Page 22 of Queen of Stars and Shadows

After that, I spend far too long debating when I should make my escape. I should use my magic to break open the lock and slip out, taking out the handful of guards I’d seen at the entrance.But I’d seen them place other people in nearby cells, women and men that look terrified. I can’t just leave them here while I walk out.

As I wait, pacing and turning over options in my mind, I hear two of them talking from a few cells down. They speak of the nightmares who had stolen them from their homes at night, of the horror of watching others being eaten while they survived. My mood grows blacker by the minute.

Avonia told me the nightmares obeyed her. If that was the case, why had these people been abducted and nearly turned into a meal? My brother trusts her. But I haven’t decided yet if I do. Right now, I know I need to get back to them, and not empty-handed. I need to bring Sarielle with me. She’s the key to ending this war and bringing peace to both of our realms.

The clatter of metal echoing down the corridor breaks my thoughts. I hear the voices of the guards moving down the corridor, and they turn toward where they’d taken Sarielle and her friend. A couple minutes later I hear footsteps coming back, and this time there’s a third set of them. They’ve taken someone out of their cell. And even though I can’t see much in the darkness, as they pass by, I know it’s Sarielle. I can feel her magic, that slow spin of nightmare and shadow within her. That magic that calls to mine, like we’re connected.

That magic that makes my blood pulse and my head spin as if enchanted by a song.

I let out a low growl. I’m quite certain I shouldn’t be feeling that way about my enemy.

I begin to pace in my cell again, trying to decide my next move. I can’t leave here without Sarielle, and now I’ve wasted my chance lamenting the fate of my cellmates. Do I wait for her to come back? What if she doesn’t?

An hour passes, and I’m about out of patience when I hear a sound. Or rather, many sounds, coming from the surface.

A cacophony of screams and shrieks, most certainly not human. Trumpets, the same as the warriors who brought us here. But also another set, these trumpets unfamiliar to me.

Someone is attacking the royal palace of Eldare.

I can’t wait any longer. I have to get out of this cell and hope I can find Sarielle in the midst of the chaos. Calling my magic, I break the lock and step out into the corridor. Surprised murmurs come from the people in the cells nearby. After a moment’s debate, I stride to their cells and break the locks there also.

“Follow me,” I say gruffly. “But once we get outside the barracks, you’re on your own.”

They nod, eyes wide and fearful, and do as they’re told.

I move down the corridor until it intersects with the other one and pause. Suppressing a growl, I go straight instead of heading right toward the exit. The cells on that end of the corridor are all empty. I could have sworn that Sarielle’s friend was placed down that row of cells, but she’s not there.

Moving back to the junction in corridors, I turn and move swiftly toward the exit, not overly concerned about the guards stationed by the stairs to the surface. The others fall in line behind me, they apparently hadn’t wanted to risk heading out on their own, not that I can blame them. But when we reach the end of the shorter corridor, the guards aren’t there. Apparently, the attack above has drawn them from their posts, to assist or to flee.

I jog up the stone steps into the barracks above. Men and women are running back and forth, putting on battle leathers, strapping swords to their sides. I hear the sharp neighing of several horses from what must be the stable not far off. Remembering how we’d been brought in, I turn right and head down the hallway, my cellmates following on my heels.

“Hey!” yells one of the warriors, rushing toward us from down the hall.

My shadows and my ravens form around me, a big black cloud that fills the width of the wide stone passageway. The eyes of the warrior grow huge and he begins to back up, stammering inanely before turning to run. I don’t turn to look behind to see if my followers are still following, or if they, too, have fled in terror. I press on, jogging through the melee toward the exit.

I don’t encounter further resistance, everyone else is too busy rushing to the palace’s defense to care who we are and if we’re escaping. Before too long, I come to a wide wooden door that leads to the outside. I shove it open and night air flows in around me. I may not have been beneath the earth for very long, but I still feel a rush of relief to be back outside again.

I turn to the others. “I’d go north if I were you. It sounds like the attack is coming from south of here. Don’t trust the roads, stay within the forest.”

One of the women who looks barely out of girlhood turns to look up at me. “You’re not coming?”

“I have business to attend to here.” Without another word, I jog off in the opposite direction, going south around the barracks’ wall.

It doesn’t take long to skirt the wall and come around to the main entrance, the one that faces the palace in the distance. There’s a wide field that separates the two, and warriors flood it, making haste toward the palace and the attacking army. Here beneath the sky, I can hear the sounds of battle all the more acutely. The shrieks of the nightmares as they circle the palace, diving down occasionally to pluck an unlucky victim from the courtyard. Steel on steel. And a repetitive, resoundingthudas the attackers work on taking down the palace gates with a battering ram.

The attacking army has a catapult as well, launching small flaming missiles into the palace grounds. Already, smoke fills the air, and flames can be seen taking hold here and there. Itlooks like a hellscape, and it can’t have been more than a quarter hour since the attack began. It’s abundantly clear that Eldare is not accustomed to hostility. At this rate, the palace will have fallen to the invaders before dawn breaks.

But none of that is my concern. I’m only worried about finding Sarielle and returning to my brother. We need to get back to Valaron.

The most likely place they would have taken her is the palace, which of course is the worst possible place to be right now. After another few moments to scan the scene before me and assess my plan, I run toward the palace, following the line of warriors heading that way. I’m halfway across the field when I feel a strange sensation. My magic stirs within me, my shadows roiling, and there’s a tug as if something is pulling me backward. As if I am tethered to something—or someone.

I halt and move out of the path of the warriors heading toward the palace. “That way!” someone yells at me, pointing sharply, but I ignore them. My eyes scan the distance between me and the barracks. Then, I see her standing there.Sarielle. In the shadows beneath a cluster of trees outside the wall. My heart crawls toward my throat. She’s clearly waiting for me.

Why do I feel a connection to this person I barely know, this woman who has betrayed my family and my realm?

As if entranced, I walk slowly toward her. I’d been looking for her just moments before, but now thatshe’dfoundme, something within me resists. I hear my brother’s words ringing through my head, telling me all the terrible things she’d done, and why it’s so important that we capture her. But another, much stronger part of me is drawn toward her like the moon pulls the tides.

I’m not sure I could stay away from her if I tried.

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