The Deathsinger: Book 2

Ch. 30: A True Queen

I ran through the night, stars blazing through my skin. It was a warning and a beacon. Estrellum's queen had returned, and I wasn't to be messed with. I repeated that, needing to convince myself of its truth. This was not the homeland I expected to find, but a true queen would rise to meet the challenges.

By the next evening, my strength faltered, but I pushed on, desperate to find Yoko and Dante. I didn't think they would have gone far once they noticed I was missing, nor would they leave the main road. That left only a few reasons why I hadn't found them yet, and I refused to believe I was too late.

At last, I had to stop and rest. Blisters covered my feet. Most had burst, leaving the open wounds to ooze and fill my boots with blood. My stockings stuck to the wounds, and I winced as I peeled them off.

I bathed them carefully in a stream and left my shoes off. It was a necessary risk. They would heal faster this way, and thanks to my High Elf bloodline, they were nothing more than pale patches of new skin by morning. A bit of soreness lingered when I pulled my boots back on, but it was far more bearable than it had been last night.

To soothe the ache in my hollow stomach, I killed a thimble rabbit. A quick burst of light blinded it and another more concentrated beam delivered a swift end. I tried not to think of how cute it had looked eating clover as I stripped the meat from its bones.

A true queen rises to meet the challenges.

Rest and food worked wonders, and once again, I set out at a punishing pace. By the third morning, I could see the towers of Radia's capitol building in the distance, and by dusk, the road had widened to accommodate the heavier flow of city traffic.

Except there wasn't any traffic. Not a single soul wandered down the road.

I wiped my sweaty palms on my knees and shook out the tension in my shoulders. The beads in my braids clacked together. It was the only sound aside from the thudding of my heart.

The same sense of danger I'd felt in Lira's house came back to me as I put one foot in front of the other. This time, I had no excuse for ignoring it. I knew precisely what caused it. The wiser thing to do would be to stop here and wait till morning, but every moment I waited increased the chances that I would never see Yoko or Dante again.

So, I pressed on and held back a sob when I saw the decaying buildings lining what had once been a prosperous main street in Radia. Shutters hung askew, if they hung at all, and thatched and tiled roofs alike had holes big enough for an elf to crawl through. A heavy stench of rot hung in the air.

A true queen rises to meet the challenges.

Unseen eyes watched me as I passed, making my skin prickle and my starlight shine brighter. It drove them back. They knew that light and feared it, but I wasn't naïve enough to think it would keep me safe. The wraiths may not eat me as they did the others, but they would surely kill me.

I paused on a street corner. Right or left or forward? It didn't seem to matter. Every home and shop was just as empty as another. At least as far as I could tell without entering one, and I wouldn't unless I thought my friends were inside.

The horizon swallowed the last rays of sunlight. Like a nest of vipers, the wraiths began to hiss. There were so many of them that it was hard to pinpoint which direction they were coming from, and with a wail, I threw out my hand and razed the shadows with starlight. The hisses turned to screams then, and that scent of rot grew even more pungent as the dark souls splintered. Not truly gone, but too broken to be a threat. For a while, at least.

A true queen rises to meet the challenges.

Running toward the capitol, I haphazardly threw out my magic to clear the path before me, but the hissing behind me gained in volume. Their foul breath washed over my neck, and I worried every step would be my last. That this would become the place where the last queen of Estrellum fell.

Phantom claws scraped over my shoulders. Pain erupted down my spine, sending me stumbling. My hand came away wet with blood. With an agonized growl, I blasted the darkness all around me.

Once. Twice. Three times. Until I finally felt as if I could breathe. On wobbling legs, I ran again, lungs burning and vision blurring.

A true queen...

I couldn't go much further. Gods, my back ached.

A true queen...

My knees buckled.

"Astreia!"

A powerful hand gripped my arm and jerked me inside a building. The door slammed shut, rattling the thin walls. Dante's shocked face came into focus as I raised my glowing hand, and I let loose an ecstatic shriek before throwing my arms around his neck.

"Thank the gods," he said, pressing kisses against my head and repeating the phrase. "We thought you were lost."

"I took a wrong turn, but what about you? How did you get so far ahead?"

He held me out at arm's length to look me over. I was grateful the wound was on my back because I didn't have time to be fussed over.

Convinced I was unharmed, he replied, "We tried to turn back, but the fog was too great. I told Yoko we would be lost in it and that the best thing to do would be to keep going toward the city. That's where we would find you. We never expected to find it in this state. The Grim–"

"The wards are failing. I know. Their power must be tied to Vyta, or maybe they were tied to my mother? Without her power, they would slowly degrade."

Dante swallowed hard, tears in his eyes shining silver in my starlight. "The wraiths consumed the entire town. I've not found a single living soul."

"You've been hiding in here the entire time?"

I wrapped my arms around my body and studied our hideaway. Dozens of glass jars lined the wall behind a counter, and all along the windows were pots with dead plants. Where was Yoko? There were stairs in the back. Many of these shops had living quarters on the second floor. Perhaps she was there.

"It's an apothecary," Dante explained. He pulled down a jar and opened one. A sharp, musty odor filled the room and burned my nose. "They had lavina powder. We used to grow lavina all around the estate. It was a natural ward against the wraiths. It may not hold them forever, but it should at least get us through the night. We can escape at first morning's light."

"To where? The wraiths can follow us."

"I don't think they will. If they could go wherever they wished, we would have encountered them already. They certainly won't enter the mountains. There is magic there that will keep them back. Magic that is tied to the land."

Relief made me weak, and I sagged against the counter. We still had a chance. Vyta was going to be relit, and everything would work out. I needed my lover. To hold her close and apologize and tell her she could stand beside me as my partner. As a queen in her own right. Whatever it was that she wanted so that we could be together. Being apart for this short time and fearing for her life made me realize I would fight for our future together. I was not only a creature of duty, but a woman with a heart. If my people couldn't see that, I would show them the way.

A true queen rises to meet the challenges.

"Are you hungry?" Dante asked, pulling hard bread and cheese from a bag. In the low light, it was hard to see, but there was definitely mold on both.

"Starving. I should go upstairs and see if Yoko would like something to eat."

"Astreia, wait." He stepped in front of me, blocking my access to the stairs.

"Dante..." My heart skipped a beat. "Tell me she's upstairs."

"She's...she's not upstairs."

A hollow ringing filled my ears. "Where is she?"

"I told her this is where we would find you." He wouldn't look me in the eye. "She wouldn't listen to me. She refused to go ahead without you."

"Where is she? Tell me where Yoko is!" I screamed at him. The windows rattled as the wraiths surged in response to the noise, but they were no longer my greatest fear. What Dante said next was.

"She went into the mists, and she never came out."