Dakota wasn’t sure what Thames was aiming for, but if it was pity, he’d well missed the mark. There wasn’t a single shred of understanding in Dakota’s heart.
“Can you truly blame me for taking the action I did? For taking my kingdom back?”
“For murdering your family? I absolutely can blame you. Boo-fucking-hoo, you didn’t get the throne. Find something else to do, some other way to put meaning into your life. You don’t slaughter your entire world, then go after others, just because you didn’t get your way. You call me pathetic? Maybe you’re right, but you’re worse—you’re completely worthless.”
Thames rose to his feet. “You will come to understand just what it’s like to lose your future, Brother.” He stormed out, and Dakota slunk back against the bars.
Lifting the stale bread, he held it to his lips. “Yum.”
21
Terrenia
Anastasia
Anastasia shoved spare clothing into a leather bag before pulling her boots on. Turning, she stared at the bed where she’d shared so many nights with Dakota. Angry tears slipped down her cheeks, and she quickly wiped them away.
There was no time for grief.
No time for mourning the life they’d had before.
Not when she had so many lives to avenge.
After seeing the destruction Thames caused on the Jaitu world, Anastasia knew without a doubt she had to stop him by any means necessary. Even if that meant sacrificing the life and future she’d always wanted.
Dakota’s words were on replay in her mind. “You have to kill me, Ana. Killing me is the only way to stop him.”
“Not if I can help it,” she growled to the empty room. Strapping her pack onto her back over the blade she carried like an appendage, Anastasia walked quickly to her kitchen.
“He’s alive, if you’re interested.”
Anastasia didn’t bother turning to look at Vincent. “That’s too bad.”
“While I applaud your ass-kicking skills, murdering people is not your style.”
“Murdering people who believe genocide is okay just so happens to be my style.”
“He didn’t say explicitly it was okay.”
She turned now, glaring at him. “Are you taking his side now?”
Vincent shook his head. “I’m on your side, Anastasia. But you have to understand he’s a coward, and cowards don’t think clearly.”
“Cowards don’t belong in leadership.”
“Couldn’t agree with you more on that note, but his blood on your hands won’t fix anything.”
“Thought you said he wasn’t dead?”
“I did.”
“So, why exactly are we having this conversation?”
Vincent sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Anastasia, you have to keep a clear head in this. I know it will be hard, but you are going up against the most powerful enemy you’ve ever faced. Clear thinking will be the only thing to get you through. Revenge will only cloud your judgment.”
“How am I supposed to have clear thoughts when he’s slaughtered three races of beings? The Guisnows, Pickries, and now the Jaitu—” Her voice broke. “They’re dead, Vincent. All but wiped from the history books, and still, he sits on his fucking throne, claiming more lives each and every day.”
Vincent stepped toward her. “I didn’t say don’t be angry. Be pissed the hell off, Anastasia. Use that anger as fuel when you don’t feel like you can keep going. Revenge and anger are two different things. You can carry anger, but fight for justice, not revenge.”
The words were such a stark contrast to what her father taught her, that it shocked her. Yet he and Vincent were two different men, they experienced two different lives, and as much as it hurt to admit, Vincent was the only one of the two who she believed knew to some extent what she was going through.
“Aren’t justice and revenge the same thing?”
“No. Justice is putting an end to the bad while retaining the good in you, revenge is being willing to stoop to the very level as your enemy.”
The door opened, ending their conversation, and Tony stepped in. “You ready to go?”
She nodded, throwing a small smile at Vincent, who simply bowed his head as he disappeared. “We have a lot of ground to cover.”
“We’ll find it,” he assured her.
“I know. We have to.”
Anastasia stepped out into the sun with Tony, and together, they made their way down the path toward the stables.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“No. But I’ll make due.”
They reached the clearing where three horses waited, saddled and ready to go. “Three?”
“I couldn’t keep him from coming.”
Anastasia turned just in time to see a stone-faced Nix step from the stable. He didn’t bother looking at her, just headed for the horse nearest him and placed a small satchel onto the back of his saddle.
The two Pickries floated down softly, their feet touching the grass soundlessly. “We are ready, Sorceress,” Plews told her.
“Then let’s get going.” Anastasia removed her sword and sheathed it at the horse’s side, before climbing onto the buckskin mare’s back.
Kaley padded over, ready again to march into battle at Anastasia’s side. Would there ever be a day they weren’t fighting? It certainly didn’t seem like it now.
“Anastasia!” Elizabeth raced down the path toward them, two leather bags in her hands.
“Lizzie, what are you doing?” Tony asked, dismounting from his horse to greet her.
“I packed you two food.”
“We already have food,” he said.
She narrowed her eyes. “I packed you more. And medical supplies.”
“Ahh, thank you, my love.”
“You’re welcome.” She accepted a kiss from him before moving to the side of Anastasia’s horse. “Please, be careful.”
“I will.”
“For both your sakes,” she added, nodding at Anastasia’s abdomen.
“I will,” Anastasia repeated, more than ready to get the journey started. There were hundreds of miles of mountainside to cover, and that didn’t even count the thirty miles it would take her to get there before they could begin their search.
Finding the life core was the only part of her plan that she was sure of, absorbing the power and using it to destroy Thames would come next—only if it didn’t kill her first.
Pressing her heels into her mount, Anastasia nudged her horse along. The first few steps were the hardest, but when she reached the village center and saw the broken faces of the Jaitu people and the Guisnow queen watching their king leave, it fueled the fire burning in her chest.
By the time they reached the gate, and the Fighters pulled the heavy wood barrier open, Anastasia was more than ready.
She would find the life core.
She’d stop Thames.
And she would bring Dakota home.
Or she’d die trying.
22
Terrenia
Anastasia
By nightfall, they’d reached the mountain range. The stars above them shone brightly, and the moon provided more than sufficient light to set up camp.
“I’ll grab some firewood,” Tony offered, disappearing into the tree line.
Anastasia went to work unsaddling her horse so the animal could relax, then did the same with Tony’s. By the time both horses were grazing peacefully, Nix’s blankets were already unrolled, and Tony was returning with the firewood.
Plews and Marney were already up in the trees above them, relaxing and eating whatever the hell it was Pickrie’s ate.
Tony set up the firewood, and Anastasia sent a ball of flame toward it, and the fire crackled to life.
“Nix, are you hungry?” Anastasia asked, but the Guisnow didn’t respond. He just leaned back on his blanket and closed his eyes.
“Give him time,” Tony said softly. “He’s grieving and looking for anyone possible to blame.”
/> “I am to blame.”
“No, you aren’t.” The tone of his voice told her he wasn’t in the mood to argue it, but deep down, Anastasia knew she truly was to blame, and it was a weight she’d carry forever.
Before the emotion crashed over her, sending her into a blubbering mess, Anastasia changed the subject. “So, when we find it, if we still can’t get to Luxe, we’ll need to find a way to draw Thames out.”
“I think the power core will be enough, don’t you? He’ll come here looking for it, and when he does, you’ll send him to hell.”
“You have a lot of faith in me.”
“I don’t know of another person I’d bet every single card on.” He smiled, and Anastasia felt some warmth return to her shattered heart.
Tony had always believed in her, from the first day she’d arrived in Terrenia, and every single battle between then and now. “Thank you,” she said easily. “For everything.”
“Anytime.”
Leaves cracked, and the three of them drew their swords. Plews and Marney flew down from the trees and landed behind them, golden eyes peering into the dark.
“Did you see anything?” Tony asked them.
“No.”
More crackling leaves, and Anastasia readied herself for a fight. Kaley growled beside her, teeth bared and body tense. When Em stepped into the clearing, she breathed a sigh of relief.
“Em, it’s good to see you.”
The Fawnis leader stretched her long, greyhound-like physique before lifting her slender head. Her red eyes glowed softly in the dark, and three more Fawnis stepped up to join her.
“You too, little one,” she said through the psychic connection the creatures used for communication.
“To what do we owe this visit?” Tony asked, sheathing his sword now that the danger had passed.
“We were going to come to Terrenia and get you. There is something you need to see.”
“What is it?”
“You should see first, then we will explain what we know.” Turning back toward the trees, she glanced once more over her shoulder as if to beckon them again. “It’s not far.”
“Okay.” Anastasia sheathed her sword and put her hand on Kaley to ease the giant feline who still glared at the Fawnis in warning.
“I guess dinner will wait,” Tony said begrudgingly as he followed her. Grabbing the horses, Nix fell in to step just behind them, and the Pickries flew softly above them.
Anastasia followed the Fawnis into the trees, over downed branches, and through a narrow stream. The walk couldn’t have taken more than ten minutes before they reached another part of the mountain covered entirely by hanging vines.
One of the Fawnis used its large head to push the vines aside, revealing a hole roughly the size of a bus in the stone.
Glancing back at Tony, Anastasia took a step toward it. Before she could enter, though, Kaley pushed her aside and went first.
Hand on the hilt of her sword, Anastasia made her way through a dark, damp tunnel until it ended and she emerged in a clearing.
Jaw dropped, Anastasia gaped at the area before her. Bright green grass shone even now in the dark, while mushrooms glowed unnaturally, providing light despite the canopy of trees above.
But it wasn’t the serene environment that had her shocked.
It was the creatures inside.
“What is this?” Nix asked, awestruck.
“This is our home,” Em answered.
Anastasia barely heard them. Before her, the remaining Mamsets and Fawnis lounged leisurely with beings she’d never seen before.
Brightly colored bird-like creatures perched on branches, their dark eyes watching the newcomers intently, while completely translucent humanoids raced to hide behind large boulders scattered throughout the clearing.
“What are they?” she finally asked Em.
“They are beings who fear for our world. The Volcrise are the flying beasts who live at the top of the mountains. They’ve come down to hide for fear their kind will be destroyed by the dark. The Faeres tend to the earth and have nearly all died out.”
“They’re Terrenian?” Tony asked.
“As much as you are.”
Anastasia took a step further into the clearing, then another. “Why have we never seen them?”
“They hide, each serving their own purpose until the time comes for them to die.”
Anastasia turned to her. “You said a coming darkness, what’s happening?”
“We would not have believed it had we not seen it, but something is coming, Sorceress. The mountains are dangerous now, filled with creatures who’d see your blood spilled before so much as sparing you a glance. The world is closing in on itself for protection, but in doing so, is killing its inhabitants.”
“What creatures? Brutes?”
She shook her head. “These are creatures that the Volcrise believed to only be legend. Those meant to protect Terrenia, only now they’ve turned against it.”
“Why are the Faeres dying?”
“They depended on the water in the caves to keep them sustained. It’s the only sustenance pure enough to not poison them. Now that the creatures are roaming free within, any who venture inside never come out.”
“What the hell is going on?”
Anastasia turned to Tony. “It has to be Thames. What if he’s sent these creatures here to find the life core?”
“Then we’re looking at a much larger fight than we’d originally considered. We may need more help.”
“No, we can’t put any more lives in danger.”
“If those mountains are crawling with creatures, we’re going to need more bodies with the ability to swing a blade,” Nix added.
“I don’t believe that would do any good. These are ruthless beings with no weaknesses.”
“Have you seen one?” Tony asked her.
“Partially. We went below the entrance and saw the glowing green eyes of the beasts looking down at us from atop the mountain.”
“Everything has a weakness,” Anastasia said, glancing back at the entrance they’d walked through moments earlier. “We just have to find it.”
23
Terrenia
Anastasia
“You do realize this is an absolutely insane plan, right?” Vincent asked Anastasia as she knelt, filling a water pouch from the stream running through the Fawnis clearing.
“Possibly, but it’s the best one we’ve got.”
“You’re going to dangle yourself as bait in front of creatures you know nothing about.”
Anastasia stood and drank deeply. “It’s my plan, Vincent. I know what’s going to happen.”
“Why not let me go? I’m already dead—not like they can hurt me.”
“Because you look dead,” Anastasia said. “No offense, but you’re partially transparent. They would literally see right through you. Nix is a Guisnow not from this world, and Tony is entirely too intimidating. Besides, out of all of us, I’m the only one with a weapon that can’t be seen.”
“This could go terribly wrong.”
“It could,” she agreed. No sense in playing stupid. They could kill her where she stood, or be immune to her power, but she had to try. Learning about these creatures and their weakness would ensure they weren’t walking onto a battlefield unprepared. Capturing one and discovering its origin was their best bet at survival.
“The life core may not even be in there.”
“It’s in there,” she said with the utmost confidence. “Otherwise, why would those creatures be in there?”
“Could be the Luxe is just as blind as you are and doesn’t know where it is.”
“That’s possible, but I doubt it. He’s known exactly where to look for the other ones, I think there’s another reason he hasn’t come himself, and I think those beings in there hold the answer.”
“Ready?” Tony approached, nodding at Vincent.
Vincent folded his arms. “You agreed to this foolish plan?”
&nbs
p; “I don’t like it any more than you do, possibly even less. But Anastasia is right. If anyone stands a chance at making it out of there alive, it’s her.”
“And if her magic doesn’t work on them? Or if there’s too many?”
“Then we go in, swords drawn, and either get her out or go down with her.”
“You are all fools.”
“Says the guy who started this whole thing.”
Vincent glared at Tony, who stared right back at him.
“Can you two please put your differences aside. I get it, neither one of you like it, but it’s the best plan we’ve got. Now, if you’ll excuse me.” She stepped past them. “I have a creature to catch.”
“Foolish.”
“You can come with me, you know,” Anastasia said. “Just keep yourself hidden from view. Then, if anything goes wrong, you can pop out and let Tony know.”
“I plan on it.”
“Good. See? We even have a backup.”
Vincent shook his head, but smiled softly. “You are so much like your father sometimes.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“You should.”
“Great, now that we’ve got that out of the way. Em’s waiting for us.” Tony turned and began walking through the clearing toward the exit.
They’d had much-needed rest the night before, surrounded by the protective barrier of the Fawnis hideout. While Anastasia hadn’t had the chance to speak with any of the Volcrise or Faeres, she’d noticed them watching her intently anytime they didn’t think she was paying attention.
Even now, as she made her way out of the clearing, she could feel their eyes on her back, the sensation of being watched sending chills up her spine.
The Fawnis held the curtain of vines back, allowing her to step through with Tony, Vincent, Nix, Plews, Marney, and Em.
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