The Eld Queen (The YaraStar Trilogy Book 2)

by Jeanelle Frontin

  Looking straight into the darkness of the Hack’amad, she raised her voice. “Me. I offer you, me. My complete surrender if you spare the rest of Mira. I am the Queen of the Eld, and there is none more valuable than me.”

  The Hack’amad brothers laughed maniacally, immensely pleased by her offer. “Send word to the other ships!” one ordered the other. “Tell them we have gotten even more than what we came for.”

  They placed their hands upon her and sealed her within a dark pod, then disappeared into the ship.

  “No, my Queen, no….” Tilly cried from behind a group of Saptrees a short distance away.

  With tears streaming down her face, she clenched the red glass temple stone that Maia had left in her hands. She stayed there, crying and watching, until the last of the Hack’amad ships exited Mira’s atmosphere.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Yara stared into the mystical eyes of the Urse that towered in front of her. As she rubbed her hand over its delicate, white fur, she trembled at her decision. Atlase had left the animal hidden in the Greens, a short distance from the entrance to the Skotad mountain. His note had contained instructions on how to direct the Urse.

  It was close to sunset, and Yara had spent the day tormented by Atlase’s letter and all that she now knew. Everything in her wanted to meet him, to run right into his arms, yet something powerful within her resisted. Her choice to see him felt just as right as it felt wrong, and there had been no relief for her indecision.

  Yara felt her le-feer trying to reach out to her but she shoved it away to the same place she had pushed her Guidestar. She felt betrayed in her own skin, tortured by the responsibility of her markings, longing for the days when she had been unmarked and life was simpler.

  So much simpler…

  Still, her nervousness wasn’t just about meeting Atlase and all that would imply about how she felt with him. It was also about her decision to renounce her throne and pass the royal line to the Spreukens.

  But first, she wanted to tell him everything. She needed to know what he thought…and, even more, what he would feel if she were to leave it all behind. Had his attraction to her been because she was the Queen of Mira? Would he still want to give up everything to be with her if she were just a normal Eld? Yara didn’t know, but she was determined to find out. No matter what, she knew that the Agarbs didn’t deserve the royal line after the actions of her mother. She needed to make it right. She needed to surrender the queendom.

  Resting her forehead gently against the majestic animal, Yara engaged in her first temple bond with an Urse. It was different to when she freed Mila and Toler from their curses. It felt more direct, more natural. The animal readily understood what she wanted and where she desired to be taken. It even showed her that it remembered resting there with her and Atlase the day before.

  Pulling away, Yara mounted the Urse and lifted the reins to direct it to move out. In the distance, two pairs of observant eyes peeked through the trees. One pair belonged to hands with Spreuken markings that quietly flicked the reins of another Urse, urging it to follow the Queen.

  ***

  “Fan out, we’re almost there,” a Keeper whispered to the rest of the troops, with Kristos and Toler on their flanks.

  “Wait!” Toler and the cheeky Keeper softly called out, hearing the same muffled noises up ahead.

  Toler grinned at the spunky Keeper they had come to know as Jael. She rolled her eyes back at him.

  Crouching and approaching with stealth, they peered ahead as two Eld, one upon an Urse, whispered to each other.

  “What? It can’t be…” Toler murmured.

  Mibery and Kiyar, Yara’s handmaiden and Atlase’s promised one, seemed to be spying on someone through the trees. Soon, Kiyar moved off on the Urse, going after their object of interest. Mibery stayed behind, looking at Kiyar until she disappeared from sight into the Greens.

  “We need to talk to that Eld!” Jael whispered, unsheathing her blades.

  “No, wait. I know her,” Toler said, placing a hand on her arm. “Girls are so quick to resort to violence. Let me try first.”

  Jael groaned at him but nodded in agreement. If there was a peaceable way to do this, it would be to everyone’s benefit.

  As Mibery finally stood up to leave, she jumped to hear Toler’s voice behind her. “Who were you spying on?” he asked pleasantly.

  Mibery’s face lost all its color. “No-no one. I just came looking for...mushrooms…”

  “Mushrooms, huh? Like that patch just over to your right?” Toler asked, pointing.

  Mibery stammered again, and Toler decided to change his approach.

  “Whatever you were doing out here, that’s your secret to keep. But I am hoping I can trust you with one of mine. I urgently, desperately, need to find Queen Yara. It could be a matter of life and death. Do you know where she is?”

  Mibery gasped, fear filling her eyes, but she shook her head.

  “Let’s try a different approach,” Jael called out behind him, slashing her blades down as she spun in the air, flipped, and landed in between them.

  Mibery let out a terrified cry as Jael pinned her against a tree with the blades crossed at her throat.

  “We are trying to save the Queen’s life,” Jael growled. “You are trying to prevent that. I think it is reasonable to assume you are an enemy of the Queen and, as such, you will face the judgment of the Keepers!”

  “What-what are you?” Mibery asked quivering. “And what do you know of my Queen’s safety?”

  Jael growled even more, shoving the blades closer in so that they cut into Mibery’s skin.

  “We are asking the questions!” Jael said.

  Toler walked up to Mibery and looked her directly in her eyes.

  “Here’s what I know,” he said gently. “I know that Queen Yara now believes that her mother, Queen Maia, was evil and treasonous. And that as a result, she may be about to make some decisions that will affect the royal line of the Eld.”

  “What? No!” Mibery responded, now mortified.

  Suddenly, she grabbed Jael’s hands and, with a massive pulse of her le-feer, sent her flying many feet away. Jael landed with a loud thud, but thankfully only her pride was hurt.

  “Tell me everything you know, creature!” Mibery demanded as her le-feer grew brighter. “My mother died protecting Queen Maia, and I have dedicated my life to doing the same for Yara!”

  The Keepers exchanged confounded glances, then Jael strolled up to Mibery with a quizzical look on her face. “Eld girl, what was your mother’s name?”

  “Tilly…” Mibery responded sadly.

  The Keepers gasped, and then turned to Mibery with warmth growing in their eyes.

  “Well, Mibery, I have a gift for you… from your mother,” Jael responded softly, pulling a red glass temple stone from her pouch. “She lived with my ancestors for many years after the Hack’amad attack. She made this on her final day, with hope that one day it could be passed to you. I have kept it with me ever since, along with Queen Maia’s temple stone for Yasmin…well, Yara.”

  Mibery was speechless as she reached out her trembling hands to take the stone, with a mixture of doubt and hope twisting her face. Soon, hope won the battle as she lightly rubbed the stone with her fingers, knowing exactly what to do with it. She pressed it against her forehead and, within a minute, gained all the knowledge and memories of her late mother.

  Tears streamed down her cheeks as she removed the stone, but, for the first time since the Eld had been released from the cocoons, Mibery smiled brightly. “My mother was so happy with your people…But Queen Maia…what a horrible fate…And Kiyar: Kiyar was right! I saw all of her meetings with my mother…”

  “Kiyar was meeting with the Agarbs?!” Toler demanded.

  “Yes, she was a loyal spy for Queen Maia. Her actions prevented Mira from a much worse fate. She’s gone after Queen Yara to stop her from—oh, no! Queen Yara… she went to meet with Atlase!”

  “What?!”
Jael cried out. “The son of the Spreuken scum who murdered Jaren, and betrayed all of Mira?! No!”

  “Where did they go?!” Toler exclaimed.

  ***

  As the Urse picked up a little bit more speed, Yara felt a great sense of freedom. The wild winds lifted her hair, sending brilliant blue strands flapping behind her as she journeyed on. This is what she loved, this is what she longed for – a simple life without royal responsibilities, and, hopefully, a life filled with love.

  She breathed in the fresh, clean air and lifted her hands from the reins, balancing while stretching them out to her sides. The Urse seemed to sense her happiness as it flicked its head toward her with a little, happy grunt.

  Why was I even worried about telling Atlase or renouncing the throne? This moment alone is worth taking any possible chance to have many others just like it…

  The Urse went from a gallop to a stroll, letting Yara know that they were almost there. Excited knots twisted in her stomach at the thought of seeing Atlase again, driven by the shared desperation in his written words. Soon, she could hear the babbling of the Sapstream, and she knew they had arrived.

  A little way ahead, Atlase sat upon a boulder, gazing out over the Sapstream. Hints of light that penetrated the foliage of the Greens reflected off the stream and onto his face. He looked so innocent and hopeful, and as he turned to see her approaching, a flushed smile burst from his lips.

  He climbed off the boulder and walked over to her, taking the reins of the Urse and reaching out his hand to help her dismount.

  “You came,” he said softly, emotions rippling over his face as their hands touched once again.

  This time, neither of them pulled away. Instead, they drew closer together, trembling in each other’s gaze and gentle touch. Her hands traveled up his muscular arms, then behind them and around to his broad, strong back. His found their way to the curves of her waist, grasping them firmly, as if laying his claim. He pulled her steadily into his body, breathing heavily as her face pillowed into his chest. They tightened their hold.

  It was an embrace that set their le-feers on fire. Yara could feel the frantic pulsing and prolonged desperation for more.

  I want so much more. I need it…

  Their hugging intensified into grope-like longing as hands paused, squeezed, and released in a maddening, sensual dance. She could feel his hand traveling up toward her face, stopping first at her neck. Gently brushing aside her hair, he cupped her slender chin. She looked up at him, desire bleeding through every breath, biting her lip in anticipation of what she needed him to do.

  He didn’t hesitate.

  As he plunged his lips ravenously into hers, their bodies weakened and their frenzied le-feers let out uncontrollable, vibrating pulses. Her Spreuken nature spread all over her skin, reaching out to his, senselessly needing something she never thought she could feel again.

  I want to be his mate…

  Suddenly, the recollection of all that she had come there to tell him came crashing back into her mind. She broke their lip lock, ravaged by guilt, and stumbled back with tears in her eyes.

  It wasn’t fair to have him without him knowing the truth. She wanted him to choose her, not for what she was as the Eld Queen, but for who she was as Yara.

  “What’s wrong, my Queen?” he asked her, face clouded with desire to reach out and touch her again.

  “Wait…stop. First, please just call me Yara. And second, there is something I need to tell you. Well, many things, really. It may change the way you feel about me.”

  “Nothing can change the way I feel about you, my-Yara, because what I feel comes from a place of divinity within. You are the Eld I was meant to be with, the Eld I have longed to be my mate…”

  “Don’t,” Yara said sadly. “Don’t say that yet. Not until you know the truth…”

  Atlase sighed. “Then tell me, Yara, what it is you think could ever change our connection?”

  Tears fell from her face, dropping to her heaving chest, as she took a deep breath and willed herself to begin. “It was my mother…” Yara started slowly, observing his furrowing brows. “My mother was the one who—”

  “Wait!” Atlase hissed, raising his hand.

  Yara swung around. She had heard it, too: the cracking of a twig somewhere behind them in the Greens.

  They weren’t alone.

  “Do you think you were followed?” he whispered.

  Yara blushed, embarrassed to admit that she hadn’t been very observant of her surroundings as she rode. She had been too distracted with the feeling of freedom. “I’m sorry…”

  He reached out and held her hand, squeezing it supportively. “It doesn’t matter,” he said with a soft smile. “There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do to be with you, Yara. We can handle this, together. There is nothing I won’t face—”

  “Then how come you never faced your father when he murdered Yara’s father?” an angry voice called out.

  Kiyar appeared from behind a thick shrubbery, broken and enraged.

  “What?” Yara turned toward Atlase.

  “Oh, he didn’t tell you?” Kiyar spat bitterly.

  “Yara, she’s lying! She’s upset by what she has seen between us, and she is right to feel that way.” Atlase said. “But, Kiyar, to concoct such treasonous falsehoods about my father is pushing it too far. If he finds out, you know you will face his wrath!”

  The threatening note on which Atlase ended shifted something within Yara. She couldn’t explain it, but some part of her felt inclined to listen to what Kiyar had to say.

  But it doesn’t make any sense. My father and Lucerne were best friends. Lucerne spoke highly about him at every given opportunity. There is no way she could be telling the truth…

  Still, her le-feer seemed to disagree. Shoving it down again, she turned toward Kiyar. “I am so sorry for what you have just seen, and the manner in which you found out. I can’t explain what I feel for Atlase, but I can’t deny its existence any longer. I know you must be in incredible pain, and it hurts me to be the cause of this. But to lie about an Eld as respectable as Lucerne, a Master in your House, is indeed pushing it too far.”

  “Oh, she hasn’t begun to push it at all!” an unfamiliar voice called out.

  Out of nowhere, outlandish people appeared, warriors with weapons Yara had never seen. They surrounded the couple, blades pointed toward Atlase. Then the owner of the voice flew through the air and landed a hard blow, knocking Atlase out.

  “No!” Yara shouted, her le-feer pulsing in a mad frenzy and the winds beginning to pick up speed. Swinging toward the girl, she growled, “You will pay for this, weird creature!”

  “Creature?” the girl replied, unafraid. “I am no creature! I am the daughter of the leader of the Keepers. My name is Jael.”

  “The Keepers?” Yara stammered as the winds began to die down almost instantly.

  “Yara!” Toler called out, emerging from the trees and walking up, with Kristos at his side.

  “What…what are you two doing here? And how are you even together?!” Yara demanded, overwhelmed by all that was happening.

  “Oh, you know, doing what we do,” Toler said with a grin. “Trying to save your life while you continue to make it extraordinarily difficult.”

  Kristos chuckled and Yara huffed at both of them.

  Then Toler’s face grew serious. “Yara, everything Kiyar is saying, it’s all true. Lucerne and his comrades are the real evil. And Atlase has been a part of it. Your mother, Queen Maia, was in no way evil, nor was she treasonous. In fact, she sacrificed her life to save Mira, and to save you. But you don’t have to believe me. You may not have been able to meet her, but perhaps you can take a walk in her shoes, almost literally.”

  “What?” Yara whispered. “What do you mean? How…?”

  Jael walked over to Yara and placed the red glass temple stone in her hand. “These are your mother’s temple bond memories,” she said with a sad smile. “That stone holds almost every mome
nt of her life on Mira. You will not only be able to see everything she has ever done, but you will know every thought and every reason she had for her choices. You will also feel her le-feer and how it guided her in following Sunstar’s will. She left it with us for you to have when you came of age. It will open only to you.”

  Yara’s hand shook as she gazed upon the gleaming temple stone. Her le-feer reacted powerfully to its touch, reaching out with longing and love in the way she knew it had when she was just a baby in Maia’s womb.

  Yara looked at those who surrounded her. An unconscious Atlase lay nearby and his promised watched over him. A group of strange warriors, the Keepers, reverently gathered around her. A Photak and a Skotad, the sons of Chiefs who were once enemies, stood side by side, united in their care for her.

  For the first time in her life she realized that the sense of belonging she had always longed for had been with her all along.

  As they waited expectantly for her to perform the temple bond, Yara shuddered to know the secrets kept within the stone. She knew as soon as she performed the bond, everything would change. There would be no going back.

  She lifted the red glass stone to her temple. A familiar whisper filled the air and resettled in a place deep within her mind.

  “You must face the darkest truth to wield the greatest light…”

  “With this light, may I see my purpose,” Yara prayed, closing her eyes to the world around her, and opening them, through Maia’s, four thousand years ago.

  COMING IN JUNE 2019

  THE YARASTAR TRILOGY: BOOK THREE

  The

  Melded

  Truth

  What is the price of knowledge? And what is the responsibility of truth? Yara can’t forget all that she now knows, but she also can’t do anything about it—not without evidence of foul play. Have her enemies covered all their tracks? Can she uncover enough to stop their plans? And can she do it before an even deadlier danger emerges?