Blayze reaches for the axe at his waist. ‘I’m coming with you.’
But I’m already turning on my heel. ‘She’s my responsibility.’
Orthriel darts to my side. ‘You forget, I’m sworn to protect her too.’
I brace, to prevent myself quaking in the cielsyph’s presence. ‘Leilani is my betrothed. Her welfare is the only reason I’m on this Sister-blooded quest. You wait for the horses. I don’t need either of you.’ I’m already stalking in the direction Tansy returned from before they can argue.
I wait for Orthriel to swoop to my side in that irritating inhuman way of theirs. For Blayze to chase after me.
One breath. Two. Ten.
It seems they’ve left me to it.
Once out of eyeshot, I kick at the frosted earth. Why must she be so reckless? Why can’t she do as she’s told? Embarrassing me even when she’s nowhere to be seen. Blayze’s smirking face rises in my memory as I follow the river through the woods. Throne knows, I’d love to get him in the lists. Drive him from a pacing steed into the dirt. Wipe that smirk clean off with a flick of my Crescent Sword.
I’m dragged from my thoughts by a choking stink rising on the breeze. I’m standing in a starfruit field, a thick hedge towering before me. No sign of the Princess. I pass through a small opening in the border, only to be greeted by another field.
A battlefield littered with carrion vine-corpses. Acres of them.
I’ve heard court whispers of blight, but this… I cover my nose and mouth, have to look away. It’s as bad as the Gaspings. Hyperion must know of it. I think back to the fearful look that flitted across his face when he presented me with my Crescent Sword. How much is the King shouldering alone?
With the stench of rot heady in the bitter air, I turn once more for the river path. Where is she?
Beneath the anger, terror is fisting my gut. I don’t want any harm to have befallen her. And not only for fear of Hyperion’s retribution.
A faint keening carries on the breeze. The sounds are raw, wounded. An animal caught in a trap? I search for the source, then stop in my tracks. I know this cry. It’s been long sunrings, but I could never forget it. Not after all those nights forced to listen to its desperate pitch through the ceiling. I keep walking, following the swells and ebbs of those too-familiar cries.
I call Leilani’s name as I stride the woods, but she doesn’t respond. Frostfangs roam these hills – has one attacked her? Perhaps one of those peasants from the hamlet we passed earlier?
Eventually, I spot the grey of her travelling cloak amid the trees. She’s lying on the forest floor. Her back is to me, but she’s shaking. A strange huffing noise now mingles with her muted cries. I lift my gaze, and curse under my breath. A hoarclaw stands on the opposite side of the glade; it’s looking directly at her, preparing to charge.
I don’t think. Unsheathing the blade at my hip, I run towards Leilani, towards the bear. I start to shout, to brandish my sword – anything I can think of to draw its attention.
Leilani lifts her head in unison with the hoarclaw. Cries out my name.
‘Stay down,’ I call over my shoulder, positioning myself in front of her. ‘I’ll lead it away from you. While it’s distracted, run. As fast as you can back to camp.’
‘Astrophel, no—’
But I don’t stop to listen. I pick up a fallen branch, veer left, and hurl the switch at the hoarclaw.
Its ears flatten back. Pounding its front paws on the earth, the bear lets out a terrible bellow, turns away from Leilani and bounds towards me.
It worked.
But the relief flooding through me, loosening overwound muscles, soon spoils to icy dread. On foot, with only a sword to defend myself, I’m no match for this beast. I think back to Blayze, to those frenzied attacks he demonstrated in the Armoury. I should have accepted his help, not let pride stand in my way. Too late now. I hold my ground as the hoarclaw rears on its hind legs. There’s a patch of white fur behind its right shoulder. I’ve seen the marking before. It’s the beast from the hunt; the one I spared. I grip my sword tighter, bare my teeth. This time, I won’t go down without a fight. This time, it’s kill or be killed. As the bear growls and draws back an enormous paw to strike me, a strange peace descends. If I’m to die, impaled on those bowed claws, at least I’ll do so while fulfilling my duty to the Throne, atoning for my shameful actions at Thawtide. A noble death, like my father’s before me.
I snarl, blade raised high above my head, and prepare to charge. A last stand. But something shunts me in the ribs, pushing me aside.
Light flashes, blinding me.
The hoarclaw bellows again, drops on all fours, lumbers back several paces, dazzled by the glare. I lift my free arm to shield my face. I know this light, this unworldly opalescent lustre.
No!I told her to run.
But Leilani stands with her back to me, hands raised, starshine streaming from her palms.
I remember the force with which it struck me in the palace ballroom, and shudder. Yet I can’t deny she’s awe-inspiring in this moment: incandescent, a beacon in the twilight. Shining like the very stars whose power she’s channelling.
