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I smile. I wish I’d been there to see their reactions as it rose. “And the Ybarisans?”
“We gave them an area near the orchards, and the last I saw, they were eating all our fruit like a bunch of locusts.”
“They’ve been hiding in the mountains for months. What have they been eating?”
“What all you Ybarisans eat … twigs and berries.” Jarek casts a smirk over his shoulder at me.
“Has that dragon been back?”
“No. They’re waiting for you in the war room. There is much to discuss that they need you for.” Jarek picks up his pace, but he seems to be giving us space to speak.
“The taillok has reached Cirilea and delivered your message. It awaits a response,” Gesine says.
To think I once lived in a world where I could send a message to a place thousands of miles away in an instant by clicking a button. Now we need magically fueled bird beasts from the Nulling. The thought brings a fleeting smile to my lips. “Do you think Atticus will respond?”
“That would be customary, but Atticus has not shown regard for customs.”
“No, I guess he hasn’t.” Sleeps with his brother’s fiancée and then hijacks the king’s army and steals his crown in front of an arena full of Islorians? No one’s going to give Atticus a gold star for following protocol.
“I hope he does send one, though, and that it is soon.” She gives her head a shake. “I can truly appreciate Yesenia’s plight now. She must be relieved to be spared this constant double vision.”
“That would drive me insane.” But a bird is not what’s on my mind. “Listen, about last night and that dragon … beast … thing.” I bolted awake this morning in a cold sweat, the memory of those few moments, of believing that was truly the end for me, a vivid nightmare. It took me long minutes to shake the discomfort and fear. “I appreciate what you were willing to do for me.” For all of us. I saw how quickly it moved, how powerfully it launched itself into the air. Had I agreed to run and it attacked, I doubt we could have reached the gate in time, but there is no doubt Gesine would not be walking beside me now. There’d be nothing left of her.
She was willing to give her life for a slim chance to save mine.
Gesine’s lips part, but she stalls to choose her words. “Despite what you and the king may believe, my only motive has ever been to provide you guidance in your journey to fulfilling a prophecy.”
“I believe you. I just wish you’d start trusting us with the truth up front, rather than hiding it from us.”
“Sometimes the only way to move forward is with good intentions and without permission.”
Because she knows we’d never agree. “Well, it sounds like prophecy is already fulfilled. The nymphs and Malachi don’t need me anymore, so don’t go sacrificing yourself on my account.”
“I do not believe that to be true. The Queen for All will bring peace to the lands, but she cannot do that from the belly of a beast.”
“I suppose not.” I shudder at the thought of being swallowed whole. “But how I’m supposed to bring peace when, apparently, I’ve invited an army of monsters and Malachi through the Nulling, I would love to know. So, if you’re holding back any more thoughts or worries, now would be a good time to share them.”
“There is still much to learn within these walls. If I discover anything, you will be the first to know. I promise.”
We reach the great hall. Zorya waits, her hands on her hips, the irritated look painted across her face harsher than the nymph gargoyle she stands next to.
“I suppose I should be off to find what I can about this dragon beast thing, and any other creatures we might face in the coming days.” Gesine purses her lips. “I would guess the conversation you are about to walk into will require more openness than you had previously hoped.”
Zander already warned me that Kienen named me an impostor and has demanded the truth. Telor knows firsthand of my healing abilities, something elven are not capable of. “We knew it was only a matter of time.”
“Remember that you are a queen, and you decide what they need to know.”
“I can’t lie to everyone forever.” It’s too hard to keep up.
“I did not suggest lying, only that some details are better left unsaid, allowing others to focus on what will aid the cause, which is an honorable one.”
“That’s what you do, Gesine. And it doesn’t feel good.” She withholds details that might distract us, might sway our choices another way. Then again, here we are, standing in a city where the blood curse is gone, so maybe she has a point.
