She had been so naïve when she had first been elected as a part of the Sanctus senate at the age of twenty-five. Now thirty-eight, Roselyn had been the
queen
of Sanctus for five years. The people adored her. She was grateful to be queen, but now she wondered if she had chosen the correct path. She was not ready to handle the burden of a battle. And now magic was going to be involved.
General Edandir’s deep voice broke the silence.
“Seeing you troubled makes me feel very low, Your Majesty,” he said.
“It seems as though God has forgotten our devotion to Him,” she said.
Edandir’s eyes met hers.
“Don’t blame Him, Roselyn. You know as well as I do that what has happened is the devil’s work – and the work of those that choose to listen to him.”
“Cardamon was a faithful nation before all of this, Edandir, yet they just lost their nation and many of their people
– including Seraphim and Landine
.”
“Yes. You do not have to remind me of what we have lost.”
Roselyn shut her eyes. It was still painful to think of King Seraphim and his wife being slain by the brutal Malinorians. They had been
her
good friends for years.
Roselyn took a deep breath.
“Chira had also been a God-serving nation until Ittonifer scared them into pledging their allegiance to him. Why weren’t they delivered before Ittonifer drove them to such a point?”
Edandir shook his head, a stern frown etching his forehead. His expression made her feel like a child again.
She looked away.
She wanted to wrap her arms around her horse’s neck,
as she often did,
but the gesture would have looked ridiculous to the general. She had to appear strong, even though she just wanted to cry.
As though reading her mind, the gentle mare nuzzled her with a velvety soft nose. Roselyn smiled. The two of them had been through so much together over the past twenty years. They would get through this also.
“I cannot answer that question,” the general finally said.
Why had Seraphim and his wife been put in a position where they had to choose between God and their lives? Why didn’t He spare them
from death
if He cared so much? The injustice of it all disturbed her. Roselyn was as afraid as King Seraphim must have been.
“Why would our Heavenly Father allow such a good king and queen to be slain by our enemies? Tell me.”
Edandir shut his eyes.
“King Seraphim was my friend. But he turned his back on God. You know all of this, Your Majesty.”
Roselyn shook her head.
Now I am starting to lose faith.
“Please don’t let the recent and present circumstances
weaken
your faith in God
. I have been thinking a lot about what happened with Chira and Cardamon. Maybe all He wants is for us to ask Him for help and have more faith,
” said Edandir.
“I think that I must do what every good ruler has done in a time of war – fast and pray. I will talk with the pastors and seek their counsel. I hope that God will speak to me if I devote more time to Him. I need to go where I will be completely alone. I will make my journey first thing in the morning.”
“Very well, Your Majesty
, but
m
ay
I make one suggestion?”
“Of course.”
“I want to accompany you. These are dangerous times. Ittonifer could have his men situated close by to bring about your demise. I can put Sanere in charge while we are away.”
Queen Roselyn laughed, but then turned serious when she saw the deep concern flooding Edandir’s dark eyes. She crossed her arms, ignoring the fluttering feeling in her stomach. He
clearly
cared about her a lot.
“While I agree, General, that there could undeniably be spies in this city, I can assure you that Ittonifer has better things to do than plan a timid queen’s demise. Besides, where I am going, I doubt that there will be any enemies.
You must lead your army.
”
“Then allow me to send one of my commanders with you.”
“I will be fine.”
“I must disagree.”
His eyes were pleading
, but it was not going to work on her this time
. Riding alone was something that she greatly enjoyed
. Deep prayer was something that one should also do alone, she thought.
“This is something that I must do alone.
I want you to manage things for me while I am gone, which will not be long.
Ready your army, and I will return in two days.”
“As you wish, my queen.”
*****
In her cot, staring at the ceiling, Talya thought about the last few days. It was well past midnight and everyone else in the barracks was sleeping except for her. Deep breathing and
a mixture of
soft
and loud
snores filled the air, but she was not the least bit tired.
The fact that Tanel was still angry with her did not sit well.
Hanten wouldn’t have held a grudge like this.
Talya closed her eyes. She missed him so much. She always would.
Why did Tanel have to turn his back on her now, of all times?
Then there was Edandir. Talya didn’t despise her father as much as she had before the journey. In fact, he mattered more to her now than she cared to admit.
She swallowed, ignoring the lump that had formed in her throat.
That is what scares me. If I get close to him, something bad could happen. Life just seems to work that way.
Talya sighed. She hated being afraid.
She remembered how they had all nearly lost their lives
back in Malinor
until God
had
put an end to Jalarn’s spell. She had been within seconds of death three times during the last week, all because of him.
Talya closed her eyes and imagined the ways that she could catch Jalarn off guard and kill him once they met again. There had to be some way to beat him. She would find it.
As her thoughts finally brought her into a fitful sleep, she dreamed.
A scrawny, sandy-haired boy of about nine was running through grimy, deserted streets. It was overcast and eerily dark. He was carrying a small, dirty sack of something.
He stopped in front of a small shack and opened the dilapidated door. Inside, it was dark
, dirty,
and dusty.
Talya could almost smell decaying food and human filth in the tiny cabin.
The lad stopped at the foot of a bed
where
a frail young woman
lay
. She appeared barely able to breathe, much less move.
She
opened her mouth and
wheezed.
It was so vivid, so real.
Then, the dream abruptly changed to the young lad fist fighting with two other boys. They weren’t wearing armor. Instead, they wore ragged tunics. A masked warrior stood and watched in the distance.
Tears streamed from the boy’s reddened eyes, forming pale streaks down his mud-covered face. The other
s, a little older,
showed no emotion at all.
It was a battle to the death. The largest of the three continually pounded the smallest child in the face until he moved no more. He ran at the sandy-haired boy and they punched and kicked at one another like wild animals. Both of their faces were severely bloodied.
Talya wanted to reach out and stop them. They were only children.
But she couldn’t move.
“Stop!” she shouted.
The wispy boy knocked down the larger one after kicking him hard in the face. He stood over him with a mad glare in his eyes. His tears had dried now. He bent over and punched him in the mouth so hard that several of his teeth flew out.
Rage had taken over the once tear-stricken youth. He finally beat the bigger boy to death.
The warrior walked up to the only surviving child.
“Now your mother may eat,” he said.
It was uncanny to Talya how a voice from a living soul could sound so hollow. She wanted to strike him. She had never seen anything so horrific in all of her life.
The knight gave the waif of a child some bread. The boy sprinted away, back down the dreary streets to the small shack. He shoved the loaf into the sick young woman’s hand, but she did not move.
“Ma, I’ve got some food for you! You can eat this whole loaf. Ma! Wake up…”
His mother lay motionless underneath torn shreds of blanket. Her skin was grey. The woman that barely looked old enough to be his mother had been dead for a while.
Her young son touched her face. Shocked from the iciness of her skin, he jerked his hand back.
He stared at her for a few seconds before crying a loud, mournful wail that echoed down the streets.
Talya awoke, sitting up
right
in her cot. She wiped the sweat from her forehead
, panting
. She could still hear the boy’s cry in her mind. She had never dreamed anything that was so realistic or so gut wrenching.
“It isn’t real,” Talya told herself.
She closed her eyes, but she did not return to sleep that night.
*****
Naeshi waited outside of Ittonifer’s throne room
, ignoring glares from the guards that stood nearby
. He knew that the ruler’s initial reaction would be to throttle him for wasting his time
, but
Naeshi was prepared for that. He could barely believe what had just happened
himself
. He and Aterun had found more wealth for Malinor.
The new senior guard finally
came out and
escorted Naeshi into the room.
Ittonifer was leaning on his throne
talking to
Chrissa
, who
stood in front of him with her arms crossed. They spoke in sharp whispers. They were arguing again. Her headstrong nature was infuriating. Still, she looked very alluring in the long, grey gown that hugged her gracefully thin form.
The guard cleared his throat and announced Naeshi’s arrival.
Chrissa rolled her eyes and left the room.
Ittonifer stepped forward, glaring at Naeshi.
“What is the meaning of this?”
“I apologize, m’lord,” said Naeshi, “but I have very important news.”
“This had better be good.”
“I promise you it is. I have found the treasure of the ancient Malinorians!”
“Guards, take this fool out of here and beat him senseless. This is the last time that I will deal with your incompetence, Naeshi. My patience for you has worn thin. Next time you will die. Take him away!”
A guard grabbed him by the arm, but Naeshi shrugged out of his grip.
“Listen to him, Ittonifer,” said Aterun.
Naeshi was surprised to see that the warlock had entered the room. Everyone stared at the magician for a moment.
How did he get back here so quickly?
“He speaks the truth,” continued the warlock. “I was with him when he found the treasure. Send your men to the Cobalt Mountains, my lord, and it will all be there.”
Ittonifer studied Naeshi for a moment before pointing at his new lead guard.
“Send twenty of our men along with our sturdiest carts. Bring the treasure back to the castle.”
The man bowed and left the room.
Ittonifer looked at Naeshi as though he w
as
re-evaluating him.
“Well, well, Naeshi. Perhaps I was wrong about your incompetence. Go with them and show them my newest installment of wealth.
Your discovery will not go unrewarded.
”
Chapter Eight
Jalarn stood in front of the pool inside the warlock’s cave. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply in
an attempt
to clear his mind, just like Aterun had told him to do. He relaxed as best he could and
started a chant
that he had learned from two days ago.
He opened his eyes and, to his pleasure, a foggy vision appeared before him.
I
t showed the army of Sanctus preparing for battle. Thousands upon thousands of knights trained alongside their general.
The general that should have been torn
apart
by that tornado.
It was
all futile
. Their large number of skilled men would never stand up to what he and his uncle had planned.
The image faded, and in its place was a striking, dark-haired woman riding a white mare in a field of long grass.
Her soft lips moved in what was probably a prayer to her God.