Page 39 of Sea of Stars

He let go of my hand and pushed his own hand over my mouth instead, making me fall backward on the bed. He sat on top of me and pinched my nose closed with the fingers of his other hand. I tried to wiggle free but he was too strong. I bit down hard on his palm, but he barely flinched. I screamed as loud as I could, but it sounded more like a faint whimper. I couldn’t breathe. My whole body seemed to pulse, slower and slower. All I could feel was my heart stopping. With clenched fists, I pounded on his arm. Trench began to grow blurry. His face zoomed close and I heard his voice echoing around me. “Lyntel said that your gift can free us. But I cannot forgive what your kind has done in the past.”

The world was dark.

Part II - Breghton

Chapter 15

Drip drop, drip drop, drip drop. I placed the bucket under the leaky ceiling and watched the water splash against the wooden bottom. The room’s air was damp and musty from the rain. It had been raining ever since I had arrived. I had dreamed of rain when I was crossing the Tragere Desert. The rain was a wonderful surprise when we finally arrived here, but I had quickly grown weary of it. I was tired of waiting around. No one had come for me. I knew it would take a while for them to find me, but I had never imagined it would be this long. It’s not like I had chosen a place that was hard to find, everyone knew where Divinoira was. But at first glance, if you didn't know what you were looking for, I guess it was possible to overlook the old divinare castle. It was just as tall as the mountains and was designed to blend in naturally with the peaks it was nestled between. All the rooftops were different heights and were twisted and gnarly, mimicking the mountain's peaks. The few walls that weren't made up of the mountains' sides were constructed with gray stone, an exact match to the rocks surrounding it.

I pulled open a drawer and lifted out the cloth package. Slowly, I unwrapped the fabric and the dagger fell onto my lap. I turned it over gingerly, knowing that I couldn’t control its powers. The blood that coursed through the dagger was stronger than my own. For the first time, the blade looked different. I saw the symbols etched across the dagger begin to dim and then vanish completely. A knock on the door broke my trance. I quickly put the clo

th around the dagger, threw it into the drawer, and slammed the drawer shut.

Denton walked into the room. He was my age, although taller and wider than me. Usually he had a large smile that distracted from his slightly doughy center, but today he looked rather bashful. He wore a white shirt, similar to my own, except with no collar or leather vest, since he was always overheated. We had been best friends since we were kids. When I finally arrived at the castle, Denton was already here with the rest of the survivors from Shadoira. I had told him that the next time I saw him I'd have Mahlia. I hadn't kept that promise.

“Excuse me?” Denton said nervously. He had a reason to be timid. When I held the dagger I wasn't quite myself. It was like I became a different person from the friend he had known since we were children.

“We have visitors at the main gate,” he continued.

I stood and grabbed my sword off the top of my nightstand, stowing it into a loop on my belt. My sprained ankle was almost completely healed and I could finally walk without an awkward limp. “Who are they, Denton?” I asked, locking the metal door to my bedchambers before proceeding through the hall and down the stone staircase. Almost half the walls were made up of the mountains that the castle was nestled into. As far as I could tell the castle was completely impenetrable. The old divinares had been brilliant to choose this location.

“Wanderers, I believe. It’s really quite a hodgepodge of people.”

“More divinares who heard of me I assume?” I was starting to enjoy all the people arriving to serve me.

“Well, we’re not sure. We thought it best if you talk to the group before we allow them in.”

Denton grew silent and I quickened my pace. Divinares had been flocking here for weeks. We simply let them in and gave them different jobs to restore the deteriorating palace. Who could these men be that Denton felt he couldn't let in without my approval? I had made it perfectly clear that I wasn't to be bothered unless it was important. We rounded a bend and took off down another flight of stairs. All the passageways in the castle looked the same, and there were so many steps, all winding around the natural mountain formations. I often needed an escort just to navigate my way around. My mind was spinning with guesses of who the visitors waiting to meet me were. I wished I had brought the Assassin's Dagger with me.

“Is one of them female?” I asked.

“Wait. It’s this way,” he gestured down an alternate hallway. "And I believe so. Yes, there was most definitely one female divinare,” he said.

“Mahlia,” I thought to myself. There must have been a shift in the fates. She had found me. Maybe doom was not upon us. I had to speak to her right away. My gut wrenched at the thought of what she must think of me. Rain pounded on my head and shoulders as I made my way out of one of the arches and into the open courtyard. I sloshed through the mud that had now gathered on top of the old stone floor and walked up to the gate. The main gate into the castle was reinforced with iron and wood and could only be reached by a flight of gray stone stairs from the outside. I wasn't sure how many steps there were, but the castle's entrance was at least 20 feet above the ground outside. Since divinares were so small, this helped the old divinare royal guard spot enemies from farther away and plan the necessary defenses. Besides, if the castle had been built on the ground, the brutarians would have been able to easily scale the walls. At least this way the divinares had a chance to defend the place. I didn't have faith that the current royal guard could prevent any enemies from coming in, though. They had only been training for a few weeks, but I hoped that they'd improve soon.

“Over there,” Denton said, pointing to a set of stairs on the side. I hurried over and began to climb the rickety wooden staircase. When I reached the top a guard suddenly stopped me. He was wearing a loose fitting white shirt just like the rest of us. We had seamstresses working on creating uniforms with the divinare owl sigil, but for now we all just looked like common villagers.

“We’ve already made the decision. We believe them to be hostile. Sorry to bother you, Your Highness,” said the guard. The archers readied their bows and pointed them at the people standing on the other side, ready to shoot them if they stormed the gate.

I couldn't believe that they made me come all the way down here to tell me they made a decision without my consultation. “Stop!” I yelled, motioning for the men to lower their bows. I made my way over to the edge of the platform but before I could peer over a woman spoke.

“Breghton, is that you?” A sweet, familiar voice sent shivers through my hair.

I turned toward the guard in charge. “Open the gates,” I smiled. “Let our guests come in.”

The guard stared at me dumbfounded. “All of them?” he asked, and his voice quivered slightly.

“Yes, yes, just let them all in then,” I said and ran down the stairs. I needed to tell Mahlia what had happened. I'd win her over again and make her understand.

The wheels creaked as the gate slowly rose. The guard had followed me down the stairs and motioned for several of his men. They all raised their swords and waited.

The group that stood before me truly was a hodgepodge of characters, and one of them was a brutarian. I took a step back. Two short people stuck out as being divinares. I looked at the face of the divinare woman but knew instantly that it wasn’t Mahlia. She was much older and her hair was dark gray instead of red. Actually, I didn’t recognize any of them. And they were all holding their swords out toward me.

“Drop your weapons, you vagabonds,” the head guard said, trying to sound intimidating. My guards were as new to being in the service of protection as I was to being king. I could tell they were all terrified. I cursed myself again for not bringing my dagger. I could use the extra bit of strength it gave me.

One of the divinares stepped forward from the newcomers. He was an older man with wispy gray hair and an extremely long beard. Young male divinares had short, thick hair on their heads. When they aged and their hair began to thin, they'd grow their beards long so that they could still hear. Despite his age, this man looked strong and menacing. Before he got any closer, I pulled out my own sword and pointed it at the approaching divinare. “Stop right there. Tell me where she is!”

The old man stopped and tilted his head. “Who?” he asked, looking extremely confused. The idea of wondering who I was talking about apparently made him giddy. The old man started laughing, but continued to look confused. "I just knew you'd be stupid."

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