Riven (Exile Book 2)

by Colleen Vanderlinden

  “I’m going with you to Darathar,” the first girl said, and the rest of the girls nodded. Raj and another boy looked disgusted, and a third nodded along with the girls.

  Shannen felt like they deserved more. She rubbed her arms, trying to find a good way to say what she wanted to say. “I am sorry for your losses. I am an orphan as well. I know what it is like to feel lost and alone. If there is anything you need, if you need to talk, do not hesitate to come to me. I am not the sweetest person, but I am a good listener. I think,” she added, and a few of the girls laughed. She gave them a wave and walked off, taking a deep breath.

  Politics was exhausting. Knowing she needed every possible person on her side to make this all work was tiring and overwhelming. And it was not just the adults. If she wanted this to be a lasting change, she needed the next generation on her side as well. Her talk with the teens had been mostly reassuring. She was not surprised by Raj’s opinions — she knew more than a few of the men and some of the older women would share them — but she was disappointed. She had not lied about Raj’s father. He had been one of the good ones.

  She caught up with Camille and Reena and instructed them to start gathering everyone. They would stay in the storage building for the night, rather than out in the open. It would be more walking, but it was shelter from the weather and it would make it easier to keep track of the younger children if they were all in an enclosed area. Plus, Shannen had a feeling they all needed a good night’s sleep, and it would be much easier to get that inside.

  They made their way slowly to the abandoned facility, reaching it just as the sun was setting in an overcast sky. Shannen looked up with more than a little annoyance. She would try to step outside and communicate with Daarik, but the sky did not look conducive to being able to connect with her husband.

  There was nothing left in the facility when they reached it; anything of use had long since been looted. But it offered four walls and a roof and a door that was easy to guard. They made do without fires again, instead snuggling down in blankets and coats after eating a not-at-all-satisfying meal of dried meat and bread that was near being stale, the last few things they had been able to take from Tanris before leaving. After going over her plans for the next day with her Maidens and a few of the warriors in her inner circle, Shannen stepped outside. Nearly an hour of baring her mating mark to the murky sky, of facing different directions and moving around hoping to catch even a whisper of her husband, Shannen was forced to give up. There would be no talking to her husband that night, no falling asleep to his comforting presence.

  She looked up at the sky, knowing she would try again later no matter how hopeless it looked.

  She had just turned to go back to the shelter when she heard the Sarlene ships closing in. She ducked under a bent branch of a dead tree nearby and forced herself to stay as still as possible. They were coming from the direction of Tanris, heading roughly toward Ashwall and Darathar beyond. She sent a silent wish that they would just fly over all of it. She saw a glimmer of silver in the sky, and the ships, to her horror, seemed to slow. She pressed herself closer to the tree trunk, trying to make herself as small as possible, even as she gripped the dagger she had pulled from the scabbard at her thigh.

  She could barely breathe, and sent a silent command, a wish, that none of her people would choose now to step outside of the facility.

  The ships hovered above, and it felt like an eternity that they stayed that way, unmoving in the sky just above where the refugees of the city of Tanris were hidden. Finally, as one, the fleet moved on… except for one craft, which seemed to float down to the ground.

  Shannen cursed and pressed herself closer to the trunk of the tree. The knife would be useless. She would have to get in close for that, and based on the weapons with which they had destroyed Tanris, it was a safe bet that she would not be able to destroy them before they got her.

  All she knew was that she could not let whatever got off that ship anywhere near the facility.

  She pulled her bow off of her shoulder and nocked an arrow. With her aim, she would be lucky to hit the ship, let alone any of the aliens that may get off of it.

  Shannen could feel her breaths speeding up, her heart pounding. Remembering Renn’s advice, back when he’d first taught her to use a bow, she relaxed her shoulders, forced her breathing to slow.

  A hatch at the bottom of the ship opened and a metallic stairway descended with a hum. The beings who appeared out of the ship were very human-looking, if one ignored the bright hues of their skin: pink, purple, orange. Their hair was vibrant as well, but, other than that, they shared the same general look as humans, same size, same basic features. They wore suits of a silvery material that seemed to match their ships. Two looked to be female, three males.

  One of the males pointed at the facility, and Shannen saw them all reach for black objects at their hips. Weapons. They were weapons, she knew, and they were moving toward the facility.

  In the next instant, several things happened at once. Shannen let an arrow fly, and it whizzed past the head of one of the female Sarlene. The doors of the facility opened, and her Maidens and warriors came roaring out, shouting, throwing knives, shooting arrows, waving axes, swords, and anything else they had been able to get their hands on. In the chaos, Shannen heard the pounding of hooves, and as she let another arrow fly, she saw a well-known figure fling herself off of the thundering horse and dive into the midst of the chaos.

  Shannen knew her bow was useless now, with so many of her own people in the midst of the battle. There were several flashes of light, screams of pain, and she knew the Sarlene were using their weapons. She ran toward the battle, ready to join her people. She was nearly there when a beefy form knocked her to the ground, covering her body.

  “Let me up, you imbecile,” she shouted, scrabbling to regain her footing.

  “Stay down, Your Highness. If I let you up, Camille told me she’ll castrate me, and I don’t doubt her,” a familiar voice said. She wrenched her head around and saw Laird, one of Renn’s men they’d picked up at Ashwall, and also Reena’s bedmate/assignment.

  “I need to help,” Shannen said, shoving at him, even though it seemed to do little.

  “Two things: first of all, you’re a Queen, not a soldier. Second of all, I think they’ve got it,” he said, nodding toward where Janara, Camille, Reena, Gildis, and, to Shannen’s utter horror, two of the teenaged girls she’d spoken to earlier were stabbing and hacking away at the final two Sarlene, three more unmoving at their feet.

  Within moments, it was over, and when she shoved Laird again, he let her up. Shannen stormed over to where her people were. Five dead Sarlene.

  Over a dozen fallen humans.

  “What in the hell were you doing?” Shannen shouted at her people, who looked at her in shock. “You could have gotten killed charging at them like that. Look at how many we lost!”

  “Look at how many we saved,” Camille said, quirking her eyebrow. “We had the element of surprise, and we took it. They were all looking at you.”

  “I never told you to do that.”

  “You are my queen, not my keeper. I’m here to serve and protect you. I will do that how I see fit, otherwise I am useless,” Camille said.

  “They have no business out here,” Shannen hissed, jabbing her finger toward the two teenagers, whose names she still did not know.

  “We wanted to be here,” the redhead said. “You fought for us, you helped us. We wanted to fight for you.”

  “You are untrained,” Shannen groaned, rubbing her temples. What an utter mess. She was the most inept leader in the history of inept leaders. She had nearly lost her entire kingdom because she had absolutely no idea what she was doing.

  “I think they did very well, Your Highness,” Janara said, and Shannen’s gaze shot up to her. In her stress over her people stupidly throwing their lives away, she had forgotten about her friend. “With a little training, they will be formidable.”

  The
two teenagers grinned, and Shannen knew that her Maarlai friend had earned a few fans.

  “They could have been killed.”

  “As could we all have. But they weren’t, and we live to fight another day,” Janara said, sheathing her dagger with a grin. “It’s good to see you, Queen Shannen.” She stepped toward Shannen, and Shannen couldn’t help the smile that reached her lips. She hugged Janara and Janara hugged her back fiercely.

  “Daarik said not to expect you for a few more days,” Shannen said as they hugged.

  “I was able to transport us a few miles at a time.”

  “It is good to see you.”

  They pulled away from one another, and Janara smiled. “My Queen, it is my honor and pleasure to serve you and the people of Tanris. King Daarik sends his regards. I have been sent to escort you to Darathar. He is also on his way, along with the rest of our people.”

  “No one is left in Darathar?” Shannen asked in surprise.

  Janara shook her head sadly. “The Sarlene had been circling, as if they were watching. We can all assume that though Tanris was their first target, it will not be their last.”

  “Then why go back to Darathar at all?” Camille asked.

  “Because the king and queen both being in residence will give the city an added protection, and we need our Queen back.”

  Shannen studied her friend. “I do not understand.”

  Janara smiled. “Our forefathers and foremothers used the last bit of magic known to our people to transport us here, and those who were left after that died ensuring that our new homeland would be a haven. They imbued Darathar with power. Darathar is the Maarlai, and we are Darathar. That magic is strengthened even more with a bonded king and queen in residence. The city was weaker after Daarik’s mother died. It is possible that we can hold out against the Sarlene, but only if we get you to the city safely.”

  “Magic. No wonder we couldn’t beat them. Heathens,” she heard Raj mutter to a few other men who stood off to the side. Shannen took a deep breath, and Janara met her eyes.

  “No, you couldn’t beat us because we’re better fighters than you are, and our commanders had full use of their brains,” Janara said. “That, and you spend most of your time whining and making excuses.”

  “I’ll show you whining,” one of the men said, and Laird stepped in front of him.

  “I wouldn’t push it, friend,” he said, glowering down at the man. “I’m sure the hell not going to save you from her when your mouth gets you into trouble.”

  “Anytime you want to show me, go ahead,” Janara said to the man. “I have been fighting since I could walk, and I’m feeling a bit antsy. Please, try me.” Then she turned to Shannen. “With your permission, Your Highness, I would like to search the Sarlene ship.”

  Shannen nodded, and Janara bowed and moved toward the ship. She gestured for Camille to follow her, and Shannen watched in amazement as Camille joined her. How did Janara always seem to be able to read a situation perfectly?

  Camille gestured for Reena and Gildis to follow, and they waved the two teenagers forward as well. Shannen asked Laird to get everyone to work putting the dead to rest, and then she joined them.

  The Sarlene ship was much larger on the inside than Shannen would have guessed from its compact appearance. Everywhere she looked, metal surfaces gleamed, lights hummed, and screens showed scenes from around her home planet.

  “Those are being transmitted from the other ships?” Shannen asked, and Janara nodded. “So they do not realize this crew has run into trouble yet.”

  “Not yet. Soon, they will realize something is amiss, and they’ll come back.”

  “Then we need to be gone before then,” Shannen said, and Janara nodded.

  “I want to learn what I can about this ship before we leave. If I can figure it out, it’s possible that we can use it against them.”

  “You’ve dealt with technology like this before?” Shannen asked as she looked over the many screens in the front of the ship. There were two seats there as well, and she guessed whoever was flying the craft had sat there.

  “No, but I’ve read about it,” Janara said as she used her finger to flip through a few different views on the strange screen with its views of different locations on Earth. “It looks like they’re pretty spread out. They tend to stay in groups of three ships.”

  “And how many are there all together?” Shannen asked.

  “From what I can see, this fleet totals just over thirty ships.”

  Shannen sank down onto one of the seats and stared at the screens. “We will not get this lucky again.”

  “No, we will not. Once they see what’s happened to this crew, they’ll shoot first, investigate later.”

  “We need to leave.” Shannen paused. “I do not want them to be able to use this ship again against us.”

  Janara nodded and flipped through the screens some more. “Many of these ships had a self-destruct mode, in case the craft fell into enemy hands. If something like this had happened at the height of Sarlene power, this ship would have already been destroyed. These new Sarlene are untried in battle. Their desperation to avenge their fallen forefathers led them here, but I don’t think they were truly ready to fight us.”

  “You have not yet seen the ruins of Tanris,” Shannen said quietly.

  “I don’t doubt that it’s awful, and I am sorry for all of your losses,” Janara said. “They can destroy just fine, which is why you are still in danger and we need to move. But as far as actual combat… if we can get them off of their ships, we might have a chance of fighting them off.”

  “And how exactly do we get them off of their ships?” Shannen asked. And then a thought struck her. “Bait.”

  “Excuse me?” Janara asked.

  “Bait. They hate humans. They want to destroy us in every way possible.”

  “Yes,” Janara said slowly.

  “Destruction is one way. Dishonoring the leaders is another.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “Once upon a time, there were many books written about the art of war. I have read a few.”

  “I have read them as well,” Janara said, giving Shannen an unreadable look. “So what are you saying?”

  “I am the ruler of the humans. They adore me… for the most part,” she added. “If the Sarlene really want to torture my people before they kill us, taking me would be almost too good to pass up, don’t you think?”

  “Not a chance in hell, Your Highness,” Janara said. “Daarik would kill me. And then he’d kill me again just for spite. And then your people would find some way to raise me and kill me again.”

  “True,” Camille added with a smile.

  “But—”

  “Don’t you get it?” Janara asked in exasperation. “This is not a game. This is not theory. This is not something we can undo if we don’t like the way it turns out. You are the Queen of two peoples — two broken, fractured peoples who need to find a way to move forward together. This isn’t the same as thumbing your nose at Edwell. You are needed.”

  “I never asked to be needed,” Shannen shot back.

  “You asked for it the second you decided to wear that crown,” Janara said, gesturing to the circlet on Shannen’s head. “And before that, you asked for it when you promised yourself to my cousin. Do you have any idea what it would do to him if you were lost? I have watched him deal with your absence, and it has worn on him horribly. I didn’t know it was even possible to love someone that much,” she added quietly, and Shannen stared at her. Janara seemed to pull herself together, and gave Shannen a hard look. “I know you want to prove yourself. You want to prove that you're strong enough to lead them, that you’re better than Edwell, that you’re better than George, and Elrek, and Jarvik, and every other fool who has underestimated you. You think I don’t understand pride? I do. But this is bigger than that.”

  “If I’m not willing to risk myself, I’m not worthy of leading anyone,” Shannen said quietly. “Edwel
l sat in his palace, fat and comfortable, while he sent other men out to die for him, while he let his people starve and die in squalor. He never sacrificed a single thing for any of them. I will not be the same. I refuse to be a coward.”

  “I don’t think many would call you that,” Janara said. “But there are different kinds of courage. The courage to lead, to trust others to fight while you hold things together... that is a kind of bravery few understand. As an outsider looking in, but also as someone who has lived among our own royals for my entire life, I can tell you that is what your people need most right now. They need stability, and you dying or being taken will not give them that. Set your damnable ambition aside for a moment and think,” Janara finished, irritated.

  “Find what you can. We need to leave soon,” Shannen said. She turned and headed toward the door. Then she turned back to the two teenagers. “If I see you in battle before you are trained again, I will leave you at Ashwall. Am I understood?”

  They both nodded and had the sense to at least look guilty, and Shannen waved them out of the ship, leaving Janara and the Maidens to learn what they could about the Sarlene craft.

  In the meantime, she would see what she could learn about the Sarlene, and, more importantly, the weapons they carried.

  Chapter Ten

  Outside, the first thing Shannen noticed was that her people had moved the bodies of the humans who had fallen. They couldn’t risk a fire, and there was no time to set a proper one, anyway. Instead, her people had piled branches, stones, and other debris from the area on top of their fallen townspeople. They had gathered around the fallen, and Shannen joined them. There were no words of farewell. Shannen would not have known the proper words to say, anyway. These are people who had died protecting her and their fellow men and women. There was no way to repay that sacrifice. She bowed her head and thanked them. After a few moments, she looked up, taking in the faces of her shaken and exhausted people.