Valen looked at her as though she were a wayward child asking to play at midnight. “No, no, no. Why don’t we open the drawbridge and drag it in?”
“And risk that more will come in on the mist? Right into the city?”
Valen inhaled quickly then let out his breath. “You have a point.”
“Besides, the archers can cover me. I’ll climb down, secure the beast and have it up here in a flash.”
Valen’s shoulders moved as if a snake slithered between them. “I don’t like it.”
“It’s too big to be dragged through the underground tunnel, and someone has to go out there to secure its carapace with rope. If we leave it down there much longer, the other Elyndra might come and carry it away.”
“All right. As long as you’ll be careful.”
Star smirked. “I always am.”
Valen shouted for more archers as Star tied a rope around her waist. Once they had ten of the kingdom’s best poised with arrows, he lowered Star down the wall with a blazing torch in her hand. The archers held their bows taut, ready to fire should another beast attack.
Once she hit the bottom, Star tied the rope to the Elyndra’s body, wrapping it around the circumference of the stomach and back several times before tying a triple knot. The strangeness of her proximity to the killer that almost stole her life hours before tickled the hairs on her neck. A few times she swore it moved out of the corner of her vision and threw herself back on her rump just to stare into its dead eyes once again.
“All set.” Star tugged on the rope. “Now, heave!”
She could hear the hefty grunts of several of Ravencliff’s largest soldiers as the rope tightened and they dragged the creature toward the wall. She made sure the knot was secured and the entire body hauled. As the creature’s body hit the wall, Star jumped onto its back, her cape swirling behind her. The men pulled her and the Elyndra up in a series of groans and heaves.
The men’s faces stared in shock as she rose above the rim of the fortress. Of course, the Elyndra captured most of the attention, but she was the heroine who brought it down.
Once over the wall, Star helped them pull the carcass over the ledge. It fell onto the battlements with a thud and a stink that must have wafted all the way back to the castle itself.
Valen told the soldiers to keep their distance as the alchemists slowly approached the dead Elyndra, their experimental tools in hand. As they took specimens to study, Star watched as the Elyndra’s wing changed from sparkling iridescence to powdery dust.
“Look.” She brushed her finger over the powdery wing. The sparkles fell from it to reveal a thin layer of filmy skin. Glitter coated her fingertip.
“Seems like they can’t survive out of the mist.” A senior alchemist peered through thin spectacles at Star’s finger. “They dry out like fish out of water.”
“Then if we somehow can get rid of the mist…”
“We can be rid of them,” Valen finished for her. Along with the alchemist, Star had just provided the answer to everyone’s largest problem.
Star looked to the horizon. “The mist, it flows south.”
“Yes.” Valen leaned over the wall’s edge. “It comes from the north.”
“Why? What produces it?”
Valen squinted as he looked into the unknown. “Weather conditions, perhaps. I’m not sure.”
A sudden urge to act pounded in her forehead. She felt as though they all stared at their own deaths but did nothing about it. “Someone is going to have to find out. Look.” She leaned her arm over the edge. “The mist is much higher than it’s been in the past. It’s rising.”
Valen frowned. “I know. It’s been happening for the last ten years.”
“Then why don’t you do something about it?”
“What?” Valen put his arms out in frustration. “You tell me, what should we do? We’ve been building the wall higher now for decades.”
“You can’t just keep building higher. That’s just denying there is a problem. You need to nip it right at the source.”
“What should we do, Miss Nightengale? Pray for nicer weather?”
Another voice shot through the crowd. “Or build a bunch of ramshackle mist blowers and cage ourselves like frightened animals?”
Star whirled around. She recognized the smoothness of the voice, edged with the deadpan drawl of the outskirts.
Fallon Leer stood before them, a soldier on each arm. Surprisingly he looked complacent, standing straight with his head tilted upward like he owned the world. His eyes flickered under heavy lids, revealing nothing. Star noticed this time he wore a shirt, the black material covering his tattoos.
“That’s enough.” The prince tightened his fists. Star noticed he defended her.
“We’ve captured him, Your Highness.” The soldier on Leer’s right arm tightened his grip. “He was in his house in the outskirts. He appeared to be waiting for someone or something to arrive.”
Leer spoke of his own accord, his accent jovial and light. “So, Prince Valen, we meet again.”
But Valen was not in a mood for conversation. He looked to the guards, ignoring Leer’s devilish greeting. “Take him in for questioning. I’ll join you in a few moments.”
Star’s mind ticked away. So they had met before, Valen and Leer. She wondered how they knew each other.
Leer looked back over his shoulder, and his next words to Valen gave her even more questions to ponder. “What’s wrong? You don’t want to reminisce about old times?”
Star watched as Valen’s gaze followed Leer as he strutted away, guards in tow. She couldn’t imagine what it would be like to face the rogue ordered to kill her and then have him mock her in front of her own guards. Personally, she would have spat foul words in his face right then and there, but Valen stood silent. Star wished she had the same poise and reservation. Perhaps if she did, the instance with Zetta would have turned out much smoother. She admired Valen for his diplomacy. The more time she spent at his side, the more drawn she was to him and his subtle ways.
Star reined in her swooning notions by grappling with the situation at hand. At least she’d solved one problem. But something about the direction of the mist tugged at her thoughts, bringing the Elyndra back into question in her mind. Suddenly, it all came together like a drawing that changed meaning when looked at in a different way. The answer was right in front of her. “That’s it. I know now what to do.”
“What are you talking about?” Valen returned his attention to her, his eyes foggy with distant thoughts.
“Someone needs to follow the mist to its source, to find out where it comes from and why. Perhaps it will also bring us to the Elyndra’s lair.”
“And who’s going to do that?” It seemed to Star that, by the sarcasm in his voice, Valen already knew her answer. But she declared it aloud anyway.
“I am.”
Chapter 13
Riding Partner
“Miss Nightengale.” Valen stressed her name as they descended the narrow, twirling steps tumbling down to the dungeons. “I’m sure you are aware every journeyman braving beyond the protection of these walls has never returned.”
“I’m not a journeyman. The journeymen looked for other civilizations and lands to colonize. My mission is different. I’m looking for answers.”
“It seems to me what you seek is more intangible than anything anyone has ever looked for.” Valen paused on the steps, taking her by the arm. “Have you considered there aren’t any answers out there? That life is just the way it is?”
Star wanted to speak but couldn’t think of anything to say. The truth was she hadn’t thought about that. She pulled away from his grasp and resumed her descent. “It’s hard to fail, but it’s worse to have never tried,” she called over her shoulder.
The stairway grew darker and Star felt thankful that torches were lit in sconces on the stone walls. Flimsy strands of web draped the walls, wafting up on the breeze she cr
eated as she led the way into the bowels of Ravencliff. The floor was dank with grimy sludge, making the footing slippery. Although she didn’t want to touch the thin metal railing, she found it was necessary to hold on to steady her slick steps.
Star could tell from the dual guards posted outside the rotting wood door that Leer’s cell sat at the bottom of the staircase, third on the right. As she approached, she noticed a small, iron-barred window at the top of the door’s arc. Ignoring the men at watch, Star stood on the tips of her toes and peered through. She could see Leer in the corner, sprawled out on a bench, one leg dangling above the floor and the other bent as though he lounged in a tavern. Guards had shackled both his wrists to chains coming from the wall. Eyes closed, he appeared to be resting, seemingly undisturbed by his predicament.
Star turned back to Valen as he caught up to her. “Are you sure you want me in there for the questioning?” Second thoughts about the whole encounter flew through her mind. It was not wise to get involved in Ravencliff’s intricate justice system. However, looking at Valen and the way his eyes beseeched her, she knew she had already enlisted when she’d brought him the letter. In fact, she had committed herself a long time ago, the day her eyes caught sight of Valen in the halls of the inner sanctuary and her heart claimed him as her own.
“Yes, please. I need a witness. You saw the letters exchanging hands. If it’s not too much trouble…”
Star sighed. “All right.”
Valen nodded and the guards opened the thick wooden door with a skeleton key and heaved. The door swung out from the woodwork reluctantly, rusted hinges creaking.
Leer sat up slowly, stretching his tattooed muscles, and smirked. “Greetings, Prince Valen, Miss Moon Hair. Come for a visit? I must say your accommodations are,” he looked around in a sweep of the cell, “less than satisfactory.”
“Leer, I’m not in a mood for your antics right now,” Valen said with authority. “Your life is in serious danger…again.”
“Has the messenger told on me then?” Leer sent Star a stray smile. Unable to meet his sparkling dark eyes and roguish grin, Star looked away.
Valen took a step forward, placing himself between Star and Leer. “I have a letter here from Evenspark, addressed to you, concerning my assassination.”
“Yes, well, I knew that was coming,” Leer replied casually. “Has it occurred to you, cousin, that I was going to intercept it? That I was playing along the whole time?”
Cousin? Star’s thoughts leaped. Fallon Leer and Prince Valen were related? Instantly she saw the resemblance in their faces. The bridge of the nose and the set of the eyes were identical, though Valen’s features were more refined and noble, while Leer’s were rugged and broader. Both men were strikingly handsome in their own way. Valen had a subtle inner strength while Leer’s appeal exuded outward power and inner mystery. Star found herself gawking and had to pull her eyes away to concentrate on the conversation at hand.
“That is your stance, then?” Valen asked him.
Leer raised his hand, palm up, as if to say he could offer nothing more.
Valen looked to Star. “Was there any indication of this either way?”
Star had to remind herself what he referred to. That Leer intercepted the letter to protect Valen? How would she know? She was just the messenger. “No, no indication either way.”
“And this is the man who accepted the first letter?”
“Yes. This is him. He expected it.”
Valen seemed to be considering many issues at once. Star could sense his inner turmoil. She suspected he yearned to believe his cousin. She studied Leer’s timeworn features and tried to find any indication of his purpose, but she could not penetrate his tough facade. All she saw was a man hardened by a rough life, confronting a privileged cousin who had the kingdom in his hands. The situation did not bode well.
“I must think on this. My guards will question you further.” Valen turned to leave. “Come, Miss Nightengale, we need to report his position to the authorities.”
Valen led Star out of the cell. As the guards closed the door behind them, she fought the urge to look back. She did not want to give Leer another reason to tease her. Valen gestured to the winding stairwell and they began the ascent back into light. Dawn would break soon and the morning sun would peek over the horizon. Star was eager to see it, for the dark of night had settled in her eyes and she felt it would never go away.
“I didn’t know he is your cousin.” Star studied Valen’s back as if she could look into the inner workings of his heart.
“Not many people do.” He paused on the stairway. “We were friends once, back when we were small boys. Our mothers were sisters and when they went out together, they brought us along. We went riding, played cards and chess, all the typical family activities. A friendly competition developed between us, but it became clearer the older we grew I was to be king and the rivalry turned sour. I think the inequality of the situation weighed heavily on him. I promised him that, as king, I would see to it that he would have everything I had, but that didn’t seem to placate him. He wanted power, prestige and wealth, and he wanted to gain it for himself, not be given the scraps from his younger cousin.”
Valen rubbed his face with his hand, as if to wipe away his memories. He gestured for her to keep climbing. “The first major rift between us happened the day my mother died.”
Star had heard an accident claimed his mother’s life, but no one knew exactly what transpired that day. The royal family refused to speak of it. She was surprised he confided in her, a messenger from another kingdom without an ounce of royal blood running through her veins. It meant he trusted her.
“I remember it clearly, like the instance froze in my mind, a timeless picture.”
Suddenly Valen’s footsteps were silent. He froze in mid-step, clinging to the railing like it held his salvation. His eyes grew distant, looking beyond the stone to the ground outside the fortress walls. She walked back to him, stopping one stair above so her head was even with his own. “Go on.”
“We were fishing out by Ellis Lake. This was back almost ten years ago, when the Elyndra were held at bay by archers and groups strolled the countryside with a guarded retinue.”
Valen clutched the railing, the back of his hand turning white. “My mother and Fallon’s mother were beading pearl necklaces on the shore. They called to us to come in for the day. Darkness came and the mist thickened around the water’s edge. I wanted to go back immediately, but Fallon insisted we linger. Ambitious and insatiable as always, he wanted to try for one more fish.”
Anxiety bubbled in her stomach as she listened, as if the rippling waters lapped at her feet while she watched the mist flow in an ominous tide. Part of her wanted him to stop right there, but a larger part needed to know his pain. “Go on.” Star placed a hand on his shoulder. “It’s all right, I’m listening.”
Valen nodded, looking down at the moss-crusted floor. “We fought. I finally convinced him to help me paddle back to shore. By the time we reached the shoreline, the mist seeped all around us, pouring in like water over a cliff. Our surroundings changed from peaceful to precarious in moments.
“We had stayed out too late, but Fallon’s anger overshadowed his fear. I’d caught more fish and he couldn’t deal with defeat. When I held up my catch of fish to my mother, he ran off into the mist. His mother boarded the carriage to take us back to Ravencliff and was unaware, but my mother had stayed to see we reached the shore safely.
“I remember the beads falling on the beach around my feet like scattered hopes. At first I thought I’d tipped a basket over. When I turned around, I saw my mother had dropped the baskets of necklaces to run after him. I watched as the trail of her indigo shawl vanished into the mist. The archers were already in pursuit. I struggled to run after them, but my guards locked me down. They could not chance losing their future king.” Valen let out a long sad breath. “Fallon was the only one who made it back.”
He waved her concerns away. “I’m not telling you this for your pity. And it’s not meant to upset you either.”
Sniffing back the tears that were already brimming in her gray eyes, she wiped her face with her sleeve. “I’m okay. Please, keep talking. I want to hear the whole story.”
Pearls of sweat sprinkled his forehead and Valen wiped them away. “If you wish.” But he didn’t continue. They stood there on the uneven steps with awkward silence falling between them.
“That doesn’t explain why he lives in the slums,” Star said, wrinkling her brow, “when he’s related to the future king.”
His gaze returned to Star as if he were pulled away from a stray thought. “Yes, I’ll get to that. I tried not to blame him for my mother’s disappearance. As we grew older and assumed our separate lives, I endeavored to trust him, to strengthen the blood bond between us, but he fought it. He didn’t want my friendship or my peace offerings, and he didn’t need them either. All on his own, he became Ravencliff’s greatest messenger to ever live. He moved to Evenspark to join up with the Interkingdom Carriers. He rode with them for many years, perhaps quitting just before you won your post.”
Star thought back to all of the riders she’d met during the years. “I have no recollection of him.” Surprisingly, the thought of missing his presence in the Interkingdom Carriers made her sad, like she’d missed a great opportunity to meet a legend before he fell to tragedy.
“It doesn’t matter.” Valen’s tone sounded bitter, as if he tried to be proud of Leer’s accomplishments but his hard feelings got in the way. A heavy weight burdened her heart in a deep melancholy at the estrangement of two cousins. She wished she could bring them back together and heal their relationship.
“So that’s why he has the horse tattoos?”
Valen blinked. “You’ve seen his tattoos?”
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