The Queen's Consorts (28 page)

Look at what happened to Sari’s mother when the old consorts had been caught unawares. The queen had been poisoned to sleep deeply. The only thing that saved Sari, Calder, and Taryen had been
Darin’s
distaste for pudding and his late-night stroll to check on them when he sensed unrest in the palace.

Though she had never admitted to it, it was common knowledge that Laysa had played a part in the raid that killed her aunt. The attackers brutalized Queen Talsen’s body, which was so horrifying few could discuss it without shuddering. Knowing Laysa like he did, Calder was almost certain she was the one to commit the ultimate sin against their gods and repeatedly slice into the skin of not just any female, but the great mother of their people.

Gods only knew what she’d do to Sari.

“Sari.”
Calder shook her rougher than he normally would, but he could sense how deeply asleep she was. Her bond with the planet was still fortifying, and it had to be extremely draining. To say nothing of the drugs still heavy in their systems. Calder could barely move his arms, and he was feeling most of it secondhand through their connection. “I apologize, but you must wake.”

Taryen placed a hand on Sari’s chest, his large palm resting over the spot between her breasts where her heart beat smooth and steady. Sari moaned in response, her back arching; then in a rush she jolted.

“They’re after us!” She sat up in bed, her green eyes wide in shock. “They’re coming.”

“I’ll gather the supplies.” Calder responded to her urgency, knowing Taryen was a better one to ease her out of her heavy sleep.

“I’m ill.” Sari moaned after she recovered from the shock of waking up so quickly. She doubled in half. Taryen touched her neck in concern, but she shook her head. “It’s not working. This is physical. This is
more
than physical. I have to be remembering things wrong. I’m not her. I can’t be her.
Oh gods.”

Calder’s legs nearly gave out when his feet hit the stone floor. His head swam, and his stomach lurched. He wasn’t certain how he was going to find the strength to fight if it came to that, but he forced himself to move even if everything in him protested it.

“You’re strong,” Taryen assured Sari as he stroked her hair. “Look at all you endured when you weren’t ever supposed to be alone.”

Sari shook her head, a sob trapped in her throat. “This isn’t happening. I’m going to be sick.”

The wild rush of information hitting Sari was overwhelming, so much it was affecting Calder, and he already had his own set of issues to deal with. It was sheer fight for survival of their species that gave him the strength to relight the candles, most of which had burned out. Then under the renewed light he started searching for clothes and supplies from the well-stocked cabinets. It’d always seemed ridiculous to stock supplies for a queen who might never show up, but now Calder was glad Darin had insisted they operate at all times as if their queen was there to serve. The clothes they’d stocked for an unknown queen were likely a little too big for Sari, since they’d been used to females who were a bit fuller figured, but they would have to do.

“It’s the herb.” Taryen brushed Sari’s hair off her neck once more, absorbing some of her agony but not nearly enough. “The dose was dangerously large.”

“It’s not the herb. You know it’s something else. I can’t be her,” she whispered, her guilt flooding the chamber until Calder could barely breathe past it. Her confession was broken and raspy. “That means
it’s
all m-my fault…the sun.”

She suddenly darted out of bed, running to the washroom off to the corner of the chamber. Taryen went after her, but he didn’t get there before the sound of her being physically ill reached Calder’s ears.

He wished they had a while to let her recover, but time was too valuable to waste. He filled a flask with healing water and walked into the washroom. He found Sari, naked and on her knees, retching into a waste bucket.

“Shhh.”
Taryen’s wrapped his strong arms around her from behind. “It’s not your fault.”

“Why didn’t I know?” She choked on the words as a sob burst out of her, and she clutched the golden bin in her arms tighter.
“So many have suffered.
Everything died because of me.”

“It died because of them,” Taryen corrected her, his fingers running over her pulse point again.

“I’m sorry.” She set the bin down and turned around. She wrapped her arms around Taryen, clinging to him as tears streamed down her face.
“So very sorry.
Look at what they did to you and Cal. It’s my fault they hurt you.”

“We have to go,” Calder said anxiously as he handed Taryen the flask of water for Sari. “Or they’re going to hurt us again.
All of us
.”

The air in the small, hidden room suddenly became electric, and when she lifted her gaze to him, her eyes glowed bright green in the semidark washroom. “They can’t have you.”

Calder got the distinct impression if they weren’t immune to her powers to command the elements, his and Taryen’s hair would be standing on end, because the room actually hummed with the level of energy bouncing around it. It was a humbling display, one that would have unnerved him if the situation weren’t so desperate.

“We have to get dressed. We have to go.
Now.”
Calder couldn’t help the thread of fear in his voice. “They’re in the tunnels. If we have any hope of escape, we have to leave. I know Laysa; she’ll have them hunting for us until they die of starvation.”

Sari swallowed and looked around the room. Her breathing was still harsh and erratic, but after a few more charged moments she nodded.
“All right.
For you.”
She took another shuddering gasp of air and reached for the flask. She took a long drink, rinsing her mouth before she spit the water into the golden bin. Then she drank deeply once more, obviously searching for strength before she wiped her mouth and whispered, “I can do this.”

“Thank you.” Calder rushed at them and dropped the clothes he’d gathered at their feet.

Calder and Taryen helped Sari dress in royal day wear, with a long, flowing, golden skirt that had slits running up both sides to show off her legs. Calder found a formfitting top that left her midriff bare. As the great mother, it was truly a sin against the gods to cover her stomach. There was no way he could do it even in haste.
Just pulling on the red top that was threaded with Tourillan gold felt like an insult.
A queen certainly didn’t need to cover her breasts, especially when she had a pair as nice as Sari’s, but she’d likely have a different opinion on the matter if she were in her right mind and his goal was to keep her happy.

He tried not to think of Sari being mentally and physically harmed as a slave to others to the point that she was more comfortable hiding her body—a body that was sacred and meant to be cherished. If they lived past this day and somehow survived to rule, Calder would find the Order of the Seven Swords and level it to the ground for what they’d done to her.

“Why red? I’ve only ever seen you in brown,” Sari asked when Taryen pulled on robes over his pants that matched the ones Calder was now wearing. It was almost as if she were trying to look for something mundane to occupy her mind against much larger issues. She reached out, touching one of the sleeves decorated with golden leaves and thorns. “These look like soldier robes, except for the embroidery on the edges.”

“They’re the queen’s colors.” Calder gave her a weak smile.
“Your colors.”

She looked away rather than respond. A bright flush colored her pale cheeks as she took another drink of water.

“We have to go,” Taryen reminded them once more. “We’ll head toward one of the exits to the capital and seek shelter in the city. Sari will help us blend.”

Calder studied Sari, who was still looking away from them, but then took another deep breath and glanced down at her clothes uncertainly.

“These aren’t exactly common.” She fingered the golden, iridescent material of her skirt. Then she glanced back at Calder and let her gaze run down the regal robes he wore.
“Nor are those.
We should put on the servant robes instead.”

“I considered that.” Calder reached out and brushed her hair off her forehead because he couldn’t resist touching her. He studied her beautiful features, still drawn and pale, hating that she was going through this when everything in him wanted her to be happy and cherished. “But it has been so long since our people have had a rightful leader. It could sway the soldiers to see you dressed in royal garb, especially if you’re in red. They still think of you as young and sexually unbonded to your consorts. This is a bold statement of your power and could scare them enough to back down.”

“Is that true?” Sari asked hopefully.

“Unlikely.” Calder sighed and then shrugged. “But it can’t hurt. Besides, you’ve earned this color. It’s yours. Claim it.”

* * * *

They decided to keep their royal clothes. Along with the swords Calder and Taryen wore across their backs, they packed a few other supplies, not knowing how long their journey would be.
Flasks of healing waters, several bars of dried jerky.
Bolter weapons, though they were traditionally a female’s defense tool and not a soldier’s weapon of choice. In a battle to the death, they could come in handy, and none of them were in a position where pride should aid in their decisions.

“I want a bolter weapon,” Sari said as they waited for the door to crank open. “Two if you have them.”

She was still pale. It was obvious she was weak-kneed and nauseated, but as they had observed from the very beginning, Sari was stronger than most. She stood on her own two feet and refused to be carried when offered—proof that the drugs were working their way out of her bloodstream.

Calder knew she was deliberately ignoring the realization that she was Auroria’s lost queen, likely putting the implications of it to the back of her mind to be dealt with later. Survival had a way of making even the gravest of problems seem insignificant. He handed her a weapon and would have done so even if her will weren’t inflicted on his.

Taryen and Calder drew their swords as they stepped out of their secret alcove. Sari held the light wand from where she stood between them, filling the tunnels with artificial light.

“We’ll head toward the south.” Taryen’s voice bounced off the stone as he pushed the notch in the wall. “And try to get out the south exit to the Capital City.”

Calder listened to the door close, the grating of stone against stone resonating around the domed part of the tunnels beneath the center of the Sacred City. Though the sound made him wince, he still breathed a sigh of relief when the door clicked back into place. With any luck, their sanctuary would remain hidden from the world, though in his heart he knew it was unlikely. If they figured out what the notches looked like outside the walls, they’d recognize them on the inside as well. Even still, with the queen’s chamber closed off, it was like leaving a magical impression, feeding the roots of the Tree of Good Fortune in the courtyard with the love, hope, and companionship they’d managed to find together the night before.

As if sensing his thought, which was probably true, Sari held up the light wand and tilted her head back. Far above them, the dim outline of roots could be seen beneath the beam of light.

Calder squinted, trying to see them better. Having walked beneath the Tree of Good Fortune many times, he knew it looked dead from above, but down here it was obvious the roots were old, strong, and still surprisingly healthy. They stretched out in all directions in a powerful display that told them it would be harder to uproot the tree than those looking at it on the surface likely realized.

“We should go,” Taryen whispered.

“Lead the way,” Sari said, trusting Taryen as easily as Calder always had.

Calder could tell her stride was a little unsteady, her breathing was labored as if trying to calm herself from the shock, but Sari walked between them toward freedom, quietly adjusting to the weight of the world on her shoulders.

* * * *

Sari had experienced a lot of shocking things in her short life, but waking up between Calder and Taryen with the energy of the entire planet surging through her had easily been the most terrifying thing she had ever endured.

Even now, after an hour in the tunnels, her stomach was still churning from the fear and horror. The loss of the sun, the ruin of the planet’s agriculture, the devastation the sister council had caused, it all welled up in her mind, and the guilt was tearing at her body and soul. Yet more than all of that, it was Calder and Taryen’s suffering that was so hard to endure. Every time she thought of it, the bile rose in her throat and she was nearly sick all over again. She had to constantly drink from the flask of healing water just to keep her feet moving rather than drop to her knees and sob.

Why hadn’t she thought to call out for them?

Just once in all the time of suffering.

Just a cry for help would have sufficed. Sari hadn’t realized until just then how overpowering her sense of pride was. If she had cried out for aid, Calder and Taryen would have come. Even as young ones, their connection would have ensured they found her.

Why hadn’t she thought to question her strange gift for languages?
Or her ability to sense good and evil intentions?
Or any of the other long lists of things that had always made her an oddity?

Of course that was all before Taryen and Calder helped her inherit the planet.

Now Laysa would have to kill her, because it would be impossible for Sari to quietly surrender to Laysa’s leadership, even at the risk of losing Calder and Taryen. The planet was alive to her now. She could feel its energy—a living, breathing thing inside her—and it was too beautiful to abandon, even in the name of love and friendship. It was a companion, the purest part of her soul, and she could feel it reacting to her unhappiness a thousand times stronger than before. The air around them was electric. If they weren’t immune to Auroria’s energies, all their hair would be standing on end from the effect.