Queen Asteria crossed to the throne. “That’s where our spies come in. I want you to meet them, because you will be working together from now on. You must exchange every scrap of information that you have about Telazhar. They will remain in contact with you while on their mission.”
As she settled into the chair, the Queen arranged her
skirts and let out a sigh that I heard halfway across the room.
“You’re tired, aren’t you?” I didn’t mean to speak aloud, but my words cut through the room and I cringed, realizing what I’d done.
But Asteria merely crossed her hands in front of her. “Yes, young vampire. I am weary. But that does not negate my power, nor my determination. It merely means that I wear my crown a little heavier now, and lean on my staff a little harder.” She motioned to the serving woman for a glass of wine. “War is thirsty work.”
“Have you any allies here? Besides us?” Trillian let go of Camille to take a closer look at the map. “Have you talked to King Vodox?”
“As asked, so answered. As I prepare my armies for war, so do my allies. King Uppala-Dahns of the Dahns unicorns and Tanaquar have pledged to arm their soldiers in my service. I have sent messages to King Vodox, and to the kingdom of Nebulvuori. We wait for their response. And…another ally has pledged her service. Derisa, the High Priestess, from the Grove of the Moon Mother.”
Camille nodded. “Truly, my order would be obligated to join you. The sorcerers and the sun god are our nemeses. I wonder…will Telazhar approach the temple of Chimaras? The sun brothers are still seeking any reason to wage war against the Moon Mother’s grove, from what Shamas tells us.”
Queen Asteria clutched the gnarled arms of her throne. “Shamas? What does he know of this?”
We had protected our cousin’s secret since he told us the truth a few weeks ago, but now, any information he had might come in handy. “Shamas was studying with a sorcerer in the Southern Wastes. A Tregart named Feris, who was bent on waging war on the Moon Mother’s Grove. Shamas spilled the beans on him at risk of his own life.”
“Tregarts? The Tregarts were over here a year ago?” Queen Asteria leaned back against her throne and cast a long look to Trenyth. I had a feeling there was a discussion going on to which we were not privy.
Trenyth sprang into action. “We have no time to spare. We must send our spies out in the morning via the portals. They can travel as far as Ceredream and from there, walk afoot to Rhellah.” He moved to the side door and opened it.
Three figures stepped in. I didn’t recognize any of them, but Trillian and Camille both gasped as one of the figures let out a low chuckle. He was a Svartan, ruggedly handsome with the same blue eyes and silverish hair as Trillian. But rather than mirroring my brother-in-law’s smooth metropolitan look, this man’s eyes were wild and he felt slightly uncivilized. He was also far more muscled than Trillian, who was no slouch in the buff department.
“Darynal!” Trillian was around the table before they’d cleared the door, hugging the man, who clapped him on the back. Camille joined them, giving him a kiss on the cheek.
“
Lavoyda
…it’s been too long. Bound by oath, bound by blood.” The Svartan held out his hand and he and Trillian performed some sort of intricate handshake.
“Bound by oath, bound by blood, my brother.” As Trillian broke away, Darynal turned to Camille and gave her a low bow.
“Your woman, she is looking good. Camille, lovely to see you again.”
She offered her hand and he took it, kissing it gently. She reached out and stroked his face, brushing a stray curl out of his eyes.
“My husband’s brother, it’s so good to see you again.”
And then I remembered who he was. Darynal was Trillian’s blood-oath brother. Pledged to back each other to the death, they weren’t lovers but brothers on a level that was almost soul-bound.
“Lavoyda. I’m glad to see you here and healthy. But what are you doing with the elves?” Trillian suddenly stopped, as if aware all eyes were on them.
Camille brushed him on the shoulder. “We should let Queen Asteria tell us,” she whispered, and they positioned themselves near Darynal as the three newcomers took their seats.
Queen Asteria favored them with a brief smile. “I knew
that you would be surprised, Master Zanzera, but I chose to let Darynal’s appearance speak for itself.”
Trillian cocked his head, and winked at the Queen. Shaking my head, I repressed a snicker. He was incorrigible, but he’d come a long way from the arrogant bastard to whom Delilah and I’d taken an instant dislike. We’d been wrong about his character, for the most part. Our prejudices had been showing.
Asteria gave no sign whether she noticed the wink, but instead she motioned to Trenyth, who introduced the others in the trio.
“Darynal is our lead scout in this mission. You know his background, you know he’s a skilled mercenary, so allow me introduce the others. This is Quall, an undercover agent for Elqaneve for many years. He’s an assassin.”
The tall, lithe Fae stood. With pale blond hair barely cresting his shoulders, he was almost albino except for his eyes, which were a startling green that shimmered against the pale cream of his skin. He looked almost anorexic, but upon closer look, I saw the tightly wrapped muscle molded beneath his skin.
Assassins were an odd breed, especially those employed by governments. They danced to their own tune, made their own rules, and usually ran outside the law in almost every way. As I looked into his eyes, I knew right then how much Quall enjoyed his job. He enjoyed the hunt, and ten to one, he enjoyed the kill. He caught my gaze and held it, an insolent sneer lurking behind the brief nod.
The third member of the team was of average height, cloaked so heavily that I couldn’t tell exactly what race he belonged to. Only his eyes gleamed from within the fiery red robe. He said nothing as Trenyth introduced him.
“This is Taath. He’s one of our sorcerers.”
“
Your
sorcerers? But…” Camille looked confused.
“Yes, my dear. We have our own sorcerers. After the Scorching Wars, we vowed Elqaneve would never be caught unprepared again.” The Queen leaned forward. “Sometimes the only way to fight fire is with fire. Sometimes the only way to fight hatred is with violence. Often
people think the Elfin race a passive one. We are not. We think first, but when we act, we do not hold back.”
“I’m starting to realize that,” Camille said.
“Perhaps now is the time to tell you. Your beloved Moon Mother trains her own sorcerers, although she will not call them that. They wield dark moon magic…
death magic
. Why do you think Morio’s magic comes so easily to you?”
Camille gasped, staring at her, but she said nothing. None of us did. That was a revelation we’d address later.
After a moment, Asteria turned to me. “I asked you here because we will need all of your talents soon. Your father requested that all of you come to Otherworld.” She held up her hand, stopping any outburst. Delilah and Camille looked like they wanted to say something but kept their mouths shut. As for me, I could be very petty when I chose, and I refused to ask about him.
Queen Asteria looked my way. “He asked for all
three
of you. Do not ask me why. When you finish here, you will travel to Y’Elestrial, and there you will meet with your father.”
“But—” Camille sputtered, but the Queen stopped her in her tracks.
“Camille, give me no mouth. We align our powers. War has come to Otherworld, on the wings of demonic forces. The same war you are fighting over Earthside. There can be no more borders. No more division.”
The room fell silent. We were facing Shadow Wing on two fronts now. I’d been waiting for the shoe to drop, and now that it had, I realized that I’d never expected us to wrap this up easily.
From the first time Shadow Wing claimed a spirit seal, I knew—
absolutely knew in my gut
—that we wouldn’t make it out unscathed. We would have to face a long, bloody battle. We’d had collateral damage so far, but this…this was a full-scale attack. The war had only just begun.
Asteria and Tanaquar might be able to stem the tide of sorcerers. But those who would join the sun brothers, the goblins and ogres and other malcontents, would ensure
that a bloody swath would mar the landscape. Otherworld had existed in relative peace for centuries with only minor skirmishes. But that peace had been a fragile veneer. And now it was crumbling. Once again the sounds of battle would fill the air.
I stood, the ivory beads in my hair breaking the silence. “Tell us what we need to do and we’ll do it.” And just like that, we jumped from the frying pan into the flames that were brewing down south.