The Queen's Conquer

Chapter 55 : When Dusk Falls

Moira • [mol-ruh]
A person's fate or destiny.

🖤

~+~

~ Anastasia ~

"You didn't have an actual plan, did you?" I find myself asking Eira.

The throng of our audience has dissipated, leaving only a handful of us left to discuss the minor details of our plan.

She looks up from where she's marking out vantage points on the large map. I had shown her roughly where the cabin is situated from what I could remember of the surrounding terrain. But she doesn't seem to struggle with the task, as if she's roamed every square inch of the Ancient Forest in her lifetime.

From the unclear angle of her features, I can still make out a faint smirk. "I had a general idea of what you wanted to accomplish."

She finally looks up for a moment, resting her palms against the table before glancing to Killian who stands a few feet to my left. I follow her eyes.

"Killian mindlinked me before I returned, explaining the pressure you were under. I simply wanted to guide you to make a more sensible decision than what you were originally proposing," she says.

I cross my arms, still staring at the male. "Of course he did."

"I was only trying to help," Killian says in defense, lifting his chin with pride.

I roll my eyes, returning my gaze to Eira who's now looking over her shoulder at Sterling. The female is deep in a mindlinked conversation, it seems, as she sits hunched in a chair Lilith had retrieved for her from another tent. A warrior stands at her side, mostly present for any help she might need.

Lilith has disappeared since then to do Goddess knows what, but that's the least of my worries. I know Sterling's trying to get in contact with the medics back in Phantomridge, wanting to know any and all information she can about Liam's state.

"That poor girl," Eira murmurs, sadness evident in her dark eyes. "I heard about what happened to our Beta—Goddess, give him strength. It's a shame she had to be there to witness it, though."

"I thought Sterling was supposed to stay with Liam? Why is she here?" I question, looking at Killian for answers.

"She did. Briefly..." he trails off. "Her mind is on a lot of things right now, Anastasia. Liam is in critical condition—thankfully not dead. But she's terrified Markus is going to show up again. She's worried that she'll be responsible for someone else's life."

"What happened to Liam wasn't her fault, though," I go on.

There's a sympathetic look on Killian's face that makes me feel naive to the real truth behind the sibling's relationship. "Not that I want to dismay your need to defend her, but there's a lot of details about their past that you've never lived through—things you simply can't understand."  

"Are you saying something incited Markus to have such a disliking for Liam?" I question.

Killian shakes his head. "Markus was always possessive of the people he was close with, including his sister. Liam kind of took that away from him when Sterling was only a young teenager, and this led Markus into isolation, making friends with the wrong crowd and getting himself into trouble with Samuel's father. He has always enjoyed power and control, and he lost that when he couldn't keep his sister close to him—the last person who actually cared about him."

I purse my lips together, realizing I truly am ignorant of the full story.

"I want Sterling to stay in Brightmoon," Eira announces to both of us. Our gazes shift to her. "With the events of the past twenty-four hours, I don't want someone detrimental to the mission to interfere with what we have planned."