Page 8 of Queen of Stars and Shadows

I shake my head. “No. I’m not sure why I couldn’t…”

I trail off, and we fall into silence, neither of us wanting to state the obvious possibility for why I can’t find Lilette.

“That’s okay,” Zara says after a moment. “We’ll find Uitan’s husband first thing and see if they have any leads. Aside from that, Asher has exceptional tracking abilities.”

“Oh?”

She nods but doesn’t elaborate further.

As if to punctuate the dire tasks ahead of us, the sky begins to lighten with the first hint of dawn, and a bird off in the forest sings to summon the day. “I’ll go wake Owyn,” I say.

Zara nods and follows me as I go back into the lodge. Within a half hour, the four of us are gathered back at the front of the lodge. Uitan passes out crusty rolls of bread with cheese inside to eat on the road. Then she hands Owyn and I each a dagger.

“I noticed you were unarmed,” she says. “Doesn’t seem wise, given what you’re up against.”

I smile and take the dagger, sliding it down into my boot. Breakfast and blades. The day is off to a good start, much better than the day before.

“You remember where the town is from here?” Uitan asks Zara and Asher. “Not that I’m certain Harken is still there…”

“I’ll find him,” Asher says with a slight smile, and Uitan returns it with a knowing smile of her own.

We thank Uitan for her hospitality and say our farewells, then head off into the forest once again. We go north, back the way we’d traveled the night before, at least until we hitthe forest’s edge. Then we trek east through the grasslands. My heart drops. Somewhere to the north Zyren is waking, alone with no memories… at least none of recent history. He’d seemed to remember the far distant past. But does he even know fully who he is, that he’s a guardian?

I turn it over in my mind as we travel, and when we stop briefly for water an hour later, Owyn places a hand on my shoulder. “We’re going to find him, Sarielle.”

We’re standing alongside a rushing creek, the two of us on one side, Zara and Asher a dozen paces off on the other.

“I know,” I say softly. “It’s just that…”

“Just what?”

I can’t bring myself to mention the curse. Because, if it’s true, and I let it happen, I’ll never forgive myself.

“Nothing. I’m worried is all.” I shake my head.

My eyes drift over to our new companions. I can’t help but notice that Asher hasn’t taken any water. Like he hadn’t eaten anything last night or this morning.

“I wonder what makes Asher such a good tracker,” I whisper to Owyn. “And why he doesn’t eat or drink anything.”

Owyn shoots me a sidelong glance. “It’s because he’s blood fae.”

“Blood fae?”

“You know, a vampire.”

My eyes widen as I turn to him in shock. “I thought they were nothing but a tale!”

“Says the Queen of Nightmares?” He lets out a chuckle. “And, by the way, vampires have excellent hearing, so…”

A flush creeps across my cheeks and I whip my head back toward Zara and Asher, but they seem to be ignoring us. Well, until Zara waves for us to cross the creek so we can get moving again.

Another hour brings us to the nearest town, Bane’s Crossing. It’s small, just a smattering of stone buildings sitting in the shadow of the mountains. There’s not a soul to be seen on the road that cuts through the middle, as if the whole place is abandoned. As we pass through, though, I catch the rustle of curtains in windows once or twice. We’re being watched, but everyone seems too scared to come outside. Not that I blame them.

“He’s not here,” Asher says, which for a moment seems to be stating the obvious, but then he points north. “He went that way, along with several others. I can catch at least five different scents.”

His eyes dart to mine for the briefest of moments, a small smile on his lips, and I realize then that he must have heard our conversation by the creek after all.

“I say we borrow some of these horses,” Zara says, pointing to a small enclosure near the edge of town, near a road heading north. “We’ll make much better time that way.”

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