“Like the soldiers?” Alina asked, remembering the mindless creatures.
Nin shook her head. “His mental faculties remained intact, but something had unbalanced him. No one realized until very recently that he struggled against an external force. After you escaped with the Warriors, he told me about it, that he even tried to break free once.”
She thought back to his final words. I’ve been trying to do that for years. He had said when he stabbed himself. She had previously dismissed the words as rambling. “What happened when he tried to break free?”
“Your parents died.” Alina’s throat constricted, but Nin pushed on, “He discussed it with the King and Queen and had you sent away, the location unknown to him so that he could not be any harm to you at all.”
“He… he was the one responsible for sending me to that Keep?” Alina blinked back more tears.
Nin nodded. “He worked tirelessly in your absence to root out any remaining influences the Shedol kingdom had in place. He was like a manic, swinging from mindlessly assisting the Shedol armies to undermining them at every turn. I saw a glimpse of it myself after you escaped. It was more than someone exercising leverage over him, they were in his head somehow.”
“That doesn’t seem possible,” said Alina.
“You’ve seen it for yourself. I suspect that the dragons who attacked you in their own kingdom were under the same influence. And the Shedol armies, they were corrupted beyond recognition, their free will so gone they could only bleat uselessly, not even speak.”
Alina took a deep breath. She had come to terms with the fact she led her nation to war, but this seemed out of the realm of her control. “So, there’s a reader who manipulates people,” she said. Nin nodded. “An extremely powerful one, one who robbed an entire kingdom of its free will.” Another nod. “Nin, I don’t see how we can win this.”
The maid smiled and stood from the bed. She smoothed out her skirts. “Do what you do best, your Majesty,” she said. “Lead us to the ideal world. I’ll make sure the appropriate destinies intertwine.” She walked toward the door and opened it.
Before she stepped out, Alina said, “You never told me what it is you actually do around the palace.”
Nin smiled at her. “I am your humble maid, Alina.” She curtseyed. “And that is all you need to know.” She pulled the door to, leaving Alina alone in her uncle’s chambers once more. She drummed her fingers on the desk then reached for the box. Unlocking it once more, she grabbed a new letter.
Taking a deep breath, Alina unfolded it and read.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
SENRI FOUND IT DIFFICULT to sit in a Council meeting all day after driving the armies of Shedol from the city and chasing them to the western shores,. She flexed the stiffness from her hands for the eighth time that afternoon. Her fingers wanted to do something. Her whole body did. Working the forge had been more entertaining that politics.
She closed her eyes and could still see the Shedol ships leaving their shores. She had raised her sword in the air and cried out enthusiastically with the rest of the soldiers. They had won. They had successfully driven off an invasion. She could still hear the roar of the soldiers around her when they had achieved true victory.
But when she opened her eyes again, it was weeks later, and she was still trapped in a council meeting. She had been asked by Alina to attend. Earlier in the morning, they had conducted an award ceremony for the Warriors and soldiers who had fought bravely. Senri raised a hand to her own medal and absently traced the intricate wreath of flames carved into it. From there, Alina opened the palace for negotiations with the dragon folk. They talked mostly about trade and a mission to hunt down the Shedol ships carrying Osota prisoners. The amount of missing civilians unsettled her. What unsettled her even more though, was that somehow the Councilors had allowed this to happen, which Alina currently interrogated the remaining Council members about. She tossed a letter down on the table. “Someone explain to me how my uncle was allowed to plunge this country into ruin.”
At first, no one spoke. Few of the Council members remained to speak. Out of the eleven representatives, only four sat in front of them.
“We were coerced,” said Gosman. “They threatened to burn our lands to ash, and we didn’t have the forces to stop them. Lord Demek told us to stall them with negotiations.” He cleared his throat and when Alina nodded, he continued. “We still do not know what we stalled for.”
Senri grimaced and glanced over at Alina. Her brown had furrowed in the same, troubled way it did whenever someone mentioned Demek. Alina had been reluctant to talk about him even with Senri. “We are working on some theories as to what that might be,” said Alina.
The more people they talked to, the more they saw how truly erratic Lord Demek’s behavior had been. Senri still had a hard time thinking of what his end goal could have been. It could have been anything. He could have been insane, as far as she was concerned. Alina was not quite as convinced.
Gosman continued, “Your Majesty, I assure you we merely followed orders. Regent Velora backed all of his decisions.”
“We are not discussing this so I can accuse you of treason,” Alina snapped. That was something else that had changed. Alina had little patience for Osota’s politicians in the past weeks. It made Senri worry that the stress would be too much one day. “I apologize, Councilor, but I’m trying to understand exactly what happened, nothing else.”
Gosman nodded. “That task might prove impossible, your Majesty.”
Alina nodded and pressed a hand to her forehead. She took a deep breath. Senri wished she could help Alina more than just sit in on her meetings “As you all are aware, we have suffered casualties as a result of the conflict.” She must be ready to end the discussion if she was bringing up casualties. “I will need a list of potential candidates to fill the necessary Councilor positions. I request that you all compose this in cooperation this afternoon. I will send someone to collect it later.”
Without giving them a chance to protest or interject, Alina stood and Senri followed. They left the Council chamber and Alina’s shoulders sagged. Senri took her arm.
“You all right?” she asked.
Alina nodded. “I don’t know how much longer I can go on like this.” They strolled the halls. With the help of the Warriors and local craftsmen, the palace looked almost better than before the attack. “I never realized how much work Regent Velora did.”
Senri nodded and lowered her hand to Alina’s, threading their fingers together. In the wake of the kingdom’s recovery, very few people passed them a second glance. Senri suspected most people were just afraid of Alina, Queen of Fire. “He did it so you could save Osota.”
“He did.”
They left the palace and walked around the grounds outside. Senri squinted, sunlight streaming down from a cloudless sky. “Do you think everyone else knew more of what was going on? More than us, I mean.”
Slowly, Alina nodded. “Possibly since I was a child. My mother was a seer.” Alina looked up at her as she said this, and Senri nodded. It came as no surprise that one of Alina’s parents had possessed the sight. Alina sighed and squeezed Senri’s hand. They stopped at a stone bench and sat down. The rock felt hot from the sun’s rays. “It was a little too easy to leave the palace, you know? That first night we rode out to find the dragons, and all the other nights, no one came after us.” Alina leaned against Senri. “I think Velora wanted us to find the dragons.”
“Then he was a brave man to stay behind,” Senri said. He had been buried in the royal cemetery, a place of honor.
Alina tightened her hold. The worry lines stood out in her forehead. “I think Demek wanted us to find them, too.”
“Why?” Senri asked. “Do you think allying with the dragons was a mistake?”
Alina shook her head. “No, but it makes everything we do from this point on much more complicated. Demek had a goal in mind. He was working with the armies of Shedol. I saw it. But he…” Her eye
s shimmered with tears. “Senri, I think I was wrong.”
“You can’t think like that.”
Alina shook her head. “Someone has to. I’m the only one left to make up for all the mistakes. There has been so much death, and the war has barely started.” She stood up and pulled Senri with her. “I know we have to fight, and I know we don’t have the luxury of second-guesses. But right now I just want to have this.” She held their intertwined hands up for a moment, then tugged Senri forward. “I want to have you.”
Senri smiled and pulled Alina into a loose embrace. “You have me, my Queen, whatever the next day brings.” She kissed Alina lightly on the lips. “I want to be by your side.”
Alina smiled back at her. “Savior of the Queen, imagine what verses Nat will compose for us now.”
Senri rolled her eyes and groaned. “Please don’t remind him. I’d like it if the song just went away.”
Alina shook her head. “Don’t say that. The song is part of us. It’s part of this kingdom. It gives people something to laugh about and gives them hope. It gives them something to love.” The sadness disappeared from her eyes. “I’d like for it to continue. People need songs like that.”
Senri gave in and leaned down for one last kiss before they went inside. “I suppose they do.”
The End
About Michelle Magly
Michelle Magly is a lesbian writer living in Alaska with her loving partner. She has discovered that the frozen tundra makes excellent inspiration. Michelle currently has one short story, "Heart," featured in the 2012 Understory anthology from the University of Alaska, Anchorage. She also released her first novel, All the Pretty Things, in 2013 as a collaborative effort with Rae D Magdon. In 2014, again in collaboration with Rae, Dark Horizons was published. When not writing, Michelle hikes, snowboards, skis, and plays a lot of video games. Aside from her partner, Michelle shares her life with her loving cat.
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Cover Design by Michael King
Michael King is a freelance graphic designer and illustrator based out of Anchorage, Alaska. He is the proud father of a young parakeet named Luka, and he enjoys biking as well as traveling when the time affords for it. He can usually be found either sketching or sleeping at odd hours of the day when not working.
[email protected]
Other books from Desert Palm Press
The Guardian Series by Stein Willard
A Guardian’s Touch – Book 1
A Guardian’s Love – Book 2
A Guardian’s Passion – Book 3
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The Interim — a novelette
Awaiting My Assignment — Book 2
Anything Your Heart Desires — Book 3
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Amydyr Series by Rae D. Magdon
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Available now from Smashwords, Amazon, and CreateSpace
Coming in 2014
Amydyr Series by Rae D. Magdon
Wolf’s Eyes — Book 2
The Witch’s Daughter — Book 3
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Table of Contents
Back of the Book
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
About Michelle Magly
Cover Design by Michael King
Other books from Desert Palm Press
Warrior Page 33