Katherine opened her mouth, but she didn't know which question to ask first. What was he searching for? What was the woman's role in this? When had all of this started? He wanted to find out since twenty years ago, he said. The same time his aunt died. Did it have to do with her murderer then?
Finally, she asked the most pressing questions: "What kind of danger? Who is behind it?" Suddenly, her thoughts turned, connecting with the events of the night. "Froseti was a warning?"
"Smart.", the earl assessed and nodded. "That woman doesn't want me here. If it doesn't work, she might use more desperate means."
"You say there are several, but you only talk about 'that woman'.", Katherine realized and thoughtfully nibbled on her lip. "Is she their leader? Who are the others?"
"I don't know." Nathaniel's eyes locked onto her mouth before looking away. Deliberately, he slipped out of her grip and sat down on the bed again. Now that she calmed down, he didn't fear h
"Many of the upper class, I guess. I've got a list if you want to see. Most of the names aren't confirmed though. About what they experiment on, it has to do with the origin of magic in the human body.", Nathaniel explained."Origin of magic...", Katherine repeated and crooked her head to look up at him. "Like why some people awaken and others don't?""Part of it." Seeing her silky hair spread out all over his tights awoke an unbidden possessiveness in him. Knowing she wasn't resisting him, made it harder and harder to control his feelings and keep them in the boundary of what was possible to fulfill. "It's also about the amount and type of magic. Why different countries have different main abilities and so on."He didn't mention the mutations, the question why they were different from other abilities and why their number was on the rise. It would only disturb her unnecessarily if he told her about this. She herself had a mutated ability after all. Like him.
It was a big surprise that Nathaniel didn't avoid her in the morning when she'd again collected her courage to face him. He even silently agreed to having breakfast together. The downside was that he was very distant.Answering her questions with nothing but occasional 'nos' and 'yes' while reading papers most of the time, Nathaniel made her feel like a third wheel even though there were just the both of them. Well, as long as the papers didn't count. Obviously, Nathaniel preferred them over her.Irritated, Katherine felt the urge to throw her croissant at him. Being ignored was one of the things she absolutely couldn't stand. Even worse than loud disputes. But the thought that he would see it as childish stopped her in action and she only ate the croissant in silence, chewing harsher than necessary.Suddenly, Nathaniel turned over the pages for her to see. "Choose one.""Huh?""Out of these three, anything is fine." He pushed the papers into her h
The shadow remained standing. Since the bed was the only seat in the room, he was not going to follow her invitation. He crossed his arms behind his back. "Thank you, but this is not my purpose today. I am here to confirm something."The River Lady crossed her legs and leaned back until she rested on her elbows, her slender body a seductive curve of red fabric and creamy skin. In this position, one couldn't help but marvel at her voluminous chest, soft and partly uncovered. "And what would that be? What is making you so stiff and taunt?"The way she spoke it, slowly and with a seductive smile in her voice, the words definitely had a double meaning. The shadow took a deep breath to calm himself down. On the one hand, he was annoyed to be affected, while on the other he respected her expertise. Seduction was her weapon of defense and attack at the same time, the best weapon she had. Since she knew he was an assassin once, it was her trying to get the upper hand. A good t
The letter was at the end of the book. Like Hazel had said, it was laid in it like a ripped-out page. The upper end that stood out of the book's pages by a needle's width, was heavily wrinkled. Expectantly, Katherine began reading."My Dear Patrick..." It took her a few seconds to remember that Patrick was the first name of her father, the last Duke of Sleipnir. Nobody used his first name normally, even her mother preferred 'my love' or 'Darling'. Everyone else just called him 'Duke Balder'.Disappointment set in. For a short moment she'd thought that maybe her parents had a last wish for her, something she could fulfill as atonement, or just a nicer goodbye than the one by seeing their heads chopped off.Katherine gritted her teeth against the pain that came with remembering. Slowly, she stood and walked back into her room, the eyes set on the letter. Even though it wasn't addressed to her, she could feel the personality of her mother seeping out of each word.
Before the swords could hit his back, Nathaniel ducked away, and in the same motion turned, slashing for the opponent's knee joints. At some point in time, two daggers had appeared, one in each of his hands. They looked like sharp claws of a beast when one of them burrowed itself deeply in the back of the left guard's knee, in the slit between the armor plates. With a screeching noise that melted with the guard's scream, the other dagger hit metal and deflected.The momentum of their attack made the right guard take another two steps forward, while the left one fell, but managed to land on one hand, propping himself up. Before he could get to his feet again, a ruthless kick in his backside destroyed his afford and he crashed face-first onto the floor. Only his helmet stopped him from being knocked out by the stone tiles.Knowing that he'd need some time to get up with armor on, Nathaniel turned to the remaining guard, just in time to see a heavy strike flying towards h
'Isn't it pointing in the Queen's direction too openly if I am killed when she is nearby?', Nathaniel deliberated. Maybe she was too crazy to care already, or too sure of her position. Someone who regularly send dead animals as presents couldn't be calculated by normal means. Maybe it was just another warning. Anyway, she had greatly underestimated him if she thought two guards and an untrained servant were enough to kill him. How unexpected of her. What a 'monster' would he be if three people could subdue him? Somehow, he found this contrast quite funny.The Princess meanwhile nodded at Nathaniel's explanation. She hesitated shortly before saying: "Anyway, you shouldn't stay here. Mother can still come by at any moment. Follow me."Because he was curious where she would lead him, curious about her in general, Nathaniel followed his sister out of the building and over the green field. It was sunny, but a bit cool outside.When he noticed his right arm getting co
When she wiped away the laughing tears, she suddenly noticed something red on his arm. The last joyful tingle vanished. "You are injured! Why didn't you say anything!"Setting away the tray, she rushed forward, only to see the Earl step back simultaneously."Stop, Katherine", he warned her, the tone serious enough to make her halt shortly, before she decided to ignore it and strode towards him nonetheless. She was determined to heal his wound right now before talking some sense into this self-destructive idiot!"I said STOP!" His voice was thunderous. Murderous aura exploded out of him as if he came straight from the battlefield. The light that shone into the study suddenly lost all warmth and his burning red eyes turned into the only color in the room. "Katherine, I won't repeat this. Don't come any closer. You will die if you do."Katherine shuddered. The Earl seemed to have turned into a completely different person, an ice-cold devil like at their firs
The sun sank in a bout of purple and pink, illuminating the countless turrets of a grand villa in the second ring of the city. On the surface of the white stone, golden lines began to glim in response, building a net of overlapping words until the villa resembled an enlarged holy scripture, rolled up in several windings.On the plaza before the villa, tiny figures moved, people talked, and carriages arrived while they all strode towards the widely opened entrance. Behind it, the room was big and gently rounded. In some of the turrets, spiral staircases led to the second floor and beyond. Servants in black-and-white uniforms handed out champagne to the newcomers.The host of the banquet, Duke Deverell, better known as the General of the West for he won his most famous battles there, welcomed every guest with a bright smile on his rotund face. He was in his best spirits. How could he not, when his beautiful wife by his side proudly introduced their first-born son to ever
Five years later"Your Holiness - Uh, ah, Majesty, I mean!"Leaning on the newly-built rails atop the dome of the palace, with the view of the Capital in the background, Katherine scolded lightly: "Shht, Hazel, she just fell asleep."In her arms rested a baby, maybe a few months old, with a tuft of black hair and fair white skin. If she opened her lids, angelic blue eyes would blink up innocently at the viewer.Hazel's head appeared at the end of the staircase leading to the roof. Apologetically, she bit her lip and whispered. "I'm sorry, your Majesty. A letter arrived from Dragsa, and Prince Patrick hurt his knee while playing. He's on his way here.""Dragsa...," Katherine muttered and stretched out a hand to take it. "I wonder what they want. They were very quiet in the latter years."Lowering her head, she took a glance at the paper. Instantly, her brows furrowed, later followed by a deep sigh. "I almost expected it. What a shame."Her gaze wandered to the west, in the direction of
For once, the third wall belonging to the palace let nobles and commoners alike pass. They flooded in in masses and coagulated on the streets and the grass field before the dome. Everywhere, where they could hope to catch a little glimpse of what was about to happen in the throne hall.In front of the dome, Nathaniel dismounted and reached his hand out to Katherine to help her off as well. For a second, Katherine remembered how Pete helped her when she mounted Bell for the first time, and her smile grew shaky. Pete and Jack. One retired after suffering grievous wounds, and the other fell in battle when the undead attacked the palace to free the Queen, Emilian, and Helmina.The burial was in the time of Katherine's long travel back but she and Nathaniel visited the grave two days ago. Still, she could not believe that her funny, one-eyed companion was truly gone. It was delusional but she could not shake the thought that if only she'd been at the Capital, her power might have saved him
Weeks later, the couple reached the Capital and was welcomed with much tom-tom. Aston, it seemed, was back on his feet. The new scar parting his right brow even suggested that his exaggerated description of a battle with the best undead swordsman in history might be more than just bragging. Infuriatingly, however, the scar made him even more handsome, and he confidently put it on display at any opportunity he got. Especially in front of the ladies.Shortly after their return, King William officially announced his retirement in favor of his nephew. Though the commoners were confused at Nathaniel's sudden emergence, the prepared aristocrats soon placated them, and the rumors of his activities as the illusive sixth General did the rest.Katherine was surprised to hear that word of her ability had elevated her picture in the icelandic society to somewhat of a saintess. King William obviously prepared on this end as well, and thus nobody dared suggest that a dragsean noble was unfit to be
The ship of the king of the Glaciar Coast was a gigantic vessel with a kind of lofty wretchedness to it. In fact, Katherine thought that the silver ornaments on the dark wood looked like bones, and if the sail had been a bit more tattered, the "Charon" would've been the perfect ghost ship. When she mentioned it to Lady Brandon in jest, the sister of said king laughed out loud."Oh, he'd love to hear that! If his crew wasn't ridiculously superstitious, I bet he'd search the whole ocean floor for a sunken vessel to serve him!""Is that so?" Katherine lifted her brows, perplexed. "Isn't it already enough that it can fly?"Granted, the hovering of the gigantic vessel wasn't completely 'flight' as the ship was only lifted by the water the Glaciar Coast's mages manipulated with much afford. It could also only be implemented for short periods close to a water source. For the unsuspecting viewer, however, it looked exactly as if the ship was flying.It was this practical fea
Katherine woke up feeling fresh and well-rested. The plush cushions under her head were like soft clouds, and the blanket bore just the right amount of heat. The air smelled of salt and herbs, an unusual but welcoming combination."Hmmm." With a blissful sigh, Katherine stretched. She didn't feel so good since they resided in the hut in the Icelands with King William, his mistress, and son. Did she only dream of that long, arduous journey to a mountain in Dragsa?"You're awake." Her eyes snapped open when she heard that voice. It was undoubtedly the deep timbre of her husband, Nathaniel. And there he was, sitting next to the bed in a cushioned chair, a gentle gaze in his eyes.Eyes that rested strangely deep in his pale face. A face that was bare of the slight smile that sometimes tugged on the corners of his mouth when he looked at her. Instead, he seemed solemn, exhausted, plagued by a deeply hidden sadness that he maybe wanted to hide. Yet to her eyes, his feelings were an open
Deep satisfaction brought some power to Katherine's exhausted body, yet she did not like the feeling at all. The guilt over hitting an innocent civilian clouded her mind, together with the question if it was the right thing to do. Trapping Ethan in the other dimension was too easy. It didn't feel right.Days and nights she'd dreamed of how to take her revenge, how she would torture him and finally look into his eyes when he died. Now, she'd acted impulsively, and the results were anything but what she imagined. Yet, should she have let the chance slip by?When she'd heard him giving orders, she'd finally stopped in her path because she felt like a coward who ran from the only real battle she'd sworn herself to fight. At first, she only wanted to observe and hid where the canyon's wall stood out a bit, just in earshot of Ethan. But the opportunity was too good. She didn't know how her smart and cunning cousin could act so dumb. It didn't match his usual approach, yet maybe
It was Ethan. He stood just outside the rift, his usual harmless smile on his face, and the hands hidden in the pockets of his dark trousers. "Kitty. Fancy meeting you here."If Katherine had been raised in any lower class than aristocracy, she would've spit in front of his feet. Even so, her face soured as if she'd bitten into a raw lemon. "I don't... fancy it at all."Stepping aside to give the rest of the dark stream free access to the rift, she noticed that Ethan'd brought two helpers who lingered in the back nervously. The white lab coats outed them as researchers. She glanced them up and down and decided not to ask where Ve was. After all that happened today and with her magic nearly depleted, she wanted nothing more than walk away from this whole mess.So, she did just that. Turned around and walked along the canyon that was now almost free of the dark substance.After a second of surprise, Ethan called after her: "Hey, don't you want to know what I'll do with this? Aren't
Meanwhile, the Duke of Sleipnir got comfortable on the edge of the cave. Shortly after he'd disposed of the corpses by sending them into the rolling dark river below, some of Loki's staff came over. They were shocked to see only one person left in the cave. "Um, your Excellency, where... where is the leader?""Hm?" Ethan turned and blinked. "Oh... he... how should I put this? He was too enthusiasistic when he saw his experiment finally succeed. Look, the brilliant result of all his hard work is below this cliff. He didn't want to wait anymore and took everyone to follow him down. Which might have been the wrong decision, so to say."The staff carefully crept closer to the cliff, and when he saw the darkness below, though it was more a creek than a mighty river now, his eyes widened. "Do you mean to say the leader is...?""Dead." Ethan nodded unemphathetically. "Most likely."Unexpectedly swiftly, the staff got over his shock. For a moment, he pondered, then asked: "But the experiment
"Ahhh! It hurts! It hurts! You're tearing me apart!" Nathaniel felt the unusual urge to roll his eyes. He never knew that his magic was such a sissy. First, it asked for his help, and now it screamed like a pig on the slaughter bench because of a little pain. And why could it even feel pain? Its body was nothing but insidious black smoke that appeared like a black liquid in its compressed form. There were no tendons, no bones, no flesh, and no nerves - in short, nothing that could hurt. "Shall I stop pulling then?", Nathaniel asked sarcastically in his mind. Well, if that magic of his wanted to go by itself, all the better for him. "No, no, no! Please don't let go! Don't let goo-oo-ouuuuuuch!" It felt like mentally pulling on an elastic band, Nathaniel decided. Somewhere where he couldn't see, something else was pulling the other end, turning the band longer and longer. It got harder for him to hold on with each passing second. Then, with a last loud howl fr