounds helped re-orient Lira in the present.
She’d already let go of her need to belong. Maybe it was time to let the overriding desire for vengeance go, too. At least for now. It certainly hadn’t gotten her anywhere but inside another noose of Lucinda’s making.
She still didn’t have a workable plan for carrying out Lucinda’s task. Even after hours of thinking. Not even the beginnings of one. But she knew one thing for certain: taking down the Mage Council single-handedly was something her grandfather had failed at twice despite having an entire army behind him and far more magical power than Lira ever would. She wasn’t going to succeed where he failed unless she approached the problem a different way.
Footsteps sounded behind her, moving quickly, and she turned, magic rising. But it was just one of the sailors crossing the foredeck.
The sight was a relief, but also … disappointing. She’d half-hoped it had been one of them coming to talk to her. Tarion Caverlock. His cousin, Garan. Their fellow mages Fari and Lorin. Unexpectedly, the thought of them had her shoulders relaxing, the rolling deck under her feet suddenly steadier. A lot more had happened in Rotherburn than Ahrin almost dying and Lucinda successfully manipulating them again.
Her companions had stayed at her side in the tunnels under the ravine city even when despair and magic overuse had made her a burden. They’d tried to find Ahrin, someone they feared and distrusted, because they knew how much Lira loved her. And after they’d found Egalion, they’d stood up to her on Lira’s behalf.
They’d done all that because they called themselves her friends. Even when she’d refused to accept it, refused to trust them, had been unable to do any of those things. When she’d thrown it back in their faces repeatedly.
A different way.
That thought came back to her again, nudging at her, not letting her ignore it. Following it through, Lira ignored her need for vengeance, on anyone, and focused on what she wanted most.
Ahrin’s safety. That answer was clear as a ringing bell inside her mind. But after that … when she pushed everything else aside and allowed herself to admit it … Lira let out a slow breath. Not just Ahrin’s safety, but Tarion’s and Garan’s and Fari’s and Lorin’s too. Those five people. Her friends.
Apart from her own survival, that’s all Lira Astor cared about in this world.
When she framed it that way, it was oddly easy to admit. And it felt astonishingly good … to know something about herself, to know it clearly, without any doubt or hesitation. There was fear, too, in knowing she had more to lose than just Ahrin. But, even so, her shoulders loosened even further. And a different path came to her.
It was a tiny thread of an idea, one the old Lira would never have considered, would have laughed out of the room. Even now, every instinct she had rebelled against it. But it would buy her the time Ahrin needed, and shift the chances of success from zero to marginal.
What if she did something nobody would see coming? Not what Lucinda wanted or what the Darkmage would do. What if Lira Astor ran a con on everyone, one that turned the world on its head and, in doing so, put herself in a position to finally end Lucinda and her Seven?
A chuckle broke out of her at the craziness of the idea. At how heady it made her feel. She’d have to carry this out very carefully, one piece at a time, revealing her true intentions to nobody. Everyone would have to believe she was carrying out Lucinda’s orders. There could be no doubt in anyone’s mind or Lucinda’s spies would ferret it out and Ahrin would die.
Could she do it?
Hope unfurled like a tiny new seedling, one she quickly but gently put away. There was no place for hope or vengeance if she was to carry this out. She had to be focused, clear-thinking, like Ahrin had taught her.
She turned, thoughtful gaze taking in the narrow steps leading down into the ship’s hold where Egalion and her companions must be.
Lira turned back, resettled against the railing, and soaked in the sunshine’s warmth on her face.
Lucinda thought she knew Lira so well.
But maybe she didn’t know her at all.