Dusk of the Realm

13

Tarin shoved open the doors of the throne room without waiting for permission or any sort of announcement. He did not need it; he knew that as soon as he saw Triana's face. He was forgiven, because something wonderful had happened.

He did not let his heart grab at that straw of hope just yet.

He bowed to the queen and approached her throne, staring intently at the figure kneeling in front of it all the while. It was a young man with dark skin and russet hair, and once he lifted his head to glance at him, Tarin saw the bright green eyes and knew for sure that this was a tree nymph; a cousin of the Fae, who shared their spirits with those of trees.

"My queen," Tarin greeted, once he was close enough for her to hear. Her eyes were simply sparkling, her pale cheeks flushed with color. He could not think of any explanation other than the one he so desperately wanted - but still, he could not allow himself to think that way, not until he knew for sure...

"Repeat what you told me again, Arivil, please," the queen said, ignoring Tarin's greeting as she turned back to the tree nymph, as if she wanted nothing more than to hear the words leave his mouth a second time.

The man was smiling, the lines of his face made even more evident due to its thick, almost wooden-appearing texture. Touching a tree nymph's skin was like sandpaper to a Fae, but Tarin supposed it would feel normal to others of their kind.

Arivil's eyes turned to focus on Tarin, and the tension he was feeling must have been heavily apparent on his face, because the nymph did not hesitate to begin his explanation.

"I came as quickly as I could, Lord Tarin. The news was spreading from tree to tree, all the way from the edge of Equinox." The man took a breath, and then said the words that made Tarin's heart stop dead: "An Eternal named Isaiah has located her, my Lord, and reports that she has regained her memories on top of that. He requests reinforcements in order to bring the princess home safely."

Tarin could not move for a long moment. Triana had turned her face to him, and there were tears in her eyes, and she was laughing, laughing at his starstruck expression. Then she was out of her throne, and her arms were wrapped around him, and she was so much thinner than she had been all those years ago, but she was hugging him and she was smiling. He felt her tears land on his shoulder, felt them soak through his tunic, but he still did not move.

Serena. They had found Serena.

"Tarin! Tarin, didn't you understand? They found her! They want to bring her home! Tarin, oh, heavens above, Tarin..."

The queen was clutching at him, and finally, he gained enough control of his body to grab her upper arms. He squeezed them sympathetically before pushing her gently away and turning to face Arivil.

"Can this same chain of tree nymphs lead me back to this Isaiah?" he demanded to know. Triana smiled at him as she wiped away her tears and glanced back at Arivil, awaiting his answer as eagerly as Tarin was. Whatever conflict had occurred between the queen and her general had clearly been resolved in light of this new information. Whether she had been annoyed at Tarin or not was irrelevant now that the source of their conflict had been redeemed; after all, there was nobody as qualified as Tarin to bring Serena back. He would not let anything happen to her - not again.

Arivil stood up and nodded. "Of course, my Lord. I would be honored to lead you the whole way, if you would prefer."

It felt surreal. Tarin nodded curtly to Arivil before turning to Triana. "I will bring her back this time. I swear it," he said, with everything he had behind the statement.

Triana nodded. Her tear-streaked face and grin were in stark contrast and yet coexisting easily with one another, but Tarin did not allow himself a similar smile. He had to concentrate. He could not fail again.