Lady of Istok by Olmo Isabelle

Author:Olmo, Isabelle
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Little Fountain Press
Published: 2023-06-09T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirty-Two

ALMIRA

It was the evening of the seventh day when they saw the Pas of Gul. The light faded from the world, casting golden Suidian warmth over the small traveling party. The Pas was no more than two massive mountains split in half, which allowed Suid to connect to Istok. In ages past, the area was more heavily guarded, but since her grandfather’s time, the countries had been allies and there was little need for security.

Sanaa wanted to make camp, but Almira refused in light of her desperation to find her uncle. Another hour of fast pace and they would be at the mouth of the pas. Small rumblings of labor pains begun the night before but Almira said nothing. Her discomfort grew with each passing day, and she cursed herself for not leaving sooner. The soreness in her lower back was nearly unbearable when she jostled against the carriage. There was a change in her belly, as if it shifted.

She veiled herself. She was, after all, still in mourning. Underneath her veil, she grimaced, hoping her Red Guard wouldn’t notice. She prayed fervently to the sea gods and the spirits of her dead parents to guard her. The child must delay. It must.

The thought of not bearing the baby as she floated in Istokian waters sent a panic over her spine. The vivid memory of her mother perishing in bed as she refused to birth her second child in the sacred pools admittedly haunted her. Balikians must be born in water or tragedy would follow in their wake.

“Please little one, await a week, my love,” she would murmur when alone.

Sanaa halted the party the moment they reached the base of the mountains. Evening was a hair’s breath away and there was meager light to secure the campsite and unload.

The captain was so angry that she didn’t look at or converse with Almira. This suited the queen, as she had no intention of pretending in front of Sanaa’s eagle eyes.

There was no Red Army in sight, and Almira pondered reasons for her uncle being late. She would wait for him for two days, no more. Any longer and they risked the child being born or losing Istok. She daydreamed of her Red Guard storming Korkoran on their own despite it being an impossible feat. Korkoran was an impenetrable fortress, as her father often boasted. It had one way in and one way out; through the front gates. Her guard would die speared to the dragon stones.

That night, she slept deep and didn’t rouse until noon. Perhaps she underestimated how tired the travel made her. When she woke, M brought her food.

“I tried to wake you two hours ago, but you wouldn’t stir,” M said as she set the tea over the queen’s legs.

Almira sipped on the hot drink and thanked her for the meal.

The older woman sat slowly and grimaced as she clutched her chest. She’d declined quicker than Almira expected. Sanaa had confessed M’s illness and her determination to stay by the queen until she no longer could.

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