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thirty-six

Queen Natala

I look out the windows at the mess that was once my kingdom. We cut down our beloved trees to try to barricade the border between us and the Cartilen Mountains. Once the creatures stayed there, but not now — now they ravage our forest. The flame-tipped fur of the khind ignites fires that have quickly spread through our once vibrant green landscape.

The door creaks as it opens behind me. Elino approaches me with heavy footsteps, and I can already tell that the news he has isn’t good. He runs his hand across my bare shoulder, letting it linger, then he unties the knot at the base of my neck that holds my dress on, before he leans down and kisses the hollow there.

“Anything from Shaston?” I ask, still watching the smoke plums in the distance. Our men are becoming depleted, their strength waning like the phase of the moon. Even with magic pulsing through our veins once again, it’s not enough. It’s not enough to stop what’s coming.

He steps beside me. “Not officially. I received a message from Prince Ereon though. He claims to be traveling north to gather some of his men to send here.”

I run my hand through my dark green hair before turning to him. “Then that is all we can hope for. I knew reaching out to that monster of a king in Shaston wouldn’t help, but I had to try. I know the trouble in Antalis —” The look in his eyes makes me halt mid-sentence. “What?”

He puts his hands across the freckles on my cheeks. “King Clennom is sick with the deluc. Word reached us just recently. That’s what I came to tell you.”

Tears threaten to spill, brimming my eyes. While I don’t know Clennom very well, imagining him going through what Iviloan had to endure is heartbreaking. I think back to one of my last visits to Antalis and my friend Iviloan, whom I miss.

Four and a Half Lunar Years Ago

“Your freckles really look like the stars in the sky, Tala.” Iviloan looks at me from across the table as we sit on her balcony overlooking the Great Sea. The pitgoni birds chirp from up high, soaring down to catch their lunch. Her daughter, Carnaxa, runs across the sand during her fifteenth lunar year, and an annoyed young guard tries to keep a straight face as she runs into the sea. He looks at her with irritation, but soon his expression changes to joy as he splashes water at her.

“That’s what people tell me. I used to hate them when I was younger, but they are growing on me.” I take a sip of tea from the blue glass in front of me and look at her. She looks worried today, her eyes darting back and forth from her daughter laughing on the beach to her own hands. It’s then I notice, she’s paler than she once was, and her frame has grown smaller. “Are you okay? Is Carnaxa?”

She looks at me as if I startled her from her thoughts and smiles, before her glass clinks against the porcelain saucer. “Carnaxa will be fine, but things are changing, Tala. For good this time.” Iviloan takes my hand in her own. There’s something important I need to discuss with you, and I also need you to hold on to something for me, until Carnaxa needs it.”

Fright consumes her blue eyes and I squeeze her hand and reply, “Ivy, you are scaring me. What is wrong?”

She lets go of my hand and looks up at the sun above us. “Something that started many lunar years ago.”

Present

Iviloan told me her history, and at first I didn’t believe it. I took the tome she gave to me and held onto it for her daughter, not knowing when the right time would be. But I believed her the day the rings of light disappeared from around the sun. And when I saw Carnaxa hand in hand with Ereon, I knew the time she spoke was coming to pass. I think she told me everything, hoping it would help curb the pain that overwhelms me daily as my kingdom is torn apart. I pray every night that Carnaxa will survive what she must. I know that she woke up the power that has helped us survive against the khind . Magic scared us at first, random bursts of power happening all over the kingdom: flames, wind, earthquakes, and more ... but now, the mind has remembered how to control the power like second nature.

“So, it’s officially begun,” is all that I say before I reach up, brushing my fingers across his cheek. “The prophecy is finally coming to pass.”

“Will you finally tell me what you know?” he asks, his fingers still lingering along my jawline. I’ve often thought about telling him, letting him know what is to come. But it isn’t always the best feeling to know what awaits us in the future. It’s a burden, knowing what’s happening and yet nothing can halt it. I shake my head and a grim smile spreads across my face.

“When the time comes, I’ll let you know more. Until then, get the priestesses from the temple. I want to speak to them.” I let my hands fall from his face and turn back to the window. “The rest of the prophecy will come swiftly. I need you to retrieve her from the shelter as well, please. She needs to know. She’ll want to go.”