Page 35 of Twin Crowns

Rose

The closer they drew to the giant tree, the cooler the air became. Even as the sun rose higher in the sky, the temperature continued to drop. Rose shivered in her cloak, her fear mingling with curiosity. She craned her neck, desperate to know more.

To know what Shen knew. To know more about who she was. What she was. Staying with him was the only way to find out the truth.

“This is the Mother Tree.” He spoke now with quiet reverence. “It marks the grave of Ortha Starcrest, the last true witch queen of Eana.”

Rose frowned, searching the annals of her mind for the name. “Ortha... Starcrest? Like the birds? I’ve never heard of her. Or any witch queens, for that matter. From where did she rule? That tree?”

Shen stared at her in disbelief. “Hissing seaweed.Do you really not know your own history?”

Rose looked at him blankly.

“This country belonged to the witches long before your precious Protector ever set foot in it. He was nothing more than a dangerous, jealous man who feared the witches almost as badly as he envied them, so he overthrew their queen and turned the kingdom against them.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. The witches had no such kingdom. They were wild creatures, roaming from country to country, skulking in the forests and mountains and—”

“Anadawn Palace was built by the witches,” Shen cut in. “The old witch queens and kings made Eana what it is. The Valhart royals have stood on their shoulders for over a thousand years, only to crush their memory deeper and deeper into the earth.” His words were crisp and biting. “How else could they claim this country for their own?”

To that, Rose said nothing. But her mind was whirring. The idea of witch queens and kings would have seemed preposterous to her only yesterday, but she was beginning to think that despite all the hours she spent in the Anadawn library, there was a lot she had yet to learn. Not just about her country but about herself, too.

As they passed the Mother Tree, Shen bowed his head. Rose shivered in her nightgown, pulling her borrowed cloak tightly around her shoulders. She glanced back with longing at the Restless Sands. The desert might have scared her once, but at least she knew what lay behind her.

A softly glowing seed floated down from the Mother Tree and settled on the edge of her cloak. Another followed, and then more gathered, cascading around her like luminous raindrops.

Beyond the sentry tree, the forest opened like a dark mouth. The trees clustered tightly around them, the gnarled limbs twisted around one another so it was impossible to tell where one ended and another began. Tendrils of moss hung from every branch, swaying in the earthen breeze. The vines swept so low they brushed the ground, the trunks bending as though they were bowing.

“I don’t want to go any farther,” said Rose. “I’ve changed my mind.”

“No turning back now,” said Shen, nudging Storm onward. “You will see the truth of what happened here. What your Great Protector did.”

Rose had to push the vines aside as they rode through the trees. They reached out and stroked her face, moss trailing along her arms as though searching for something beneath her skin. The wind swept through the forest after them, and as it did, the sound of weeping filled the air.

Rose whipped her head around. “Where is that sound coming from? And what are these things?” She eyed the luminous seeds that had landed on her cloak. When she reached down to brush one off, a vision exploded in her mind.

A young woman with russet hair and freckled cheeks bent over a broken body. All around her lay the bodies of hundreds more, men and women, wounded and wailing, across a battlefield choked with fire and smoke. Witches screaming as they died. Others lying utterly still. The young woman snapped her chin up, eyes flashing at Rose.

“Please,” she begged. “I can’t save them all.”

A silver arrow came from the sky and pierced the woman’s heart. Blood pooled from her chest as she fell, her gaze still on Rose.

Rose gasped as the vision cleared. “That woman, just now! Did you see her, too?”

Shen gestured past Rose, to the trees swaying around them. “The Weeping Forest is a graveyard, Princess. The Mother Tree marks the spot where Ortha Starcrest was cut down by the Valharts over a thousand years ago. Many witches were slain here by the Protector and hisarmy.” He held a hand out, a mossy vine trailing between his fingers. “The spirits of those who died in that war still linger in this forest. Their last memories dwell in the Mother Tree, and float out when they sense a witch nearby. To pass on their story.” He raked his gaze over her cloak. “And it looks as if many of them are coming out for you.”

Rose tipped her head back. Hundreds of glowing seeds lit up the gloom of the forest like fireflies. They were drifting after her, the keening wind growing stronger.

“Witchcraft.”Rose trembled in her cloak as an old and violent terror took hold of her. “No, Shen.No.I have been through enough today. I refuse to be attacked by witches, living or dead.” She scrunched her eyes shut, hoping the seeds might disappear if she didn’t look at them. “Make them stop. Tell them to stop!”

“I can’t, Princess.”

“Then I’ll run!” Rose flung herself off Storm and landed up to her ankles in mud. She cursed as she righted herself, then quickly drew her shoulders back. Fear would only encourage these dead witches. She mustn’t show any of it. “No matter. A bit of mud doesn’t bother me.”

Shen watched her from atop his horse. “I think you’re going to regret that.”

“Shh.” Rose whirled around, trying to find a way out.

The seeds were coming at her from every direction now. As she stepped backward, a vine curled around her ankle, rooting her to the spot.

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