Page 26 of Return of the Darkness (The Lost Kingdom Saga #3)

Elisara

S allos. Elisara replayed the name in her mind and thought it unusual—almost as unusual as Caligh. She narrowed her eyes and suspicion rose again. What if he knew Caligh from before he was killed by the Sword of Souls?

“What is it you want from me, Sallos?” Elisara asked. The man lifted his foot and rested it on his thigh, watching her intently with clasped hands.

“To serve you.” His voice was firm and certain, his eyes unwavering as he watched Vala’s queen.

“Why?”

“It is my duty,” he responded as though it were obvious. Elisara frowned, sensing this man could be cryptic with his phrasing.

“We have known each other for how long? Perhaps three days? Why do you feel a sense of duty towards me?” Sallos tilted his head to watch Elisara, as if contemplating how much to reveal. “Secrets are not the best way to demonstrate your allegiance.”

Sallos smiled.“Where I come from, your power is worshipped. It is a symbol of royal blood.”

Elisara waved her hand. The comment meant nothing to her.

“I only have this power because Sitara shoved it inside of me when I was too young to refuse.”

“It is not just the power. There was once a prophecy–”

“Enough.” Elisara turned her head to the tapestry hiding where she had first read the prophecy. “I am tired of prophecies; I am tired of being told I am destined to fix everything for myself and kingdoms I have not set foot on. I am tired of gods demanding things of me–”

“You misunderstand me, your Majesty. I want nothing from you.” Elisara huffed, still staring at the tapestry and refusing to meet his gaze.

“I was simply stating there was once a prophecy that predicted a power such as yours would end wars and create lands. That prophecy has already been fulfilled, it is the land I once called home. Seeing your power is a reminder to my people of our creation, the beginning of our lineage. That is why it is worshipped.” Elisara hesitated but finally looked at him again.

She had only heard of Ithyion, though understood Caligh likely hailed from somewhere else, the place where he spent his time creating his dark creatures.

The thought of other lands, where others lived with powers like hers, made her question why no one else on Novisia had the same power, or why nobody knew of these other lands or what they provided.

“What was your home like?” Elisara asked. She was intrigued by the thought of fleeing to another land to live in solitude with her heartache.

“It was beautiful once, but I have not seen it in centuries to attest to the fact that is still true.” Sallos’s smile faltered.

“Would you like to see it again?” Elisara spoke in a higher pitch, her tone hopeful. “You could take me there.”

Sallos chuckled. “I would be revered for bringing someone of your station to my lands. Sadly, I do not know who controls it now, but I would not risk your life.”

“I would,” Elisara mumbled.

“You care so little for your life?” Sallos asked. The pain in her chest festered, a reminder of the broken shards inside. The very thing keeping her alive was already shattered, so what did it matter if it crumbled completely? If she simply ceased to exist?

“What do I have left to live for? The one person who I wished to live my life with is gone. Taken.” Elisara slid her dagger back into her boot before bringing her legs up to her chest.

“I felt like that once,” Sallos said. “And then I discovered there was an entire world to explore, to experience, to live. ” An entire world.

More than just the four realms that formed the kingdom she called home.

She wondered how different these other lands could be; could she find one like Vala?

Or Keres to remind her of Kazaar? Elisara frowned.

Why had no one from these lands ever stumbled onto Novisia?

What if Sallos had been trapped in the sword for so long that Caligh had already conquered these other lands before Ithyion even existed?

“You said you would not risk my life,” Elisara said.

“Not just yet.” Sallos trailed off. “There is more you must learn first. Sitara would–”

“What did you just say?” The flames blazed in the fireplace, contrasting the chill in the room. Sallos glanced down as lightning skittered across the floor. “So, you do want something from me. Did she send you here?” Sallos sighed.

“She did not send me, but she is worshipped in many places in different forms. I know of her plight and what she requires. If you would just consider–”

“Get out,” Elisara whispered, reaching for her dagger.

“Your Majesty—

“GET OUT!” Elisara screamed. Shadows lifted from their place of rest into spears, forming a circle around her, poised ready to strike. Sallos merely looked at them.

“I could help you learn to control and retract them as and when you wish.”

“I most definitely have need of them now,” Elisara hissed.

“I said, get out. If you truly pledge your allegiance to me, and that was not another one of your lies, you will do as I command.” Sallos assessed her for a moment longer, before bowing his head and exiting the room.

Elisara willed her shadows to guard the doorway as she collapsed back onto the bed.

Knowing she was already asleep, given her conversation with Sallos, felt odd, but she closed her eyes regardless and hoped to drift into nothingness again.

***

The towering trees blocked the light where Aleya crouched behind the large rock she used for defence.

Pushing her red hair from her face, she glanced between the cracks, assessing if they had truly won the war.

Bodies littered the castle steps and rubble crushed most of the fallen.

Her eyes trailed the walls up into the treetops, where the moss-covered castle was hidden from view.

Others could still be trapped in the upper levels.

“Are you calling it?” a voice whispered. She turned to meet the eye of her general, Havia.

“It seemed too easy,” Aleya replied. “The castle has been under siege for three weeks, and then suddenly today the soldiers are more spread out, and the pathway to the castle is clearer.” Aleya glanced through the crack again, assessing the bodies for movement.

She flicked her finger forward, directing a vine to snake across the floor.

She held her breath, watching and waiting to see if the sudden movement prompted any surviving soldiers to charge.

Her vines reached the castle doors with ease and looped through the heavy handles. Aleya tugged.

“I want my home back as much as you do, but something feels off. I have not seen him, dead or alive.”

“The man’s a coward and probably fled,” Havia scoffed. The image of his valiant actions in past wars came to Aleya’s mind.

“He wasn’t always,” she murmured.

“I’ll call it then. I want to get home to Athena.” Havia’s blood-smeared face cracked into a smile as she ran forward with her sword raised.

“Havia Balfour, get back here!” Aleya hissed.

“Are you commanding it? If that is a command then you are declaring yourself queen again, which means we have in fact WON!” Havia shouted the final word, and cheers echoed through the trees, where Aleya knew the rest of her soldiers lay in wait. Her vines sensed something by the door.

“Wait!” Aleya called. “Havia!” Aleya screamed as a darker vine, not belonging to her, whipped from the door and wrapped around Havia’s neck, tugging her back into the arms of the man Aleya had searched for.

“Come out, Aleya.” His voice was just as she remembered it, his accent rough and sending tingles up her spine. Rising from behind the rock, Aleya lifted her arms in the air as she dropped her sword.

“Let her go, Evander. We both know it’s me you want.”

“Of course it is. Why would I not want my wife?” Evander’s voice held no hatred as he stepped from the darkened doorway into the streaming light through the treetops.

Aleya’s heart pounded as she looked upon him.

His hair was the same golden blonde, the top half braided back to reveal hundreds of different shades.

He had shaved off his beard, revealing a strong jaw beneath which made his lips more prominent.

Still, a golden crown sat upon his head, complementing the glow of his green eyes.

“I haven’t been your wife for six years,” Aleya said, stepping carefully towards the entryway and over the bodies that had fought for her. She had lost enough soldiers to understand it was a part of life, a part of war; regardless, she sent a silent prayer for them.

“Just because you were not here does not mean you weren’t my wife,” Evander replied.

“I was not here because of the decisions you made for our lands,” Aleya spat. He had the audacity to wince, to appear hurt. Growls sounded behind the trees and Aleya took pleasure in the way Evander’s eyes widened.

“They sided with your cause?”

“Of course they did,” Aleya responded, whistling low to the wolves prowling the castle perimeter. Evander backed away as Aleya strolled up the stone steps towards him.

“Surrender, Evander. I will not make your life hard.” Aleya’s voice was soft, exactly how he liked it.

Aleya locked eyes with Havia, whose hands clutched the vines around her throat.

She flicked her gaze pointedly at Havia’s waist, where a poisoned dagger was tucked into her belt.

Havia’s eyes widened as she mouthed ‘are you sure?’ Aleya gave the slightest nod before distracting Evander again.

“You can keep rooms in the castle under heavy guard. I will allow you access to the twins, provided I am present.” Evander’s eyes softened at the mention of the twins.

Aleya swallowed the lump in her throat at the lie as Havia pretended to struggle, loosening one hand from the vines to reach for the dagger’s hilt.

“Do they miss me?” Evander asked, his voice cracking. Aleya swallowed, trying to keep her voice level as she spoke the truth, all the while knowing what was to come.

“Of course they miss you. You are their father. Boys need their father,” Aleya whispered, just as Havia pulled the dagger free and stabbed Evander’s thigh.

Before he reacted, Havia spun, still trapped in vines; she launched the dagger into his chest, pushing him against the stone wall.

The vines withdrew as the glow of his eyes faded.

Havia embedded her dagger further into his chest before backing away, clearing the path for her queen.

Aleya’s heart broke at the tears pooling in her husband’s eyes and spilling over the wrinkles that had deepened since she last saw him.

Evander’s lip quivered. She knelt before him and cupped his cheek.

The wedding ring, still on her finger, glinted in the sun, the symbol on it matching the pin on her husband’s jacket.

Evander reached up to Aleya’s red hair, his favourite feature, and smiled.

“I still love you,” he whispered. Those were his last words before his eyes went vacant, and his head lulled back.

Elisara jolted up in bed, her breathing erratic.

Her heavy eyes kept fluttering open and shut.

As if experiencing Aleya’s pain first hand, Elisara touched her chest. She lost focus as she looked down at her arm, where scarred vines wrapped around her forearms. Was she still dreaming?

The scars had not been there before she slept.

The notion of killing Kazaar by stabbing a dagger in his chest was unfathomable, even if he had wronged her as it appeared Evander had Aleya.

The strength and sacrifice it would take was daunting.

The room blurred again, and Elisara could make out two forms of Sallos approaching from the hallway.

She wondered if something had happened to Aleya after she killed her husband; perhaps she was through the hallway, too, trapped in the Sword of Souls.

“The memories will be vivid for a while,” Sallos said, taking a seat on the chair beside the desk again. “Try to remember as much as possible.” His voice faded as Elisara’s head hit the pillow.