Page 20 of The Nightmare Queen

I have no idea.

Eveera

No nightmares.

After delivering Percy back to the princeling, the satisfaction of seeing his face lulled me into the first peaceful night in awhile. That was until Axel crashed into my room scaring the shit out of me.

“Can I help you Ax?!”

His hand is pressed to his chest, trying to gather the breath to speak. “So you can barge into my room at night but I can’t barge into yours?” He asks, his face is bright red from running in here. He hobbles over to the hidden door in my wall, slapping his free hand against the stone. “You need to get to Vada.” Axel states, his words coming out winded. What was he doing? Running a marathon to get to here?I wonder to myself.

“Vada? What for?”

He pinches his brow together, “outer lands.”

I don’t need anything more than that, I sprint down the hallway struggling to lace up my leathers in the process. “VADA!”My words tear down the bond.

“Yes?”She replies groggily.

“Wake up sleepy head, I need an aerial view of the outer lands. NOW.”Commands are flying out of my mouth to the staff as soon as I breach the throne room, my beast of a familiar meeting me in the center. “GET THE CEILING OPEN. NOW.” I shout, they scramble towards the levers I have concealed behind the drapes. I don’t waste any time mounting her back and clinging tightly due to her almost vertical take off.

The anticipation rises under my skin, my heart rate matching the steady beat of Vada’s wings, her speed picks up the closer we get to the edge of Oriya. I coil my magic at the surface. For the creatures in range, it’ll obliterate them. For those on the edge, it’ll only pacify, unfortunately.

“The Vellaran’s arrival seems to have disrupted more than just your state of mind. The creatures are restless.”Vada growls. A migraine starts to form in my temple. If they’re restless that means they’re multiplying, simply appearing out of thin air. The threat of Hadar is laughable when I have much worse within my own gates already. My people are vulnerable enough just by living within these borders.

“I need us over the south side of Oriya. The villages over there are likely to have more anyways.”Despite my best efforts, some places get more neglected than others, and the south side of Oriya always seems to take the brunt of that neglect.

“Calm your heart.”She demands.

“OH.I’m sorry.I’ll get right on that—”I start and she cuts me off.

“It’s beating too loudly, and your mind is noisy - distracted. I cannot focus, human.”I roll my eyes. She’s reverted back to calling me ‘human’, an annoying habit of hers when she gets agitated. Sometimes it’s because of me - the other times I think it’s because she’s a curmudgeonly overgrown lizard. “The Vellaran is also noisy and distracting. I could eat him if you like, then there will be no more distractions.”

I laugh, “I fear that would interrupt my plans to help him.” A growl of disapproval rumbles beneath me as I say the words.

“How very noble of you, human.”

“I can be accommodating from time to time.”I say.

“Mm. I do hope I don’t find you in the same state as you found your parents. It would be most unfortunate for me.” Ouch,I think.

Finally the hills surrounding the south post crest into view. My eyes widening in horror as it does.Why did nobody fucking tell me that half the south post was destroyed?“Vada I need you to drop me just past the border.”

“Absolutely not.”She bellows.

My head shakes.“No time for arguments. Alert whoever is left at the post that they need to get out. You’ll have to burn out the threats that have already breached the post and village.”She wants to argue with me but I’ve already stood up, preparing to run in a dismount off of her.

OOF!My body rolls awkwardly against the hard ground.Theyare already in sight, creeping out towards me, their mouths gaping with black sludge. Some of them look nearly human, others look melted. Disgusting things.Cursedthings.

“Good morning to you too, fuckers. No offense but you’re kind of causing a problem. And for what? A little bit of hunger? How impatient you all are.” I throw out one of my stars, finding purchase between one’s eyes. Their heads slowly turning to see their fallen…comrade?I don’t know the hierarchy very well, I’ll admit.

I uncoil every tendril of magic and watch as the black magic leaches off my skin.SQUELCH! THWUMP! PLOP!One by one the bodies around me drop into a festering heap.

The smell of smoke filtering into my nostrils is coming from the village. “Clear?”Vada asks down the bond.

I nod as I turn, waiting for the steady beat of leathery wings to come within ear shot. “For now. Are the threats that breached the wall and who ripped up my post dealt with?”

“The village will need time to recover.”She replies.

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