by Lisa Shearin
I felt my throat constrict as I spoke. “Perhaps your people need to get farther away from the Heart. You could go farther into Aquas’s interior—or return home to Rheskilia.”
“I have a duty to my people, my mother, and the Heart of Nidaar,” she said simply. “I will never abandon any of them.” Her chin came up. “You said that my mother has spoken to you?”
“Yes. Though until the most recent instance, that conversation has been in dreams.” I told her what the queen had said to me.
When I had finished, Princess Maralah’s expression remained impassive, though I detected a flicker of pain, of grief, in her eyes.
She turned and walked slowly toward the doors. “Follow me.”
The princess led me down several halls and staircases, all going deeper into the mountain. We were accompanied by the four guards—two men and two women who I assumed were her personal bodyguards.
Kansbar’s account of Nidaar had been one of a thriving city and people.
That was not what I saw.
Granted, we did not go out into the city itself, but I would not have referred to any part of the royal palace as thriving, by any stretch of the imagination.
What I saw looked more like a people in the final stages of a siege.
The people I saw were either stoic and resolved to endure, or waiting for a death that would come only at their own hand.
I would not leave them here. I had no idea how I would do it, the same as I had no idea how to destroy or deactivate the Heart, but I would think of a way. Regardless of what happened to the Heart, I would not sail back to Regor and leave even one of the Cha’Nidaar behind who wanted to leave.
“How many remain, Your Highness?” I kept my voice low and my words for her ears only.
“Less than a hundred.”
I said no more, but began devising a plan.
As we descended deeper into the mountain, the temperature remained constant, and our path was lit the entire way by Heartstone sconces.
Eventually we entered a circular room with a vaulted ceiling, supported by five columns of solid Heartstone that stretched from floor to ceiling, each blazing with golden light. On the far side of the room was a simple door, but what lay beyond it must have been treasured beyond measure. A dozen guards, armed and armored for battle, were spaced around the room against the walls, standing at attention.
Two guards posted on either side of the entry respectfully stood aside for their princess to pass, but blocked my access.
“He comes with me,” she told them.
“But … Your Highness,” said the guard stationed in front of the door itself, “Advisor Karnia ordered that—”
The princess gave him a hard stare. “We go to see my mother, the queen, who despite all, still rules here, does she not? She has spoken to this one, and has bid him come to her. Would you deny the will of your queen and sovereign over a mere advisor whose loyalty I have every reason to doubt? He stands on the verge of treason. Do you stand with him—or with your queen?”
The guard bowed his head. “I serve the queen, Your Highness.”
“There are many who are confused now, Colonel Akhai.” Maralah’s voice lost its edge. “You have always served my mother with the utmost loyalty and reverence, and I believe in your heart you still do. My anger was not for you.”
The colonel kept his head down for a moment longer, then slowly raised it to meet his princess’s eyes. “Thank you, Your Highness. I did not mean to imply that your words would not reflect your royal mother, my queen’s, wishes.”
“It is my wish that we not be disturbed,” Maralah said. “See to it that no one enters behind us.”
The colonel snapped to attention, fist against his heart, and the guard instantly followed suit. “So you command, so it shall be done.” He opened the door and stood aside while we entered.
Then he closed it behind us, sliding all of the locks back into place.
I looked ahead and saw what was there.
We were in a tomb.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Baeseria, queen of the Cha’Nidaar, royal defender of the Heart of Nidaar, was dead.
She lay on a simple, raised bier that was entirely encased in a tomb of what appeared to be translucent Heartstone, its flames flickering steadily around the base of the bier.
The floor, walls, and ceiling were Heartstone crystals.
We were in another geode.
I didn’t want to ask, but I had to. “Is she—”
Maralah slowly shook her head. “She sleeps, but it is the sleep of the dead, a sleep from which she will never awaken.”
“What happened?” I asked quietly.
“She sacrificed herself to save our people and protect the Heart.”
“What you said back there, Your Highness. Your mother did not bid me come to her.”
“A small matter to ease the colonel’s conscience. My mother has spoken to you. She would want you to be brought to her.”
“Not even a hundred of your people remain,” I said, “yet a dozen armed men guard your mother. Has there been any attempt … to gain entry?” I nearly said “on her life,” and was glad I’d caught myself in time.
“There have been Khrynsani and Sythsaurian sightings in the outer caves, and then our patrols found you and your companions. I ordered the extra guard on my mother’s resting place.” Maralah’s eyes went distant, her lips tightening into a frown. “The precaution is necessary considering my mother’s connection to the Heart—her bond, if you will. Even before she placed herself in this state, my mother did not need to lay hands on the Heart to activate and use it. She could speak to it and it would respond to her regardless of distance.”
My gut tightened at what that implied. There were getting to be entirely too many similarities between the Saghred and the Heart.
“A wise precaution,” I said carefully.
I slowly walked forward until I was gazing down at the Nidaarian queen. She was just as I remembered from my dreams. Ageless, with luminous golden skin, long hair the color and texture of the whitest silk draped over robes of the same color embroidered with a leaf and vine pattern—nearly identical to the robes her daughter wore. They looked more like sisters than mother and daughter.
“How long has she been like this?” I whispered.
“Since a few days after sending your ancestor away. She spent hours in the chamber with the Heart, calming and communing with it. It was after that she made her decision. We spent little time attempting to dissuade her.” The princess’s lips curled in a sad smile. “We knew it was the right thing to do, the only thing that would truly ensure that what had happened would not happen again.”
“When our ships were offshore, the Heart—”
“Had already begun to stir. We know not why. Nothing had changed that we were aware of. We are sincerely sorry for the lives that were lost, but know that it was not of our doing, or of my mother’s doing.”
“Our gem mage believes the Heart did not act alone, that someone was behind the attack, and I agree.”
“That would be impossible,” Maralah said flatly. “Only a few of my people remain who are capable of targeting the Heart.”
“Who?”
“Advisor Karnia and two of our engineers.”
“Where were they when the attack occurred?”
“I was in a meeting with the engineers. Advisor Karnia was in his office.”
“Were there witnesses to Karnia’s whereabouts?”
“No, there were not. However, there is only one way into the Heart’s chamber, and that is through this room.”
I scrutinized the walls surrounding us. If there was another way in, I couldn’t detect it. “I’ll take your word for it.”
Maralah’s lips curled in a half smile. “I trust you with much, Tamnais Nathrach. I trust next to no one with the safety of my mother and the Heart of Nidaar.”
“Understood. No offense taken.”
“There’s only one way in
to this room as well, and that is past Colonel Akhai and his guards. He assured me that no one attempted to enter, that day or any other.”
“There must be another way in.”
“In the past, there were other ways. But in the interests of security, they have all been barricaded from the inside.”
“Who was in charge of barricading them?”
“Our chief engineer.” She paused. “Who, sadly, has since taken his own life.”
“Who did he report to?”
“Advisor Karnia.”
“Are you sure it was suicide? Begging your forgiveness, Your Highness, but this advisor of yours does not appear to be acting in the best interests of your people. He is—”
Maralah waved a small hand dismissively. “I have long known of Advisor Karnia’s intentions. He has even gone so far as to approach me with a petition of marriage.”
“That sounds familiar,” I said, thinking of Sarad’s pursuit of Agata. “This Karnia sounds like your people’s version of Sarad Nukpana, whom you may recall from my memories.”
“Ah yes, Lady Ghalfari’s son.”
“The very one. Before he tried to steal the goblin throne, he attempted to talk our team’s gem mage into marrying him to help him find the Heart.”
“I take it your gem mage turned him down.”
“Many times.”
“A wise woman. Has he given up?”
“Probably not. We thought he was dead, but he’s merely stuck in the Lower Hells at the moment, so that’s an extra obstacle in his way.”
“Once Karnia realized that I would never accept him, he began attempts to subvert those close to me.”
“Forgive my bluntness, Your Highness,” I began, “but why haven’t you …”
“Banished, imprisoned, or even killed him, Chancellor Nathrach? All tempting solutions, but none are an option.”
“May I ask why?”
“Karnia is the last of his line, as well. He is the only survivor of the guards stationed in the Heart’s chamber during the events of nine hundred years ago.”
“Kansbar’s account said there were no survivors.”
“Karnia was not in the chamber that morning.”
“That’s highly suspicious.”
“Yes, it was. The guards were masters of gem and earth magic. Their presence helped keep the Heart from fully awakening and destroying us all.”
“Based on our recent experience, the Heart is only napping.”
“Which concerns us greatly. No one has been in the chamber since my mother placed herself here as an eternal guardian to keep anyone from activating and taking control of it. As long as she lives and remains so encased and bonded to the Heart, Karnia is denied access to it.”
“Then why does he need to marry you?”
“One, to legitimize himself in the eyes of our people, but mainly to stand where you are standing. No one is allowed in here with my mother except myself and Colonel Akhai.”
“As long as the Heart exists, the queen remains in a state between life and death—and you and your people live forever.”
“Not forever. However, as long as we are in close proximity to the Heart of Nidaar, yes, we continue to live.”
“And if something were to happen to the Heart … if it were to be taken or destroyed?”
“We know not, Chancellor Nathrach. Before she bonded herself to the Heart, my mother and our engineers attempted to destroy it. All they succeeded in doing was releasing more creatures from the caves beneath the Heart’s chamber. As to the possibility of it being taken, it is an enormous stone that would easily fill the throne room and beyond. It is embedded in the mountain itself, so I do not see how that can be done. But if it were, perhaps we would age instantly and die, since it was the Heart that has sustained us all this time. Or perhaps we would become mortal, and age as it is normal for goblins to do. If my mother had known how long we would continue to exist in this way … and make no mistake, what we do is not living … if she had known we would continue in this way, I believe she would not have done what she did.”
“Have you tried to awaken her?” I asked.
“The case containing her body is sealed, and her connection to the Heart is complete and absolute. I have spent many hours sitting here with my mother in an attempt to reach her. It has been in vain. She has spoken to no one until she reached out to you. We assumed she had passed beyond the point of being able to communicate, that perhaps she had drifted into that land beyond life. I am grateful and glad that we were wrong, and that she has spoken to you, but we all wonder why now and why you?”
“I imagine the guards who brought us into the city wondered much the same thing,” I said. “I asked to be taken to Queen Baeseria, and I got quite the reaction.”
“No doubt.”
“Perhaps your mother reached out to me because I am an outsider, and a descendant of Kansbar. Perhaps sensing my arrival here—with the ring and necklace she gave him—sparked a renewed awareness in her. I’m sure she didn’t mean to hurt you by remaining silent. Maybe it was not her choice.”
Maralah nodded once. “It could be as you say. Regardless of why it has happened, I am grateful that you have come and that you have arrived safely. I know my mother desires to end this for herself, for me, and for our people. Our people feel as if they are prisoners in their own city. The Heart and our sense of duty to it hold us captive from within, and the creatures freed from the depths by the continuing quakes are like our guards.” She swallowed. “We exist, balanced on a blade’s edge, between life and death, salvation and damnation, unable to alter our lot to attain one over the other. In finding the Heart, all we discovered was a quicker path to our own destruction.” She took a trembling breath. “Chancellor Nathrach, we are cursed beyond our ability to bear.”
I took both of Maralah’s hands in mine. “I swear on my honor, my family, and my people, that I will do all that I am able to accomplish that her will is done and your people are freed.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
I was reunited with my team in the guest wing of the palace, not a dungeon cell.
Bedrooms radiated off of a central sitting room filled with plush couches and chairs that begged to be fallen onto. However, like the rest of the palace, everything had the appearance of disuse, and this room looked as though it had been cleaned only very recently. The air was still heavy with the mustiness that came from being closed off. I imagined the Cha’Nidaar didn’t have many guests.
Dasant had already answered the siren call of one of the couches and was face down on it, snoring.
The others were sitting around a table, plates filled with …
“Am I delirious … or do I smell beef?” My mouth suddenly watered so much I had to swallow once to finish my question. “And it’s not drugged, right?”
“Please, Tamnais,” Malik said, “do give me more credit than that.” He grinned. “I used Dasant as a taster.”
“What?”
“Just kidding. He was the first one out here, had filled a plate to absurd levels, and had a fork halfway to his mouth when I stopped him. I checked everything. No drugs, no poison, nothing but the most sublime meal I have had since setting sail on our little excursion.”
“As the captain of said excursion fleet’s flagship,” Phaelan said, slurring and fumbling over the alliteration, “I take offense at that.” The elf had his recently healed foot up on a cushion, and it was obvious he’d had more than one glass of wine.
Malik snorted. “My dear captain, all you’re offended by is that the wine has nearly run out, mostly by your own imbibing. I like seafood as much as the next man, but sometimes nothing except a fine steak will suffice.”
“That can’t be beef,” I said. “Where would they have—”
“Better than beef,” Malik replied with relish. “Roast beast. We are eating that which tried to eat us. The irony isn’t all that’s delicious.”
“Dakkonan,” I corrected him.
“Pardon?�
�
“The beast in question is called a dakkonan. It’s another thing to thank the Khrynsani for. They lived in the levels under the city, but when the Khrynsani destroyed the east coast, they also cracked open this subterranean world where the dakkonan, and so I am told, even worse creatures now roam free. The Cha’Nidaar use them as perimeter guards.”
“Worse, as in larger?”
“The princess didn’t go into specifics.”
Elsu smiled. “So you’ve been with this Princess Maralah all this time?”
“And an extremely unpleasant few minutes with Sandrina Ghalfari.” I went to the sideboard to pour a glass of wine, suddenly needing one very badly. “And I have seen Queen Baeseria.”
That quieted the table, but Dasant snored on.
“I think we’d like you to elaborate,” Jash said quietly.
“Have you checked the room for listening courtiers or devices?” I asked.
Malik, Jash, and Elsu gave me identical looks.
“Of course you did,” I told him, “but I had to ask. It’s my job.”
“And rest assured we have done ours,” Malik said.
I told them everything that passed between me and the Cha’Nidaar princess—and of making the acquaintance of the unpleasant Advisor Karnia. I finished with the condition of Queen Baeseria.
Talon had been feeding Indigo bits of dakkonan. “The queen has been asleep all this time?” he asked in disbelief.
“Yes.”
“Just to keep the Heart from going on another rampage?”
“The princess didn’t phrase it quite like that, but yes.”
Jash looked horrified. “And no one here ages because of the Heart.”
Phaelan pushed his wine away. “And no babies because nothing below the belt works anymore. Just because I didn’t glow in that crystal cave thing back there doesn’t mean the Heart isn’t shriveling me as we speak. Tam, we need to get this job done and get out of here.”
“I fully intend to.”
Malik crossed his arms and sat back in his chair, his sharp eyes searching my face. “And you, my noble friend, fully intend to take as many of the Cha’Nidaar back with us as possible.”
