Her grandmother was quiet for several moments. Once they reached her bedroom suite, Asteria asked her to sit down.
The sitting room had old-fashioned looking white velvet couches trimmed in dark wood and marble tabletops. The wallpaper was covered in stylized roses. Sunny sat on the couch across from Asteria while her nurses took her pulse and gave her some kind of oxygen mask.
“It’s called the Withering,” Asteria said, after several deep breaths. “It is incurable by Healers, and usually someone much older would get it. Given our long lifespans, sometimes, when our people reach a certain age, our bodies begin getting weaker and weaker until they can no longer sustain us. I am at the very beginning stages now, so I only feel weak some days. The disease progresses differently for everyone, so there is no telling how long I have left.” Her voice was grave, but she lifted her chin in an effort to be strong.
Sunny had a feeling that strong was all Asteria knew how to be.
Sunny felt like she couldn’t breathe. She had already lost both of her parents, and now after she had just met her grandmother, she didn’t want to lose her so soon. Not to mention, she and Jo were both stuck in this world, and now they would be stuck without any family at all.
And underneath it all, Sunny wasn’t ready to be the queen of a land she had just found out existed. She didn’t know if she would ever be ready. With her grandmother sick and putting all of her hope in Sunny, she wasn’t sure how to tell her that this wasn’t what she wanted.
Then, something Asteria had said snagged her attention. “What do you mean by long lifespans?” Sunny asked.
Her grandmother furrowed her brow. “Our people live a very long time, much longer than most other animals who inhabit this planet. I myself am four hundred and twenty-six.”
Sunny gasped. Did this mean she and Jo would also live long lives, like some mythical being from a fairytale?
“How long do the people of Earth live?”
Asteria asked.
Sunny shook her head, still comprehending.
“Most people only live into their eighties and nineties, with a few exceptions who live into their early one hundreds.”
Her grandmother gaped at her. “It is very rare for a person here to die that young of natural causes. They would only be considered a young adult at that age. Most people live well into their five and six hundreds.”
Sunny couldn’t believe it. She couldn’t wrap her mind around this new information. This, added to everything else, had completely overwhelmed her.
“How old was our mother when she left with me?” she asked, shaking. She was almost afraid to hear the answer.
Asteria thought back. “I believe she was one hundred and eighty-two if I’m not mistaken, but that was one hundred years ago.”
“Wait, hold on a second,” Sunny said, holding up a hand. “If I was only two when we left, how am I only twenty-four?”
Asteria frowned, “No love, you are one hundred and two. When you left, it was the year 5117, and now it is 5219.”
Sunny tried to sort that out in her head. It shouldn’t have been possible, and yet she doubted her grandmother would lie to her about such a thing. Sunny wasn’t a physicist, but she was going to go ahead and assume that meant time worked differently there. But how?
Sunny thought of her mother. Her and Jo’s youthful mother, who had told jokes and taught Sunny to dance, had been almost two hundred years old. If time worked differently there, how much time had passed on Earth? When they went back home would everything be different, or would it seem as if they’d only been gone a couple hours?
"You're a lot like her," Asteria said softly, interrupting her thoughts. Sunny knew by “her” Asteria meant her mother.
"What was she like here, before me?"
"She. . .Eleyna was very outgoing and kind.
She loved your father immensely and when you came along. . .well, I'd never seen either of them so happy. I remember you liked music so she'd take you down to one of the old ballrooms with mirrors along the wall and play music for you." Sunny's breath caught. "She never met a person who didn't love her. She was smart and witty, and I missed her deeply when she left." She choked up for a second. "She was a Thief, as you are."
Sunny's eyes filled with tears and she had no words to add to any of that, so she just placed her hand on Asteria’s, and they shared a moment of silence.
But Sunny's thoughts were still spiraling around in her head until it all welled up inside of her and she couldn’t help but blurt out, “Idon’twanttobequeen.”
Asteria went still. “I’m sorry?”
Sunny sighed sadly. “While I’m so thankful that I got to meet you and learn about my mother and father, I don’t think I’m ready to be a queen. I didn’t even go to college, I’m just a dance teacher. I had a predictable, easy life back on Earth, and this doesn’t feel like my home.”
Her grandmother stared at her silently.
“I’m sorry,” Sunny whispered, holding back tears. “My only responsibilities have always been myself and Jo, and I don’t think I can be responsible for an entire kingdom. I can’t make life-changing decisions. This morning I needed help deciding what to wear! I blurt out the first thing that pops into my mind. If you haven’t noticed, I’m extremely impatient.” The tears were falling now.
Asteria was quiet for several moments before saying, “No one is ever ready to be Queen, love. Your father shared your fears and you remind me a lot of him. He was also rash and impulsive and said the first thing on his mind. But for the short time that he was king, the people loved him, and he started making great changes. Of course, my main concern is your happiness, but I’m afraid the only way back is through a Traveler, and it is such a rare Gift I do not know of any.”
Sunny had suspected as much, but hearing it confirmed filled her with defeat. She needed time to think. “I’m sorry, I have to go. I need to think things through and talk to my sister. Is there anything I can do for you before I go?” Sunny couldn’t meet her grandmother’s eyes.
“No, thank you. Take all the time you need, love,” the queen said softly.
Sunny didn’t know if there was that much time in the world.
Chapter 16
Leo
Writhia, 5219
Vianna
The metallic scent of blood hit Leo first as he stepped through the wall, still completely invisible. He was in the library of the house the king had acquired for him and his party to stay in.
Leo felt bad for the previous residents of the house, who were now buried in the backyard.
Sloppy, sloppy , he thought.
Azmodeous was slipping. He was usually much more careful.
Leo took in the scene before him. There was a man on his knees, bruised and bloodied, in the center of the room. Tall, slim, and slightly balding, he looked harmless.
King Azmodeous loomed over him, face straining. There were two guards behind the man, holding his arms and head back, forcing him to look up at the king.
The man’s eyes were squeezed shut, his teeth gritted. He was fighting it.
As Leo watched the battle of wills, he realized this man was a Murmur as well and that he was fighting the king’s invasion of his mind every step of the way.
Around them, the guards looked on, eyes glazed over from the king’s brainwashing.
Leo watched the king carefully, taking note of his features. The high, sharp cheekbones, the pale skin, the tall, lean build, the dark brown hair, and the sharp chin. He had wondered why the king wanted those girls so badly.
Yesterday, as he watched Airoldi make a fool of himself with the blonde, he had gained an inkling as to why the king would want them. The flash of suspicion had come when the brunette had come running up, her face strangely familiar.
Now, as he watched the king, he understood why. The girl had been tall and willowy, much paler than her sister. Though she’d shared her sister's smile and blue eyes, her features had been much sharper, almost ethereal, and where t
he sister was blonde, her hair was a deep brown.
Another realization had struck him last night as he was tutoring Airoldi in blocking his mind. Leo had brought along the journal he had learned from, and as he reviewed the writing he hadn’t set his eyes on in years, one particular detail stood out among the rest.
The words Eleyna Corvinus were scrawled across the inside cover in an elegant script.
Eleyna Corvinus, the former queen of Vianna and the alleged mother of the two women he sought. How had her journal ended up in the Ettrian King’s quarters?
Leo had a pretty good idea.
He had messaged his tech girl to look deeper into it to find out how Eleyna and the king may have been involved. He didn’t like making assumptions without facts.
“Tell me everything,” King Azmodeus fumed in a rough voice, drawing Leo’s attention back to the matter at hand. It seemed the king was having to use more effort than usual, most likely because he was trying to compel another Murmur, two guards, and Airoldi.
He glanced at Airoldi, who was on guard near the door.
Hide it better, Leo thought.
He could see the obvious rage and helplessness in the general’s eyes. His body was following the king’s command, but Leo knew his mind was aware.
His attention was drawn back to the man on the floor at the sound of his anguished scream. The guards had broken his arm, and it hung limply from his shoulder, bone and sinew bright-red, blood leaking from where the bone had broken the skin.
The man cracked. He couldn’t fight against both the pain and the power of Azmodeous.
“I am to train the princess! The younger one. . .” Leo heard the pain and regret in the man’s voice as he broke off to let out a sob.
This was the tutor the Viannese queen had hired to tutor young Josephine. The only Murmur in Vianna, as far as Leo knew. Airoldi had had to tell the king about the lessons. He would not accept it if the general came back from his surveillance with no captives and no information. It was an every-man- for-himself sort of thing that Leo understood all too well after growing up in the Ettrian Court.
Sweat was dripping into the man’s eyes, his breath getting faster and faster. At last, he choked out, “The queen didn’t give me any other information, except that the girl’s a Murmur and needs to be trained.”
“And you were to train her, this young Murmur?” Azmodeous asked, in his calm, lethal voice.
“Y-yes!” he stammered out. “Tomorrow!
The queen reserved a room for us in the local training center.” The man looked up with tears in his eyes.
Azmodeous smiled a small smile. “I believe you,” he told him.
The man slumped in relief and started to thank the king, until Azmodeous cocked his head to the side in a birdlike gesture. The man let out a groan before he went limp in the guard’s hold and they let him fall to the floor with a thud.
There was blood leaking from his dead, unseeing eyes.
“Get rid of him,” the king said calmly, as he stepped over the body and headed for the door. “I have a Murmur to train.”
Chapter 17
Jo
Writhia, 5219
Vianna
Where am I? Jo wondered, feeling confused and disoriented. A horrible sense of foreboding took root in her gut as she took in her surroundings.
At first, Jo thought she was back in the Mistwood, but things there looked different. Yes, there was a foggy mist encompassing her, but this place had an ancient feel to it. She could sense an evilness to its history. From what she could see, it looked like there was a mountain in the distance with tiny, ramshackle buildings sprawling across its foothills. The sound of lapping waves echoed in the distance.
Where is Sunny? Jo wondered, panicking. Things were definitely wrong. She felt exposed, like she was being watched. She had had this feeling before, after waking from a nightmare in the middle of the night. The vulnerable feeling of being watched by someone she couldn’t see.
Without warning, her limbs started moving of their own accord.
Jo tried to scream, but no sound came out. It was as if she had no control over her body. As she was walking, she tried taking note of the environment she was in. Looking for anything that might help, trying anything that might make her stop walking.
Nothing helped, and as the path continued, Jo realized she was heading straight for the water.
When she got to the shore, it looked like she was on a remote island. She couldn’t see how far the body of water went back, but it was similar to the ocean. Her body stopped when she finally reached the shore. Jo felt her body crouch down, the waves lapping at her feet, as she looked into the water.
If Jo could’ve screamed, she would have.
As she looked into the ominous sea, her reflection stared back at her, but the expression on its face didn’t match the screaming emotions going on inside her mind. Her face portrayed a secretive smile. She looked the perfect picture of calm and collected. Her reflection slowly lifted her hand and waved, and that was when Jo felt her body jerk forward and dive into the water.
Saltwater filled her mouth, and she thought she was going to drown. As she felt the liquid begin to slide down her throat, she prepared herself for the feeling of choking down saltwater, but instead, no pain came, and she felt her chest expand.
She was breathing underwater.
Still terrified, her body began swimming, deeper and deeper into the dark sea.
In the corner of her vision, Jo saw the monsters that had attacked her in the Swarog’s pond. They were swimming right toward her, and yet, Jo kept swimming. She felt something razor- sharp slice her thigh. Another nipped her arm, and then she was gliding through the water so fast that everything passed by in a blur.
Jo swam straight into a tiny cave’s entrance.
The opening narrowed more and more until Jo could barely move. The claustrophobia started setting in until, thankfully, it opened wider and she could see the surface.
When her head broke the surface, she realized she was in some sort of crypt. There were harsh markings on the walls which had torches anchored to them.
As the water became more shallow and she started walking, there were suddenly alligators lined up, as if guarding something. They started snapping at her as she passed.
Inside, Jo shrieked and pounded, dying to escape, but she felt herself calmly walking through the crypt. Eventually, Jo realized what the alligators were protecting as her body headed straight for a stone sarcophagus. Her instincts were screaming at her not to open the coffin. “Don’t even go near it!” they seemed to shout at her, but alas, she had no say in the matter.
When Jo put a steady hand on the coffin, she felt an intense longing seep into her, but a longing for what, she didn’t know. She saw a drop of water hit the coffin and realized she was crying. Her whole body trembled as her hand went for the opening, and then, “JO!” she heard Sunny scream. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING? JO WAKE UP!”
Jo abruptly came to, the dark fog of her dream lifting, and discovered she was standing over her sister’s bed, with a knife in her hand.
Jo stared at the knife for several seconds before dropping it and backing away until her back hit the wall.
Sunny slowly climbed out of bed, eyes darting around the room. They landed briefly on the knife before locking onto Jo. Sunny took an apprehensive step toward her sister before rushing over. She placed her hands gently on Jo’s shoulders. “Are you okay?” she asked.
Jo was amazed. She had been standing over Sunny’s bed with a knife, yet Sunny asked if she was okay?
Tears slid down Jo's cheeks as she stammered, “I-I’m sorry!”
Sunny wrapped her arms around her, and though she was trying to act unaffected, Jo felt her body shudder.
“It was a nightmare,” she whispered, “I couldn’t control myself. I wasn’t even holding a knife in my dream. I was so scared, Sun.” She sobbed into her sister’s shoulder as Sunny held her tighter.
Jo told Sun
ny about her nightmare, trying not to leave out any details. Her sister gasped, and her eyes got bigger and bigger throughout the story.
Sunny started pacing, trying to think through what had happened. Jo could hear her thoughts whizzing to and fro as her busy mind worked.
“We'll have to tell Asteria. I don't want to bring it up to anyone, but this is serious. I'm not too naive to think someone in this world wouldn't have the ability to control dreams," Sunny said. "Where’d you find that knife?”
“It’s the knife I keep under my pillow.”
Sunny raised her eyebrows.
“I don’t know where I got it, Sunny!” Jo practically shouted, still freaking out.
Sunny held up her hands in defeat. “It’s alright. We’ll ask Asteria about it. Maybe you should sleep in here with me tonight?”
Jo didn't know if that was such a good idea. That dream had felt so real. What if Sunny hadn't been able to wake her up? Then what would've happened?
Their grandmother already looked at Jo differently than she looked at Sunny. Jo wasn’t sure why, but Asteria always looked at her expectantly, as if at any moment Jo would rip off a mask and become an entirely different person. She dreaded having to add suspicion to that look as well.
It took a while for Jo to calm down enough to get ready for breakfast. All through the meal, her hands were shaking, and she barely said a word.
Marzanna kept giving her concerned looks, and subtly slipped a jar toward her.
"It'll help your nerves," she whispered.
Jo took it, instantly feeling a tiny bit better.
Once breakfast was finished, Jo and Sunny waited until everyone left, then they told Asteria about the dream.
Asteria had been quiet during breakfast as well, and when they told her about the dream, Jo could have sworn she saw annoyance flash through her eyes before disappearing, replaced by a look of alarm.
Trying to be inconspicuous, Jo nudged her way into her grandmother's thoughts. Usually, when she entered a person's mind, it was like looking at a piece of art; there were many complex layers, always changing and reconsidering decisions.
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