Sandqueen (Rise To Omniscience Book 7)

by Aaron Oster

  He was getting a pretty good feel for the woman by now and didn’t peg her as the type to crave world domination. The question still remained. Was she being sincere about ending the war before it even began?

  “You don’t seem surprised,” Elyssa said as the light around her faded.

  She seemed almost annoyed that he hadn’t been more awed by her display. Morgan had met too many supermages to be surprised, and meeting another of his kind wasn’t exactly a novel experience.

  “I suspected as much as soon as I saw the reiki,” Morgan replied, shifting around a bit to try and alleviate his discomfort.

  His back still ached from the impact with the boulder and was taking its time to get better.

  “Well, I guess you aren’t just a wall of walking muscle then,” Elyssa said. “Though truthfully, I’m not sure which I’d have preferred.”

  “Can you just get to the point already?” Morgan asked. “You claim to want to end the war, right? But how do you plan on going about doing that?”

  “Fine,” Elyssa said, drawing herself up to her full height. “Yes, I do want to prevent the war from going any further, and I know for a fact that the dwarves do as well. We comprise a big part of the power in our five races, and if we propose an end, the beastmen will likely go along with us. Once the majority agrees to call a truce, the others will be forced into calling off their fighters as well.”

  “But?” Morgan asked.

  He knew that there was always a ‘but.’

  “But,” Elyssa said, blowing out a long breath. “We need to show that the alliance has actual merit. A piece of paper can be easily ignored and disregarded…”

  Morgan quirked a brow as she trailed off yet again. This was something she was clearly nervous about. It was obvious by the way she was plucking at the sides of her gown and the constant shifting from one foot to another. Elyssa blew out a long breath, then continued.

  “Before I give you my proposal, I need to know if you can guarantee the humans will stand down. I’ve seen how strong you are, and judging by the way you carry yourself, you’re important. Can you speak on behalf of all humans?”

  “All humans in the Five Kingdoms,” Morgan replied. “I can’t speak for any other humans that might inhabit this world, but I can keep all the others in line.”

  “Good…Good,” Elyssa said, blowing out yet another long breath. “My plan, then. The way we can assure that the war ends before it starts is for us to get married.”

  Morgan’s first response was to immediately say no. He had no interest in marriage to anyone but Sarah. He was especially uninterested in marrying someone he’d just met, but pragmatism forced him to say something else entirely.

  “Why?”

  Elyssa’s shoulders relaxed visibly at his question. She’d been afraid that he would shoot her down out of hand. When she spoke again, he could hear it in her voice as well.

  “It’s the only way we can assure the peace will be upheld. If you marry me, we become allies, and once we have a child, that alliance will become cemented in stone.”

  “But you’re not human,” Morgan replied. “How do you even know it’s possible?”

  “Races intermarry all the time, here in Faeland,” Elyssa replied. “Half breeds are more common than you might think.”

  “Won’t your people reject the idea of you marrying a human?” Morgan asked.

  “They might be opposed to it at first,” she replied. “But I am the queen, and they will respect my decisions.”

  Morgan was silent for a few moments as he thought it over. He didn’t like the idea, not one bit. In fact, he was leaning toward rejecting it outright. However, another smaller voice in the back of his mind asked if he would really be willing to insight a war just so that he wouldn’t have to do something he didn’t want to.

  “Is there no other way?”

  “Not one that will work in the long-run,” Elyssa replied with a shake of her head. “Remember, we want this alliance to stand forever, not just a generation or two. If we have children together, they will be far more sympathetic toward humans in general. They will also be quite powerful, if I’m not mistaken, and will be able to enforce that peace for generations to come.”

  “And what exactly are you getting out of it?” Morgan asked.

  Here, Elyssa seemed to grow a bit annoyed, though she did a good job of keeping it off her face.

  “I’ll be turning eighteen in just a few weeks, and I’ve been receiving pressure to marry for well over a year already. While the elven age of adulthood comes around at sixteen, the dwarven one only comes two years later. My caretaker has been pushing me to find a husband and have a child.

  “My parents are both gone, and I have no siblings or close relatives. The longer I delay, the more of a chance there is that someone will try and get rid of me.

  “Until now, the dwarven king, Ragnar, whom I am quite close with, had been on my side about remaining unmarried. However, once I turn eighteen, he’ll start pushing as well. So, if I marry you, I’ll satisfy both needs at the same time. I can produce an heir, and the war can be prevented.”

  To Morgan, it didn’t seem like Elyssa was all too keen on marriage either. But just as he hadn’t immediately shot her down because of the implications of not doing so, she was doing the same. Duty, it seemed, was a crushing, all-consuming force that ground those bound by it into submission.

  Elyssa was pretty enough, but Morgan did not want to marry her. His goals were clear-cut, and his only way to get Sarah back was to kill the agents of Chaos. However, he was offered not only an opportunity to end the war and save hundreds of thousands, but a chance to end the conflict and make his job a whole lot easier. If all he needed to do was kill the gods and not have to worry about war, Sarah’s return could be just a few months away.

  But what good would that do him if he were married to someone else?

  Aside from the fact that Katherine would be devastated about the fact that he’d continually turned her down only to marry Elyssa at the first chance he got, Sarah would be crushed as well. He also couldn’t fathom the idea of having children with her – or at all, really.

  The way Elyssa spoke about the marriage told Morgan that she would be happier alone as well. All she needed was an heir, and if that child belonged to him as well, perhaps that would be enough.

  Morgan hated himself for what he was about to say, and even as he forced his lips open to form the words, guilt and self-loathing assaulted him in waves. He did not suppress them, instead, letting them wash over him. He could feel the full brunt of what he was about to do.

  “I agree,” Morgan said, hating himself for saying those words. “But I have a few stipulations.”

  Elyssa, whose face had broken into a wide grin at those words, nodded.

  “Firstly, you will lend me aid in killing the gods who’ve tried to insight this war. I have my reasons for why I need them gone, and I won’t be discussing them.”

  Elyssa nodded in agreement. She needed them gone just as badly as he did, and she knew he could do something about it after watching him injure a goddess enough to make her flee.

  “Secondly, the marriage will be temporary, only until the gods are killed. You need an heir, and once you have one, they will assure the peace is kept.”

  Elyssa’s brows furrowed at that, and she didn’t immediately agree. This was the one part of the plan that Morgan absolutely needed to work. He would still go through with it otherwise – he couldn’t allow millions to die because he was selfish – but this was the only way he’d be able to be with Sarah once she came back. It would also be much easier for him to explain to Katherine if it was only a temporary solution, though he still wished she would just look for someone else.

  “I’ll need some time to think about it,” Elyssa said. “I’ll be back soon with my answer.”

  “Try not to take too long,” Morgan replied. “I have someone stuck out there, likely worried sick about me, and I’d rather them not do anythi
ng stupid while I’m away.”

  Elyssa nodded once more, then turned and swept out of the room.

  Morgan leaned back against the beam and once again closed his eyes. All he could picture was Sarah, and the accusing look she wore on her face bore into his very soul.

  24

  Elyssa swept from the room, closing the door behind her, and turned to face Gilderon, who was still standing right there.

  “You can’t seriously be thinking about going through with this,” he said, fixing her with a hard stare.

  “I am,” Elyssa replied, sweeping past him and striding briskly down the hall.

  “Why?” Gilderon demanded, hobbling after her as quickly as he could manage. “You can literally marry anyone in the entire Faeland! Someone who won’t dump you at the first opportunity and leave you with their child! Why would you subject yourself to something like that?”

  “Firstly, I don’t much like your tone, Gilderon,” Elyssa said, giving him a pointed look. “And, secondly, I’m going to agree because if I do, I’ll get everything I wanted. As much as I like the idea of having a bit of fun every once in a while, I don’t want to be married to someone. But I need to produce a legitimate heir, and having a child without being married illegitimatizes them automatically.

  “If I marry this human, who also happens to be quite handsome, I’ll get to have my fun. I’ll have a child, and then, once he defeats the Pantheon, he’ll leave, freeing me up to do as I please once more. Only this time, I won’t have any pressure to remarry, as I’ll already have had an heir.”

  Gilderon ground his teeth as she sped up even further, leaving him behind to stew in the corridor alone. Elyssa was just fine with that, and although she’d told Morgan she needed to think about his proposal, she was more than happy to comply. But she’d wanted to make him wait a bit before giving her answer. She’d also wanted to talk with Ragnar about it, and what better time to do so than right now?

  She was completely certain that he’d have some concerns, but she was confident he’d go along with it once she explained everything. He’d also probably think it was hilarious that she’d managed to worm her way out of a permanent arrangement, and the fact that it would make Gilderon angry would only make the dwarf laugh all the harder.

  ***

  Grace sat with her back to the bars of the moving cage, her knees pulled up to her chest, and her head propped against them. The wagon ride hadn’t exactly been a smooth one, and even now, she swayed from side to side as it ran over bumps and ridges in the tunnel floor. They’d been going for the better part of four hours by her last count, and though it was nearing midnight, she couldn’t bring herself to fall asleep.

  Lumia, on the other hand, had no such issue. She was currently curled up on her shoulder, her sides slowly rising and falling in a steady rhythm.

  Grace was too busy thinking about all the horrible things the cultists might do to her and where they were taking her. She’d heard the voice of Strangler once, through the lips of a corpse he’d taken over to do his bidding, and she knew how dangerous that beast was. She just didn’t understand why Lumia was so calm about all this, allowing them to be taken without a fight.

  Then again, Grace hadn’t exactly told anyone what had happened between her and the cultists before, so how could Lumia possibly be expected to know what they were in for?

  The cultists hadn’t spoken much at all as they traveled, entering the side of a mountain some two hours before and continuing on. Judging by the way they walked, weaving through tunnels without hesitation, they knew where they were going. The only light in the blackness that surrounded them came from the dozen or so torches that were carried by various members of the cult. Grace had a feeling that if they put them out, she wouldn’t be able to see her hand if it were two inches from her nose.

  The wagon went over a particularly deep rut in the ground, tossing Grace to one side and throwing Lumia from her shoulder. The drake hit the floor of their cage and woke with a start, expelling a small burst of white fire from her jaws.

  “What was that?” asked one of the cultists, whirling in place as they caught the flash out of the corners of their eyes.

  Grace just glared back at him, not deigning to offer an answer.

  The elf stared her down for a few moments before his lip curled in disgust.

  Lumia looked around for a few moments, her jaws opening wide as she yawned, before padding back over to her and hopping onto her shoulder.

  “Where are we, and how long have I been out for?” she asked, whispering the words directly into Grace’s ear.

  “In a tunnel of some sort,” Grace muttered, making sure that the rattling of the wagon was loud enough to drown her words out before they could reach the others. “You’ve been sleeping for about four hours.”

  She hesitated for a few moments before continuing.

  “We need to get out of here.”

  “Why bother?” Lumia replied. “We know Morgan was taken, and they’re probably going to lead us right to him.”

  “I don’t think these are the same people that took him,” Grace said, looking between the bars and out at the tunnel ahead.

  It looked to be opening up, the ceiling growing higher as they went. She briefly wondered if they were about to reach their destination and felt a small thrill of fear.

  “How can you be so sure?” Lumia asked.

  Grace bit her bottom lip for a few moments, debating whether or not she should say anything. Lumia then picked up on her emotions and decided to ask.

  “What’s wrong?”

  Grace blew out a long breath, feeling her heart begin to race as she finally let it all out. She told Lumia what had happened in Ivaldi’s forge and how she’d come face to face with the World Beast Strangler. She told her how it had controlled one of the cultists and how she was afraid that that was where they were being led right now.

  To her credit, Lumia listened in silence, not interrupting and allowing Grace to finish her story. When she was done speaking, Lumia pushed herself closer to the younger girl’s neck and pressed her nose into her cheek.

  “Why didn’t you tell us about this?” she asked, her voice kind and understanding.

  She wasn’t mad as Grace had feared, but rather, she sounded genuinely confused.

  “I was scared, I guess,” she answered, unable to turn and look the drake in the eye. “I was afraid that you wouldn’t let me come back, since Strangler knew who I was and might come after me again.”

  “You don’t need to keep secrets like that from us,” Lumia said. “Even if you had told Morgan about that, I doubt he’d have left you behind. The safest place for you would be with one of us, not back in the Five Kingdoms, where we couldn’t keep an eye on you. Besides, if you go through life without making a single enemy, you can hardly call yourself a supermage at all.”

  Grace felt a huge sense of relief when Lumia said that. Not only that, but the relief of finally telling someone what she’d experienced, what she’d been through, was oddly liberating.

  “What do we do now?” she asked, noting that the tunnel seemed to be coming to an end.

  “I can’t smell anything around that would pose a serious threat to me. So, when the wagon enters the open cavern, I’m going to take care of the cultists. As soon as I break free, you’re going to run back toward the tunnel and stay here until I’m done. Do you understand?”

  Grace nodded emphatically, grateful that Lumia agreed to break out. She tensed as they left the tunnel and entered into a massive crystal cavern. For several seconds, Grace felt like she’d lost the ability to breathe, all thoughts of the plan being driven from her mind as she stared around in open amazement.

  The ceiling sloped upward, towering well over a hundred feet above their heads at the highest point, and was open in several places, allowing light to filter in. What surprised her most was the fact that the light coming in seemed to be sunlight, which didn’t make any sense, as it should have been past midnight by her coun
t.

  “It looks like we’ve been brought into a Beast Zone,” Lumia said as the wagon trundled on, answering Grace’s question before she could ask.

  When she thought about it, it made sense. Breaker, the massive golden Elder Dragon that Morgan had had to poach a scale from, had been in a Beast Zone. If they were headed toward Strangler, it only made sense that it would be in one, too.

  She was distracted once more as they passed by a massive pillar of red crystal, which had light from the sunbeams reflecting off its surface, refracting as it passed through in some places and lighting it up from within. The entire cavern had a sort of surrealness to it that made Grace wonder if she was in some sort of dream. That illusion was shattered when Lumia jumped from her shoulder, her body already expanding as she did so.

  There was a cry of alarm from one of the cultists as the cage shattered, Lumia’s bulk smashing through the timers as though they were made of toothpicks as she grew to her full size. Grace leaped from the wagon, using her Body Shift to lighten herself and make her move faster.

  “Beast! Attack!” shouted one of the cultists, only for his body to be engulfed in a blast of crimson fire.

  He didn’t even have time to scream in the time that his body was burned to ash, crumbling to the ground in a mound of powdery dust. Light from the crystal reflected off Lumia’s brilliant scales, painting her in a multitude of breathtaking colors and giving Grace more than a few ideas for hair-color combinations.

  Focus, she angrily told herself as she shook her head. Now isn’t the time!

  A cultist ran at her from the side, swinging an oversized sword that had seen better days. To Grace, it seemed like he was moving awfully slowly, his moves telegraphed so blatantly that she’d have to have been blind not to see them. She easily ducked under the swing and came out inside the elf’s guard as she struck out with a punch.