Page 86 of Queen of the Night
I squint to watch closer as Renton waves the gloam away with a hand, then he pulls a set of keys dug from an inner pocket that jingle together and releases the lock with a distinctclick.
I’m afraid to see what’s inside. I step back once, then twice,as if that will keep me from having to enter. My breath continues to puff in front of my face, and my nose is red with cold. I worry I’ll never be truly warm again after living in this gloam camp.
Renton pulls the door open and gestures for me to enter through the gloamy opening with a hand. I hesitate, fearing he’s about to throw me in a room with some awful creature and slam the door behind me.
I don’t miss his heavy sigh. “You won’tdie. What happened to the bounty-hunting adventuress?”
Comforting words if there ever were any. I nearly roll my eyes. The bounty-hunting adventuress died with Ikar. I’ll never be the same. I’ve never wanted to live a solitary life alone in a cozy shop more than in this moment.
I glare at him as I tilt my chin up and gingerly step through, unsure what to expect. But when I feel hot wind tousle my loose hair and my skin begins to tingle as it warms, I almost sigh with relief. Sandy dunes spread before us, soft beneath my boots. I’m tempted to lie on it, justknowingit holds the warmth of the suns, but I maintain my dignity and don’t move. I do wonder, though, how we are here. There are no deserts in the Lucent Mountains.
“You like it here?” Renton inquires with another handsome smile, watching my reaction.
“It’s warm,” I admit.
“You just walked through the tear in the lucent wall, into the otherworldly prison that I and my soldiers were locked behind for hundreds of years. It’s warm until it’s hot. Too hot. Scorching. This is where Ricard banished me. To a desert where no fields can be planted, no clean rivers run, no trees grow for shade. A place where no families followed,” he finisheswith spite.
I can’t help but feel a rush of compassion toward him. Ricard does seem harsh.
He lifts a hand and showcases the scene before us. “Now you see why I fought for so many years to regain the throne. Ricard, thenobleking, wasn’t as perfect as everyone was led to believe. My soldiers suffered here, and many died before we learned how to use gloam to live…” He pauses for a moment, then continues. “Now we’ve crossed back into Moneyre to build the camp we currently live in as we begin to recover the lives that were stolen from us. Still, compare this to everything Moneyre holds.”
He’s right. I’ve struggled to survive for the past several years, but I feel almost guilty for the life I’ve had compared to what he’s had to endure. My mind races with the new information, and I have to remind myself he’s my captor, amurderer, not a long-lost friend or someone in need of pity. In addition to that, I can’t figure out how it involves me, and of even greater concern, that he shares so much with me means it’s likely he doesn’t intend to release me alive… or at all.
I don’t want to hear any more of his heart-wrenching tale.
“Why did you capture me?” I get straight to the point while I savor the warmth bringing my appendages back to life.
He stares at the sandy dunes. “I saved you, actually. And now you can protect yourself by joining my ranks. Gloam is the future of Moneyre.”
I narrow my eyes. “I am no traitor.”
He scoffs sharply and looks my way. “You still offer your loyalty to them? Even after being forced into hiding and living in secrecy to protect your life? Hearing of the murder of your magical ancestors as if they were evil and being toldyouare evil, as well?”
That arrow hits the target dead center.
“What do you want?” I ask, tired. I simply want to curl up in my cold, eerie room and cry over Ikar.
His eyes light with a hint of desire. “You.”
“What for?” I can’t hide the exasperation in my voice.
But the pieces are beginning to click together. I know it before he says it, reminded of what Ikar and Rhosse told me about the gloam masters.
He grins. “Bridging.”
“It seems like that’s all I’m wanted for nowadays,” I say with acid in my voice. “But it appears you’ll need a new plan because I’m not powerful enough.”
Sweat gathers beneath my clothing in the sandy winds now, and I dread re-entering the cold castle and having it freeze on my skin. I swallow so loudly I’m sure he can hear it from where he stands beside me—not my fault my throat is as dry as the sun-baked sand beginning to cover my boots. I need more water.
He laughs deeply. “So you refused the king? What an ironic ending to his reign,” he muses, as if to himself.
The arrogant smile on his lips makes me want to throw up. I decline to mention that Ikar never actually asked me… because he didn’t know I could… because I’d kept my secrets.To think that I had a part in all of this.The meager contents of my stomach roil like they’re going to come back up. I swallow slowly as he continues talking.
“You’ve been told you’re not powerful enough?” He doesn’t wait for me to respond. “It’s a lie, at least in regard toyou. The others are weak as injured butterflies with those bracelets they think will protect them—I can’t gauge their power. I tracked all of you, waiting for years, and you were the only one daringenough to remove it. That alone tells me you’re fit to be my queen. The moment we bridge, gloam will grow. It will be an exquisite experience.”
He was tracking me? I recall the dark shadows I’ve been seeing for the past few weeks. How long was I watched and never knew? Along with that, our bracelets don’t weaken us… do they? We’vealwaysbeen told we aren’t strong enough, that the bracelets were merely an extra layer of protection from the kings?—
Renton interrupts my thoughts. “Lucentia finally sent a Tulip strong enough to bridge, and it’syou.”
