Page 9 of A Crown of Darkness

Robin swatted at the vine irritably. ‘Put it away, Lark,’ he said. ‘You aren’t impressing anyone. And Tobias said not to hurt them. Or scare them. We promised.’

Tobias…that name again. That was something. Roland locked eyes with Anselm who nodded slightly in recognition of that fact.

‘Who is Tobias?’ Anselm asked.

‘You’re full of questions,’ Lark said huffily and stood up. The vine snapped back into the undergrowth, vanishing from sight but somehow lingering in their awareness, a threat. ‘We should move. We’ve still got a long way to go.’

‘We could ride,’ Roland offered. ‘It would be faster.’

‘Not where we’re going. It’s not fair on them,’ was all Robin said, and set off again.

The horses, Roland realised. The boy seemed far more worried about the horses than he was about the knights, or himself and his sister. Which was another factor to consider. These children were powerful in old magic, and though they tried to hide it, they were afraid of him. That was not comforting. Scared creatures – people or animals – could do terrible things. Especially when they had such power.

‘THE TALE OF THE THREE SISTERS’, AUTHOR UNKNOWN

Once upon a time there were three sisters and from the day they were born it was clear that they were powerful witchkind. The people of their village shunned them and as the girls grew in power and beauty, so too did the hatred they engendered until the villagers would no longer suffer them to remain. The girls were driven out, into the wilds where dangerous creatures roamed and no one could survive the night. The village turned their backs on them and they were forgotten.

But the three witchkind sisters did not forget. They cried out for aid. They touched the flames of the Aurum and found its fire relentless and spiteful. They sought solace in the shadows of the Nox and found all its promises empty.

The Maidens of the Aurum tricked them into their stronghold but the sisters gave themselves to the wind and escaped their high walls, returning to the safety of the trees.

The witch-hunters of Ilanthus came for them but the sisters escaped them, wily and cunning as the forest itself.

What place is there left for the likes of us, they cried out, we who will not submit to these powers and bend to their rules?

An answer came from a forgotten song that still flowed through the roots of the world. The old magic came for them and offeredthem sanctuary. But the need for vengeance burned in their souls until all that was left was ashes.

And though the guardians of the old magic tried to comfort them, they would not listen. They did not want comfort or protection.

We will release the old magic, they said, and we will remake the world. As the Nox fell they saw their opportunity. As the Aurum grew quiet they laid their plans.

One went north to the College of Winter. One went west to the heart of Ilanthus. The last went south to Pelias, the stronghold of Asteroth.

Each of them found a place and made it their own. And they waited.

And they did not forget.

CHAPTER 5

FINN

Finn had been stabbed before. He’d been so close to death that even a whisper would have pushed him over. He had been beaten, and hurt, and bleeding out. He had burned with fever and screamed with broken bones.

But he had never known pain and weakness like this.

On the day he finally awoke with a clear head, he wasn’t sure at first where he was. Not where he ought to be, that was certain. He groaned as he tried to move, almost falling off the narrow bed and onto the floor of the…cell?

‘Your highness!’

Hestia’s voice. She was with him.

But that was… impossible.

Hestia’s hands caught him and stopped his fall, settled him back on the bed. She sank down to her knees beside him and studied his face.

‘Hestia?’ he tried to say, but his tongue felt a thousand times its normal size in his mouth. His cousin tried to smile, but her skin looked parchment-thin and pale. Dark circles smudged the skin underneath her too-large, tear-stained eyes.

‘Yes, I’m here. I’m here. Thank the endless night. Just take it slowly.’ She smoothed her hands down either side of his jaw,catching on a growth of beard and a knot of hair far longer than he would ever have chosen. How long had he been unconscious? How long had he been here, wherever here was? ‘Hold on, I’ll get help.’