Astraea - The Lost Crown - Book 1

Chapter 8

Anger flooded through her.

"We left her..." Her fists trembled. "How could you pull me through?! We should have helped her!!" Alastor's eyes widened with shock at her visceral response, and the raven beside him squawked in alarm.

"We had to go!" He tried defending.

"No, we didn't!! What happened to 'anthripes need to stick together'?! We abandoned her! And all she tried to do was help us!"

"Rae, listen to yourself! It was an us or her situation, and she knew that!"

"Then it should have been me!" She yelled. Her bottom lip began to tremble. "Celestials know, I deserve it..." I keep abandoning people... The guild, gran, and now her...

"Stop talking like that. You getting yourself captured wouldn't help anyone," Alastor insisted. "We need to get the crown to the dryads. You heard what the oracle said would happen if the king found them..." His words had somewhat managed to calm her, but she still felt uneasiness creeping throughout her mind. The raven, Syn now hopped around the long grass, pecking for bugs. "Where... Did she send us..?" Alastor began to stand, surveying the field. Noticing how Rae struggled to get to her feet, he offered a hand and pulled her up.

"Your knees, they're bleeding!"

"I- I'm fine!" She insisted, and pulled away, covering her legs with the black skirt that had been slightly ruined... Sorry Niko... Rae turned her eyes skyward and began looking for constellations she might recognize. I'm really glad I read those astronomy books now... "I... I think we're in the southern territory of Osefield!"

"How can you tell?" Alastor came up beside her and mimicked the way she observed the sky.

"Well, I recognize these constellations! See that really bright star there? In between cassiopeia and ursa major? It's known as Polaris, or the north star. It sits on the axis of the northern hemisphere... Now, Highland is about 40 degrees latitude, and from what I can see we've moved about..." She lifted her hand and traced the distance with her pinky. "One third of a degree... Meaning we were teleported 20 miles away from the center of the kingdom. So... Osefield." She gestured around her to the expansive field.

"I admit I have no clue what you're talking about, but it's fascinating that you know this stuff," He looked back down at her with warmth in his eyes. Rae smiled shyly, before looking away. "Anyways... I guess that also means Furnard isn't too far from here. We better get out of the open then..." She knew the dangers of being too close to Furnard. The territory had a reputation for being populated by nomads and bandits who stole from unknowing travelers and left them to be lost to the expansive veld. Inevitably forced to wander for weeks and die. It's how it earned its second name, the Wanderers Barren. Why would the oracle send us here..? She squinted, trying to see if there was any shelter nearby.

"Look! Over there!" Rae pointed to a small cottage she spotted in the distance, smoke rising from it's cobblestone chimney. She began to walk towards it, trying to ignore the stinging sensation from her scraped up knees.

"Wait," Alastor grabbed her arm. "How do we know if it's safe? For all we know, a human ally to the king could be living there!"

"It's a slim chance... Humans mainly live closer to the castle after the king's decree to push Anthripes into poorer regions and farmland."

"Still... I don't want to risk anything. I'll check it out, you stay here."

"I'm coming with you!" She insisted.

"But you're injured!"

"All the more reason for me to stay with you! We don't want beltiels smelling the blood, or nomads trying to rob me, do we?" She batted her lashes innocently. Why's he so protective..? Alastor narrowed his eyes in faint annoyance.