Page 44 of Darkness Births the Stars #1
Unfortunately, I lacked trustworthy sources. Noctis was not an option. Tanez, though a friend, was still one of the Ten and likely had her own agenda. Our kind always had. One of the side effects of having command over immeasurable power and countless years to use it—or misuse it.
For an insane moment, I considered confronting Aramaz with my newfound knowledge of his lies and deceptions.
Using his remorse to find out the truth—if he even felt any remorse.
I had witnessed the hidden shadows within his heart.
I could no longer be fooled by the illusion of the selfless, kind king he presented to the world .
He had let me believe Noctis was dead. But why?
To keep me from seeking out his brother?
Likely. I couldn’t even blame him. Yet he had held on to that lie, not confessing the truth to me after Noctis’s sentencing, when I had drowned in an anguish as vast as Ashur’s seas, a desperation that nearly destroyed me.
It hinted at a hidden cruelty I hadn’t thought him capable of.
A shiver ran down my spine as we entered the dense forest between my farm and Dalath.
The sun barely peeked through the thick canopy, casting patches of light onto the road.
The air was colder here, the trees towering high.
This forest was old, one of the first Tanez had created.
While her Dryads didn’t dwell here, their settlements mostly in the Forest of Bar-ak-alein, it felt like one of their graceful shapes could emerge from the underbrush at any moment.
These woods were usually safe. The only big predator living here was an old, bad-tempered Cave Troll.
The creatures who had come into being when Chaos invaded Aron-Lyr fell into three categories.
Friendly ones like the small, winged Pixies near my farm, whose magic made the plants in their vicinity grow.
Dangerous ones like the Rakash, fierce beasts with fangs and claws that had formed the core of Noctis’s army, and the wolf-like Serai, who often hunted in packs.
And those like the local Cave Troll, who kept to himself and was harmless unless disturbed.
No, I thought as the wagon rumbled over the forest road.
Contacting my husband was out of the question.
He either wanted me to suffer as punishment for my disloyalty or accepted my pain to further his plans.
I doubted he had spared Noctis purely out of the goodness of his heart.
Yes, despite everything, he loved his brother.
But he had always placed duty above all else.
It was more likely that he’d known killing Noctis would transfer the power of Chaos to someone else. Someone he could not control at all .
If I faced Aramaz again, it needed to be on my terms, when I had all the facts. I would try to find out more in the village.
Poppy let out a loud whinny and veered sharply to the side. I pulled on the reins, bringing her to a sudden halt, and scanned the woods, straining to hear any suspicious noises. Bane clambered off my lap, his fur lifting in alarm.
A thunderous crash of trees startled me. I instinctively reached for my spear. Screams echoed through the dense forest. My gaze locked onto the thick, impenetrable barrier of green lining the road as something massive approached.
Two figures stumbled out of the underbrush, one supporting the other.
I barely had time to recognize the chain mail and dark burgundy tunics of the local militia before the Troll burst from the forest behind them like a ferocious storm, branches and leaves raining down around him.
With an ear-splitting roar, he landed on the road, his sharp canines glistening as spittle flew through the air.
His massive fists slammed into the ground with such force that the earth trembled, sending dirt spiraling in every direction.
“Over here!” I shouted, waving frantically. Calder, one of the Sundered who had helped me on the farm a few times, reacted instantly. Dragging his companion, whose bleeding left leg was visible through his tattered breeches, he tried to get behind me and the wagon.
The Troll swiveled around. His small eyes, almost hidden by wrinkled, grayish skin, followed the two soldiers with menacing intensity. Whatever had angered him, I doubted I could pacify him without violence.
My hands tightened around the spear, my breaths steady and measured. In that fleeting moment before battle, my senses heightened as I absorbed every detail of the world around me: the reassuring feel of the weapon, the Troll’s threatening growls, his sharp scent of musk and damp earth.
Poppy’s panicked whinny snapped the creature’s gaze toward her. My heart seized at the violet-and-green flash in his dark, furious eyes. No, there would be no reasoning here.
One thought coursed through my mind: I had to save the horse.
The Troll would sink his fangs into Poppy’s neck any moment, tear her apart with claws as big as swords.
He was three times my size, with a thick hide covering his body, a rough loincloth around his waist, and a heavy-boned bald head.
With just one strike, the Troll could easily break my bones, my mortal strength no match for him.
A long-forgotten memory whispered through my mind—a smooth voice instructing me in battle: “If you face a predator bigger and stronger than you, never run away. It’s what they expect, what they are used to.”
I had laughed, claiming there were no predators superior to us. My arrogance was limitless in those days.
“Focus,” he had answered. “You never know when you will need this. If it happens, don’t move. Wait. Patiently. And when you strike, make it count.”
My body tensed in anticipation. The Troll roared and charged.
In one graceful movement, I was on my feet, spear raised, using the wagon to catapult me high into the air.
With the speed of a striking viper, I thrust my spear into the Troll’s eye just as I soared over Poppy’s back, moments before he could sink his fangs into the mare’s flesh.
As the spear struck, I had to release the shaft, a sharp pain piercing through my frail wrist. My momentum carried me past the roaring Troll, who was writhing on the ground in agony.
Instinctively, I rolled and swiftly rose to my feet.
The wounded creature thrashed, causing Poppy to rear up in fear, narrowly escaping his claws.
I leaped between them, seized the spear, and plunged it further into the Troll’s skull.
Grasping the wooden shaft with his claws, he yanked me closer.
In that terrifying instant, I doubted my strike had been enough.
Then he staggered, one last growl wheezing out between his contorting lips as he collapsed, nearly taking me with him.
He lay before me like a crumbled mountain, shuddering in his death throes.
I could only stare as my heartbeat slowly returned to normal.
Stepping closer, I saw that the shine of Chaos in his remaining eye had broken, leaving only pain and confusion as his lifeblood trickled into the dark forest soil.
“I am sorry,” I murmured softly, reclaiming my spear. Whatever had possessed him, he deserved better.
A small, warm body pressed against my leg, bringing me back to the present.
“It’s alright. We are safe now.” I picked up Bane, stroking him as I hurried to the two soldiers who had collapsed behind my wagon. I grabbed the shoulder of the one who seemed uninjured besides a few scratches on his face from their flight through the forest. “Calder. What happened?”
“I don’t know.” His dark eyes wild, the young Human drew one hand through his sweat-drenched hair.
“We were on our normal patrol route, far enough from his cave.” He shook his head as if he still could not quite believe how close to death they had come.
“When we noticed him, we behaved as you taught us to. No quick movements, no loud sounds, slowly backing away.”
“Not that he cared,” the second soldier, Yarmin, added from the ground, his normally tan face deathly pale. “He just attacked us without warning. By lyr , my leg!”
I knelt at his side immediately, worry flashing through me at the steady pulse of blood trickling from a deep gash on his calf. Sacrificing my belt, I managed to staunch the bleeding somewhat, but he needed a healer. Quickly.
“Help me get him on the wagon,” I ordered Calder.
Together, we heaved Yarmin onto the wagon bed, a few pained groans escaping him as he was jostled around.
“Stay with him and hold on tight,” I instructed Calder as I climbed back onto the wagon, Bane settling down beside me. “We’re racing to Dalath.”
A wave of dread washed over me as I spurred Poppy on. I had found the answer to the question that had been tormenting me, even if I didn’t like it.
Tanez had been right. Chaos was rising again. More powerful than ever before. As much as I wished to, I could no longer deny it.
My time of peace was over.