Page 23 of A Traitor Sister (Remnants of the Fallen Kingdom #2)

23

TARLIA

I think I’ll want to lie down for a week after this—if we make it. But I think we will. Even if I’m completely illiterate in magic, I can feel the powerful, soothing energy this unicorn emanates.

I can’t believe I’m still alive, though. Thanks to Renel, and to a minor extent, Azur. I thought I was aware that fae could move with inhuman speed and skill, but whatever I had in my mind was nothing close to what I witnessed.

Renel moved his sword so fast that I could barely see it, slaying those creatures in a manner that would be impossible for any human. Fae. Somehow, with his hair messy, his focus on the battle, he looked human—and yet even more beautiful.

And he seems to be friends with a majestic beast.

I’m not sure if I can kill him.

How can I bring myself to kill the man who saved me? True that he was saving his own skin—and his guardian’s. I wonder if that unicorn will be upset if I kill his fae friend, but at the same time, if it loved Renel that much, it could have shown up earlier.

I suppose there will be no unicorn after me if I murder him. The issue is there’s no way I can defeat Renel in any form of hand-to-hand combat. I doubt I could even stab him when he’s distracted—his reflexes are too good. It will have to be when he’s asleep—if I can muster the courage.

After that, I can wake up early in the morning, run to the fae territories, find the Owl’s Inn, claim my prize, and then gain my freedom. I feel queasy planning to murder a travel companion, but then, I didn’t even want to be here.

Astra won’t harbor me forever. Ziven… He’s on the same boat as me, if not on his own. I’m all alone, and I need to safeguard my future.

If we make it.

“There!” Lidiane says.

I can’t see anything. Wait. It’s part of a wall or something, but still so far… I hope my legs don’t collapse before we get there. I almost feel like slowing down, but I’m too proud to accept the humiliation of trailing behind. And I don’t want to think what kind of creatures could snatch me if I run too far behind the others.

The walls grow bigger and bigger ahead of us, tall fortress walls of what I hope will be our shelter. As we’re about to reach an enormous gate, the unicorn flies away, a strange, eerie, wingless flight.

There goes our protection.

And the heavy gate is closed from the outside.

“I’ll go in and open it,” Azur says, then proceeds to scale the wall.

The ease with which he does that is worrisome. For a moment I imagine those ghouls doing the same.

The only sound is the wind on bushes as he steps on the other side, only stars illuminating us. After a moment, the gate screeches and moves up, but just about some five palms.

Lidiane and Renel crouch and slide in, and I do the same.

The gate then slams closed behind us.

Azur turns to Lidiane. “Is it warded?”

“It feels safe, but…”

“What?” he asks.

She shakes her head. “The magic feels different, old.”

“Can we spend the night here?” I ask. If she says no , I might just ignore her, lie down and quit. Please no more running.

“Yes.” She nods.

Renel exhales, clearly relieved. He must be thinking no more sword fighting , then says, “I’ll go in first, see if the place is clear.”

Many small buildings border the walls. He enters the first of them, where a table is turned upside down and the floor is covered with ripped papers and shattered glass.

Azur huffs. “Messy giants.”

Renel crouches. “The footprints are small. These were fae, probably trying to figure out why the giants came.”

“Right.” Azur has a mocking chuckle. “Do they think enchanted guards would write down confidential information? Idiots.”

I’m not in the mood to figure out what happened here. If it’s safe, it’s good enough. “I need water,” I say. “A bed, too. A massage, maybe. And a hot bath, definitely.”

Renel turns to me. “The keep has quarters, but I’m afraid there isn’t enough water for a bath.” He actually sounds apologetic.

“I was kidding. But I do want at least a pitcher and a cloth to get rid of this soulsucker goo.”

“We’ll find it.”

The second building has a large kitchen with many stone tables, and a hearth that still has some embers burning. Azur manages to rekindle the fire.

Some jars of water are broken, but we find a container, cups, and even some cheese, bread, and dried meat and fruit. Lidiane activates some lightstones, so that we don’t need to light candles.

Azur finds a lavatory with basins and jars, and Renel brings us clean uniforms, including a dress that I guess hasn’t been worn in some fifty years. Better than sticky, slimy clothes.

I find a closed booth in the lavatory and rip out my disgusting dress. As I run the wet cloth over my skin, I can’t believe I’m finally able to get rid of the gunk, sweat, and most importantly, ghoul mud and soulsucker slime. I still need a hot bath, maybe a hundred baths, ideally with alcohol, but this will do for now. I’ve never been so glad to put on clean clothes, delighting in the feel of the linen against my clean skin, even if it’s a little musty, and even if I have no underwear. I’m alive—and clean. Starving, too.

We all sit in the kitchen for a much-deserved dinner. They all wear black shirts and pants, from some kind of uniform they found. I guess there was only one dress. Azur’s hat was destroyed fighting the ghouls, and his hair is all messy and loose.

There’s no hiding the exhaustion on our faces, but there’s also relief, and even some joy. We survived.

Azur, Lidiane, and Renel eat mostly dried fruit and nuts, while I attack the bread and the dried meat. I suspect this is rat meat, but I don’t want to ask. It’s nothing like the meat at the festival, but it’s food.

The festival—a lifetime has passed since then, and yet it was only a few hours ago.

“Is there wine by any chance?” I ask.

Renel gets up. “Of course.” He points to large wooden barrels in the corner. “Not the best, though.”

I shrug. “At least we can celebrate. We should, after surviving what we did.”

“Who wants some?” Renel asks as he lifts a barrel and places it on the table, then fills a cup under its tap.

Azur raises a hand, and Renel slides a cup to him.

“I’ll have some,” Lidiane says.

“And me, of course,” I make sure to remind him.

“Obviously.” He passes a cup to me, then to Lidiane, and finally takes one for himself.

Lidiane’s sitting across from me, beside Azur. I’m not sure what’s happening with these two. All of a sudden, they’re like great friends—or lovers. Well, if she’s happy, that’s what matters.

The wine’s dreadful, but it’s wine—vinegary wine. I drink and then feel guilty that Renel got it for me. Renel, who I want to kill. But what else am I going to do with my life? Where am I going to go without a single coin in my possession? And killing him could help Astra. I don’t want to get distracted with these thoughts, and get up.

“I propose a toast. To everyone’s bravery.”

Azur snorts. “I did nothing. And got us stranded here.”

I disagree. “You killed the creepy old man back in the castle before he could hurt Lidiane. That counts.”

He tilts his head, unconvinced, then we all toast, and he chugs down his wine.

Renel takes a sip from his cup and looks at me. “How did you kill the soulsucker?”

Lidiane chuckles. “I want to know that too.”

“You were all fallen, that disgusting thing slithered toward me, and I stabbed it, stabbed it, then cut it. It was easy, actually. The thing didn’t fight back.”

Lidiane shakes her head. “You didn’t really think we were taking naps, did you?”

I shrink my shoulders, the terror of that moment seizing my body. “I feared you were all dead, but I thought… I decided it was better to believe you were taking a rest, because I would do that if I could, so it was believable.”

“You saved our lives,” Renel says.

“You saved ours, so we’re even.” I point to Lidiane. “She did a lot, too.”

“When I could,” she says, her voice quiet.

Azur opens his arms. “For once, I was a useless guardian.”

“You fought, too,” I say. “It’s not your fault all you had was a dagger.”

He raises a finger. “It is my fault. I’m the one who threw my sword.”

“I can’t believe Cherry Cake saved us,” Lidiane says, I suppose wanting to change the subject.

What a bizarre name for a fearsome magical unicorn.

Renel stares at her, his eyes wide. “How do you know his name?”

She blinks, then Azur asks, “What name?”

“Cherry Cake.” There’s a hint of annoyance in Renel’s voice.

Azur shrugs. “You said it.”

Renel frowns. “I did?”

Sneaky Azur.

Renel had not mentioned the name of the unicorn before. I would have remembered it. He only said it now. How does Lidiane even know it? It must have something to do with Marlak—and Azur is covering for her.

Interesting.

I decide to give her some more help, since I can lie.

“Don’t you remember? You were yelling: Cherry Cake, come and help me! I have an awesome deal!”

Renel frowns. “I wasn’t calling Cherry Cake.”

“Right.” I take a sip of my wine. “You were calling the giants. You said the unicorn’s name when he showed up. I’m all confused.”

Azur sighs. “It turns out that the giants had no interest in any deal.”

“Too bad for them,” Renel says, then furrows his eyebrows. “Then again, they don’t like the fae and mistrust us. Perhaps we were lucky.” He pauses, then turns to Azur. “You feared I was going to try to take the unicorn’s horn?”

“I thought you wanted it.”

“I might have thought so too.” Renel looks down, then faces his guardian. “But I wasn’t going to try it now, when he came to save me, and I don’t even think anyone can do it.”

Azur shrugs. “I wasn’t sure about your intentions. I’m still your guardian, right? As useless as I’ve been in the last few hours.”

Renel clicks his tongue. “You’re never useless.”

“I am. Having no magic is the worst thing ever.”

“So now you know how it feels.” Renel’s snort is bitter.

I almost protest that their words are highly offensive considering I have no magic and tend to feel fine when not surrounded by ghouls, but then I remember that Astra has some magic, even if I don’t know what it is, so I decide to be quiet.

“I was scared,” Lidiane says, perhaps again trying to change the subject. “I thought at any moment one of us would die, especially Renel, fighting those ghouls.”

Azur strokes a lock of his hair. “Then I’d die, and I don’t know how you two would survive—no offense.”

“None taken.” I chuckle, but something he said makes no sense. “Why do you think you’d be the first to die after Renel?”

“Bound guardian,” Azur says. “The moment my charge dies, so do I.”

Lidiane tenses, her eyes wide. She’s worried about Azur. And if I kill Renel…

Maybe not.

I ask, “What if it’s not your fault?”

“It’s always my fault. My role is to protect him. My soul life purpose.”

I’m not sure if he’s being sarcastic or not.

Renel looks up and shakes his head. “You say it as if I made the deal.”

Lidiane turns to Azur. “Didn’t you volunteer to be a guardian?”

“Yes, I volunteered.” There’s an edge to his voice. “When I was ten years old.”

“My stepfather created the bond.” Renel puts a hand on his chest. “If it had been me, I’d make him a normal guardian—like my father was. I do try to be careful and not die, though.”

“What if Azur dies?” I ask.

“I’ll be replaced.” Azur chuckles. “What a tragedy.”

“I’m not going to replace you.” Renel sounds irritated, which is odd. He isn’t the one with a life bond.

I can’t kill Renel, not if Lidiane is in love with Azur, but then again, maybe I’m seeing love where there’s just some mild attraction or friendship.

“I have a question.” How am I going to make this sound natural? I clean my throat. “Many, in fact, but this is a curiosity I’ve always had, since fae are so different.” They all stare at me, eyes wide. “Considering you are all so… free concerning intimate relationships, do you ever form attachments? Like romantic attachments?”

“Of course,” Renel says. “Fae love deeply, be it for a night or for a lifetime.”

I’m not sure that makes any sense. “But if it’s always deep, then it’s never deep, is it? How would one know if it’s a night or a lifetime?”

Renel takes a sip of his wine. “When we decide to get married, it’s usually for a lifetime. Vows are serious for us.”

I think about Marlak, rushing to our castle to marry Astra, and wonder if he was thinking it would be for a lifetime, or if he didn’t count a wedding in human lands as a real vow.

“What about soulmates? Is there a sign or something, a way to recognize them?” I look at Azur and Lidiane, hoping to hear their answer, and hoping it’s better than Nelsin’s you’ll know it when you know .

“Yes.” Renel sits up, his eyes bright. Does he have someone? “It’s a tug, as if you were pulled by an invisible chord.”

“Not necessarily,” Azur says.

“How do you know?” I ask.

Azur’s face is a mask. “It varies from person to person.”

That’s unfortunately similar to Nelsin’s non-explanation.

“My parents were soulmates,” Renel says. “He saw her and knew it right away, and that’s how he described it; a pull.” He looks down and takes a deep breath. “He liked to tell us about the day he met her, as if destiny had a hand in their story.”

A story with a sad ending. This would be a great time to change the subject, but I still want to understand what’s going on with Lidiane and Azur.

“So the sign is that you’ll know it right away?”

Lidiane stares at me with a puzzled face, obviously not understanding why I’m bringing up this subject.

Azur shakes his head. “Most people misread signs and wouldn’t know it immediately.”

“Right. So… basically…” I shrug. “You guess? How do you know it’s not just some infatuation?”

Azur gets up and refills his cup. “There will be some kind of magical manifestation. I’m not sure what happens when you don’t have magic, though.”

“You know a lot about it,” I say.

He snorts, then sits down again. “I’m a guardian. I know a lot about many things.”

I’m going to guess that Lidiane and Azur are not soulmates. I think I’d see them exchanging some looks, right? Something.

It means I can kill Renel. My heart freezes in my chest.

Nobody mentioned Zorwal and whether by any chance he survived a beheading. Perhaps it’s too much for now. If I escape, collect my prize, and go somewhere far away, it won’t matter.

My hand trembles as I take another sip of the wine, but I decide I need to go ahead with my plan, so I say, “We’re safe here, but it would be safer if we didn’t sleep on our own. Lidiane and Azur can share a room, and I can share another with Renel.”

My plan is to catch him when he’s asleep.

Lidiane gives me a weird look. I’m wondering if she thinks I’m interested in Renel, or if I’m pushing her towards Azur. I hope she doesn’t realize I’m a potential murderer.

Renel glances at his guardian then turns to me. “That’s a wise idea.”

Lidiane stares at her cup, while Azur drinks from his. They don’t even glance at each other. Can I kill Renel? My heart beats with uneasiness inside my chest.

We’re all exhausted, so we soon leave the kitchen and go to the quarters. Renel picks a room with a bunk bed, a small table, and two chairs, and I find myself alone with him, aware that he still has a sword—and all I have is a dagger.

I don’t wait for an invitation and sit at the bottom bed, then lie back on it, with my feet on the floor. I think my body is going to ache for weeks.

“You were quite interested in soulmates,” Renel says.

I sit up. “Just curious.”

He pulls a chair in front of me. “Do you still want a massage?”

“I was joking. Are you offering?” I hope not. I can’t kill someone who offers me a massage, I just can’t.

“I’m trying to make you feel better. I know it was a hard day, Astra.”

“Tar,” I say, dreading this farce.

He shakes his head. “Sorry.”

I wonder what he would do if he found out I’m not her. Kill me? But I don’t think he’d do it now. He’d sentence me to prison or to death. In fact, if he gets angry, that will give me a good reason to kill him. I could even claim self-defense. Right now, he’s being too nice, and I don’t think I’ll be able to move forward with my plan.

“There’s something I need to tell you.”

“Yes?”

I feel the air and the courage whooshing from my chest. No, I have to say it. I’m tired of living a lie.

“I’m not Astra.” Once I start, the words flow. “I’m not Tiurian. I was just raised with Astra. Like her, I was trained to replace the Krastel princess. My name’s Tarlia.”

He stares at me, his jaw hard, a manic glint in his eyes.

I deeply, deeply regret the words I just said—but there’s no way to take them back.

ASTRA

P ages and pages flew by, and yet Tiuris, The Fallen Kingdom didn’t bring me any answers. The book was written by a Crystal Court fae, describing one of the sanctuaries and theorizing that Tiuris must have been the most important kingdom on this continent before the arrival of the fae and humans from across the sea. The text doesn’t have much information other than speculation, even if it sounds plausible.

If Tiuris was an important kingdom, then it probably had a castle, perhaps many. The Amethyst Palace must have been real, and yet I don’t understand its significance or why it’s calling to me.

I decide to take another look at the book about the Shadow War, interested to see what it says about the defeat of the Witch King. He was a dangerous enemy because he could absorb magic, absorb life force, and use it against his enemies. Sending armies to fight him could mean giving him more ammunition.

Still, his enemies positioned their armies to surround and overwhelm the witch king’s allies as a last attempt against him. Last indeed, and these were people marching to their deaths. At the time, fae and humans were allies. What I find interesting is the absence of Tiurians. Tiurians are generally considered human, and therefore would be accounted in that group, but why no mention of their magic?

If it’s true that later, during the Treaty War, Tiurians were instrumental in assuring victory and survival for the humans by giving them magic, how come they’re not mentioned here?

The book then says that the alliance killed the Witch King’s children, and I can’t help but feel disgusted. Sure, the guy was bad, but his family was likely innocent—I think.

I’m not sure reading these books has been a fruitful use of my time. Perhaps it’s just that all my life, I was told to find answers in writing, and I want to do the same now, but if there were any text detailing the location of the Amethyst Palace, it would have been found by now.

Perhaps I should go to the river and seek the Nymph Queen. I’ll beg her for a sign, a direction, a clearer explanation. This is so frustrating. And then, if she doesn’t know, what is she going to do?

The worst is that I can’t even think straight. The entire day, Marlak has consumed my thoughts, not with longing or desire, but with worry. So much worry. I keep telling myself that he has spent a lifetime dodging enemies and likely has magic more powerful than any fae alive, and yet my heart feels wrong and tight and painful.

And then I can’t stop thinking about Lidiane and Tarlia. By nightfall, I could barely breathe. Ferer was agitated too. I’m wondering if we should try to get them out of that castle—but I also need to find the Amethyst Palace. Why does everything have to happen at the same time?

Falling asleep is a struggle. When I do, I find myself in a thick forest, calling for Marlak.

Marlak, where are you?

My body feels cold and taut and my heart feels like it’s being pulled, stretched. Everything’s wrong.

And then I’m in the Crystal Palace, on that balcony, looking at a starry sky above a forest, when I hear steps behind me.

The woman walking in my direction is calm, collected, confident. Every step she takes exudes power. Her hair is purple and shimmery and her face glows with inner light. She looks like me, if I were gorgeous and powerful, that is.

“You’re not a girl anymore,” she says.

“I know.”

“Of course.” She chuckles, then runs her hand through her incredible hair. “I’m sure you also know he’s in danger.”

It’s like a bucket of ice in my stomach. “What danger?”

She tilts her head, her look somehow mischievous. “Do you need to know?”

“Obviously.”

“You don’t need to know , little Astra.” Those words remind me of Andrezza, both caring and belittling.

The strange Astra smirks. “You don’t like little Astra , do you? Then don’t be little Astra.” She grimaces and pretends to cry. “Poor little me. I don’t know what to do.”

“Why don’t you help me instead of mocking me?”

“What do you think I’m doing, little Astra ?”

“You’re telling me the obvious, big Astra.”

“I disagree. Look around. Look. Truly look. Now, if you want your husband to live, find me.” She disappears, and yet I hear her voice one last time. “Find me.”

I realize then that the vision was not some strange, super powerful and yet snarky version of me. It was the Amethyst Palace.

Find me .

What does she think I’ve been trying to do?

I’m still staring at that forest, that sky, when a horrible screech reaches my ear, then gigantic tentacles surround the balcony. I turn to retreat inside, but the rooms are filled with grisly humanoid forms—ghouls. And yet Marlak’s the one in danger. I need to find him.

“Marlak!” I yell. My voice echoes through the hills, spreading far into the night, and yet there’s no reply.

“Marlak! Husband!”

Nothing. All I feel is empty, terrified.

And still with no answers.