“Because Bayn had other reasons for being with us and being nice,” Erian said. “He wanted Mama. Because the people in the village wanted her. Or someone like her.”
Llor frowned. “The people are nice. They gave us food.”
“I came here for my children, that’s all,” Naelin said to Bayn. She was grateful they were alive and had been taken care of. It was more than she’d ever dreamed possible. But this little adventure was over. “And now that I’ve found them, it’s time to go home.”
Please, let us go.
Ven slid between her and the wolf. They began to back out of the cave.
Bayn darted across the cave, past them, and then stopped in front of them, filling the entrance to the cave. He crouched, his legs tense. Naelin corralled Erian and Llor behind Ven. Sword raised defensively in front of them, Ven advanced. “I don’t want to hurt you, old friend. And I know you don’t want to hurt us. All we want is to get these children safely home.”
For one terrible moment, Naelin thought they’d fight.
But then Bayn bowed his head. Dropping to the cave floor, he rolled and exposed his throat. “Thank you, my friend,” Ven said. He sheathed his sword, and Naelin followed him with the children past the wolf.
Once they were past, Bayn got to his feet and let out a mournful howl.
With a cry, Llor broke from of Naelin’s grip and ran back to Bayn. “Llor, no!” Naelin cried. She grabbed for him, but he was too quick.
Launching himself forward, Llor threw his arms around Bayn’s neck. “Come with us! Please! We love you! You’re our friend!”
The wolf lowered his head, cheek pressing against the boy’s cheek. Naelin surged forward and then stopped—the spirits, her spirits, were howling in her head. She grabbed on to Ven’s arm as their pain shot through her and her knees buckled under her.
“Mama!” she heard Erian, distant.
Her vision swam, and instead she saw through a hundred eyes as the untamed spirits tore into her spirits. “Ven, they’re attacking!”
She felt him twist from her, his sword raised, looking toward the sky.
“They’re attacking my spirits!” And she threw her mind into theirs, strengthening them, fighting with them as thousands of untamed spirits converged, united by a single thought so loud that she could feel it reverberating across the untamed lands:
Destroy!
Chapter31
Daleina listened to the spirits’ story, of the Great Mother who died and, with her, the intended destiny of spirits, humans, and the world. She saw it all unfold around her as the spirits flooded her mind with images and their sorrow and anger at the loss that had happened so very long ago. When the spirits withdrew, she was left gasping, her cheeks wet with tears, and her throat raw, though she hadn’t felt as if she’d been screaming.
“Intense, isn’t it?” Merecot hadn’t moved from her chair across the dinner table in the center of Daleina’s outer chamber.
Gripping the arms of her chair, Daleina forced herself to breathe deeply and evenly until the room around her quit wobbling. “How many queens do you think have heard that?
Merecot shrugged. “How many queens do you think would ask? Or listen?”
She was right. Certainly Daleina had never asked them before.
In a quiet voice, with a hint of awe, Merecot said, “The spirits are the ‘builders’ of the world, and their work was interrupted before anyone could say, ‘You’re done.’ Someone needs to tell them ‘You’re done,’ and then all of this will stop. The killing. The hatred. The anger. The fear.”
Standing, she crossed to the window and looked at the twinkle of lights cradled in the branches of the trees of Mittriel. She tried to imagine what life would be like if people didn’t have to fear the spirits. She thought again of Greytree and her childhood friends, of her classmates who had died in the grove, of Queen Fara, and of Naelin, who’d never wanted to be queen. “You believe you’re strong enough?”
“I am the strongest queen who has ever lived.” Matter-of-fact.
“Naelin’s strong too,” Daleina pointed out. “Why couldn’t she have done this? Or any of the queens who came before? Fara was strong. Countless others have been strong. And yet no one has ever succeeded in stopping the spirits altogether.”
“We’ve always been separated into different countries. Just weak enough that we’d never think to try this. But if I controlled both Semo and Aratay... I can do this, Daleina. I know I can. It’s what I was meant to do!”
I believe her,Daleina thought.
She couldn’t pass up this chance to save the world. It would be the culmination of everything she and every queen before her had ever strived for, the fulfillment of every dream of peace. It was more than she’d dared hoped to ever achieve.
