Wake of Darkness [1]

Chapter Sixteen

 ♕ Sun Whisperer  ♕

He did not allow himself to turn around. He had to trust that the city was safe, even after what happened, had to trust that his people were safe, despite months of knowing the contrary. Because he had to leave, if they were to find the answers to stop it, all of it. Starting with removing his father from Blackstone, and then figuring out a way to keep the accords with the queen.

Asher had never liked the road to Westbrook. His only positive memory of the visit's he'd done over the years all trailed back to the library, and Asher knew that had plenty to do with Taj and his own admiration for literature.

Westbrook was not similar to Goldcrest in a lot of ways. When he really thought about it, their only mutual characteristic was that they both ran under the sun. The city had always felt strange to him, the lack of noise and drastic decrease of population had never failed to make him shiver.

"Here we go again" Said Taj. The bridge opened up in front of them like a river of crystal-clear blue water, going up and fading into the clouds. The both of them started riding into the opposite direction of the sun.

He was not one to leave Goldcrest, neither of them liked to leave the golden city, Asher had grown used to the comfort of the walls, through the years he had made sure to make his visits to Westbrook short and stretched out, until now. Last time he'd travelled west he'd been accompanied by his father, just a week before they rode to Blackstone.

It still haunted him, the weeks leading up to attacking Blackstone. He remembered going up into Westbrook hills, watching the small city appear at the other side of the bridge. He had wondered if they too had suffered under the queen's reign, or if the safety of their location had spared them from the horrors of war.

Neither him or his father had a way to prove the queen had been behind the disappearances, nothing but past resentments and tales of horror. They'd gone into the city, and spoken to general Regal, but he had no reports of missing people, or any sort of disturbance for the matter.

Asher had felt both relief and anger. Not because they had been wishing to hear otherwise, but because of his lack of worth. Goldcrest was supposed to be the safest city in Regno. It was supposed to be a place where people could walk down the street without watching for shadows on the ground. And he had not been able to protect them. He'd failed all of the people who were now most likely dead.

"Do you think they'll find something?" Taj asked when they were far enough that they could no longer hear Goldcrest in the distance.

"I don't know" Said Asher. "Maybe with some luck"

To a fault, Asher had never questioned his fathers' decisions. Not ever. Not even when he had explained to him why he needed to take over Blackstone. He had seen the anger behind his eyes, his emotions clouding his judgement and a part of him had doubted him. Looking back maybe he should've pushed back, spoken against it. because taking the moon city had solved nothing. And now one Aureum had died.

The guilt on Asher's chest spread through his whole body as the image of Layla's eyes appeared in the back of his mind.

"She's nice you know" Taj said. Asher knew exactly who he was talking about. "It wouldn't kill you to try and talk to her like an actual human"

He had not let himself think about the moon cursed girl that now made her way around the city surrounded by his best guards. She seemed to always look at his eyes when he talked, people almost always diverted their gazes from his. Even when he had spent so much time of his life trying to blend in with the rest of Goldcrest his eyes were a reminder of who he was. One of the blessed, the only heir of Goldcrest. And she did not seem to shy away from that. That at least, was refreshing.