The Monster and His Queen

Chapter 40

"You've been unconscious for three days."

Elaria woke slowly, her body aching in places she didn't know could ache. Saphira sat beside her bed, looking exhausted and relieved in equal measure.

"Three days?" Elaria's voice was rough. "What happened? Is everyone okay?"

"Everyone's fine. The void-touched humans you saved are recovering. Captain Ryver has a broken arm but is already back on duty. Martha has been forcing healing potions down your throat while you slept." Saphira grabbed her hand tightly. "And Draven woke up yesterday. He's been asking about you constantly."

"Where is he?"

"Being examined by healers. He wouldn't let them check him properly until he knew you were awake." Saphira smiled. "He's quite stubborn about you."

"That's my husband."

Saphira helped her sit up. The room spun briefly, then settled. They were back at headquarters, in the medical wing that had been completed just before they'd left for the Blackwood.

"Mother is here," Saphira said quietly. "She arrived yesterday. When she heard about your twin, about what happened, she rode through the night."

"Does she know everything?"

"Everything. Amariel told her." Saphira's expression was troubled. "Elaria, Mother is devastated. She had no idea there was another baby. No idea what happened."

"What do you mean?"

Before Saphira could answer, Queen Lyra entered. She looked like she'd aged ten years in three days. Her eyes were red from crying.

"Elaria," she breathed, rushing to the bed. "My daughter. My precious daughter. I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

"Mother, what happened? How was there a twin I never knew about?"

Lyra sat on the bed, taking Elaria's hands. "Twenty-three years ago, I gave birth to twins. You were born first, healthy and strong. Your sister came second, and she was weak. Not breathing properly. The healers took her away to try to save her."

"And?"

"And they told me she died. That same night. They said her lungs were too weak, that she'd passed peacefully." Tears streamed down Lyra's face. "I mourned her. Your father and I both did. We held a private funeral. I've visited her grave every year."

"But she didn't die," Elaria said slowly.

"No. Someone stole her body. Or maybe she wasn't dead yet, just dying, and they took her before she could be buried." Lyra's voice shook with rage. "And they threw her into the void. Left her to die there."

"Who would do that?"

"I don't know. But I intend to find out." Lyra's expression turned hard. "Someone in the palace that night decided a weak, dying baby wasn't worth saving. Or worse, they deliberately disposed of her because she was void-marked."

"She was void-marked at birth?" Elaria asked.

"According to Amariel, yes. Your twin had shadow marks visible from the moment she was born. In some kingdoms, that's considered a curse. An abomination." Lyra's hands clenched. "Someone took my baby and threw her away like trash. And I'm going to make them pay."

Martha entered carrying a tray with food and medicine. "Before you start planning revenge, Your Majesty, the girl needs to eat and recover her strength."

"Of course." Lyra stood, composing herself. "I'll let you rest. But Elaria, I want you to know that I loved both my daughters. I would have protected her. Raised her. Loved her just as much as I love you."

"I know, Mother. I know."

After Lyra left, Elaria managed to eat some soup while Martha watched with approval. Then Draven appeared in the doorway, looking haggard but alive.

"Finally," he said. "They wouldn't let me in until you'd eaten."

"Blame Martha."

"I always do." He moved to the bed, gathering her into his arms carefully. Through the bond, she felt his relief, his fear, his overwhelming love. "Don't ever do that again. Don't ever merge our consciousnesses that deeply. I thought we'd lost ourselves."

"But we didn't. We came back."

"Barely. Elaria, we were dying. If those void-touched humans hadn't helped us distribute the energy, we'd both be dead." He pulled back to look at her. "I can't lose you. Ever. Do you understand?"

"I understand. And I feel the same way." She touched his face. "But Draven, if the same situation happened again, if the only way to save everyone was to risk ourselves, wouldn't we do it anyway?"

He was quiet for a long moment. Then he smiled. "Yes. We would. Because we're idiots."

"Brave idiots."

"Same thing."

Over the next week, Elaria and Draven slowly recovered. The void-touched humans they'd saved became permanent residents at headquarters, forming the core of a new organization dedicated to helping other void-touched people.

Captain Ryver expanded the guard force, training people from all three kingdoms to work together. Amariel established a school for teaching safe void magic practices.

And slowly, carefully, Elaria began investigating what had happened to her twin. She questioned servants who'd worked in the palace twenty-three years ago. Examined records. Followed every lead.

It took a month, but she found the truth.

Lord Marek, the conspiracy leader who'd tried to kill her, had an older brother. A brother who'd been the royal physician twenty-three years ago. A brother who believed void-touched children were cursed and needed to be disposed of.

He'd declared Elaria's twin dead, then thrown her into a void rift he'd discovered in the palace dungeons. Believing he was saving the kingdom from a cursed child.

"His name was Physician Eldric Marek," Elaria told the council she'd assembled. King Zarek, Queen Lyra, King Tavian, Council Leader Talira, and her closest allies sat around the table. "He's been dead for fifteen years. But his journals survived."

She placed the leather-bound book on the table. Martha had found it hidden in the old physician's estate, which had been sold after his death.

"What do the journals say?" King Zarek asked, his voice tight with controlled anger.

"That he believed void-touched children were abominations. That letting them live would curse the kingdom. So whenever one was born, he killed it and disposed of the body." Elaria's voice was steady despite the rage burning in her chest. "Over thirty years of service, he murdered seventeen infants. My sister was the last one."

The room fell into horrified silence.

"Seventeen," Queen Lyra whispered. "Seventeen children murdered under our roof, and we never knew."

"He was careful. Always took the babies somewhere private. Always declared them dead from natural causes. No one questioned the royal physician." Elaria closed the journal. "Until now."

"The families deserve to know," Council Leader Talira said. "Those parents spent years mourning children they believed died naturally. They deserve the truth."

"Agreed," King Zarek said. "But we must handle this delicately. Some of those families may want justice against our kingdom for employing such a monster."

"They can have it," Elaria said firmly. "We'll compensate them. Issue formal apologies. Whatever they need. But they will know the truth."

"There's something else in the journal," Martha spoke up. She'd been reading it more thoroughly than Elaria had. "The old physician didn't work alone. He had help. Someone who provided him with information about which babies were void-marked before they were even born."

"Who?" Draven demanded.

Martha turned to a specific page and read aloud. "My benefactor continues to provide excellent intelligence. Today's infant was marked exactly as predicted. The work continues. The kingdom will be pure.'"

"Who was the benefactor?" King Tavian asked.

"The journal uses a code name. 'The Silver Voice.'" Martha looked up. "Does that mean anything to anyone?"