Empress of the Gods

Atarah

Atarah felt a soft hand that covered her mouth. She immediately opened her eyes and saw Elysia with her index finger close to her lips.

William volunteered to guard the camp that night, only he did it far from her.

“What is going on?” she whispered to her friend who didn’t say anything to her after she woke her up. With her palm open, she bent her fingers towards her to indicate she go with her. They only got close to Robbie, who was sleeping, and she gazed at her friend with one raised eyebrow.

Elysia took out one of her blades. “What are you doing?” she whispered as she tried to move the blade far from Robbie, but Elysia held her hand in front of her to stop her.

“Robbie,” Elysia said as she tried to wake him up, putting the blade near his neck. When he didn’t wake up, she abruptly moved him with her hand. Atarah put a hand to cover his mouth, so he didn’t wake up the others in case he screamed. As soon as he opened his eyes, he was confused about what was happening. “Who sent you?” the new Silverclaw leader demanded in a low tone. Robbie made a sound as if he was asking what she was talking about. “Stop pretending, Robbie Quileth, if that’s really your name,” she warned him as she let him feel how the blade brushed his skin. “You better start talking, otherwise you will know why they call me Midnight whisper.” There wasn’t a hint of mockery in her voice as her face remained serious.

Atarah recalled how William asked him the same question when he led them to the alley. She took her hand from his mouth. Then she lowered down her mental shield to read his emotions. She wanted to believe that Elysia was wrong about it, but she felt the sweat on her forehead and on the back of her neck. She even felt she wanted to avoid eye contact. “Is that true Robbie?” She felt her heart was starting to beat fast, and she felt the pain in her stomach.

“Start talking,” Elysia ordered in a low but firm tone.

“They sent me from one of the fae realms.”

“Which one?” demanded Elysia.

“I can’t say which one,” he replied when he held his stare with Elysia.

“Then it’s bullshit. See you in hell, my friend,” she told him with a half-smile on her face.

“Wait,” Atarah said, stopping her. Then she looked at Robbie. “I don’t appreciate when someone lies to me, so you better start telling us what you know, because next time, I’m not going to stop her.”

Robbie let out a long sigh. “The fae realm between the mountains wants you to know you have allies, but they can’t tell you openly about it.”

“Why not?” interjected Elysia.

Atarah only crossed her arms so she could let him finish.

Robbie glowered Elysia before he continued. “They believe the High Lord that wants to release Erebus hides in plain sight, and it’s not the one who they’ve been blaming for the past years, making everyone think they beat him by taking away Terrwyn from him.”

“What does that have to do with us?” Elysia asked.

He ignored Elysia and continued. “They were aware of Rhiannon Silverclaw’s plans, but after the attacks on the Whitebridge borders …”

She took a dagger from her friend and pointed it directly under his chin. “How do you know about that? How could you possibly know that?” she hissed as she tightened her hand on the handle of the dagger. Either the news traveled fast, or they had something to do with the attack.

“They saw it through the blessed waters when it happened,” he replied as he raised his hands in surrender.

The Silverclaw leader prepared her and Elysia to infiltrate in other kingdom courts. She taught them everything she could that wouldn’t raise suspicion with the council, because she didn’t trust them.

Rhiannon planned for Atarah to be in Drykahria’s court so they could forge an alliance with the witches’ realms in case someone was foolish enough to free Erebus. And the only way to do that was if she survived the driadae trials and became part of their court. That’s why the coven trained her and the reason that Rhiannon was so strict with her and Elysia.

She remembered the severe gaze Rhiannon had every time she saw them train and the look on her face when they failed. Only that she was stricter with Elysia. She wondered if it had anything to do with her friend’s task. Elysia had to become part of the council of Lhrastsha and then become the head of the council, only that it didn’t go as expected since she was exiled. But the Silverclaw leader had a backup plan—she always had one when it came to them—in which Elysia became her spy in other realms.

Rhiannon didn’t tell them, but they felt she was expecting more from them. She aimed higher and never settle with less.

“What I don’t get is why you are still here, spy. Why did they send you and why didn’t you say anything?” Elysia kept whispering.

“Because you were traveling with a hunter, and I didn’t know if I could trust you,” Robbie replied, looking at her and ignoring Elysia as if she were the one who asked the questions.

“Why did they send you?” she asked, giving the dagger to Elysia.

“The coven might have trained you in physical combat, but if you plan to win the Tsaraath trials, then you will need more than fighting skills.”

“I just plan to survive.”

“Either way, you shouldn’t take them lightly. They have seen them when the kings and queens of those realms invited them to witness them.” He stopped for a moment. “Those tests follow nature’s law. Why do you think they take those kids with protectors away from their families and educate them in the castle? They raise them to become the next kings and queens.”

“Without telling them that only two of them will survive,” concluded Elysia with a worried expression.

“What happens with the others that survive?”

“They become part of their court, but they are extraordinary cases.” They stayed in silence for a moment. “So, if you want a chance to even survive in there, you should know how to use your gifts properly, otherwise you are not going to make it.”

“Did they send you to tell her this? I could have told her that,” stated Elysia.

“You didn’t even know,” argued Robbie.

“Fine, but we could have found out. Eventually.”

“Yes, when I’m on the trials fighting for my life,” she looked at Elysia with narrowed eyes. “Why were they chasing you in that human village?” she asked when she recalled the moment of escaping in Egorah.

He shook his head in denial. “I guess they found out who I’m working for. The High Lord was clear about it. If they found out about me, they would deny everything.”

“Then they are a bunch of hypocrites and cowards.”

“Elysia,” she scolded her friend.

“There’s a lot at stake, so I get why they told me that.” Even if Robbie looked like he understood it, she felt his sadness. Her shields were still down, and she was feeling his emotions.

“What else?” she asked, knowing that they wouldn’t risk his life with only that when they could send a letter or something else. Atarah knew only that those trials took place when its participants turned twenty-five years old, but nothing more. Everything Robbie had told them was new information for them, but she wasn’t sure if Rhiannon knew about it. Maybe she did, and she chose to keep it to herself, or perhaps she thought she couldn’t handle it and that’s why she kept it from her.

“Those trials don’t take place until the nymphs blessed them, and as you may know, they haven’t done those trials in a long time. I bet the queen used one of the witches’ spells to keep herself young and continue ruling Drykahria.”

“That explains why they are so desperate to find you,” Elysia added.

“But that doesn’t explain why they want me dead.” Her gaze got lost in space.

“Well, after remaining so long on that throne, I bet she has grown fond of her seat.”

“We need to get to Sabine.” She glanced at Elysia. Even when her friend tried to be expressionless, she felt her doubt. She didn’t like the idea more than she did, but it was the only way to confirm if her sister was in Ekkirah and to know more about the Dimneas dagger.

Robbie looked at both without saying a word.

“We might need to ask you a tiny favor,” she said to him. “You need to distract William so we can go.” He only nodded with his head.

“Can we trust him?” Elysia got out her dagger and pointed at him. “He is a spy, and a terrible one at that.”

“I might not like to use violence but keep threatening my life and you will see how good I am,” he said in a tone that surprised her.

“My my, someone got out the claws,” Elysia said with a closed-lipped smile before she glanced at her friend, surprised.

“You can trust me. They sent me to help you,” he assured her.

“Satisfied with your answer?” she looked at Elysia, who still had a half-smile on her face.

“For now.” Elysia folded her arms and then looked at her again. “I might like him.”

“If you are waiting for me to say it back, it won’t happen,” replied Robbie.

“You secretly like me.” Elysia winked at him.

“How far are we?” she interrupted her friend.

“If we take one of the horses, then we will get there before sunrise, but if we go by foot, we will get there at first light.”

“Then we better get going,” Atarah replied before they headed to the shadow-seer land.