At that moment, a messenger burst into the room. He skidded to one knee in front of Tanaquar. “Your Majesty, I bring news. A huge contingent of soldiers has been spotted marching on the road to Elqaneve. They came out of the Tygerian Mountains. They are armed and said to be at least a thousand strong. They have not reached Kelvashan yet but are expected to breech the borders by morning.”
Tanaquar turned to her advisors. “Go and prepare. Marshal the armies to begin leaving before the night is out. We must be there to meet the enemy.”
As they left the room, Tanaquar and her bodyguard alone remained. She waited till they were gone, then turned back to us. “So, my friends . . . I can offer no solace except that we will do what we can. Telazhar cannot capture the spirit seals. The danger grows with every hour.”
“We will go in search of them, Your Majesty.” A familiar voice echoed through the room and we turned.
Trillian was standing there, along with Smoky, Shade, and Rozurial. Trillian looked banged up pretty bad, but he was alive. Camille let out a little cry and ran over to him, throwing herself into his arms. He kissed her, pressing his lips to her hair, her face, her neck.
“Menolly? Chase and Sharah . . . are they all right?” Her voice was shaking now, and I was as afraid to hear the answer as she was.
Trillian nodded. “Yes, my love. They’re all right, though Sharah went into labor.”
“I traveled through the Ionyc Sea to fetch Smoky and Rozurial. They returned with me and helped rescue the others. Everyone’s safely back Earthside now.” Shade held out his arm and I slid into his embrace, wanting never to leave the shelter of his protection.
Camille glanced up at Trillian. “Did you . . . did you happen to see our father anywhere? He was in the throne room with Queen Asteria and . . . she’s dead. She was crushed under the rubble, as far as we know. As far as Father . . . we have no news. We don’t know whether he was . . .”
Her lip quivered and she sucked in a deep breath. The fact that they’d been just starting to iron out their relationship had to make this doubly hard. He’d disowned her for a while, and she’d walked away, accepting his decision but not knuckling under to his prejudice. They’d just made up a few months ago, an uneasy truce to see if they could forge a new bond. And now, this.
“We will look, my wife. We will go to Elqaneve and look. I am a dragon, these goblins cannot harm me.” Smoky tipped her chin up, smiling. His hair rose up and stroked her shoulders gently.
“You don’t know—you don’t know what it was like!” She broke away and turned to me. “They don’t understand how . . .”
I stepped up by her side. “Guys, she’s right. Trillian, you have no clue what was going on while you were trapped down there. The sorcerers, they raised a sentient storm. It was massive, far more massive than anything I’ve ever seen. That . . . thing . . . destroyed the city. It wasn’t an earthquake—not a natural one. Those damned lightning bolts went barreling into the ground, setting off the shaking. The storm was alive, malevolent. If Telazhar and his cronies can do that, what else are they capable of?”
Trillian caught my gaze and slowly shook his head. “We must find the Knights. If we don’t, then everything we’ve been working for goes down in ashes. Because if those loons that Asteria set to wearing the spirit seals break free and are unprotected, there is no hope. They aren’t bred to fend for themselves over here. Venus, maybe—he’s a wily old shaman, but the others? Helpless babes in the blazing wood. Telazhar will find them, of that you can be sure. And he will take them to Shadow Wing, who will destroy their souls and take the seals. And then . . . he will be all but unstoppable.”
Camille and I looked at each other, mutely. They were right, of course. “We can help—” she started, but Smoky shook his head.
“No, wife. You cannot. Trillian has been a mercenary in Queen Tanaquar’s army before. I’m a dragon. Rozurial can travel through the Ionyc Sea and he’s armed to the hilt. The three of us will stay here. You must return to Earthside. We cannot be worrying about you or it will distract us.”
Reluctantly, I saw the value of what they were saying. “Fine. But you have to let Trenyth know that Sharah is alive. She’s in line to take the throne if the other heirs are dead. Tell him, please.”
Smoky inclined his head. “Then, we shall be off, before the armies marching on Elqaneve arrive there.”
I wondered how he knew just what was going on and opened my mouth to ask when Shade held up his hand. “No, love. I know what you are going to ask. Trenyth actually found a Whispering Mirror still intact. I do not know where, but he found one. He told us everything, including the soldiers marching toward Elqaneve. They know scouts who weren’t in the city, who survived, got word to them.”
I wanted to slap him. To ask why he hadn’t told us that in the beginning, but considering the trauma and chaos of the night, I didn’t have the heart.
Tanaquar stood and we all curtseyed and bowed. “Then, I accept your help, Trillian, Smoky, and Rozurial. You will leave for Elqaneve immediately. And the rest of you—go home. Go home and be safe, and wait for word. Even here, the roads are too dangerous to send you out in public—we cannot know who might be lurking. So I will send you a guard to escort you to a hidden portal that leads Earthside.” With that, she turned and left the room.
Camille was whispering to Trillian and Smoky, and I could tell she was upset but we were all too tired to fight, to argue, to even cry.
I glanced up at Shade. “You are staying with us Earthside?”
“Someone has to protect the house, and so I will stay. And Vanzir and Shamas and Morio. But the elfin guards must leave for home—they will be needed there. Perhaps Camille can ask Aeval for additional support from the Earthside Fae to guard the house.” He pressed his lips against my forehead, and I wanted to lose myself in him, to forget the events of the past six hours.
I could not believe it was still today—this morning seemed a million miles away. Everything had seemed so normal, and now the world stood turned on its head. Like an extended nightmare, when I closed my eyes, all I could see were the endless fires and lightning strikes amid a cloud of dust and soot. Too much. Too much. I wanted to turn back the clock, to pretend this had never happened. But nothing would ever erase the memory of the storm as it rained down death.
The door opened and a guard peeked in, motioning for us to follow him. Camille let go of her men and joined Shade and me. Her lips were set in that determined look that I knew covered up a well of pain and fear. But she shook out her hair and stood proudly.
“Be safe, my loves. Be safe, Rozurial. Return to us under the watchful eye of the Moon Mother.” She turned and walked toward the door, not looking back.
I raised my hand in salute, and joined her, followed by Shade. Silently, we left the room, and just as silently, followed the guard down the hallway and into another chamber—a small library filled with scrolls, and a writing desk and chair. He walked up to a relatively bare wall and, in one quick motion, pressed a brick. A passageway sprang open and we followed him through into a narrow stairwell, which led down, spiraling into a lower level with a simple bed, chair, and table. A guard was standing at attention and after whispering with our guide, he motioned for us to turn around. Another moment, and we turned back to see a door to yet another secret chamber. In this chamber, a portal waited, like the one in the Wayfarer.
The guard hustled us into the portal, and the next thing we knew, the world shifted, the veils parted, and we were sailing home.
Blinking, I realized we were in Grandmother Coyote’s portal. And she was there, softly smiling, waiting for us.