The Ring Keeper, page 37
A knock at the door woke her. She hastily rubbed her tear-stained face with her sleeve. The door opened, and it was him.
“Are you feeling better, my dear?” Haldreth asked, pulling up a chair and sitting beside her bed.
She looked at him. Though the same color as his brother’s, his eyes were cold and hard. She had always loved Callonen’s warm brown eyes, and that hers were the same. She had never dared tell anyone, but in her heart, she had wished Callonen was her father and that was why they shared the same eye color.
Ana struggled to find words. “I’m all right,” she said. “I’m sorry about before. I…”
“You didn’t know who your parents were?” he asked.
“No.”
“Then perhaps it was a shock,” he said soothingly.
“Yes,” she said. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m just happy to have you here. I have missed you all these years.” He bent and kissed her forehead gently. She wanted to pull away. Being so near him was uncomfortable, but she forced herself to remain still.
“Will you tell me what happened?” she asked.
He straightened up. “You were born here, in this castle,” he said. “This is your home. I intended you should grow up here, at my side—a princess.” She could feel that he spoke honestly about this.
“The entire kingdom loved you. But, one terrible day, an assassin slipped through our defenses. He murdered your mother and stole you away. I caught him, of course, and gave him the fate he had justly earned. But it was too late—he had hidden you or given you to another, and I couldn’t find you. Please forgive me?”
Forgive him? The story seemed believable enough. But did she believe it? She knew there were lies mixed in. And he was asking for her forgiveness. How could she? But it would be safer to go along. He must not find out how desperately she wanted to escape from this place.
Finally, she spoke. “It’s all right, Father.” The word felt strange on her lips. She’d never called anyone that in her life, but it seemed to please him.
“Rest now,” he murmured. “I will see you again soon.” He rose and went out the door, leaving her alone. She lay turning everything over in her mind until she fell asleep.
In her dreams, Ana saw his face, and sometimes as she drew near, he would smile, his brown eyes gentle. She hugged him and called him Callonen. And sometimes, his eyes were hard. He looked down and laughed at her cruelly, and she fled from him in terror.
The king sat in the dining room the next morning, Gavin beside him. Ana shared breakfast with them. The marvelous food tasted like ashes in her mouth, and she felt as if she was choking on every bite. But she knew she mustn’t show it. She kept her expression calm to hide the panic that threatened to erupt at any moment. She could sense malice and deceit from the king. From Gavin, she sensed only a mild warmth.
After breakfast, a servant brought a small chest of dark wood and knelt, offering it to Haldreth. As he took the box and set it on the table, the servant scurried away.
“Cirana,” Haldreth said, “this is something special. Come and see.”
She got to her feet and stood near him, looking down at the polished wood of the box.
“The memory of your mother is painful for me. But I wanted you to have this.” He opened the lid, and there, nestled in a bed of velvet, lay a crown of diamonds.
“This was hers?” Ana asked.
“Yes, and now it’s yours.” He took the crown and gave it to her. His words sounded sincere, but Ana could tell he was lying.
It felt heavy in her hands, and the hard edges of the gems were sharp against her fingers. She stared at it until he took it back from her and returned it to its box.
“Would you like to see more of our kingdom?” her father asked, offering his arm. She could sense he was keeping his feelings tightly controlled.
They walked through halls filled with treasures and rooms full of paintings and sculptures. He showed her stables with fine horses.
“Do you like to ride?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said, “it was one of my favorite things to do.” Back at the White City. But she dared not mention the city out loud. “Do you think we might go riding?” she asked. Would he permit her to go outside the walls?
“Later, perhaps, when you are stronger and the weather is not so cold,” he said. “You’ve been ill, and you must be careful.”
Haldreth would not let her out. She had feared he wouldn’t. If he gave her a horse and let her pass through the gates, she would ride away just as far and as fast as she could.
“You’re right,” she said. “It would be too tiring now.”
Haldreth came to see Ana often. He always brought her beautiful presents and treated her with meticulous kindness. But Ana wore the ring, and she could sense that his caring was superficial. When the time came, he would reveal his true motives. He wanted something from her.
Gavin came to visit her every day as well. Often, the three of them spent time together, and as Ana watched them, she realized that Haldreth and Gavin knew each other well. This wasn’t a new friendship begun when he had brought her here, asking for help. He must have been working for Haldreth the whole time. Why hadn’t she sensed it?
Ana had thought all these years that she could sense anyone’s feelings. She’d never encountered someone who could hide their true emotions from her. But somehow, Gavin could.
Of course, she hadn’t seen what happened after she had healed Rosie. But it couldn’t have been the faithful Toren who had betrayed her. She felt a fool. How had she ever trusted Gavin? How had Callonen? He said he hadn’t sensed the man was hiding anything. So, she wasn’t the only one Gavin had fooled.
But now she was in the middle of a well-guarded fortress, and she couldn’t get away.
It would be unwise to defy the king openly, and she said nothing to Gavin of her realizations. She remained pleasant and courteous to them both, and in this way, she hoped to buy herself time to come up with a plan.
Days and weeks passed, and the weather turned colder. Sometimes snow covered the valley. The silence of winter lay heavy over the castle. Time was wearing on, yet she still didn’t have a plan.
Whenever Gavin and Ana went anywhere in the castle, she carefully observed her surroundings. The halls and corridors grew familiar, and she came to know her way around at least. But the king’s guards were everywhere.
Gavin often took her walking, and one day they came out onto a balcony that overlooked the outer wall.
“What a beautiful view,” Ana exclaimed. She couldn’t see any landmark in the surrounding valley that would tell her which direction the White City lay. It must be west, though. Zarek had told her that Ara lay east of Sarine. The deep canyon blocked her path in that direction. She would need a way over or around it, other than the well-guarded bridge.
“No scenery could compare with your beauty,” Gavin said with a charming smile. He bent and kissed her.
Ana found him repulsive now and pulled away after a moment. “I’m sorry,” she murmured. “I’m not feeling very well today.”
“Shall we go back?”
“Yes, please,” she said.
He was kind and solicitous as he helped her back to her room. But she knew better. It was all an act.
Finally alone, she sighed in relief. This situation was growing worse all the time. Gavin’s attention was becoming more insistent. How long would she be able to pretend to cooperate? She had to find a way out.
The castle stood between some rocky hills, and the front gates faced a deep chasm. Bare, rocky lands lay to the north and south of Hakvere. A little village huddled into its shadow to the east, and to the west, the bridge spanning the precipice apparently provided the main entrance. But Ana would be caught if she tried to cross the bridge. The balcony where she had strolled with Gavin was only an arm’s length from the outer wall. If she could find a way to climb down it, she might be able to slip away.
If she had a rope, perhaps she lower herself to the ground. It was a long way, and she considered whether she had the strength to make the descent.
“I don’t have to get back in,” she said. “I only want to get away.”
Rope. She fingered the fabric of her skirt.
Before she slept that night, she braided yards of rope made from a stack of blankets she found in her wardrobe into a thickness that she hoped would bear her weight. She hid it and slept, content to have at least the beginnings of a plan.
The rope grew longer as she worked on it every moment she was alone in her room. She learned to listen carefully for the sound of footsteps approaching her door and to hide her work quickly and quietly when she heard someone coming.
How long did the rope need to be? Zarek had laughed at her once for not being able to estimate distances by sight. This was certainly not the time to make a mistake.
One day, when Ana’s rope had grown quite long, Gavin came to her door. “Would you like to take a walk?”
“I would. Let’s go to that balcony again. The one with the beautiful view,” she said.
They walked there, and Ana smiled and looked out at the lands around.
“It is nice here,” Gavin said, standing beside her at the wall.
“You can see so far up here. How high are we?” Ana asked, widening her eyes.
Gavin smiled. “About twenty of you, end to end.”
She peeked over the wall and gasped. “It makes me dizzy.”
“Maybe I can help,” he said, putting his arm around her. “Better?”
“Yes, thank you,” Ana replied.
The next morning, a servant woke her, saying, “Your father has asked you to join him for breakfast.”
As Ana came to the door of the dining room, she saw the king. His jaw was clenched, and the scowl on his face frightened her. She could feel his anger. But when he glanced up and saw her, he put on a pleasant expression. She sensed his hostility dissipating.
“Cirana, come in. Sit down.” He held a chair for her.
She sat.
“I wanted to tell you I’m hosting a special banquet for you in ten days.”
“For me?”
“Of course. I want you to meet everyone. We’ve received so much help and support as we have rebuilt this nation. I want to introduce you to the people who help me lead Ara. They are eager to meet you.”
“I would be honored. Thank you,” she said.
Ana needed all the information she could gather. That night, when the halls became silent as the household went to bed, she slipped out of her room. The passages were empty. She had learned where the guards were stationed, and she avoided them.
Voices echoed through the hall ahead of her, and she slipped into a dark room, out of sight. Her father was talking to Gavin.
“I’m ready,” Haldreth said.
“And you really think Callonen will cooperate?”
Haldreth’s voice was icy. “He will. Or I will kill Allia right in front of him, and then I’ll take it anyway.”
Ana’s chest constricted. Her mother was alive. She was here.
Haldreth asked, “How is she?”
“The same. She just sits in her room, doesn’t speak, doesn’t do anything.”
“That might be the best part.” Cruel humor tinged the king’s voice. “I’ll let Callonen exchange his empire for the woman he loves. He’ll be desperate for her to run to him with open arms, and she won’t even recognize him. Let him enjoy seeing that I destroyed her mind.”
Ana stood, her heart pounding and her limbs frozen in horror. What had Haldreth done to her mother? What had Allia suffered, friendless in this place for all these years?
“Do you still have the shroudstone?” Haldreth asked.
“I’ve kept it close. We don’t need Cirana sensing anything from me that she shouldn’t. We’re almost ready to complete our plans. She still thinks I care about her. I’m going to ask her to marry me.”
“Very well,” Haldreth replied. “Finish overseeing the preparations. I’m going to have a word with Allia.”
“Yes, my king.” Gavin’s footsteps retreated.
Ana heard her father pass her hiding place. It was foolish and dangerous, but she couldn’t stop herself from following him. She’d already suspected they’d found a way to deceive her abilities. If not, she’d have known Gavin’s true nature a long time ago.
Her soft steps were soundless as she slipped through the dark. The sound of his footfalls stopped. Peeking around a corner, she saw him lift a bar and heard a heavy door creak open. Inside the room, she heard his voice, gloating. “Gavin has Ana totally fooled. She can’t sense what we’re doing any better than you could. I find that very amusing, don’t you?” Silence answered his question.
A few moments later, he left the room and barred the door again. Then he passed the dark hallway where she hid. When everything was quiet, she crept to the door.
Ana lifted the heavy plank and set it silently on the floor. She slipped into the small room, bare except for a low cot in one corner and a single chair. The window was barred and let in a chill breeze with a sliver of moonlight. The room seemed empty at first glance. But as her eyes adjusted, Ana noticed a person huddled against the wall.
She crept nearer. Wide eyes stared at her from a pale, haggard face. A heavy chain secured the woman’s ankle to the wall.
“Hello?” Ana whispered. There was no response. Those eyes stared back at her blankly, with no sign that she’d even been heard. Ana could see the woman’s hand where her arms were wrapped around her knees. Her left ring finger was missing.
Ana reached out and took the crippled hand in her own, willing the injury to heal. The green stone glowed and agony ripped through her. This pain wasn’t new. The weight of it felt as ancient as a mountain.
The woman’s hand gripped Ana’s tightly, covering the ring, holding on.
Another person bore the weight of the pain with her. They suffered together, the ring binding them to each other. Their hearts were broken. Their minds were shattered. Heavy chains bound them. They had lost everything and everyone they held dear. Nothing remained but darkness and pain.
Ana collapsed to the floor, the darkness overwhelming her.
CHAPTER FORTY
Year of Warding 42, Hakvere, Ara
Ana
SURROUNDED BY DARKNESS, Ana gasped, trying to breathe against the tightness in her chest. Gradually, she recognized the cold stone floor beneath her. The warmth of another person pressed against her arm. She wasn’t alone.
“What happened?” a voice beside her asked.
Allia. It was the first time Ana remembered hearing her mother’s voice. Allia was moving beside her, struggling to get up from the floor. Dragging in another breath, Ana tried to move. How long had they lain there unconscious? It had been long enough for the chill from the floor to seep into her body.
With great effort, Allia pushed herself up to sit leaning against the wall. She stared down at Ana. “Please wake up! I don’t know how you got in here, but the guards will be back, and they can’t find you here! Who are you?”
Ana swallowed, trying to find her voice. “Cirana.”
Allia’s eyes widened. “That’s impossible. You were a baby.” She looked around the dim room. “I… I know this room. This is Hakvere. And… the ring?” Allia grabbed Ana’s hand and held it up to the moonlight. “How is this possible? How can you be Cirana?”
“But it is me!”
Ana fought to make her limbs obey her and managed to sit up, braced against the wall.
“Is it really you?” Allia asked.
“Yes, Mother.”
She pulled Ana into her arms, and they cried together. “Oh, I’ve missed you. Every day. Every moment,” Allia sobbed.
“Me too,” Ana said. “I thought you were dead.” It seemed unreal to be looking at her mother’s face. Allia’s hair looked pale in the growing light of dawn, fairer than Ana’s, and she could see the strong resemblance between them.
Allia put her hands on either side of Ana’s face and stared at her. “You are so beautiful! But you’re grown up. How long have I been here?”
“I’m twenty,” Ana said.
“So long? I did everything I could to get you out of Ara when you were a baby. Please tell me you haven’t been here the whole time? That Haldreth hasn’t controlled your life?”
“No,” Ana said. “Harrow gave me to a kind woman who was my grandmother until she died. I lived at an inn until Zarek found me when I was sixteen and brought me to the White City.”
“Zarek found you? And brought you to the city?” Allia asked.
Ana nodded. “When I got there, Callonen took care of me.” Her heart ached. She missed him so much.
Allia burst into tears. “He’s alive?”
“Yes, he’s alive,” Ana said.
“Is he happy? Did he have a good life, a family?”
“He… He waited for you,” Ana said. “He missed you every day. There was never anyone else. We have been each other’s family.”
“I healed Haldreth seventeen times, once for each demon he created. I sacrificed everything to stop him and get you to safety. How did you come to be here now?”
“I’m sorry,” Ana whispered. “They tricked me… But… I have a plan to escape. Come with me.”
“I can’t,” Allia said, extending her foot with the chain. “You must go without me.”
“But I can’t leave you here,” Ana protested.
“You have to. Be strong. Please, my dearest. I know you don’t know me, but please obey me this one time. There is no way out for me. If you’ve found one, you must take it. Tell Callonen I never stopped loving him. We’ve been lying here for hours. It will be morning soon, and you must go quickly now, before the guards come. Can you walk?”
“I’m not sure.” Ana felt weak. Healing the old injuries had taken its toll, even though she had regained consciousness sooner than usual after a healing. She had felt something she’d never felt before, the will and strength of another person bent on supporting her as the magic worked.
