Page 51 of Legacy of the Heirs (The Lost Kingdom Saga #2)

Larelle

L arelle tried to recall any military or tactical conversations had between her father and brother—anything to guide her escape.

She thought of Elisara and Nyzaia and questioned what they would do, having been trained in such matters.

Yet even if Larelle did escape, she had no experience in hand-to-hand combat like the other queens, should the two men follow.

If she ever left this place, perhaps she would learn.

But for now, Larelle was left with her instincts and a burning determination to see her daughter.

She pictured her last memory of Zarya’s face as Lillian ushered her away, and her gut wrenched at the thought of her midnight blue eyes filled with tears and worry for her mother.

What had Alvan told her? Zarya was intuitive for a young girl and would see through any lie.

Larelle kept her head high and interlocked her hands, confined within the chains. She refused to leave her daughter.

Osiris smirked, leaning against the cave wall. Arrogant.

“We can play this game of silent treatment as long as you like, Queen Larelle, but it will only extend the time I spend cutting into your skin with my claws.” She did not baulk but her eyes drifted to his hand as his fingers shifted into those of the creatures.

“You have not asked a specific question,” she said, focusing on the water lapping in the distance rather than Osiris’ face. He pushed off the wall.

“What do you know of Thassena?” he asked, but Larelle did not need to feign confusion. He cocked his head. “Huh. Nothing.”

“What about Eresydon? Asynthos?” asked the young boy .

“Arik!” Osiris snapped. “Do not give her information if she knows nothing of Thassena.” Larelle tucked the words into a pocket in her mind, though she did not know whether they would ever prove to be beneficial.

She refrained from asking if they were people or places.

Osiris hummed and stalked closer, placing a finger under her chin.

Larelle glared at him as his eyes bored into hers, her reflection shimmering in his dark eyes.

“Perhaps you are further behind than we thought. And the sword—what do you know of the sword?” Her eyebrows must have moved a fraction as he said, “Ah, there we go. She knows something .” The gold rings in his eyes briefly flared, and he frowned. “But not enough…”

His gaze snagged on something behind her, and Larelle turned as Osiris walked into the part of the cave where she had been held captive.

She saw it clearer in the light. The crevice where she had remained crouched against the wall was coated in emerald algae; she dreaded to think how the back of her dress looked.

A mismatched, unbalanced collection of rocks piled at the back of the cave as though gathered by a child.

Osiris stroked the trickle of water Larelle had drawn from to cure her thirst until hooking his hand over a small ledge.

A splash followed as he met a deeper rock pool, but by the grunt that followed, he was not content with it.

Larelle frowned as Osiris traced his hands over the rocks and the wall behind it.

She turned to Arik, the younger and less experienced of the two.

She could make a break for it. Larelle glanced back at the opening.

Would the cuffs prevent her from breathing under water?

Would they take that much of her power? The boy remained focused on Osiris, but when Larelle moved towards freedom, her foot betrayed her as she stepped in a puddle, the resounding splash regaining Arik’s attention.

“Ah, there you are,” Osiris hummed. Larelle faced him, but he was not addressing her. His pale hands trailed the back wall until stopping at a thin trickle of water, flowing from a minuscule hole in the cave wall that joined the pool his hand had been splashing in moments before .

He withdrew his hand to display a collection of pebbles on his palm.

Larelle tried to decipher his smug smile as he traced one with his thumb.

Osiris tossed the pebbles from one hand to the other as he strode back towards Larelle, his feet splashing as he re-entered the light.

He stared out over the ocean, and the pebbles clacked in his palms, moving from hand to hand.

Eventually, he stopped and held one up to examine in the light.

The sun reflected off the smooth stone, but there was something imperfect about it as she noted its jagged edge. Something in Larelle’s chest tugged, urging her closer. Arik beat her to it and stepped towards Osiris, blocking her view of the object.

“Is that it?” Arik murmured, and Osiris hummed, further piquing Larelle’s interest. The pebbles clattered against the stone floor as Osiris dropped all but one and turned to face her again.

“Do you know what this is, Queen Larelle?” His voice was silken and smug, knowing she did not.

He revelled in holding that information over her, yet Larelle remained quiet and glanced between him and the piece in his hand.

“There will be a time when you and your rulers require this, along with three others.” Larelle turned over his words.

Why would they need a pebble? Osiris grinned.

“Imagine what you could do if you possess all from Ithyion.”

Larelle’s eyes narrowed at the reference to the kingdom he and his fellow creatures stole from her ancestors. “ All from Ithyion.” Replaying his words, she willed herself to remember why it sounded so familiar. She stepped forward. The prophecy.

“What do you know?” she asked, a threatening edge to her voice. Osiris threw the pebble in the air, catching it each time.

“More than you, it would seem,” he said, twirling the pebble between the backs of his fingers like young children did for money at The Bay.

Larelle focused on the pebble in the silence that followed.

Ithyion. Four pieces. Osiris moved closer, and the talisman around her neck warmed.

She refrained from moving her hands to the necklace and kept a neutral expression as Osiris’ eyes flickered to her neck. The talisman .

“I fear there is no information you can give me, Queen Larelle of Nerida,” he hummed. Larelle needed to stall him and find a way to retrieve the talisman.

“So, what now?” she asked. “Is it time for you to kill me and take me from my daughter?” Larelle’s emotions spiked with hidden fear and determination, envisioning Zarya’s midnight blue eyes again. Osiris tilted his head towards her.

“You have a daughter?” he asked, glancing at Arik, who shrugged. “Her name?”

Larelle clenched her jaw. “Zarya,” she said, trying to appease him long enough to think through a plan.

“Zarya Sevia.” He tested the name on his tongue.

“Zerpane,” Larelle said firmly, and Osiris turned to face her fully then. “Zarya Sevia-Zerpane.” His eyes narrowed a fraction.

“An old name,” he said. “There is power in a name.” Larelle did not respond.

She did not need a history lesson on the origins of her dead partner’s surname.

Osiris nodded towards Arik, who approached the cave ledge.

“I believe our time together is over, Queen Larelle of Nerida.” Larelle’s heart quickened; she could not let them take the talisman, but how would she escape them both?

She stepped towards them as Osiris handed the talisman to Arik, the other half warming her neck and humming in response to its counterpart.

“It has been a pleasure making your acquaintance, even if we are meant to be enemies.” Osiris smiled, yet he had lost his earlier arrogance, and another emotion flickered in his gaze.

“Enemies,” Larelle confirmed, remembering how his creatures killed countless innocents in Garridon.

She assessed the distance between her and the ledge.

Arik and Osiris were far enough to the right, allowing a slight gap for her to squeeze through.

But Larelle needed the talisman. She stepped closer again and saw the suspicion in Osiris’ expression.

“Daughter of mine…” A faded voice echoed through Larelle’s mind and caught her off guard.

She halted as the talisman in Arik’s hand sang to its other half, calling and beckoning it closer.

“ Take it. It will protect you,” urged the female voice again, like it spoke from somewhere far in the distance.

Still, Arik stood with his back to her while Osiris watched.

“Even enemies can find a common cause. At least, that is what my mother’s religion preaches. Funny, isn’t it? How people place such weight on religious sayings.” Osiris slowly turned his head to face the ocean, giving her an opening. “We will meet again one day, Queen Larelle.”

“I hope we do not,” she said, and with her daughter’s face spurring her on, Larelle charged at Arik.

The wet surface provided little grip, but she only needed to make several strides.

Her toes curled as she pushed forward and fell into Arik, forcing her weight into him.

He stumbled into Osiris, and the three of them collided on the floor in a tangled heap.

The talisman skated across the floor towards the edge, and Larelle was quick to clamber towards it.

She scraped her knees against the rock as she crawled, reaching for it.

Larelle gasped as power met her fingertips, unlocking the cuffs around her wrists that clattered to the stone floor.

She pushed herself to standing, surprised by the power of the talismans when combined .

Breathing in the salty air, her connection to the ocean returned, and power rushed through her veins.

She had always been powerful, yet the energy flowing through her now was different, older, and intense.

She stared into a puddle at her feet, which rippled with her reflection.

Larelle’s blue eyes glowed, yet something else was there: a swirling pool of water in her irises, like a mirror to the sea.