Page 61 of Heir of the Autumn Queen

Chapter Twenty-nine

Istay at the temple for two more days, working in the garden and shelving books. I find out from Priscilla that indeed, many of the priests and priestesses here have gruesome histories, pasts riddled with abuse and servitude. Working side by side, many of them share their testimonies with me, further igniting a righteous fury in me and giving me a new sense of determination to change the laws if I’m ever able to do so, whether as queen or otherwise.

When I’m not working alongside the priests and priestesses, I spend my time in the library. One morning, a dictionary of the language of the gods catches my eye, and I can’t curb my curiosity. I flip it open to the ‘d’ section, searching for the word that Finn called me several times.

Dracona…

Dradena…

Drakory…

Drangáli… 'my beloved’.

He called me hisbeloved.My heart feels like it just got stabbed anew, his betrayal that much more hurtful. My eyes well with tears, a fresh wave of grief washing over me. I give myself one minute of self-pity, one minute to grieve what I thought he was to me, before snapping the dictionary closed and moving on. I can’t let myself dwell on my own past, especially considering there are far bigger issues in the world than my pathetic love life, or lack thereof.

I focus my attention on researching twins, combing through ancient texts that have any reference to those who shared a womb. Just as my godparents told me, twins are incredibly rare, and when they combine their power, be it witchcraft, elemental abilities, or any other supernatural gifts, they can become unstoppable. I even found one text that suggested that the original set of twins were the direct offspring of Aeron and Dafina themselves, but when I asked Priscilla about it, she dismissed me, saying it was just a legend.

I also learn more about the royal families and succession of power, everything having been documented in a book calledThe History of the Crown; Nobility in the Four Kingdoms.I find the record of my parent’s marriage and of my birth. It’s strange to see my name recorded in a book of such significance, but I’m coming to accept that my existence is important, or at least it was back then.

There’s a record of my mother’s death and my father’s banishment, and of Selena’s ascension, but after that, there’s nothing. According to the book, no one has ever challenged a family member for the crown, it’s always just been passed down to the firstborn heir, be it prince or princess. I must have inherited my mother’s family name because she was first in line, along with her sister, for the throne of the Autumn Kingdom, while Valko was a second-born son of the Southlands.

Did my mother even want to be queen of the Westlands, or did Selena simply end her life before she could lay claim to the throne? I wonder then about my mother’s parents, my grandparents, and if they’re still alive. The text reveals they died several years after Selena’s coronation, and a bitter part of me wonders if my aunt killed them as well; she killed her own twin sister, why wouldn’t she kill her parents too?

In all my research about twins, I never come across anything about what happens if twins were born into a royal family, making me wonder how that works. Since neither is technically a first-born or second-born heir, how is it determined which one will rule? Not wanting to bother Priscilla with my pestering questions, my research comes to a standstill.

By the third morning, convinced that Brutus and his cronies haven’t tracked me here, I’m ready to leave. I say goodbye to my temporary sanctuary and promise Priscilla that I’ll return someday to visit. I thank her and Felix profusely for welcoming me, but I’m still far from convinced that I’m the ‘Golden One’ they told me about.

I mount Shadow, who seems as reluctant to leave our temporary reprieve as I am, and wave goodbye. With my knapsack full of homegrown food and my heart full of respect for these people, we set out toward the Southlands. A quick look at the map of Iaselion in the library reminded me that the Summer Kingdom is just on the other side of the clearing, but the capital city of Kelderon is several hundred miles further south on the sea. It will take at least a week for us to arrive there, and that’s if we fly most of the wayandavoid trouble. Knowing my track record, theavoiding troublepart is unlikely at best. Assured at worst.

Meeting with King Adrian,myuncle, is as good a place to start as any. I have no idea what he’s like or if he’ll even receive me, but I don’t have many other options at this point. Out of everything I’ve encountered thus far in my travels, the thought of meeting him makes me the most nervous.What if he doesn’t like me? What if he decides it’s more politically beneficial to turn me over to Selena, just like King Cadogan tried to do?

A humorless laugh spills out of my mouth, and I once again curse myself for my naivety. It’s humiliating that I thought Finn would be my new family, my partner in this fight against my aunt. I reinforce the armor around my heart, not allowing myself to feel anything other than hatred. He’s dead to me; just a learning opportunity, however painful it was.

We come to the edge of the clearing, and I hesitate before crossing the border to the Southlands. What if Brutus is already here, waiting for me? Or another unforeseen enemy who knows my location? The Blest Quarter offered me safety, guaranteed survival even. Once I take one more step, all of that security disappears. I take a deep breath to steady myself, closing my eyes to savor what may be my last moment of peace for a while. I open my eyes and nudge Shadow forward.

To my complete and utter relief, no one is there to jump out at me. I’m instantly hit with the smell of the air here, so different from the strange atmosphere of the meadow we just came from. While the Blest Quarter seemed to exist outside of the boundaries of time, unaffected by the changing of the seasons or different kinds of weather, the Southlands are fresh and sunny, much warmer than the Winter Kingdom was. I can hear birds chirping, bees buzzing, and wildlife scuttling about in the brush; all pleasant, familiar sounds that help me relax a little.

We cut through the thickly wooded forest in search of a path; I don’t really want to travel along the main road for fear of being tracked more easily, but if we could find it and then travel alongside it while still hidden in the woods, that would be ideal. I’ll need to make for a town as soon as possible to replace my bow; the absence of its weight on my back feels strange, a layer of comfort stripped away, even with Finn’s sword at my side.

Once again, my thoughts drift toward Finn. It’s like he’s threaded his way into my blood, so much so that I’m unable to avoid thinking about him for more than a few minutes at a time. I wonder if things would’ve been different if I had been honest with him about who I was from the beginning, even though he already knew. I cut off the thought before I can start romanticizing the time I spent traveling with Finn. If I think about how easy and fun that week we spent together was, I’ll never be able to stay emotionally guarded if our paths cross again. I remind myself that I don’t even reallyknowhim; he’s spent two centuries on this earth, and the time we spent together is nothing but a blip in comparison.

Shadow and I walk most of the day, only stopping to use the bathroom and eat lunch around noon. By the time the sun is setting, I’ve picked a spot to make camp in a grove of apple trees. They appear to be naturally occurring rather than planted intentionally for farming, and we have yet to see another person in the woods, so I feel comfortable enough to build a small fire here. It’s not freezing by any means, but the temperature has dropped pretty significantly with the disappearance of the sun. Shadow grazes lazily as I eat my dinner, courtesy of the Blest Quarter, and sit near the fire. I stare into the flames, hypnotized by the way they flicker and crackle, the sound of the embers popping offering some semblance of normalcy, despite the strangeness of my circumstances. I lay down, using my knapsack as a pillow, and continue to watch the flames as my eyes drift closed.

I sleep lightly, still vaguely aware of the sounds around me; Shadow shorts then groans, indicating that something is near enough to make her nervous. I open my eyes and look straight ahead as a giant, gray wolf stares at me from the trees, about thirty feet away. It’s significantly bigger than a normal wolf, so big it could even be considered the size of a pony. I’m instantly on high alert, knowing that wolves tend to travel in packs, but I don’t sit up. The wolf just stares at me, watching curiously through its amber eyes, and I stare right back. Shadow knows the wolf is there, but seems otherwise unaffected by its presence, which is sort of odd. I curse Brutus, once again annoyed that I don’t have my bow, knowing a dagger wouldn’t do much damage; if a wolf was close enough for me to use my dagger, it would likely be tearing into me already. I sit up slowly, never taking my eyes off the huge animal.

It sits down on its haunches, panting contentedly as it watches me. It’s a little unnerving, but I don’t feel like we’re in any real danger. Maybe it’s not attacking because it’s alone and knows it wouldn’t be able to take Shadow down by itself, or maybe it already ate. I laugh to myself, slightly dumbfounded. The only other wolves I’ve ever come into contact with were in Staghorn, and the pack there is wild, feral. But this wolf seems calm, tame even. As if it can sense my thoughts, it lays down and sets its head on its massive front paws, just like a domesticated dog would do; like it’s telling me it means us no harm. I lay back down myself, still watching it, but less wary than before.

Suddenly, a howl sounds in the distance, and the wolf lifts its head. It listens, ears perky, before another howl cuts through the trees, carried on the warm breeze. It stands then, looks at me one more time for a long moment, and then is gone, disappearing into the forest. I’m a bit shaken by the whole interaction, but figure with Shadow here, I don’t need to sit up all night waiting to see if it returns with its pack; she’ll let me know if it comes back. I add some more twigs to the fire before closing my eyes again to sleep.

The wolf does not return.

∞∞∞

The next day of travel looks basically the same as the previous one. We do fly for a bit at dawn, just so I can see if there’s anything nearby, but we can stay far more hidden, and therefore safer, in the trees. Since there was no sign of civilization, even from the better vantage point of the air, it will probably be another day or two before we arrive in the closest town. I watched the trees all day for the wolf, but I never saw it, and by the evening, I’m on my last bit of food left from the Blest Quarter, and I don’t have my bow to try to catch anything small enough to clean and gut by the time the sun goes down. My stomach is still growling even after I eat the stale bread and cheese, but I’ll just have to stay hungry until I arrive in the next town, hopefully sometime tomorrow.

Tonight we’re camping near a stream, small enough that there’s no fish to catch but large enough to fill my canteen. I build a fire, the only light around for miles, and the darkness seems especially heavy tonight. When I set out on this journey, I don’t think I considered how much time I would be spending alone. Under normal circumstances, I would say I need alone time to center myself, unlike Briar. She would be around people every second of every day if she could, but I prefer a small, close group of friends that I can trust and rely on. And when I met Finn, I didn’t think I would have to keep traveling alone. But here I am, by myself. Well, aside from Shadow. As if she knows I’m feeling lonely, she walks my way and nudges my shoulder from behind, giving me some much-needed physical affection.

She perks up and looks straight ahead of me, ears pointed up as she listens to the woods around us. She snorts and shakes her head, and I already know what I’ll see when I look across the stream. Sure enough, the same grey wolf sits and watches, closer than last night, but still far enough away that I don’t feel threatened. Aside from the initial scare, Shadow doesn’t seem to mind either. The wolf lays down, just as it did the night before, and I laugh to myself.

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