Page 89 of Queen of the Night
I blink blearily again, but it doesn’t help clear my vision because everything is so gloamy it appears somewhat fuzzy around the edges, as if my eyes are having difficulty adjusting—it’s beginning to bother me. The shadows are deeper, twistier—suffocating. And there’s a chill in the air that bites my cheeks and nose. I blink several times. My eyesareswollen and dry from crying, but I don’t think that’s it. I think I’ve entered a preview of what our kingdom will become if no one is able to stop them. And apparently these people are so confident they’ve begun to move in… and recruit others, according to Gretta. I shudder, horrified and saddened.
Ilook up, sensing her before I see her, and it disrupts the numbness I’ve embraced. Feelings ripple to the surface as Rupi soars through the air, half-quilled as she swoops toward me. She lands amidst the long fur of my cloak, diving through the mess of my braid to reach my earlobe, which she affectionately pecks. I latch onto her presence like never before, choking back a sob as I lean my head against her soft fluff and reaching a trembling hand to stroke her feathers. She huddles into my neck, and for a moment I allow myself to savor the little bit of warmth she offers from her tiny body.
“I don’t know how you always find me, but I’m glad you’re here,” I whisper, blinking back tears.
Her responding chirp, so clear and sharp, is magnified by the muted darkness around us, and it catches Gretta’s attention. She abruptly halts her march and turns with a frown, her head tilted as she peers through the literal nest of my hair.
“What is that?”
I keep my expression flat. “My bird.” When that answer doesn’t wipe the frown from her face, I shrug. “She’s harmless.”
Rupi quills up, stabbing me in the neck defiantly to prove that she is absolutelynotharmless, and I mask a wince.
Gretta purses her lips. An indecipherable look is shared between her and the guards that follow us, and one of them nods. I’m almost ready to raise my fists—no one’s taking Rupi. I just got her back, and I need her more than ever. But the nod must have been an okay to proceed because Gretta turns without another word, continuing her rigorous pace.
A permanent horrified expression has molded itself tomy face. Renton no longer pays any mind as he gestures proudly toward several creatures. “These are shard beasts.”
I’ve heard of them. I eye the large paddock fashioned of timber and thick strands of gloam that contains them, but I wonder if it’s truly enough. The beasts appear to be made of crushed glass, sharp pieces creating a lethal fan around their faces as they crash wildly against their bounds with earsplitting sounds of breaking and scraping glass. It’s nightmarish. This, just after we passed a row of pens filled with deathstalkers, gloartawks with wings so large they could span the roof of my childhood home, gloam wolves with spikes down their backs and trailing down their tails, and serpents with eight heads that regrow when chopped off. I saw it myself, unfortunately.
“Only five?” I drawl sarcastically, watching as two of the shard beasts begin to battle and wincing as my ears begin to ring.
He chuckles and leans close to be heard over the fight. “Patience, my queen. As you’ll see, it takes much time and energy to create beasts such as these. We simply prepare for battle early, to ensure a swift victory. We want as little violence as possible, which I think you appreciate.”
I scoff.As little violence as possible?These creatures kill so easily an entire army could be decimated in less than half a day. I curse beneath my breath as the velvety, heavy cloak Renton gave me tangles between my legs. I jerk it away.Again. It’s completely impractical and looks ridiculous with the state of my clothing underneath. But he insisted—with gloam around my throat when I tried to remove it. Now, that gloam is replaced by fur that is supposed to keep me warm but makes my neck and face itch. I might actually prefer the gloam noose.
When I first arrived, I thought he was crazy. Now I’ve attended an uncomfortable and delicious dinner, saw every bitof his massive camp earlier this morning, and have now experienced this… eye-opening tour of his gloam beasts that has lasted an entire day. I’m finding he’s not only crazy—he’s loaded.Onedeathstalker can take out a group of armed men. What will this many do?
We weave around groups of soldiers leaning against fences, who laugh and jest until their king walks by, then everyone falls silent, standing upright and at attention. Those who are training begin to fight even more fiercely. I’m not sure if they fear him or respect him, but his presence certainly keeps them in check. As we pass, I avert my gaze. I don’t want to watch them training to kill my people with gloam swirling all around them. It just makes the situation feel more hopeless.
I try to be impressed for my own protection, but Rupi and I are quiet for the rest of the morbid tour. I’m more disturbed by the passion so easily visible within Renton as he tells me about each and every one of his beloved war creatures; gratefully, he doesn’t seem to notice when I begin to grow numb and hardly respond.
He wraps my arm around his and pulls me toward a sturdy gloam fence with a burly man at its edge. The fence forms a large circle where gloam whirls in a funnel, thick and wide at its center—it reminds me of the murk that attacked Ikar and me just weeks ago. But when Renton approaches, the gloam calms and stills, leaving what looks like half a creature formed—a scene that turns my stomach.
The man inside the fence approaches and bows before Renton.
Renton claps a hand on his shoulder. “This is Onvid, my best gloam master. Onvid, continue. Let’s show our future queen what you can do.”
He nods, looking pleased at having the king’s attention. “Of course, Your Majesty.”
He raises his hands into the air, and the gloam rises with them, first beginning to swirl and then grow. My new cloak whips around me, and my hair flies wildly about my head, so much so that I reach up to clasp Rupi against my neck so she’s not swept away in the gusts. But I can’t take my eyes off the growing black form before us. Rupi has been silent since Renton joined us, as if she instinctively knows she should be, but I feel her tremble beneath my hand where she has stayed huddled for the entirety of this ghastly experience.
The swirling wind continues for a long time, so long that the chill gusts around me are turning my cheeks and ears red and leaving my skin chapped. Shrieks and roars sound from within the tornado, and dread curls in my chest.
Finally the gusts die down, and the result stands before us, pawing at the ground on pudgy, muscular legs. It’s enormous. Three horns line the top of its head, and two sprout from its flatish snout. It stands taller than the man that created it, and is as long as three horses combined… if you include the tail that sparkles with razor-sharp spines.
I’m disgusted imagining Ikar’s soldiers fighting against this army and its horrifying monsters. Renton has an unfair advantage. But isn’t that why Lucentia gifted magic to our people? We’ve ruined that—mistakes made on all sides. This dark army surrounding me has me sailing on an ocean of despair.
I momentarily forget to mask my emotion, and Renton takes notice.
“Too much, too soon?” I ignore the concern in his eyes. “You know that gloam can create beauty as well as monsters, right?”
I keep my posture stiff and straight. “I’m not sure I believe you.”
He frowns. “Though you are ungrateful, I believe it will help you become more willing when you are reminded what awaits you as my queen.”
He wraps my arm beneath his so that my hand rests on his forearm again, and we walk into the forest nearby, away from the noise. He keeps me close, and I’m tired of the forced proximity, but when I attempt to pull my arm from his, he clasps his hand over mine and squeezes my arm against his side.
He tugs me along, deeper into the forest. Through trees, shrubs, and long grass, and into deep shadows. He finally stops when the roars become distant, and the clang of swords and weapons is slight. Then, without warning, gloam begins to spin around us. For a moment I panic. Is he trying to turnmeinto a creature of darkness? I squeeze my eyes shut at the roar of the shadows around me, but then, just as suddenly, it’s calm.
