Page 5 of Queen of Legends and Lies
They’re all settled around the table, a ring of power and privilege. The room fills with the rustling of clothing and the creaking of leather, and then…silence.
All eyes focus on me as if I hold the answers. No pressure.
Breann waves. “Let’s begin. Judging by the looks of things, you’ve had a rough night and need some rest.”
The words hold no criticism, only a simple observation.
I rise from my seat because sitting suddenly feels too much like surrender. “We didn’t retrieve Prince Knox, though we saw him. He’s still corrupted.” I struggle to keep my voice steady even as my heart twists in pain. “Xenon controls the drachen, and in turn, the corrupted people. There were hundreds of them marching mindlessly around Flighthaven. Some that I knew.”
Gasps of disbelief ripple through the room like a cold tide, and I brace against it. They don’t have to say what they’re thinking.She wasn’t up to the task. We placed our hopes in the wrong person.
And honestly? Part of me agrees. I’ve doubted myself every step of this harrowing journey. So why wouldn’t they? But I’m still standing. Still fighting. And I won’t give up on Sterling. That has to count for something.
“What do you mean, he controls the drachen? How so?” Fenton leans forward. Despite my failure, I detect no judgment in his voice.
I take a deep breath, the weight of their stares pressing against me like a physical force. “They obey him. I’m not exactly sure how it works, but I witnessed it. Xenon even drew power from them.” I shudder at the memory of the Aclarian kingchanneling their very essence, becoming stronger as he fought me. “And Prince Knox obeys him too.”
They’re waiting for more explanation, and I owe them that much. “So, Narc, the God of Nightmares?—”
Dayla interrupts. “Excuse me, but did you just say Narc…God of Nightmares?”
I nod. “Yes.”
She glances at the other council members. “Am I the only one who’s never heard of that god before?”
Fenton’s forehead furrows. “No. I haven’t either.”
Disgruntled murmurs follow. Maybe it’s the stress talking, but I’m pretty sure Serle and Vicar Moise are eyeing me with flat-out suspicion.
Great. They probably think I’m either hallucinating or making it up.
As if I have nothing better to do with my time than create wild fantasies about fictitious deities.
“I have.” Every face turns to Breann, who leans back in her chair and raises a brow. “What? I was friendly with a Nyc acolyte some twenty years ago. They filled me in on Narc.”
I aim an appreciative smile her way.
“Interesting.” Dayla folds her hands together on the table. “Though, I don’t know why I’m surprised. Lately when I walk through town, I hear people praying to other gods I barely recall. The devout are out in force lately.”
Vicar Moise gives a sanctimonious dip of his chin. “You say that as if it’s a bad thing. There’s nothing wrong with people reaching out to our creators in these trying times.”
Fenton shakes his head. “You’re right, but trying times also tend to create fanatics, so I think we should keep an eye out.”
I hide a grimace. One more thing to stay on top of…just what I need.
Dayla turns to me. “Sorry for the interruption. Please continue.”
I proceed to recount everything that happened at Flighthaven.
How Narc—the God of Nightmares killed centuries ago and buried under the eyril field—is not actually dead. How his spirit lives on. How Xenon struck a deal with that very spirit, enslaving and drugging the kingdom’s dragons and using their very powerful blood to fertilize the eyril field.
How the blood reacted with the potent plant to reanimate the drachen, the heinous creatures Narc created to enact his plan to eradicate free will from mortals. How that same blood currently strengthens the malevolent god. Now all Narc needs is the blood of a dragoncaller to physically return to life.
At least Xenon didn’t succeed in killing me and unleashing the God of Nightmares himself on the world. Then there’d be no hope for Sterling. Or for the hundreds, if not thousands, of corrupted people. Or for all of humanity.
I explain all that, too, and then chronicle how I freed the captive dragons and fought Xenon while Prince Knox held my friends hostage. I narrate how I torched the eyril field in a desperate and ultimately unsuccessful attempt to destroy the drachen.
Finally, I describe how the dragons came to our rescue, and how Nyc, the Goddess of Night and Narc’s mother, appeared to me while I was unconscious. Though she didn’t give me the answers I sought, at the end of her cryptic musings she told me there’s always hope.
