Page 62 of Shadowbound

I see the relief break over my Mistress’s face. She told me that in order to be truly free of the Glass of Distraction, the one afflicted by it must give it up willingly. There’s no use in trying to pry it away or even destroy it. If the one you take it from doesn’t give it of their own free will, it will only remake itself and reappear in their possession within the hour.

“You don’t need to dream—reality is sweet again,” Sylvanna tells her. She holds out her hand. “Will you give it to me?”

“Gladly.” The Queen puts the silver glass in her hand.

“Good, thank you, my Queen.”

Sylvanna looks at me and nods. I cover The Heart once more and place it carefully down on the stone steps leading up to the throne. Then I take the Glass of Distraction from her as she hands it to me.

“Ask your Drake to destroy this with his fire,” she says to me. “And whatever you do, don’t look into it!”

“Can it be destroyed?” I ask, taking it in my hand and being careful not to look into the eyepiece.

“Now that it’s been given up willingly, it can.” She nods.

“All right.”

I take the Glass of Distraction down the steps and put it out in the middle of a vast flagstone in front of the throne. Then I call on my Drake and ask for his help.

“Of course I can destroy it!” I hear him say. “Tell everyone to stand back.”

I relay this message and the guards give me uneasy looks. They’ve been staring in wonder at the Queen, but now their attention is on the silver spy-glass in the center of the black marble flagstone.

I take a deep breath and feel my throat fill with fire. Then I blow it out, aiming at the spy-glass.

The Glass of Distraction seems to let out an unholy shriek that I hear more with my mind than my ears. Everyone in the Throne Room flinches and I know I’m not the only one who heard it. But I don’t stop blowing flame at it—I refuse to stop until it’s reduced to ashes.

It stands up to the pressure, gleaming in the fire for a moment. Then, slowly, it begins to melt. I see more and more of it dissolving until its nothing but a shiny puddle on the flagstone.

I stop at last and then I hear Sylvanna murmuring something in the Arcane Tongue. As she speaks, the shiny silver puddle begins to fold in on itself. It folds and folds, getting smaller every time until it’s nothing but a single, shiny teardrop in the center of the floor. And then that winks out of existence too and The Glass of Distraction is no more.

“Oh…it’s gone. It’s really gone!” the Queen exclaims. She stands up from the throne and paces back and forth. “I don’t hurt anymore! I feel so young—so new!”

“You’re free, my Queen!” There are tears in Sylvanna’s lovely glowing eyes. “Truly free. The Glass of Distraction cannot ensnare you again.”

“Thank you!” The Queen turns to her and the two women hug, their joy a palpable presence in the room. My heart is full as I watch them—I know how much my Mistress loves her friend. I’m happy we were able to heal her and break the insidious magical addiction.

“But where is Kraven?” the Queen asks, breaking the hug at last. “I will punish him! He was the one who gave me that blasted Glass in the first place!”

“Believe me, my Queen—Kraven has been punished,” Sylvanna says dryly. “Come, I’ll explain what’s going on.”

She takes the Queen by the hand and the two women begin to speak. As for me, I pick up The Heart of the Eclipse again and secure the black silk wrappings around it.

There is much to do yet and what I have seen has given me hope. If The Heart could heal the Queen of Nocturna, maybe it can also heal The GodKing.

I don’t believe everything Kraven said about him—or I don’t want to, anyway. He always treated me well—almost like a son. I don’t want to believe that he was trying to get rid of me when he sent me on this quest.

I know that The Heart of the Eclipse can set all things to rights and so I hope and pray that it can heal the sickness of my own nation.

Solaris has isolated herself—cutting herself off from old friends by declaring them enemies. At the GodKing’s orders, we declared war on Nocturna even though they were our closest trading partner for years. We’ve become insular—hating all outsiders, even those who mean us no harm.

All that needs to change.

I pray that The Heart can set all things right and heal my nation and my GodKing as it has healed the Queen of Nocturna.

I suppose we’ll see…

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