Trenyth stopped suddenly, and looked to what appeared to be the shattered remnants of the throne room. It was buried under the rubble, under the fallen roof. If there had been anyone in there, they had to be dead. And Queen Asteria had been there, waiting for us. Her body was now entombed in a thousand tons of stone. After a moment, he turned back to our path and we moved onward.
“Here,” he said after a long while of edging around piles of debris. “I believe . . . this should be where we turned off to head down to the quarters containing the seers.”
We slowly approached what would have been the entrance, but now it was buried under a pile of stone and wood. And there was no way in.
“Fuck.” Camille stared at the barred entrance.
“I echo the sentiment.” I shook my head. “What now? What the hell do we do? How do we . . . I’m so lost here, I can’t even begin to see the light of day.”
Trenyth sucked in a deep breath. “I am going to tell the two of you what to do and I want you to obey me. Do you hear? I am acting head of Elqaneve for now.”
Both Camille and I mutely nodded. We knew when were in over our heads and Trenyth needed our cooperation. He’d been through battles before, and we—we’d never come close to experiencing something on this scale.
“You are going to return to Y’Elestrial and contact Tanaquar.” A cloud passed over his face.
“We can talk to our father while we’re there,” I said. “He’ll be able to help somehow.” Even as I said it, I knew how lame it sounded.
“Girls . . .” Trenyth shifted uncomfortably. “Your father . . . he . . .” He paused and we read the story on his face.
Don’t say it. Don’t say it. If you don’t say it, it’s not real.
Camille let out a little cry and her hand flew to her mouth as she turned to him. “He’s here. Isn’t he? He came to meet with us. He was waiting for us, wasn’t he? With Queen Asteria, in the throne room.”
Trenyth nodded. “Yes. I’m sorry.”
A sucker punch to the gut and we were down for the count. But the night had numbed me so hard, so far, that the shock of the news washed like water on a duck’s back, rolled over me and off again. Camille’s tears stopped and she stood there, mute.
I was the first to find my voice. “If Menolly and the others survived, surely they would think of heading to Y’Elestrial. And remember, Shade can transport through the Ionyc Sea. He could have . . .” I let the thought drift off.
“You’re right of course,” Camille said, her voice so soft it was barely a whisper. “We’d better get to the portals before the armies come in. Because you know they’ve got to have a force marching this way. Trenyth, come with us?”
He shook his head. “I cannot. I will find someone to take you to the portals, though. It’s likely to be dangerous on the roads.” At my pleading look, he rested a gentle hand on my shoulder. “Delilah, you know that I would go if I could, but I’m in command here. And the Keraastar Knights are scattered—if we don’t find them and get them away from here, Telazhar will have a damned good chance of getting the rest of the spirit seals before the week is up.”
I nodded. “Yes. Yes . . . we’ll go now, then. Who can we take with us?”
“Wait here.” Trenyth hurried off, and Camille and I stood, hand in hand, mute. There was nothing much we could say. Within moments, he was back with a guard in hand. “Take them to the portals leading to Y’Elestrial and make certain they get through. Do you understand?”
The elf, his uniform torn and blackened from the soot, nodded. “With my life, Liege.”
“Good, because their lives may depend on yours. And if they die and you live, your life will be forfeit. They are that important.”
Not even looking fazed, the guard simply nodded and then, silently, he led us out of the palace, and we were off and away into the night.
• • •
The journey to the portals was devastating in itself. Elqaneve lay in ruins, the city ablaze with fires that burned too bright to be sparked from normal lightning. Everywhere, houses were razed, forest was burning, and people were dead or dying. Those who seemed unharmed sat in shock, or milled aimlessly. We passed through them, silent and without trying to help. There was nothing we could do. Nothing we could say. They did not stop us, nor try to speak.
And so we made our way to the Barrow Mounds, still no sign of invasion, but my intuition told me it would happen soon. The guards were at their posts, but they quickly told the one leading us that they had barred anyone from entering or leaving through the portals. I didn’t hear what he said to them—my mind was churning on overload, and Camille was just as quiet.
Within minutes, however, we were hustled toward the portal pointing to Y’Elestrial, and then we were in, and a whirlwind later, we emerged into our home city.
As we exited the portal, the soft glow of eye catchers surrounded us, and the silence and sense of peace was palpable. It washed over us like a wave, and before I could help it, I was weeping, on my knees, exhaustion and despair my cloak. The guards took one look at us and rushed to our side. Camille sucked in a deep breath as they gathered around us.
“Elqaneve is fallen. We need to speak to Her Majesty immediately. We are His Lordship Sephreh ob Tanu’s daughters. Take us to her now.”
And without a question, without a protest, the guards swept us into a carriage, and we were on our way to the Court, under a night sky that was clear and crisp, and the only smell of smoke was from the hearth fires in the houses that we passed by.
• • •
We were escorted into a private chamber. The Court and Crown was far more ostentatious than Elqaneve could ever have hoped to be, but it still made me catch my breath when I saw it. After the destruction we’d witnessed, my cynicism seemed to have flown the coop. Camille and I walked into the room to find ourselves facing a mirror that spread across one entire wall. I stared at our reflections, only now realizing how we looked.
We were bruised and battered, black and blue over our arms and faces, with crusted blood here and there—whether it was our own, or from some stranger we touched, some body we brushed against, it was hard to tell. Soot stained our torn clothes, and my hair—blond and spiky—was streaked with it. Ash and dirt joined the mix. Camille looked down at her moccasins and let out a yelp. They were covered with blood. She yanked them off, but a quick look at her feet showed only minor cuts and scratches. We truly looked like we had emerged from a war zone.
A glance around the room showed no one else in attendance, but a tray with water and wine and fruit and cheese was prominently placed on a table. We sank onto the edge of one of the leather benches, and I was grateful that the material could be wiped clean. We wouldn’t stain the upholstery, at least.
In the back of my mind, I heard a cynical little voice say, “Who the fuck cares about upholstery?” but there was still a part of me that wanted to be polite.
Camille reached for a piece of cheese and a cracker. She glanced over at me. “I have no clue what we’re supposed to do now. We warn Tanaquar and then . . . what?”
“We could go out to Father’s house. See if Menolly is there.”
She nodded, eating slowly. “Good point.” But our talk was all so much chatter. I felt broken, frozen by a sense that the world had just crashed down. Humpty Dumpty fell off the wall, and we were staring at a pile of scrambled eggs on the sidewalk.
A moment later, the door opened and Tanaquar, Queen of Y’Elestrial, swept in. Tanaquar was tall, with hair the color of flames that fell to her waist. She was tanned, and her eyes glowed with a light mirroring the golden glow of the sun. Beautiful, she looked a lot like her sister—the Opium Eater, whom she deposed in a civil war not too long before. We had thought the destruction from that war horrendous, but it was nothing—nothing, in comparison to what we had just been through.
Tanaquar stared at us for a moment, then held up her hand when we started to rise in order to curtsey. “Stay your selves. There is no time for d
ecorum now. My advisors are on the way in.” She paused. “You know your father was in Elqaneve.” By her tone, she knew we knew.
I nodded. “Yes. We do know. He’s missing.”
She merely waited until her flock of advisors joined her. They sat around us, in a half circle, three men and two women, as well as the Queen.
Sucking in a deep breath, I looked at Camille. And then, together, stumbling over events because they had become one big blur, we told them about the destruction of Elqaneve. When we finished, all the energy seemed to drain from me, and I leaned on the arm of the bench, exhausted.
“We’re missing Shade, Trillian, Chase, and Sharah, and . . . apparently, our father.” I stared at the Queen, unflinching. “Queen Asteria is dead.”
“And so . . . we are on the eve of war. And Elqaneve is fallen, and a reign that lasted thousands of years comes to a horrifying end.” Her voice was soft, but her words still pronounced the death knoll on the Elfin city. She turned to the man on her left. “We hold a treaty. Kelvashan is under siege and their capitol city, destroyed. Go now, marshal the army, and prepare to march in aid to to the elfin lands. We will use the military portals. There is no time to spare.”
At that moment, a messenger burst into the room. He skidded to one knee in front of Tanaquar. “Your Majesty, I bring news. A huge contingent of soldiers has been spotted marching on the road to Elqaneve. They came out of the Tygerian Mountains. They are armed and said to be at least a thousand strong. They have not reached Kelvashan yet but are expected to breech the borders by morning.”
Tanaquar turned to her advisors. “Go and prepare. Marshal the armies to begin leaving before the night is out. We must be there to meet the enemy.”
As they left the room, Tanaquar and her bodyguard alone remained. She waited till they were gone, then turned back to us. “So, my friends . . . I can offer no solace except that we will do what we can. Telazhar cannot capture the spirit seals. The danger grows with every hour.”
“We will go in search of them, Your Majesty.” A familiar voice echoed through the room and we turned.
Trillian was standing there, along with Smoky, Shade, and Rozurial. Trillian looked banged up pretty bad, but he was alive. Camille let out a little cry and ran over to him, throwing herself into his arms. He kissed her, pressing his lips to her hair, her face, her neck.
“Menolly? Chase and Sharah . . . are they all right?” Her voice was shaking now, and I was as afraid to hear the answer as she was.
Trillian nodded. “Yes, my love. They’re all right, though Sharah went into labor.”
“I traveled through the Ionyc Sea to fetch Smoky and Rozurial. They returned with me and helped rescue the others. Everyone’s safely back Earthside now.” Shade held out his arm and I slid into his embrace, wanting never to leave the shelter of his protection.
Camille glanced up at Trillian. “Did you . . . did you happen to see our father anywhere? He was in the throne room with Queen Asteria and . . . she’s dead. She was crushed under the rubble, as far as we know. As far as Father . . . we have no news. We don’t know whether he was . . .”
Her lip quivered and she sucked in a deep breath. The fact that they’d been just starting to iron out their relationship had to make this doubly hard. He’d disowned her for a while, and she’d walked away, accepting his decision but not knuckling under to his prejudice. They’d just made up a few months ago, an uneasy truce to see if they could forge a new bond. And now, this.
“We will look, my wife. We will go to Elqaneve and look. I am a dragon, these goblins cannot harm me.” Smoky tipped her chin up, smiling. His hair rose up and stroked her shoulders gently.
“You don’t know—you don’t know what it was like!” She broke away and turned to me. “They don’t understand how . . .”
I stepped up by her side. “Guys, she’s right. Trillian, you have no clue what was going on while you were trapped down there. The sorcerers, they raised a sentient storm. It was massive, far more massive than anything I’ve ever seen. That . . . thing . . . destroyed the city. It wasn’t an earthquake—not a natural one. Those damned lightning bolts went barreling into the ground, setting off the shaking. The storm was alive, malevolent. If Telazhar and his cronies can do that, what else are they capable of?”
Trillian caught my gaze and slowly shook his head. “We must find the Knights. If we don’t, then everything we’ve been working for goes down in ashes. Because if those loons that Asteria set to wearing the spirit seals break free and are unprotected, there is no hope. They aren’t bred to fend for themselves over here. Venus, maybe—he’s a wily old shaman, but the others? Helpless babes in the blazing wood. Telazhar will find them, of that you can be sure. And he will take them to Shadow Wing, who will destroy their souls and take the seals. And then . . . he will be all but unstoppable.”
Camille and I looked at each other, mutely. They were right, of course. “We can help—” she started, but Smoky shook his head.
“No, wife. You cannot. Trillian has been a mercenary in Queen Tanaquar’s army before. I’m a dragon. Rozurial can travel through the Ionyc Sea and he’s armed to the hilt. The three of us will stay here. You must return to Earthside. We cannot be worrying about you or it will distract us.”
Reluctantly, I saw the value of what they were saying. “Fine. But you have to let Trenyth know that Sharah is alive. She’s in line to take the throne if the other heirs are dead. Tell him, please.”
Smoky inclined his head. “Then, we shall be off, before the armies marching on Elqaneve arrive there.”
I wondered how he knew just what was going on and opened my mouth to ask when Shade held up his hand. “No, love. I know what you are going to ask. Trenyth actually found a Whispering Mirror still intact. I do not know where, but he found one. He told us everything, including the soldiers marching toward Elqaneve. They know scouts who weren’t in the city, who survived, got word to them.”
I wanted to slap him. To ask why he hadn’t told us that in the beginning, but considering the trauma and chaos of the night, I didn’t have the heart.
Tanaquar stood and we all curtseyed and bowed. “Then, I accept your help, Trillian, Smoky, and Rozurial. You will leave for Elqaneve immediately. And the rest of you—go home. Go home and be safe, and wait for word. Even here, the roads are too dangerous to send you out in public—we cannot know who might be lurking. So I will send you a guard to escort you to a hidden portal that leads Earthside.” With that, she turned and left the room.
Camille was whispering to Trillian and Smoky, and I could tell she was upset but we were all too tired to fight, to argue, to even cry.
I glanced up at Shade. “You are staying with us Earthside?”
“Someone has to protect the house, and so I will stay. And Vanzir and Shamas and Morio. But the elfin guards must leave for home—they will be needed there. Perhaps Camille can ask Aeval for additional support from the Earthside Fae to guard the house.” He pressed his lips against my forehead, and I wanted to lose myself in him, to forget the events of the past six hours.
I could not believe it was still today—this morning seemed a million miles away. Everything had seemed so normal, and now the world stood turned on its head. Like an extended nightmare, when I closed my eyes, all I could see were the endless fires and lightning strikes amid a cloud of dust and soot. Too much. Too much. I wanted to turn back the clock, to pretend this had never happened. But nothing would ever erase the memory of the storm as it rained down death.
The door opened and a guard peeked in, motioning for us to follow him. Camille let go of her men and joined Shade and me. Her lips were set in that determined look that I knew covered up a well of pain and fear. But she shook out her hair and stood proudly.
“Be safe, my loves. Be safe, Rozurial. Return to us under the watchful eye of the Moon Mother.” She turned and walked toward the door, not looking back.
I raised my hand in salute, and joined her, followed by Shade. Silently, we left the
room, and just as silently, followed the guard down the hallway and into another chamber—a small library filled with scrolls, and a writing desk and chair. He walked up to a relatively bare wall and, in one quick motion, pressed a brick. A passageway sprang open and we followed him through into a narrow stairwell, which led down, spiraling into a lower level with a simple bed, chair, and table. A guard was standing at attention and after whispering with our guide, he motioned for us to turn around. Another moment, and we turned back to see a door to yet another secret chamber. In this chamber, a portal waited, like the one in the Wayfarer.
The guard hustled us into the portal, and the next thing we knew, the world shifted, the veils parted, and we were sailing home.
• • •
Blinking, I realized we were in Grandmother Coyote’s portal. And she was there, softly smiling, waiting for us.
“So the tide has turned, girls. And there is death and destruction imprinted on your souls. Bear in mind that all that was, all that will be, is dictated by a thin scale. The universe metes out its will. The gods play their hands. And we—the Hags of Fate and the Harvestmen, we wind the skeins of all life. But even we follow rules, and we are governed by the balance of order and of chaos. I will help you as I can, but things will grow much darker before there can be light. And the night—the night has just begun.”
And with that, she motioned for us to go, not giving us a chance to ask her any questions. We stepped out into the star-filled night. It was late, very late now, and nearing dawn. Menolly would still be up, and I wanted to get home in time to reassure myself that yes, she was okay. That Chase and Sharah were all right.
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