Chapter 9 #4
“If I die, do all in your power to prevent war. And work with the avatar to destroy Drakon. There is nothing more important—not the Dragon’s Flank, not Queen Flora’s orders, not bringing Epicasta back to Viridis, nothing—do you understand?
If you have any love for your homeland, make Drakon’s death your only true duty.
If you allow politics or lesser loyalties to get in the way, you will doom the whole of Trisia—Viridis, Aureum, queens and kings, none of it will matter when he leaves capitals in rubble and turns people to ash.
I have seen the consequences of not being prepared for his coming—I have lived through the death and destruction.
Do everything in your power to destroy him before he destroys all of Trisia. ”
As always, his face was unreadable. Whether her words had sunk in or not was impossible to say.
“You always speak with such conviction when you speak of Drakon and what awaits Trisia,” he said carefully.
“Because I have experienced his horrors first-hand.” Aurora bristled.
“Your Highness…forgive me for my impertinence, but you don’t just see the future with your magic, do you? You stopped the monstrosities from attacking, even if only for a short time… What is your homeland called?” His piercing gaze told her he already knew too much.
“Lord Leukos,” she said, her tone full of warning.
If he’d discovered the truth, then no matter what happened at the Colonnades, she couldn’t allow herself to fall into Flora’s hands.
“Consider your next actions very carefully. You seem like a decent enough person, but if you force my hand, I will tell my husband to behead you.”
She met his gaze with one she hoped was forbidding enough to sway him. He shook his head, a ghost of a smile on his lips.
“There will be no need for that, Your Highness. I have heard your concerns, and I will take them to heart.”
“That would be for the best.”
“Your Highness, if that is all, I will prepare the soldiers for what awaits us at the Colonnades.”
“You may go,” she sighed.
The moment he’d left, the tent felt too empty, too threatening, as if he’d snatched every last shred of comfort she’d ever felt.
Suddenly the things that she’d grown accustomed to—enormous chairs, utensils unwieldy for her small hands, plates sized for giants—seemed to mock her for ever feeling like she’d been safe here amongst the ancient Trisians.
The food laid out before her lost all appeal, and yet who knew what would happen in the coming hours? She could either be rejoicing that her faith in her husband had been rewarded, or on the run from both the predations of Viridis and Aurean soldiers. Goddesses, if only Hyllus were here.
Aurora left her seat and searched through her trunks for her most important belongings—her artefacts.
The first called to her magic and was easiest to locate.
She slipped it into a pouch she attached to her gown’s belt.
The next took some digging, but eventually she found it—her shield pendant.
She noticed then that Theron had restrung it on a delicate gold chain.
She slipped it on and prayed she was simply being overly cautious.
In a few hours, she could be laughing with relief over her paranoia.
When Theron entered the tent, her heart was in her throat. Would he know she was upset? Would he guess the reason why?
His mind was elsewhere, but when he saw her, he stuttered to a stop, taking her in from head to toe.
“What did he say to upset you?”
“Nothing!”
He blinked in surprise.
Fuck. Think! Think!
“It’s just…he warned me there would be a stench.”
“A what?”
“When we cross the Colonnades. He said the beasts’ heads would be decayed and the stench would be overpowering and that I should brace myself for it. In case I feel like throwing up.”
Theron had a strange look to him as she said it. Had he seen the desperation in her foolish lie? But her heart was hammering in her ears, and it felt like words formed in her throat rather than her mind as she rushed to twist herself into knots before him.
“I…I don’t want to throw up on you. Or at all. It might be prudent to ride on my own loper. I was thinking it would also help me look…well…more like a princess if I did. And I want to make a good impression. Would that upset you too terribly? I know you wanted to ride together.”
His brows pinched together, as if he were pained by her words.
“I’m not upset. It would make a better impression if you were to ride your own loper, that’s true. I’ll…I’ll see to it that your mount is ready.” Theron all but raced from the tent.
Fuck.
Had it been her overheated imagination, or had Theron been acting as strangely as she had?
What had he discussed with his aunt? Leukos had said she should be prepared for anything—including a violent betrayal.
Had her husband’s mask finally slipped now that he was nearly home?
Or had her own awkwardness merely spooked him?
No, she had to stop thinking like that. Aurora had chosen to remain with Theron because she wanted to give him the chance.
But a sense of disquiet pervaded the tent.
It should be easy enough to ask him to reaffirm that the heads of the beasts should be waiting for her when she reached the Colonnades.
Aurora marched towards the tent’s exit. Yes, that was all she needed—to hear him say it, to see the look in his eyes when he told her the truth.
And yet she hesitated, her fingers touching the fabric flap.
Could she bear it if he proved false? And what if he saw her question as proof that she didn’t trust him? Would it ruin what they had?
Aurora bit her lip.
Damn Leukos. She’d managed to claw her way back to some semblance of happiness with Theron, and with a few wretched words, it lay in ashes around her.
Just moments ago, she’d been smiling and flirting with her husband, and now she was envisioning what she needed to do in case of the most bitter of betrayals.
She should have been brave—should’ve had the courage to risk her heart and simply demand an answer from Theron, to give him the chance to assuage her fears.
But she was paralysed. Visions of Orithyia’s scroll of monsters flashed in her mind’s eye.
The heartbreak, the rage, the overwhelming sense of loss, the hatred she’d felt for her fool self, each took its turn reminding her what she’d tried to forget. She couldn’t do it. Not again.
Instead, Aurora went back to the table and forced herself to eat and drink as the dread ate away at her bones.
She only needed to endure this wretched feeling for a few more hours.
Then, when Theron proved true, she would explain why she’d been acting like a complete fool.
He would reassure her, laugh with her, and she would apologise for doubting him, for turning to the Viridians, and they would discuss what was to be done with Lord Leukos and his ilk.
Relief was in sight. What was exquisite anxiety compared to all else she’d suffered thus far?
She wiped away the stinging feeling in her eyes and forced wine down her aching throat.
Perhaps she should have asked for the whole bottle.
Theron didn’t return to their tent until it was nearly time to pack up and be on their way.
He ate quickly and pre-empted any questions with an excuse that he’d needed to speak with his commander.
When they were finally seated on their lopers and riding side by side, the silence between them was laden with dread.
Aurora kept her eyes on the skies, hoping to see buzzards circling, but given the angle of the mountains and the Queen’s Road, it would be impossible to see the Colonnades until they were nearly atop them.
“There’s something we should discuss before we reach Aureum,” Theron said, breaking their impasse.
“Oh?” Aurora asked, her throat tight. She met his gaze, sweating with anticipation. He opened his mouth, then seemed to think better of whatever it was on the tip of his tongue. Theron coughed and looked away and something inside Aurora shrivelled up.
“Were you aware that when a monarch enters their realm, their magic is empowered by their connection to the land?”
“I wasn’t,” Aurora replied woodenly. How was she ever to know such a thing when in her time Viridis was an empire and the empress’ realm included the whole of Trisia? But why was he telling her this now?