“Let me come with you. We have control of the palace with your guards here. There is no way Alara and Declan would suspect us to leave. They won’t come here voluntarily, that much I can assure you.” Landon regarded his mother who’d moved to stand at his right side, the place for the queen mother. Until Landon was old enough, she would rule by his side.
“Very well, then, let’s go see an old goat together.” She kissed the top of his head before leaving the room, with Landon following close behind.
Landon made sure the others knew Talia was at the palace. He was sure they wouldn’t dare come. They were too concerned about Alara’s welfare to bring her anywhere near his mother.
He would travel with Talia and finally be on the front lines. Besides, seeing the magic she’d conjured was much different than hearing stories about it as a child. Landon let the idea of how things would be from this moment on swirl inside his mind. He vowed to never be left behind or left out of anything ever again.
ALARA paced. Concern clearly visible in her gentle features, making her look older. The stress of her adventure was taking its toll. “How exactly do you propose we get to Idrisi?” she asked Cedric.
He still insisted they travel to the island of the fae— which was north of Grotia— to visit the queen, Thea.
“Maglana.” His gaze roamed to the fae. She stood staring at the sky above, a longing in her eyes he could understand since his visit with Iren.
“It’ll be hard in the dark, but I can bring you,” she said without turning around.
“I’m not leaving Declan and Scarlett behind,” Alara started.
“No, I can take you all. There is a raft,” she pointed to the small floatation device they hadn’t seen when they arrived.
“What? What are we talking about?” Scarlett jumped in the sand next to Alara. “What happened in there?”
“I really don’t know. Cedric seems to have more answers than I do at the moment, but he’s not exactly sharing.” She sneered at Cedric, who discussed strategy with Declan.
“Really? What do you mean?” Scarlett watched the two as Declan and Cedric pulled at the rope on the raft, testing its sturdiness. “Did the sorcerer do something to you?” she asked Alara.
“No, nothing like that. Iren worked some kind of magic at the behest of my departed husband.” She moved sand around with the heel of her boot. “Oh, goodness.” Tears filled her eyes, but she blinked, and they were gone.
“What?” Scarlett jumped at her words, looking frantically at her as if she’d just realized she’d been hurt.
“I just grasped at the fact my husband is gone. I’m a nineteen-year-old widow.” She took in the sight of the green glow encircling the island. “I didn’t let myself feel his passing before. There was too much riding on him surviving.”
“Well, technically, you’re a thirty-nine-year-old widow. Just because you haven’t aged on the outside doesn’t mean you’re still nineteen.” Scarlett tried her best at being comical. Unfortunately, she wasn’t very good at it. She shrugged her shoulders at Alara, who just smiled and shook her head.
Declan bound up to them, a grim expression on his face. “What’s so funny over here?” he asked since Scarlett was laughing at her own shortcomings.
“Nothing. What of the raft?” Alara asked him, and he glanced over to the floating pile of wood.
“It should hold. Maglana is going to fly and pull the rope tied to the front of the raft. We should reach Idrisi by morning.”
“Fine then, let’s get this over with.” Alara stomped to the water’s edge. Not particularly excited about floating around the open sea on a raft with nothing to hold them on, Alara took her place on it. The four of them just fit. Scarlett and Declan sat nearest the rope, and Alara sat next to Cedric behind them.
She hoped Cedric would shed some light on what happened with Iren. As soon as she got comfortable, she crossed her arms over her chest, encircling herself in her cloak and leaned on his shoulder. When Alara drifted into sleep, Cedric wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her into him. He supported her weight easily enough, and she slept.
The sun beat down on them from high in the sky when she woke. She could feel Cedric’s arms still wrapped around her. He hummed close to her ear like Tomas used to do when she wasn’t feeling well. So low in fact, she doubted anyone else could hear him. Just as she was about to open her eyes and sit up, she heard Declan move.
“So, what did happen with the sorcerer last night?” Declan’s voice was combative, and Alara thought Cedric would rebuff his attempt to get him to open up. She stayed where she was, eyes closed until she heard Cedric stop humming, and finally got what she was after.
“Your father gave me a gift. Something that should come in handy, I think,” he paused and moved Alara’s hair from her face. “I know you're awake. I’ve sat and watched you sleep for years. I can tell when you’re not,” he whispered into her ear. The heat of his mouth caressed the side of her face, warming her more than the cloak she wore under the beating sun.
“I am. I just don’t want to move,” Alara mocked him, and he gave a slight chuckle.
The breeze off the water chilled Alara so much that her toes felt like ice. She drew them under her, tucking her cloak around them and wishing the thin shirt gifted to her was a bit heavier.
Alara looked at Cedric, who seemed more than okay with the current situation. His blond hair had grown down past his collar. The hair on his face had begun to show days ago. He looked tired yet rejuvenated. Alara couldn’t imagine how that was possible.
Cedric sat upright, shoulders back; the posture of a man taught to respect his body. Alara straightened and sat on her own. She noticed Scarlett leaned against Declan, still asleep; a dead weight propped against the prince. One wrong move and they would both be in the water. When Declan winced as Scarlet’s head shifted against him, Alara jumped slightly in her seat.
“You never cleaned that. It’ll be infected by now,” she pointed out to Declan, who looked surprised by her words.
“How?” He considered her words.
“You were hit with a spear. I can try to heal it for you. I’m not very good, so it’ll probably just barely get rid of the infection,” she reached for his shoulder, and he nodded. A slight glow left her hand as it touched his wound, but nothing like she’d seen in the past when magic was wielded. When she removed her hand, Declan moved his arm a little, trying not to wake Scarlett.
“It’s better. Thank you.” He turned to watch the fae fly in the sky. The rope pulled tautly, and in the morning light, they could tell the woman was not straining as they might have thought.
“We need to hurry. That needs tending to,” Alara whispered to Cedric so Declan couldn’t hear her.
Maglana glanced back and pulled harder. Apparently, she’d been going at a moderate speed while they slept. Once she saw Alara sit up, it became clear there was less of a threat of them falling from the small float. Flapping her giant wings, they moved at a faster pace. Under the guise of night, she appeared more mysterious. In the daylight, she was magnificent, her wings as long as she was tall. They protruded out of her back at her shoulder blades. Alara couldn’t imagine how she could stand flying all night.
On further inspection, she could see why the fae pulled faster. Land finally appeared to the left. Early dawn wouldn’t produce too many villagers on the docks, but if the wrong one saw Maglana pulling them towards Idrisi, Talia could also find out where they were headed.
If land appeared on the left, that meant they weren’t too far from Idrisi either. It would show up straight ahead. When Maglana moved east, Alara became visibly worried.
“She needs to get away from Grotia. The port of Idrisi is on the east. She can veer out, to avoid being seen, and put us on a path to shore,” Cedric said, noting her apparent unease.
Alara shifted, sitting up a bit more. Not having something to lean against was tiresome and caused pains to shoot up and down her back. Shortly after, it traveled down
her hips and legs then to her knees. She knew it was from being in a sitting position so long.
“Look, there.” Cedric moved close to her and pointed toward the west.
They had gone so far east, the island had come up where she hadn’t suspected it would. Scarlett had woken as well, stretching as best she could, her arms raised in the air. When she felt the chill, she wrapped herself in her red cloak.
The island of Idrisi was smaller than Ikrith. However, standing on it, there was a seemingly endless amount of traveling up the mountain to the fae towers, which represented the same as the palace of Anaphias, the home of royalty. Alara looked into the distance. If she squinted, she could see the tops of the twenty towers through the morning fog.
Maglana touched down in front of them on the surf. She didn’t look winded or remotely tired from flying through the night. “I will travel to Castle Tanil and announce your arrival. You may sit here and rest.” She turned to fly away, but Declan protested.
“Why would we sit here? Will the queen not receive us at the tower?”
“She may, but not usually. No human has ever been to castle Tanil. No human has ever crossed the sea onto Idrisi since the Concessions. Except one,” she glanced at Cedric.
His brow creased, and his eyes squinted at her.
“I’ve never heard anything about Idrisi, so you’re barking at the wrong tree,” he said, placing a hand absentmindedly on Alara’s shoulder. Cedric pulled her to him as if he were shielding her from the fae island. The warmth of his body kept her from protesting.
“Very well. I shall return.” Maglana opened her wings, and in one fluid motion, she was airborne once again. She soared through the treetops with ease. Alara watched as she shrank into the distance until the fae could no longer be seen.
Cedric rubbed his hand up and down Alara’s arm, pulling her closer to him. “You’re shivering.” A glint of something in his eyes caught Alara off guard but then was gone. Pulling her cloak closed around her, she moved from him to find a place to sit.
“Over here,” Scarlett yelled at them.
She’d gone off to investigate beyond the shore. Alara found her sitting on a large overturned tree, the remains of which were fresh. She sat next to Scarlett, rubbing her hands together for heat. Though the sun was out, the island didn’t seem to be warming. Before they had a chance to get comfortable, a commotion broke out on the beach.
Small fairies, no bigger than Alara’s hand, fluttered about. Standing to get a better look, she stepped on a twig, which snapped underfoot. The fairies turned towards the four humans on the fae island and flew to them.
“Good day, Majesty.” A small ball of purple light spoke to them. “The queen will allow you access to the island. However, the meeting place will not be Tanil Castle. Please follow us.” She did her best to curtsey as her little wings flapped about, keeping her in the air.
They felt warmer the farther inland they went. It was almost too warm, and they shed the cloaks they wore. Cedric offered to carry Alara’s, but she politely declined. Instead, she grasped it with both hands in front of her as she walked. She’d remembered the stories of her youth. The fae island was full of magic and wonders no human should have access to.
Once upon a time, the King and Queen Tanil held balls at the island. They held one a decade, to allow all creatures and humans to visit their lands, on the night of a full moon eclipse, when magic was hard-pressed. The eclipse blocked the essence of magic and stifled it for a whole night. A lavish party was held at the Hall of Elorra, a grand pavilion in the middle of the island. It was enchanted. The floor looked like clouds, and the ceiling opened to the sky so the stars and their splendor could be seen for the duration of the celebration.
The king and queen held such an event to celebrate the coalition between all forms of life, living together in harmony. Truth be told, they liked to show off a bit as well. Idrisi was a glorious place. The climate never changed. They only saw snow in the uppermost mountain tops.
Alara noted the way the flowers and plants were more abundant the farther they went, soon towering over her and her companions. It was as if they shrunk to fit their surroundings, the further they traveled.
The building they were taken to was in the middle of what reminded Alara of a rainforest. Trees of all kinds, most of which she couldn’t identify, jutted from the ground and hung low overhead. It was a cascade of leaves and flowers. The red one’s lifted as she walked past, urging her forward, but she fought to keep her hands clutching her cloak as they entered the building. The red flowers purred as they neared them.
Alara’s hand moved only once to slap Scarlett’s outreached arm. “Don’t touch anything that grows here.”
Scarlett gave Alara a weary smile and moved her hands, copying Alara’s strangled hold on her own cloak.
There was a floor and a ceiling, but nothing appeared between except beautiful-colored flowers serving as pillars. Pastels lingered around the expanse where walls should have been. A small-framed woman stood at the far end of the room. Guards— at least that’s what they appeared to be, though they held no weapons— stood around the perimeter.
“Please, come in.” The woman moved slightly forward to greet her visitors, though she looked hesitant. Alara brought up the rear, spending too much time looking at everything around her. She wanted to take it all in, just in case, she’d never have the opportunity to visit again. When the queen saw her, she gasped, which made Alara turn and pause. “You are her; the sleeping queen.”
Thea moved forward. Her feet didn’t touch the ground until she stood in front of Alara. Her hand went up to Alara’s hair. She didn’t so much as touch her, but her hand moved from one side of her head to the other. Declan moved as though to wrestle the fae queen away from his mother, but Cedric held him in place.
When the queen moved back, Alara’s twin braids— battered by a day and a night of ocean air— had been replaced by long, languid curls, letting her hair flow down past her waist.
“You are well known amongst the people here. A very just queen, and now with the life force of three fae, you are to be considered a fae queen.” She returned to where she stood when they arrived.
“I don’t want to be a fae queen. I don’t really even want to be a human queen,” she sputtered, forgetting the manners she was raised with. Then she quickly added, “Your Majesty.”
“What do you mean, you don’t want to be queen?” Declan looked at Alara in question. He made to move, and again, Cedric placed a hand out to stop him.
“Young king, welcome.” The queen seemed annoyed that Declan hadn’t adequately greeted her.
“Your Majesty, we are beyond honored that you have allowed us this audience.” He bowed at the waist, giving tribute to the fae. She smiled and blushed.
Alara noticed she seemed more like a child than Declan himself.
“Young king. It appears your mother has had to endure a great many things in such a short time. You may have witnessed her existence for the last sixteen years of your life, but she has not. I see the loss in her eyes. Loss she hasn’t been able to grieve. The king’s passing was such a tragedy, and you have my condolences,” she said to them both. “However, we are at war. It was inevitable. Talia never meant for you to wake. She would have ruled the kingdoms over your sleeping form, for all eternity.”
“Eternity?” Scarlett finally had the sense to stop cowering behind Declan. “How?”
The queen let herself touch the floor and pace as she spoke. Her wings were opaque and more beautiful to look at. She wore a long green dress layered with gossamer over silk. There were no embellishments, just like Maglana’s.
“Well, it’s simple, really. Once Talia’s son lives his life and is taken by the mortal death, she would rule in his stead, lest he was to have any heirs. I’m sure she’s taken that into account as well. There will be no heirs for the new king.” She looked at her hands. “Then, for eternity, we would be under her thumb.”
“I still don’t get
the eternity part.” Scarlett stepped forward.
“Young wolf, do you not, really?” the queen asked Scarlett, and the girl squirmed.
Alara jumped at the word “wolf.” She knew what the queen insinuated, but she couldn’t be right. She would have known after spending so much time with Scarlett.
Alara stepped forward then, not wanting Scarlett to take more questions from Thea, “Clearly she has the power inside her to be a sorcerer of Iren’s lifespan. Is that what you mean?”
“Yes, young queen. That is it, exactly. Iren would have made her his successor and ended himself years ago, but—” She trailed off gazing into the space above her as if someone spoke in her ear. “My men tell me Iren is receiving company.” A small ball of light moved from beside her and into the horde of flowers.
“What does that mean?” Alara asked in a panic.
“It means the usurper queen and her offspring have arrived at the island of Ikrith. This does not bode well for our friend.” Thea turned in thought, once again in the air. She bowed her head quickly and took off for the sky, heading to the towers of Tanil.
Nobody spoke. Alara contemplated what Talia and Landon could want with Iren, unless they heard Alara had been there.
Though who could have told her? Nico and Jazia knew, but would they say anything? Of course, they would… for the right payment. The return of the healer Jazia spoke of. No, she wouldn’t jump to the assumption that others would seek to harm her for their own gain. Although, had it been her, and the price was Tomas or Declan, she would have gladly paid it. Even with Landon’s recent betrayal, she’d pay for him as well.
She paced the perimeter of the room. Though, when she got too close to an exit, a guard fae moved to block her way. She took several quick jumps back and then decided on standing with the others.
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