MISTRESS OF FLAME

CHAPTER 26

CHAPTER 26

SOLLEL DIDN'T KNOW how to answer Grath. What would be the best course of action to take? Lie or tell him the truth? As Sollel weighed the pros and cons of her options, she heard Grath spoke again with his head lowered.

"My apologies for asking such personal question, Your Highness." Grath didn't want to offend the queen he swore to serve. "Us demi-humans are not a long-lived race like elves and others, but we lived longer than humans, and their knowledge and beliefs are different from ours. We demi-humans knew the truth the humans tried to hide. We also know that the only beings blessed by the deities in Azitera are the queens of Yther, so when Her Highness said that she was blessed by a deity, I assumed. Based by Her Highness's power, I was too excited and hastily asked. Please forgive me for my insolence, Your Highness."

Sollel couldn't help smiling in the midst of the tension. "Grath, no need to be so formal with me. I'm just a queen with no people and land. Nothing impressive."

Grath promptly moved to kneel on one knee, his head still lowered. "I will be impudent and ask if I could be one of your people, like Lady Cira."

Sollel blinked and looked at Cira. My...people. "Grath, being my people is hard. It'll get you killed."

"The moment I pledge my loyalty to Her Highness in Belrac, my life has been yours, Your Highness."

Sollel smiled at Grath's earnest voice. "I told you, don't be so formal with me."

Grath looked up and looked at the queen in front of him. Her highness did not confirm nor deny his question earlier, but Grath did not need confirmation. He knew the queen in front of him was none other than Queen Sollel, the Mistress of Flame, one of the few beings in Azitera blessed by deities.

Grath was in overawe and just stared at the queen in reverence. He only removed his eyes from the queen when he remembered something. "Your Highness, I took a few vials from the noble's hill. It seemed very important to them, but what got me really curious is that the content of the vial felt familiar somehow."

Sollel frowned. "Familiar?"

Grath nodded and took out the vial he had been hiding in his pocket. He wrapped it one by one with a cloth to make sure that it won't break. "The content of these vials," Grath said, handing the vials to Sollel. "It felt like the forest I lived in before we were captured to be slaves. I can never forget the feeling of my home, the warmth of the forest surrounding my tribe."

Sollel took the vial from Grath. She already had an idea what the content of this vial after listening to Grath, but she was pushing the idea away. She didn't want to imagine the pain and suffering Gatria had gone through all these years.

But the truth was now right in front of her.

As Sollel opened the vial, an earthy, flowery, crisp, and fresh fragrance wafted around her. The scent was soft and calming, like nature in the morning—fresh and untainted. It felt so warm and beautiful, but a lone tear filled with sorrow fell from Sollel's eyes.

The content of the vial was no fragrance. It was Gatria's blood.

That's why it felt familiar when I was in Castetava market. It was Gatria's blood. They're harvesting Gatria's blood like how the empire harvested mine!

A tear after another fell from Sollel's eyes as she gripped the vials in her hand. "Why...why...after caring and nurturing them, why would they betray us like this?" Sollel's voice trembled as tears of sorrow and rage fell from her eyes. "Gatria...why would they do this to Gatria?"

Grath's lips parted in shock, hearing the soft whisper of the queen. He didn't need a detailed explanation to understand the queen's trembling and sorrowful voice and words. That's why the content of the vial felt like our forest back home. Our forest might've been blessed too.