The queen sounded annoyed. “If you didn’t just deliver the letter making my niece ruler of Ravencliff, I would send you away this very moment. But considering your past history, your status as head of Interkingdom Carriers and your connection to the throne of Ravencliff, I feel inclined to speak with you.”
“My thanks, Your Highness.” Star bowed again to soften her next words. “It is vital information and must be in private.”
The queen once again waved everyone away. “This better be worth it.” Vespa left with all of her handmaidens following like ducklings.
Once the hall cleared, Star spoke. “There are conspirators in this kingdom, people from the north who want war.” She paused, gauging the queen’s reaction.
“Go on.”
Star had her undivided attention, and so she told her of Zetta’s letter, Tia Rood’s position change, the assassination attempt and, lastly, her trials at what seemed like the end of the world. She spoke of the brown-robed people, the mist machine and the end of the Elyndra.
The queen asked questions only when she needed clarification. Star left out the part about Ravencliff being defenseless. She did not want to give the queen any more inclination to attack.
“And so here I am, standing before you, asking you to question Zetta’s motives and her connections.” She’d given enough evidence to lock Zetta up for eternity, never mind calling her in for questioning. Now all she could do was wait for her answer.
The queen remained silent, as if she were taking it all in. “It seems these people have been meddling in our affairs for quite some time now. Do they want us all dead?”
“No. They want to control our population. They don’t want our numbers to take over the planet.”
“Impossible.” The queen dug her nails into the wood of the throne. “How could we?”
“I asked that very same question. But the man talked of other worlds that were destroyed. He said our civilization has a propensity to multiply until there is no land or food left, that we travel from world to world, taking over until we are the only species left alive.”
The queen clicked her tongue. “That is rubbish. You are certain you destroyed their mist machine?”
Star nodded. “Yes, Your Highness.”
“Good.” The queen sat back on her throne, one hand tracing circles in the wood of the arm rest. “Now the only thing left to do is weed them out, starting with Zetta.”
“I don’t think she’s one of them. I think she’s accepted gold in exchange for doing their dirty work. She may not be privy to the damage they have done. She is only a puppet of a larger deceit.”
The queen nodded. “Perhaps. I’ve known Zetta’s family for as long as I’ve lived, and not one of them has ever acted against the throne.”
“We need to find her benefactor, the one behind the letters.”
The queen held up a finger. “I’ll have her arrested immediately. I appoint you as her chief interrogator.”
Star did not know what to say. “Your Highness—”
The queen was unyielding. “You know more of this than any of us.”
Star couldn’t bear the cruelty of it. It would be like slamming her betrayal in her superior’s face. “Your Highness, with all due respect, I do not wish to become any more entangled than I already am.” She thought her refusal would bring any number of rebuttals from actually being hit to stinging words or the stripping of her title.
Instead, the queen sighed, releasing a long breath of air, and took off her veil.
Star stared as if she’d never seen with her eyes before. Underneath all the expensive fabric, the title and the nasty voice was a face of human suffering, a vulnerable monstrosity. The skin of her face stretched taut over ugly protrusions, as if pearls of all sizes were lodged underneath the outer membrane of her skin. A great, goose-egg-sized boil stuck out from above her left eyebrow, growing a few white hairs. Star couldn’t bear to think of the pain and embarrassment the queen endured.
“Please,” the queen said. “I cannot do it myself. What Zetta needs is to talk to a person, not a satin mask.”
“All right. I’ll do my best.”
Chapter 28
Truth
Flickering torches lit the way down the lime-crusted steps as Star descended to question the prisoner. The dungeons of Evenspark had the same damp dreariness and insidious shadows as those in Ravencliff. Although she’d never been to Evenspark’s dungeons, Star felt a wave of reminiscence and thought back to when she’d asked Leer to accompany her on her mission.
Mixed feelings of remorse, sympathy, and an unexplainable burgeoning affection blurred together. If she hadn’t asked him, then he wouldn’t be dead. Yet she would have never succeeded in her quest without him and they would have never had that time together. She would have never felt his lips on her own as his passion for her spilled out in the last moments of his burdened life.
Star sighed. She was so heartsick she was in no mood to question anyone, let alone her superior, yet Zetta waited for her in a cell in the deepest bowels of the dungeons. She had to carry on with her mission, whether she wanted to or not. Besides, it just might give her a reprieve from the immense feelings blossoming then withering in her heart.
The guard nodded when she approached and opened the heavy wooden door with a heave. “She’s all yours. Won’t talk to anyone, so good luck.”
Star stepped into the cell and saw Zetta sitting in the corner on a pile of old hay. She had her legs folded up against her chest and her arms wrapped around them, as if she could hide from the world. Star felt a pang of pity, for Zetta was there because of her. She’d turned her in red-handed.
Zetta looked up at her with wary eyes. Her gaze turned to recognition and loathing. “Star! Are you behind all of this? Did you report my private letter?”
“I am and I did.”
“But why? Why get involved? Why not do as you’re told and let life go on as normal?”
Anger flared in Star’s chest. “Because those letters carried the downfall of both kingdoms.”
“That’s impossible. They were going to the outskirts. No one there has power or authority over anyone.”
Star realized Zetta had no idea who she enabled. She’d thought it was a favor for a nobleman, an inconsequential private task. Star had to remind herself Zetta still cheated the system.
“Zetta, listen to me, this is very important. Who asked you to deliver those letters?”
Her superior shrugged. “I didn’t catch a name.”
This would be harder than she thought. Star sat across from Zetta. She was already so journey-worn and dirty the dungeon floor couldn’t possibly make her appearance any worse. “Zetta, the people behind the letters are conspirators against both Evenspark and Ravencliff.”
“Nonsense. The letters were addressed to Fallon Leer. I’ve met the man myself. He was one of our best riders, before you came along, and has a heart kinder than any man I’ve ever known. He’d never do anything against his kingdom.”
With the mention of Leer’s name, Star reeled. Tears stung her eyes and she blinked them back. Now was not the time to show vulnerability. “Zetta, Fallon is dead. He died helping me fight the Elyndra. He intercepted these letters in an attempt to find the people involved.”
Zetta’s voice caught. “Leer is dead?”
Star couldn’t talk about Leer, not now. She had avoided uttering his name for fear the dam holding back her emotions would burst, but Zetta forced her to come to terms with her imminent feelings and his martyred death. “Yes, and if you don’t tell me who’s behind the letters, then he died fighting a lost cause. His mission will never be complete.”
Zetta stared her down, penetrating her eyes, searching for deception. She muttered, “My God, you loved him.”
Star wiped back her tears, ignoring Zetta’s claim. “Please, Zetta, tell me who sent those letters.”
Zetta sat back, releasing her legs. She waited a moment
before taking a deep breath, as if she launched herself into a journey of her own. “The first time I saw the brown-robed man, he lurked in the shadows of the night. He scared me. I thought he was a robber, but instead of holding out a knife, he held a bag of gold. He said it was imperative his letters were sent privately, that they not be processed by the system. He had no identification tags, and so would not be allowed to send them.”
Zetta rubbed her face, accidentally smudging dirt on her forehead. Star could tell she’d struggled with the decision to accept his bargain.
“Did you ask why he had no tags?”
“No.” Zetta sighed. “With that much gold, you don’t ask questions. My family has scraped the bottom of our savings for years ever since a rich uncle diverted our inheritance to hoard it for himself. I needed the money.”
“Did you get any notion of where he was from? Where he was staying? Anything?”
“All I know is he smelled strange, like potions and chemicals. He had a snobbish quality to his speech and persona, like he thought himself far superior than us lowly Interkingdom Carriers. But I accepted his money nonetheless.”
Star chewed on her lower lip. He sounded much like the man she met in the machine before the orb absorbed his body. Everything in Zetta’s story checked out. Star would write a report for the queen dismissing Zetta’s involvement as minimal and naming the perpetrators as the robed people from the north. “Zetta, this is especially important. When did you see him last?”
Zetta blew out air from her mouth. “Weeks ago. Right before I sent you out with that letter addressed to Leer.”
Star pursed her lips. That meant the spy could be anywhere by now. In fact, he could have perished with all the rest of them back at the machine. Now all they could do was pick up the pieces and be alert in case any of them still lived and tried something in the future.
She gave Zetta a sad smile. “I will do my best to annul your crimes. I can’t guarantee you will be set free, but I will speak on your behalf.”
Zetta came forward, taking Star’s hand in both of hers. “I thank you so very much. All I’ve caused you is pain. We both knew that Tia Rood was unfit to be a messenger. I chose her because she didn’t question my orders. I replaced you, yet you still fight for my rights?”
Star felt her heart warm. She’d forgiven the spry old woman. “We must unite against these conspirators. You are not the enemy. Besides, I don’t think they’ll be back anytime soon.” She rose up from the hay, dusting off her messenger’s cloak and knocked on the door of the cell to be let out.
“The robed people, what did they want?”
Star turned back to face her, her face drawn and her eyes heavy. “They wanted most of us dead.”
Zetta furrowed her eyebrows. “That just doesn’t make sense at all.”
“Wait until you hear the rest of it.”
The guard opened the cell door, and nothing more could be said. With a swift nod, Star walked away, leaving Zetta to do what she did best—worry and brood.
She filed the report that evening, requesting Zetta be released under oath to abide by the rules of the Interkingdom Carriers. She’d be watched from afar to see if the brown-robed man returned, but Star knew he was long gone by now. She also suspected Zetta would be wary to accept any other offers.
Star could hardly believe she’d reached the end of her arduous journey. She had nowhere left to go but home. Walking Windracer behind her, Star followed the all-too-familiar streets to her family’s home in the outskirts. As she passed by the metal structure of the grid, she could see through the weave work to the land beyond.
Although the Forgotten One’s story was ridiculous, Star felt there must be some kernel of truth. Why else would he stand by his convictions, right up until his imminent death? She didn’t like to think about it because there was only one choice she could have made. Perhaps she had doomed them all to extinction in thousands of years, but at least now she knew her parents and the people of Ravencliff and Evenspark were safe.
Chapter 29
Unexpected Visitor
“Whatever happened with the man that gave you the ruby necklace?” Star’s mother asked as she brought out a bowl of hot stew.
Star huddled under a homespun quilt in her father’s old armchair in her bedroom and shrugged, trying to look nonchalant. “It didn’t work out.”
“I see.” Her mother set down the steaming bowl. “There are many other suitors out there, and you are such a beautiful young woman.”
Star resisted the urge to frown. She didn’t want other suitors and she didn’t want Valen. The man she sought lay beyond her reach now.
Her mother squeezed her shoulder with tearful eyes. “It’s good to have you back home. Have some stew. You’ll feel much better.”
Star summoned as much of a smile as possible before her mother disappeared into the kitchen. She didn’t think anything would get much better, even after eating the stew. She’d lost everything, including her job, her first love interest and the man she realized she truly loved in the end. She didn’t even have the ruby necklace to sell. Her family was as poor as they ever were, and she’d given up on moving them to the inner district, though with the mist gone, it didn’t matter. The Interkingdom Carriers weren’t knocking on her door, and her good deeds were all but forgotten with the talk of the wedding uniting both kingdoms. Ravencliff considered Star a hero, but that was the last place she ever wanted to go back to again.
She resigned herself to the inner rooms of her parents’ house for the next week, where she folded clothes, peeled potatoes, and tried to mend the ache in her body and her heart. She felt empty inside, like her insides were tossed around and mixed up, and now her thoughts were all mush. She’d been consumed by her quest to the point where everyone and everything was secondary, and now that she’d finished it, she had nothing left, for she’d lost so much in order to achieve her success. Yes, she saved the world, but it was a hollow triumph with no one to share it.
* * * *
Buttons flashed and steam spouted behind her. Star’s fingers touched the cool metal wall of the corridor. Her hand was a beige blur in the reflection. She could hear the hum of the machine in between beeps of a warning alarm.
Star looked around her, time pressing on her shoulders. Maybe if she got out fast enough she would be able to save Leer. She flung herself down the corridor. Her arms tangled in strange, snakelike coils sparking and whizzing, and her legs stumbled over bodies. So many robed people lay dead at her feet. But her one concern was for Leer.
When she reached the entranceway, the flames raged beneath her. She saw his black cloak disappear into them and lunged forward with all of her might, flying through the haze of smoke. Her hands groped, but her fingers only brushed the fabric and soon it disappeared, eaten by the orange tongues that licked the air.
“No!” she screamed as the cloak melted into ashes. She fanned the flames with her bare arms, trying to reach through to drag him out, but her skin caught fire and she fell back, beating her arm against the earth. Pain flared, the skin bubbling with ugly boils, but the devastation raging through her heart overshadowed any physical pain. She realized then Leer had opened his heart to her in the cave before he left and she’d given him nothing in return. She never got a chance to tell him how she really felt. He died thinking she loved Valen.
Star fell to her knees and covered her ears, sobbing. All at once, the hollering sound of wind and fire disappeared, leaving her in bare silence.
* * * *
Star sat up groggily and recognized the comforting walls of her family’s house. The sun had set, leaving her in shadows.
“You all right, honey?” her mother called.
“Yes, I’m fine. Come in.”
The door opened gently and her mother came in with a lantern and a glass of water. “Sounds like you were having a nightmare.”
Star looked down at her hands expecting to see ash and blood, but there was not
hing there. “I was.”
“You always did have nightmares as a child.” Her mother patted her head, smoothing over the tangles in her hair. “That’s why you were so driven to ride out. You wanted to face your fears head on.”
Star smiled. “I was such a stubborn girl.”
“And you still are.” Her mother kissed her head. “And I love you all the more for it.”
A sudden knock came at the front door.
“I’ll get it.” Her father’s voice came from the study.
Her mother furrowed her eyebrows, a bit annoyed. “Who could that be at this time of night?”
Star had a moment of hope that the Interkingdom Carriers needed her back, but that was soon overshadowed by the fact she didn’t want to return to Ravencliff. Besides, she’d heard in town that the Interkingdom Carriers had stripped Zetta of her title and people made their own deliveries. There were more and more riders vying for jobs. Star was now one in a hundred. The chance someone needed a delivery sent was as slim as the chance that an Elyndra would ever fly again in the sky.
Her father entered her bedroom with a quizzical look on his sun-browned face. “There’s a man at the door to see you.” He rubbed his temple. Star knew he’d been reading too long as always. However, the gesture was not just tired eyes. A hint of worry showed in the wrinkle between his white brows.
Her mother put a hand to her heart. “Oh, maybe it’s the man who gave you the necklace? Maybe he’s changed his mind?”
Star shook her head, resisting the urge to scold her mother. “No, Mother. He’s decided to marry someone else.”
“Then who else could it be?”
Her father’s eyes held suspicion. “He looked rather shady, tattoos on his arm and black clothes like a delinquent.”
Star stood from the chair in disbelief, the quilt falling to the floor at her feet. Weeks had passed since her journey and it couldn’t possibly be true. “Did he say his name?”
Her father shrugged. “Said you’d know him when you saw him. I don’t know, Star, he seems a bit devious to me. Do you want me to send him away?”
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