Crown of Blood

JAZZ - Part 1

Even if winter was still a few months away, the winds in the eastern mountains were frigid and Jazz pulled the cloak around himself. Next to him, Jinx appeared unbothered by the cold, but he was sure that if he touched her, her skin would be scorching.

"Nothing seems to be out of the ordinary," Jinx observed.

They'd stopped outside Glina, one of the border villages with a mostly Endirian population. At Jinx's express request, they'd avoided the village she'd grown up in. He could understand that completely. He wouldn't want to see his home town either, not after all the effort he'd put into escaping it. For Jinx, it was even worse given all the bad memories.

He shook his head at her affirmation. "Nothing seemed out of order so far. I'm not surprised it's staying that way."

Jinx raised an eyebrow. "What exactly are you expecting to find?"

"To be honest, more nothing. I don't think Kat had the luxury to be magically transported to Corosa after she tore apart the Marauder. Unlike Valona, it's across the country."

"I know that," Jinx muttered. "Better than you. And I disagree. Don't you think Lucille would have helped her?"

"I have trouble believing Lucille would help anyone. Plus, we have to keep in mind that Kat doesn't know Lucille and she's not an easily trusting person. It took her ages to warm up to us."

"Tell me about it." She glanced at the village again. "I still think she got to her new throne much faster than we think."

"Here's a mistake both you and Cage are making. You're assuming she already took charge. It's been a month. We've both seen how hard it is for Cage to settle into a role that he was trained for on some level. He might not have been the crown prince, but he still grew up at court and is politically savvy. Kat grew up as a peasant girl and the state of Endirian politics is in the gutter. It would surely take some time for her to organize everything. With all of Cage's obsessing, he forgets war takes time."

"And you're forgetting that it doesn't when you have magic."

"Let's agree to disagree," he mumbled.

Jinx glared at him for a second, then left the cover of the trees, heading down towards the village. Since she was Endirian, it was easy for her to just walk into places and investigate before giving him the all-clear. He hated that, but didn't doubt her abilities to take care of herself.

The wait, however, killed him.

He used the time to take a glance at the strings of fate, focusing on Jinx. There was no immediate danger for her, not outside the war they all knew was coming. The one Cage could see as well thanks to Cecille. What bothered him most was that the vision didn't give him a timeframe. He knew it was coming, but he had no idea when.

Seeing as there was no indication of anything amiss, he left his hiding place and headed for the village, reaching the first house just as Jinx was returning.

"What are you doing?" she hissed, grabbing his arm and yanking him behind the building.

"There was nothing wrong, so--"

"Nothing wrong? This village doesn't take kindly to strangers. You can't just strut in. Do you think these sorry peasants will realize you're not Iridian?"

"Don't these villages have mixed populations?"

She faltered, a shadow of sadness crossing her face. "Not anymore. I have no idea why, but there are no more Iridians here."

That was indeed odd. As far as Jazz knew, these villages had housed both nations for centuries. "Since when?"

"That's not exactly something I can go ahead and ask. People are very on edge."