Wardens of Archos

by Sarina Langer

  “How do you know that song?” Kleon was shaking as hard as she was.

  “My mother sang it to me.” Rachael’s voice was a whisper against the sobs she was fighting. “When I was a child. Before my parents left me. It’s the earliest memory I have. The only one I had of her.”

  “My mother wrote that song,” said Kleon. “For us. For me. She sang it every—”

  “—every night she brought you to bed.”

  “Yes, that’s right.” He kissed Erimentha’s forehead and stood.

  Rachael wasn’t ready to let go of her mother, but there was no time to mourn her, either. The palace was likely still under attack. More demons could rush in at any moment.

  Rachael was done losing people.

  She let go of Erimentha’s hand and guided her head down onto the floor. She was pretty. The dark hair and dark complexion of a Krymistian lady. Was this why Rachael had felt at home in Krymistis? Because it was in her blood?

  She stood but couldn’t bring herself to look at Kleon. All this time she’d wanted a family. Now she’d found it she didn’t know what to do, what to say. Kleon had lived his whole life not knowing she existed. Their father—her father—was Arnost Lis, a man who wanted her dead and who expected the same of his child and wife. Had Erimentha stood against him because she’d known who Rachael was? Had she trained Kleon to stand against his father for the same reason? Or was it something more personal?

  Could it be more personal than wanting to protect your child?

  “My mother once told me about a daughter she left behind. My—our—father hates magic, and killed his children as soon as they showed any sign of the gift. She told me their first child showed signs and he wanted to murder it, but mother wouldn’t let him. She convinced him to abandon the child in the cold of winter instead. He must have thought your chances low to agree to it. The others weren’t so lucky.”

  Nausea roiled in Rachael’s gut. “I’m sorry.” What for? Was she sorry because her siblings didn’t live when she had? Because they had the gift? Cale had told her Tramura was worse than Rifarne, and now she understood. Arnost Lis was the perfect ambassador for such a cruel place.

  “My mother knew it was you, but she couldn’t say anything. She thought she’d missed her chance, or didn’t deserve to have you now. He had to believe her loyalty unshaken, or he might have killed her, too. She was determined to protect us.”

  “You knew her much better than I did.” Or ever will. “This is more a loss to you than it is to me.”

  All these years she’d wondered what it would be like to have a mother. Rachael had finally found her, only to lose her again. She’d thought she had accepted she would never know her parents. Having known her mother on the surface without hope of seeing more ached worse. All these moments that could have been, and she’d wasted them on mistrust.

  “What did she say to me?”

  “Paschros kai zo. Fight strong and live. It's a Krymistian blessing.”

  Her mother had been strong, and a warrior. No matter what Arnost Lis did to her over the years, he hadn't cooled her hot desert blood. The same blood ran through Rachael. It wasn't much, but it was something.

  “I don’t want to interrupt,” Cale raised his sword, “but there’s no time. I’m sorry. It’ll have to wait.”

  More shadows poured into the corridor from both directions. A new spark ignited within Rachael. The demons had taken away every chance they might have had of getting to know each other as mother and daughter. They would pay.

  “There are too many,” said Kaida. Rachael knew she was right. She would die here, they all would, but she would take as many of the demons with her as she could.

  “They won't take me.” If they needed her alive, they’d be disappointed. She wouldn’t allow it.

  Above her, the roof exploded. Small rocks rained down on her and blurred her vision as she tried to shield her face.

  Cale gasped. “It can’t be!”

  Rachael tried to look up, but searing-hot fire made her shield her face and crouch. The demons screeched, but more followed. A deafening roar filled the palace, and finally Rachael managed to look up.

  The roof of the palace was gone, blown away by the impossible monstrosity that now filled the space.

  Inside her White Palace was a dragon.

  A deafening roar made her ears ring. One of its large talons closed around her and Cale. Rachael tried to get away and Cale slashed at its scales, but neither did any good.

  The beast spread its wings with a mighty roar. More rubble rained down as walls crumbled. Its wings beat once, and Rachael’s feet were sucked away from under her. A small rock hit her head.

  The destroyed palace from above was the last thing Rachael saw before she lost consciousness.

  Chapter Forty-One

  Rachael’s head hurt, and the cold surface under her was spinning as she came to. The last thing she remembered were the demons, slaughtering everyone in the palace, and Erimentha dying in her lap.

  The spinning got worse. Erimentha was her mother, Kleon her brother. Bile rose in her throat. Arnost Lis was her father. She’d always wondered why her parents had left her to die. Now she knew she wished she didn’t. Her father had left her behind hoping she’d die on her own. And the only reason he’d agreed to that was because her mother had convinced him not to kill her outright.

  Her mother had fought him every step of the way. She’d been strong, a warrior. Rachael needed to do the same.

  Paschros kai zo.

  She opened her eyes, preparing herself for bright light to sting, but instead she was in a dark room made of stone. Her bag with the two tomes lay nearby on a wooden table. The flame from a candle cast flickering shadows on a wall ahead of her, but it wasn't enough to light her room.

  Shouting came from nearby. She got up, careful not to trip in her daze, and walked toward the voices.

  “—you! This whole time, it was you!”

  “I apologise for not telling you sooner. I did not believe it to be the right choice.”

  “You haven’t told us now!” Cale shouted at Kaida, but Kaida herself was as calm and controlled as ever. “I still wouldn't know if we hadn’t been outnumbered!”

  Rachael walked into the larger chamber just in time to see Kaida nod.

  “You are correct. I had no intentions of telling you. How would you have reacted if I had?”

  In that moment, they noticed Rachael. Kaida smiled her usual knowing smile, apparently unaffected by Cale’s outburst, but Cale ran to her. She gasped when he pulled her into his arms. The embrace lasted longer than it needed to, and she let it. She wanted—needed—the comfort.

  “Thank the Maker you’re all right!”

  “I believe you will find it was I who healed her injuries, not your god.”

  “Let me see the wound,” said Cale. She’d forgotten all about it, but now that she remembered, she ran her hand over the cut on her stomach. There was nothing there. Cale sighed in relief when he couldn’t find anything, either. “Rachael, when we get a moment, I—there's something I need to say to you. In private.” His eyes held hers when he said it. Something about his voice made her pulse race; she didn't want to look away.

  But they weren't alone yet, and she still didn't know why Cale and Kaida were arguing.

  “Thank you, Kaida,” she said. “Why were you shouting at each other?”

  Cale glared at Kaida. “You know those visions you’ve had about a dragon, and all those other mentions you told me about?”

  Rachael nodded. She wasn’t sure she wanted to hear the rest.

  “It’s her.” Cale’s eyes burnt with fury. “She’s the dragon.”

  A nervous laugh escaped her throat. Kaida was powerful and dangerous, but all Mist Women were. She couldn’t be a dragon, much less the same dragon from her vision.

  And yet Rachael knew it was true. Kaida didn't try to deny it; Rachael needed to hear it from her.

  “Where are we?”

  “We a
re in the library, off the coast of the Red Wastes. It was the safest place I could think of. The Mothers will not expect us to have travelled so far in such a short amount of time.”

  “And how did we get here so quickly?”

  Kaida didn’t blink when she spoke, and didn’t look away. Rachael wasn’t sure why it mattered. Because she’d hoped to see guilt, or regret? Kaida’s face betrayed neither.

  “We got here so quickly because I took us here. It does not take long to fly the distance, and it got us away from the Mothers. Although, I expect it will not be long before they suspect where we are.”

  Anger boiled up inside her. All these times she’d mentioned her visions, and Kaida hadn’t said anything. That time Kaida had told her about the old Midokan religion, about dragons—why hadn’t she said something then?

  How would she have reacted if Kaida had told her the truth then?

  Rachael turned on her heels and walked out. She didn’t know where she could go, but she wasn’t staying here. Kaida had lied to her. Cale had warned her, had told her the Mist Woman couldn’t be trusted, and Rachael had wanted to believe in her regardless. Her instincts had told her to trust Kaida.

  She’d confided in Kaida. The nagging feeling Kaida had hidden something had bugged her from their first meeting, but Rachael had never expected her secret to be something like this.

  Rachael walked through the corridors without paying attention to her surroundings. She changed direction when her intuition told her to, and only slowed down when she was sure no one was following her. She needed time to think.

  Too much had happened in the last twelve hours. Or had she been unconscious for longer than that? Days could have passed for all she knew.

  Would it have made a difference if Kaida had told her in Midoka? In Krymistis? Kaida had healed her, and had fought by her side. She knew she owed the Mist Woman a great deal, but she didn't know if she could still trust her. Rachael had always known Kaida was powerful, but this—was anyone alive today who could best her?

  Rachael sat on a dust-covered bench. If this was truly the library Vail had told her about, then no one had been here for a long time. A thick layer of dust covered every surface, but some of the lights still glowed with the gift. Their glow was weak, but it was there. In this darkness, it was the only comfort she had.

  That, and Cale. She missed the comfort of his arms. A not so small part of her wished he had followed her, but he knew she needed time to herself. Rachael smiled. Cale did know her. After everything that had happened, she knew she could count on him. No matter what monstrosities their enemies threw at them next, he'd be there.

  Rachael wasn’t ready to go back yet. She had no idea what she would say to Kaida, but she would figure it out. The demons wouldn’t get away with what they had done. Rachael would hunt them down and lead the Sparrows against them. They just needed a better tactic first, but together with Cale she could do anything.

  But before they could do any of that they needed to find Kiana. Rachael didn’t know where to start looking, but she had a feeling Kaida could find out. If the Mist Woman—no, the dragon—wanted to make up for the deception, this was her chance.

  Large bookshelves towered up to both sides of her and left her feeling tiny. This was just one room of the whole building, but she’d passed through many others to get here. How big was this library? The knowledge of the entire world had to be hidden within these tomes.

  She’d never felt so safe. If there was a way to stop the demons and their dark master, they would find it here. They simply needed to look.

  A shadow moved before her, and Rachael jumped to her feet. Dark, misty tendrils closed around her ankles and wrists. She spun around and stared into the eyes of a demon.

  Rachael tried to run, but its wisps immobilized her.

  Rachael tried to scream, but a foggy blanket lay over her lips and stifled the sound.

  The demon embraced her—

  —and darkness filled her consciousness

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