Queen of Fire

I heard the soft tramping of boots on grass, a full company from the sound of it, but didn’t bother to turn as a large, soldierly form came to a halt at my side.

“So,” I said, “the Empress never believed her.”

Hevren paused before replying, an edge of discomfort in his tone. “She was curious to see what would transpire.”

“Well, I trust this satisfies her curiosity.”

“Your innocence will be proclaimed in the morning. For now, she demands your presence . . .”

“Later.” I held Fornella closer, feeling only the faint, diminishing flutter of her heart as her grey hair played over my face. “My friend and I wish to stay a while and watch the sun rise.”

CHAPTER ONE

Vaelin

He became fully human as Reva led them down into the bowels of the arena, like any other man facing his end; begging one moment, bargaining the next, his temper flaring into brief, unreasoning defiance. “You think you visit justice upon me? This is simply vengeance . . . You do not know what I suffered . . . I know many things, I have great wisdom, wisdom any queen would be grateful for . . . Don’t you know what I am? What I have done! You are the merest speck on my greatness . . .”

He fell silent on seeing the black stone sitting amidst its silent companions, Reva’s torch painting a yellow gleam on its edges. “You . . .” the Ally choked, shaking as he forced the words out, “You think to destroy me with this? You . . . You will be making me a gift of more power . . .” His words were given the lie by the way he shied from the stone, twisting in Frentis’s grip.

Lyrna cast her gaze over the statues before stepping between them, providing Vaelin an unwelcome reminder of her father as she surveyed the black stone with owl-like scrutiny. “You say this was dug from the Northern Reaches?” she asked him.

“Yes, Highness. Thousands of years ago.”

“So there may be more?”

“The seer made no mention of it. However, it was clear to me he thought it best left buried.”

The queen gave a slight nod, her gaze moving across the statues until it rested on the bearded man. “This is truly him?” she asked with a dubious glance at the Ally, who had begun to whimper.

“Yes, Highness.”

“How far we can fall,” she mused softly, eyes returning to the noble lines of the bearded man’s face, “if we surrender to malice.” She turned back to the stone, gesturing for Frentis to bring the Ally.

He railed. He screamed. He struggled, collapsing and clawing at the floor with his nails, obliging Vaelin to assist his brother in dragging him to the stone where he thrashed himself to exhaustion, eventually sagging between them, head lowered as he wept piteous sobs. “Just,” he gasped, “Just kill me . . . All my gifts are gone, the Beyond will not snare me.”

“That would require the death of the body you stole,” Vaelin replied. “And I made a promise to its owner.”

“You are a fool!” The Ally’s head snapped up, spittle flying as he lurched at Vaelin. “You don’t know what this thing is!”

“A gateway to another place, somewhere I suspect you will be more at home.”

“You don’t understand.” His eyes widened as they played over the smooth surface of the stone, unblinking, fixed in terror, his voice dropping to a grating whisper. “When I touched it, when I received my gift, I looked into that world . . . and something looked back, something vast, and hungry.”

Vaelin looked at the Ally’s sweat-covered face, his unblinking eyes, seeing no vestige of a lie. He began to demand clarification but Lyrna reached out to take hold of the Ally’s wrist. “Then let’s feed it,” she said, slamming his hand to the stone.

There was no sound, no glimmer of light from the blank depths of the stone, not even the faintest change to the musty air of the chamber. The Ally gave a short intake of breath then froze, Vaelin seeing the light fade from his eyes, features soon becoming slack, devoid of all animation.

They held him in place a moment longer, Lyrna’s gaze searching the empty features of what had been Erlin’s face. Vaelin released him and stood back, Frentis and Lyrna also retreating from the still and silent man as his hand slid limp to his side.

“Well,” Reva said, tapping her boot against the stone. “What do we do with it?”

• • •

“The mountain folk will not be so friendly this time.”