“Close the door behind us,” Valen said to the healer who huddled underneath her robes. “If all goes as planned, we’ll be back before nightfall with food and supplies.”
Silence fell as Valen opened the main door. The mist flowed in an ominous tide, insidious tendrils unfurling to caress the stockroom floor. John cocked an arrow, pointing into the sky. A brief movement fluttered overhead then all was silent. Valen couldn’t tell if it was a trap.
“Come on.” Valen waved to Allyn and dashed into the mist. The young man held his breath and went after him. Grasping his bow, John followed, close behind.
Valen heard the door shut tightly as he veered in and out of the debris on the street, searching for the next place to hide. There were overturned wagons, bags of merchandise littering the cobblestone and, worst of all, blood stains. Valen felt like a wandering spirit in an ethereal ghost town. Being out in the open felt strange after having huddled in the dark for two days.
They ran fifty paces before he felt a swish over his head and ducked, somersaulting onto his back. “Watch out! They know we’re here.”
He heard another arrow fly as John fought them off. Valen jumped into an abandoned carriage and put out his hand for Allyn. The young man reached out and allowed himself to be pulled up, but Valen refused to close the door.
“John!” he yelled into the misty void. “We’re over here.”
John released two more arrows and made his way to the carriage. Valen hefted him up and they closed the door behind them, peering out the glass panel like weary travelers on the road to the underworld.
Suddenly an Elyndra landed on the carriage top, sending the entire box shaking. Valen was relieved this particular carriage was an upscale model, with a roof of wood instead of linen. There was no way it could get through.
“Don’t move.” Valen held up a hand in warning. “It may not have seen us go in. In fact, it’s probably just probing around.”
John held his bow against his chest and closed his eyes. Allyn kept his face glued to the glass, breath fogging on the pane. Valen could see nothing through the mist, but if it made Allyn feel better to watch, then so be it. Valen felt safe as long as none of them moved.
A few minutes later, the Elyndra took off, shaking the carriage once again.
“Do you think it’s safe to go outside?” Allyn’s hand rested on the door lock.
Valen didn’t want to keep the hungry soldiers waiting any longer, but if anything happened to them, they’d be waiting forever. “What do you think, John?”
The archer shrugged. “What’s fifteen more minutes going to do?”
Valen placed a hand on Allyn’s shoulder. “For now we wait.”
He searched the carriage for anything that might help them. A pair of discarded velvet gloves, an embroidered cushion and a crushed sunhat lay scattered on the floor. It wasn’t like the citizens carried extravagant weapons with them through the city. Their suitcases would be fastened to the top, but most likely they would be packed with clothes and toiletries.
Valen sat back in the velvet-cushioned seat, Allyn on one side and John on the other. In any other circumstance, it would be quite hilarious—a prince cum king, an archer and a foot soldier, riding together in finery.
Several moments later, Valen chanced opening the carriage door. Allyn cringed as Valen threw out the sunhat as bait. They watched and waited, but nothing descended to investigate.
Valen released a long breath of relief. “Our best bet is to run down Ravennest Alley, right to Harry’s General Shop. That’s the closest store I can think of.”
John nodded. “Hopefully he’ll have a sale on arrows.”
Allyn’s eyes widened. “How many do you have left?”
“Including this one, five.”
“Don’t worry.” Valen winked at Allyn. “That’s enough to cover us. John is an excellent shot.”
“I certainly hope so,” the young man replied.
Valen jumped to the ground. After taking a few hesitant steps, he signaled for Allyn and John to follow. “Stay close behind me.” He turned and disappeared into the wall of mist.
Ravennest Alley had a series of overhangings meant to keep the citizens protected from the rain. The trio ran underneath them, shuffling past breaks in the awnings as fast as they could.
When they got to the store, the front door was locked.
“Damn it!” Valen pounded his fist on the thick wood. “Let us in!”
But the store was a large room, and Harry himself lived upstairs. If he was in the backroom hiding from the apparent apocalypse, there was no way of getting his attention.
The awnings behind them moved in an unnatural breeze and Valen knew the beasts had tracked them.
“What do we do?” Panic edged Allyn’s voice.
John cocked an arrow in the direction of the movement. “Just keep pounding on the door.”
Valen smacked the wood desperately, but it would not budge. Harry had probably boarded all the openings by now. “It’s useless.”
Allyn’s gaze kept darting up to the awnings fluttering above their heads. “Can we find another place to hide?”
Valen scoured the alley, but the street was empty. There weren’t even any barrels or stalls set up for passersby. In resignation, he took out his sword. He looked at the fallen commander’s son with pity. He was so young and so brave. “Allyn, you’re going to have to fight.”
A rush of wind distracted Valen, blowing his hair out of his eyes. The mist swirled and blew past them, and they heard large thumps as the beasts hit the ground. Valen thought the Elyndra would all die right then, that they landed to battle them head to head.
Then the white wisps flowed around them and cleared. The mist had run out.
“What’s going on?” Allyn squinted against the cold northern wind.
“The Elyndra.” John lowered his bow in shock. “They are dying.”
Before Valen could warn him, Allyn ran back down the alley. Valen ran after him, followed by John. When they caught up, the young man kicked an Elyndra in the left wing as it disintegrated in the dry air.
“Would you look at that!” Allyn’s laughter bordered on hysteria. “We are saved.”
John crouched beside the exoskeleton. He pulled on a talon and the entire leg crumbled to the ground in dust. “But how can this be? For as long as we ever lived, the mist has only grown stronger. It never relented.”
“Star.” Valen’s chest burned with pride. “She made it. She’s saved us all.”
Chapter 25
Hero’s Return
Star rode through a graveyard littered with winged exoskeletons. To either side of her lay a vast expanse of open land. The mountains that had harbored her and Leer on their journey there protruded on the horizon to the west, and in front of her sprawled the dark forest. Direction was no longer an issue. She had a clear sight of her path. Although it made for easier riding, Star craved the trees’ dense canopy, feeling naked in the stark plains without the mist to cover her tracks.
She had to remind herself her instincts for cover were no longer necessary, there was no need to fear. The monsters were only a lingering memory. Their bodies lay dead before her like a garden of poisoned weeds. Windracer wove in and out of the fallen corpses as they plowed their way back to Ravencliff.
She’d stayed at the ravine’s edge for three days and still the fires burned bright like the gates to Hell. Leer was nowhere to be found and her supplies diminished. She felt a growing need to return to Ravencliff, fearing all her efforts were too late. Leaving empty handed broke her heart and Star cried each minute Windracer took her away, but she had to move on in body if not in spirit.
Star reached the forest by nightfall and camped underneath the canopy. Her small fire was a faint radiance compared to the brightness of the full moon as it filtered through the leaves to touch the forest floor for the first time in ages. Star reached out to the diaphanous glow, her palm illuminate
d as she cradled the light. It seemed to shine only for her, a beacon from heaven to soothe a restless soul.
The giant caterpillars were gone. She wondered if they writhed on the heels of the last breath of mist, too slow to catch it as it abandoned the land like a defeated army. They, too, would drown in the dry air, dehydrated by parched wind as it burned and cracked their skin. Part of her felt sorry for the beasts that would never reach their full potential and fly in the sky, but a greater part of her finally felt safe for the first time in her life.
She broke through the forest the next day. Without the mist, the journey seemed effortless, the riding all too easy. She would be back at Ravencliff within the next day. Anxiety overshadowed her sadness as she remembered just how far the mist had risen and wondered if anyone was still alive within those walls. A thousand gruesome images plagued her imagination as she thought of all the possible scenes awaiting her when she returned.
Star got her answer miles before she reached Ravencliff’s walls. Tiny dots moved on the horizon. As Windracer brought Star closer, she could make out people, without protection, roaming the countryside. The freedom brought more tears to her eyes. As she grew closer, she saw they were building, expanding Ravencliff’s territories beyond the fortress.
Windracer picked up pace, riding in their direction, as if the horse were eager for the company of others. Star smoothed her horse’s mane as if to say she felt the excitement as well.
The people walking the countryside hailed her as she pulled up, hands rising in the air in a universal gesture of peace. Star reined her horse in and slowed to a halt, drawing the attention of the new colonizers. One by one, they stopped their hammering and gathered together to meet the strange rider from the north. She thought she heard someone whisper white rider and wondered how she’d come to be so well known.
“You must be Star Nightengale.” The closest man approached her as she dismounted. The others stared at her as if she were a demigod.
“I am.” Star was baffled by their hushed awe and respect.
“The king has uttered your name as our savior, the white rider who rode to stop the mist. The one who saved us all.”
“The king?” Star hadn’t ever met the king. Valen must have told him of her quest.
“Oh, yes. He sent scouts to look for you when the mist ended. We feared you perished.”
She looked down at the ground. “One of us did. He is the true hero.”
The men fell silent around her, and she saw faces full of gratitude and hope.
Another man spoke. “He did not die in vain.”
Star recognized the speaker right away. He was the fiddle player who had stood next to her in line when she returned the bunnyfly. She sniffed back tears. “So you’ve finally found a home, I take it.”
The man bowed his head. “Thanks to you and the man who died, we all have.”
“Leer.” Star rubbed her sore eyes. “His name was Fallon Leer.”
* * * *
The drawbridge to Ravencliff hung open like a shocked woman’s mouth. Star rode past children as they ran through the meadows just outside of the walls. One little girl held a basket of dandelions and skipped alongside her to bring them home. She smiled shyly at Star as she rode past. All of the children waved, arms reaching above the wildflowers and long stems of grass.
Star dismounted and led Windracer inside the gate. Ravencliff’s walls were not what she remembered. Large piles of black debris burned and smoked, tainting the air. Sections of the wall were missing and scars scratched the stone from stray swords and arrows. Weary guards hobbled and poked at the flames. The courtyard looked like it had been hit by an apocalypse. She could only imagine how terrible the battle could have been.
The same gruff soldier stood at the entranceway. This time, he let her by without question even though she no longer carried a sack of letters. “So you made it, huh?”
Star nodded. “Just barely.”
“The king would like to see you, I’m sure.” He handed her a pass to the castle at the center of the city.
“Tell me.” Star stretched her neck, looking around her. “How many were lost in the battle while I was gone?”
The soldier leaned back and took in a deep breath. He adjusted his seat to favor his right side. Star could see his left leg underneath the table was bandaged from the knee down. “Most of the army. We are almost defenseless against Evenspark’s troops. They could march in and take us over any day.”
“And Prince Valen.” Star’s voice faltered. “Is he all right?”
“That’s King Valen now, and His Highness is in good health, if not stressed from the efforts to rebuild.”
“King.” Star stumbled back against Windracer.
The guard went back to shuffling his papers. “That’s right. Crowned yesterday.”
Star carried the shock of the thought of Valen as king all the way to the palace steps. In a way, she was happy for him. He’d practically been acting as king for many years now and he deserved it. However, for her, it had happened too fast, too soon, and without her being there to accept his change in status. It seemed like she returned to a different world, an alternate reality of her own accidental creation.
An attendant ushered her down the main entrance hall, past corridors of closed doors and to the king’s study, whispers of savior following behind her. Star felt uncomfortable with this newly found honor and shooed them back, only to have them bow and stare in awe.
She arrived at a rich mahogany door, and the attendant knocked the brass ring before she was ready. Star knew no matter how much time she had, she would never be truly ready to come face to face with Valen as king. The door opened and there he sat, perched behind his desk in a regal suit with medals of valor shining.
The attendant bowed. “Miss Star Nightengale, Your Highness.”
Star could see a profound sadness in Valen’s eyes that had not been there before, a weight on his shoulders holding him down. Beyond all that, she could sense his relief to see her.
“My goodness, I’ve had search parties scour the lands for you.” He dismissed the other attendants in the room with a wave and he and Star waited in awkward silence until the last of them left. Star thought he would come over to her, yet he stayed on the other side of his desk, still as a statue. To her, it felt a world away.
“I stayed behind to look for Leer.”
“He didn’t abandon you, did he?”
Valen’s distrust of his cousin hurt her. Her own words came out harsher than she meant. “How dare you question him! He died helping me in my quest.”
Surprise flared on Valen’s features, followed by melancholy and, underneath it all, pride. He looked away to a window facing north. Star could see an inner battle waging beneath his severely controlled features and tightened lips.
Star stepped forward. “He was not going to assassinate you. In fact, he was looking for their leader, looking to redeem himself and make things right again between the two of you.”
“There was no need. I’d forgiven him long ago.”
Although she’d only spent a few days with Leer, Star felt like she knew his mysterious ways better than anyone else in the world. He had opened up to her and showed her the shape of his heart. “It was important to him.”
Valen placed his hand on his desk. “He will go down as a hero.”
“He should.” Star held his gaze. A threat edged her tone. “And no less.”
“Of course.” Valen looked away as if other thoughts preoccupied him.
“Leer and I found who ordered your assassination attempt.” Star reached into her pocket and found the clasp with the symbol engraved. She threw it on the desk in front of him and it hit the expensive wood with a rude clang. “There are spies in our neighboring kingdoms, people who controlled the mist and the Elyndra. They said our population rose too high, expanding our boundaries, and they wanted war.”
Star watched as Valen took the clasp in his
hand. He brought out a piece of parchment, and she was surprised to see it was the assassination letter. She speculated if it was one of the heavy objects chaining him down.
“The symbol does match, yes.” Valen paused. “How do we stop these people?”
“I already have. Their mist machine is destroyed and the Elyndra are dead. If any survivors exist, they have scattered. All you need to do is weed out the spies within your own walls. I will take care of their co-conspirators in Evenspark.”
“I’ll have my people get on it right away.” Pain stretched in Valen’s face. “You’ve done so much for this kingdom, for my people, and I am eternally in your debt.” His eyelids grew heavy and dark. “I have one last favor to ask.”
Star leaned forward. “Anything.”
“Things have changed. Ravencliff is not the power it used to be. We’ve been decimated by the Elyndra. We have no army to protect us, no way to keep our borders. Without the mist, there is nothing holding Evenspark’s army back.”
“And you think Evenspark will attack?”
Valen’s gaze was steady and intense. “I know it for certain.”
Star studied the depth in his eyes and the lines etched in his face. Not only had he changed, but she’d changed as well. Somehow, the air between them had grown stale. He’d lost his youthful rebelliousness in the battle, and she’d lost her heart in the ruins of the canyon.
That didn’t mean she didn’t care. She’d spent so long saving the kingdom and didn’t want to see them lose again. The Elyndra had spilled so much blood, it felt like there was none left to give. “What can I do to help?”
“You told me once, long ago, you make your own destiny.”
His words tugged on her memories and her thoughts scrambled to a scene way back, when she’d met a young man at the fountain after she’d won the most important race of her life. She’d been daring and mischievous in the rush of youth and he’d been hesitant and questioning, still exploring new ideals. “I remember now. You told me that fate rewarded me.”
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