Queen of Stars and Shadows (Dark Fae Guardian #3)

Sarielle

Chapter Fourteen

Sarielle

W hen dawn breaks, I’m wide awake. We’d traveled several miles the night before, getting as far away from the battle as we could before setting up camp. Everyone else had been asleep for a couple of hours, but my mind has been in turmoil ever since I turned and walked away from Zyren.

It was the hardest thing I’d ever done.

The night before, after the invasion began, I’d run back to the barracks to find Lilette and the others, but they’d already escaped their cells. We’d run into each other near the main entrance, and that’s when I’d spotted Zyren crossing the field toward the palace. I’d convinced the others to let me try once again to get him to believe me, to leave Jonavus and Avonia. They’d agreed, even while a battle raged around us.

But I’d failed.

I’d been sure, for several perfect minutes that are seared into my mind, that he would come with me. That he’d realize who I was, and that he’d been lied to. He can feel the connection between us, I know he does. He’d reacted to me, even if hesitant at first. He’d felt the magic that moves between us, the magic that we share. My heart fractured all over again when he refused to come with me.

For the first time, I must consider that he may be lost to me forever.

As if that isn’t devastating enough, now I have only four days left to reclaim my throne before the demon is set free from her prison. Four days, and I’m no closer to a solution. Not to mention Avonia has claimed Eldare now, in addition to Valaron. If I don’t stop her, the rest of Aureon will be next.

There’s still a small trail of smoke from the fire we’d made, spiraling up from the smoldering embers. It drifts into my eyes, making them water and mixing with the dried tears that linger there. Next to me, Lilette stirs and slowly shifts into an upright position. She blinks sleepily in the early morning light, and her gaze falls on mine.

“Did you sleep at all?”

I shake my head.

“It’s going to be okay,” she says softly, placing a hand over mine.

“Is it?”

“It has to be, because we’re together again now.”

I smile, in spite of everything, and squeeze her hand.

The others begin to awaken, and I go to collect some berries and mushrooms for a scant breakfast. When I return, I pass out a small serving to the others and we sit around the fire. There’s silence for several minutes as we contemplate our predicament.

“I’m not sure what to do,” I admit. “We have no army, and my magic is barely working.”

Owyn looks at me and Lilette. “Are there other armies in Eldare that can come to our aid?”

Lilette shakes her head. “Eldare has never had much of a military. With magic being so scarce, I don’t think anyone wants to come here. Plus, we’re at the far edge of Aureon, so we mostly keep to ourselves, and the other realms do the same.”

“What about beyond Eldare?” I ask, looking to Zara and Asher. “Do you have allies elsewhere? What about the City of Night?”

They exchange a look. “That’s what we discussed last night,” Asher says. “We think the best thing we can do to help is to cross the border and send for aid. We need to warn the rest of Aureon what’s coming. About Avonia and the nightmares.”

“You should come with us,” Zara adds. “There’s not much you can do here; we saw that last night. With the royal palace fallen, and nightmares swarming the countryside, it’s a dangerous place to be right now.”

I shake my head. “I can’t.”

Owyn, who is sitting to my right, reaches out and touches my knee. “Think about it, Sarielle. I know you don’t want to leave Zyren, but staying could get you killed. That achieves nothing.”

I look down, my fingers twisting around each other in knots in my lap. It’s not just Zyren. I can’t tell him about my deal with the demon. It’s too awful, my shame too great. If I run now, I’m condemning my entire realm. And with these rifts, possibly all of Aureon. There will be not one, but two terrible enemies roaming freely, hellbent on destroying everything good.

“I can’t. I’m sorry.” I look over at him. “You should go. Take Lilette.”

“And leave you here alone?” My friend looks deeply wounded. “I am not leaving you, not after we were reunited.”

“I can’t live with your blood on my hands, Lilette,” I say pleadingly. “Please go with them.”

She shakes her head violently. “Just as you can’t go, I can’t either. End of discussion, Sarielle.”

“You know I go where you go,” Owyn says to me. “I made a promise to your mother, and I won’t break that oath.”

I sigh and reach out and squeeze their hands. “You are good friends.”

Owyn stares into the embers for a moment, his brow furrowed in contemplation.

“What is it?” I ask.

“If you had full control of your magic again, you could make the nightmares turn against Avonia,” he says.

I frown. “Yeah, but it’s still so weak. I could barely even break the lock on my cell.”

Zara locks eyes with me. “We’ve all noticed that our magic is lessened here, though not as badly as yours. You mentioned the High Priest had something to do with that.”

“Yes. I’m not sure how he’s doing it, but he keeps it almost entirely contained.”

She shrugs. “Well, what if you could free that magic? Maybe that will help you get your strength back so you can command your nightmares once again.”

I chew on my lower lip. “I mean, that could help, but I have no idea how he does it. How he keeps the magic so tightly controlled.”

“I think I do,” Lilette says.

My head swivels toward her. “You do?”

“After the first time you visited me in my dreams, you warned me not to trust him. Well, I started watching him more closely. One night, he summoned me into his chambers to share wine, and I noticed a door at the back of the room. It was closed, but there was a faint glow coming from the crack underneath it. He noticed me looking at it and told me he kept some rare crystals for special rituals. But something about it didn’t sit right. It might be nothing…”

“Or it could be everything,” Zara says. “It’s certainly worth a look—the palace is abandoned now, yes?”

“Yes,” Lilette says.

“And it’s not terribly far from here,” I add.

Owyn runs a hand over his face. “I don’t know that it would return all of your magic—I still think the rifts are the cause of your drain. But if you got even some of it back, that would help. And we’re running slim on options.”

I mull over his words. If we detour and go to the Amethyst Palace, only to fail in freeing the magic, we’ll have wasted a day when I have such limited time left before the demon is freed. But if we find what’s controlling the magic, and I get even some power back, I have a chance, at least. A chance to defeat Avonia and reclaim my throne in the Court of Nightmares.

“As you said, I don’t have many options. We should try it.” I turn to Zara and Asher. “But I agree you two should find others who can join us against Avonia. If I can regain control of my magic and the nightmares, and we have an army to fight with us, we stand a chance.”

“It sounds like the queen has given her orders,” Owyn says with a small smile.

“I am queen of nothing at the moment,” I say softly. “All I truly want is for our realms to be safe, and Zyren back at my side.”

“I guess we will bid you farewell, then,” Asher says, rising from his seat at the fire.

Zara gets up with him, and we exchange goodbyes.

“Thank you for trusting me,” I tell them. “I won’t ever forget it.”

“I hope we meet again soon,” Zara says.

The warriors from the City of Night head north, and I turn to Lilette and Owyn. “And then there were three. Let’s go find this missing magic.”