The Monster and His Queen

Chapter 24

"Princess? You're recovered?"

"Mostly. But that creature—it's not attacking her. It's trying to help her." Elaria could sense the creature's intentions now, could almost understand its alien thoughts. "It's trying to heal the damage the Devourer did when it broke the pact."

"How do you know this?" her father demanded.

"I can feel it. The void essence changed me. I can sense void creatures now, understand their purpose." Elaria moved closer despite Draven's protective hand on her arm. "Let me talk to it."

"Talk to a monster?" One of the nobles scoffed. "This is madness."

"No more mad than making deals with the Void King," Elaria shot back. She knelt near the creature, and it turned its multiple eyes toward her. "Can you understand me?"

The creature made a sound like wind chimes. To Elaria's shock, she understood it.

"It says Selene is dying. The Devourer's mark is consuming her from the inside. This creature, its name doesn't translate, but it means something like 'Healer'—came through a c***k in the barrier to help."

"Why would a void creature care about a human?" King Tavian asked from where he stood with his sons.

"Because Selene called to the void for help. She's scared and in pain. Some void creatures respond to that." Elaria looked at the small being. "Can you save her?"

More wind chime sounds. The creature extended something like a tendril toward Elaria, and she understood it wanted to show her something.

She touched the tendril, and visions flooded her mind, Selene in the dungeons, terrified and alone. The Devourer appearing, making promises. The pact being forced on her, not willingly made. Selene trying to fight it, failing, being consumed by a hunger that wasn't her own.

"She didn't choose this," Elaria said, pulling back from the contact. "The Devourer possessed her, used her. She's as much a victim as Saphira was."

"She still tried to kill you," Saphira said from beside their mother. "Multiple times."

"Because she wasn't in control. The Devourer was pulling her strings." Elaria looked at her father. "We can't kill her for something she was forced to do."

"So what do you suggest?" Zarek asked.

"Let the Healer do its work. Save her life. Then we decide her fate based on her actions before she was possessed, not during."

"And if she tries to kill you again the moment she wakes?"

"Then I'll stop her. But we don't kill people for crimes they didn't commit."

King Zarek studied his daughter for a long moment. "You've changed. Not just the marks. Something else."

"I died and came back. Kind of. It changes your perspective."

After heated debate, Zarek allowed the void creature to continue its work. It took hours, but slowly, the black marks on Selene's skin faded. Her breathing steadied. The creature exhausted itself completely, shrinking to barely visible size.

"It needs to return to the void," Elaria said. "It's too weak to survive here much longer."

"How do we send it back?" Amariel asked.

"I can open a small portal. Just big enough for it to slip through." Elaria held up her marked hand. "One of my new abilities, apparently."

She focused, reaching for the void with her consciousness. The fabric of reality thinned in front of her, creating a small tear. The creature chirped gratefully and slipped through. The portal closed immediately after.

"That was terrifying and impressive in equal measure," Martha muttered.

Selene woke two hours later, screaming. Guards had to restrain her until she calmed enough to realize where she was. When she saw Elaria, she started crying.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean—I couldn't stop—"

"I know. The Devourer controlled you." Elaria sat beside the bed where Selene had been moved. "Do you remember anything from before it possessed you?"

"I remember being angry. So angry that you took Draven from me. I went to the dungeons planning to bribe guards, to escape and ruin your wedding somehow." Selene's voice shook. "Then something came out of the shadows. It offered me power, revenge, everything I wanted. I should have said no. But I was so consumed by jealousy that I said yes."

"The moment you agreed, it took control?"

"Yes. After that, everything is fragments. Watching myself do terrible things and being unable to stop." Selene looked at her hands. "I killed people. Guards, prisoners. I kidn*pped a child. I deserve to die for that."

"You deserve a trial," Elaria corrected. "A fair one, based on what you actually did versus what you were forced to do."

"Why are you being kind to me? I hated you. Part of me still does."

"Because hatred is what got you possessed in the first place. And because I understand wanting something so badly it makes you reckless." Elaria stood. "You'll stay under guard until my father decides your fate. But Selene? Next time something offers you power, remember what happened this time."

As she left the room, Draven fell into step beside her. "You're too forgiving."

"Maybe. Or maybe I just understand that people make mistakes when they're desperate." She leaned into him. "I'm exhausted."

"You nearly died, fought a void entity, gained new powers, and saved someone who tried to kill you. I think exhaustion is reasonable." Draven wrapped his arm around her waist. "Come on. Back to our chambers. You need rest."

"I need about a hundred years of rest."

They were halfway to their chambers when a messenger intercepted them. "Prince Draven, Princess Elaria, King Tavian requests your presence in the war room. Immediately."

Draven's expression darkened. "My father never requests anything immediately unless something terrible has happened."

The war room was filled with grim-faced men when they arrived. King Tavian stood at the head of the table, maps spread before him. King Zarek was there too, along with various military advisors from both kingdoms.

"What's wrong?" Draven asked.

"The Eastern Cities have declared the alliance between our kingdoms a threat to their sovereignty," Tavian said without preamble. "They're mobilizing their armies. We have reports of troops gathering at the border."

"That's insane," Elaria said. "We just got married. How is that a threat?"

"Because our combined military might is larger than theirs," Zarek explained. "They're afraid we'll use the alliance to conquer them."

"And will we?" Draven asked his father directly.

"That depends on whether they attack first." Tavian's smile was cold. "If they do, we respond with overwhelming force. If they don't, we maintain the status quo."

"This is exactly what the void entities want," Amariel said from where she stood in the corner. "Division, fear, war. It weakens the barriers between worlds."

"Then what do you suggest?" Tavian asked. "We let them attack and do nothing?"

"I suggest we send a delegation. Talk to them. Show them the alliance isn't a threat." Elaria looked between the two kings. "Let me go. As the symbol of the alliance, I can speak to their concerns directly."

"Absolutely not," Draven said immediately.

"It's too dangerous," Zarek agreed.

"More dangerous than war?" Elaria challenged. "More dangerous than letting void entities exploit the chaos?" She stood straighter. "I'm not the helpless princess I was a week ago. I have power now. I can defend myself."

"She has a point," Martha said. "And the girl's right, she's the perfect symbol. A princess who chose her path, who has power of her own. The Eastern Cities respect strength."

"I'll go with her," Draven said. "Non-negotiable."

"So will I," Amariel added. "As a neutral priestess, my presence might ease tensions."