Page 92 of The Silent Mountain
I wait for him to leave before letting out a sigh.
“He called me his queen,” Alana says suddenly. “Goddess,” she continues, wrapping her arms around me. “What a day, what a mess.”
I pull her into a hug, feeling how much it calms me down to have her close. “First, the sea monster that attacked our warriors and killed one of them, then Barbara passed away, and now this. And we still don’t know what lured you into the ocean,” I say. “When will it ever end?”
“I don’t know,” she says quietly. “But I know that we will get through it. You are mine now, officially, and I am not going to stand by and watch you and the other dragons suffer.”
“You are their queen now,” I agree, despite the grim reality, I can’t help but feel a twinge of joy at calling her that. She truly is my ray of hope.
“Let’s take a rest,” Alana offers. “Stefan and Erin are dealing with the nachzehrer. We should respect them by trying to calm down from the whole ordeal and get some rest.”
“You are right.” Stefan jumped in to do this task to give us a break. The least I can do is respect his sacrifice, because I am certain it won’t be an easy task to do.
Alana and I retire to our chambers and indeed take a couple of hours to rest and regain our strength. On a normal day, I would make love to her, not minding a bit about resting my body, but after everything that happened, neither she nor I really feel like engaging in anything sexual. Instead, she sleeps in my arms and finds solace there, a new kind of intimacy which I enjoy very much.
Later, Alana decides to visit Theodor to see how he is holding up and to check on Elio. Meanwhile, I seek out Stefan and Erin, who, to my surprise, are both sitting together in the private dining and resting area of the castle, reserved for ranked members only.
“I hope you don’t mind that I am here, Your Highness,” Erin says when she spots me. She looks bone tired.
“It’s my fault,” Stefan says. “I told her to rest here.”
“After all you did, Erin, you have certainly earned your place in my ranks,” I say. “Can I do anything for either of you?”
“Can you make the stench go away?” Stefan asks. “It’s still lingering in my nose. Erin wasn’t kidding when she said it would be horrifying.”
“I truly appreciate your help,” Erin says. “I don’t think I could have done it without you.”
“How about something to drink?” I offer. “Something strong. I think there are still some of my father’s old liqueurs around. They are strong enough to burn through anything, maybe even the stench that’s clung to you.”
“I certainly wouldn’t say no to such a drink,” Erin says.
Stefan nods. “Me neither.”
My father’s old liqueurs are still in their usual place, safely in one of the high cupboards. He always had them put there so that none of us kids would reach them. It gives me a twinge of pain to think of my siblings. I try not to do that too much. Each time, I am reminded of what I have lost and of how I will never see my siblings again, and it throws me into a black abyss of pain and depression.
But at the same time, I want to honor the promise I gave to Elio, to remember our siblings and make sure their passing wasn’t in vain.
“I remember,” Stefan says softly. “How you and your sister were always so curious about what was inside these bottles.”
“Yes,” I say quietly. “Actually, we wanted to steal one of the bottles to test it for ourselves.”
“Did you ever do it?” Stefan asks.
“No.” I grab the bottle, looking at it. “The war happened before we could.”
Stefan looks away. “I am sorry. I didn’t mean to remind you of anything bad.”
“I had forgotten about it,” I mutter. “But it’s not a bad memory. Let’s honor my sister in our memories.”
I take three glasses and put them in front of us, filling them with the liquor. We all take a sip at the same time. Erin chuckles while she does so. “You were not joking,” she coughs. “That’s some heavy stuff.”
“By Aengus,” Stefan groans. “It’s even stronger than I remember.”
“I just realized, I didn’t miss out,” I say, slightly amused. “But at least I know now.”
We are all quiet for a while, lingering in our own thoughts, until Stefan breaks the silence. “What’s the meaning of all of this, Erin? You, as a witch with a certain standing in your community, must have an inkling.”
“I think what the queen said is right,” Erin says. “While the cult was destroyed, I think it was just one base of it. Someone else might still be pulling the strings. We don’t know who it is, why, or even what they are doing. If I had to guess, I’d say they let Penelope do what she wanted to. The end justifies the means. I am sure Penelope acted on her own will and from her own motivation, but maybe someone else protected her. Maybe someone else gave her a little bit of power to do as she pleased.” Erin pauses. “But I have no proof for any of what I am saying.”
