River of Stars: Will of the Wayfinder Book Two by Lily Anne Crow

Author:Lily Anne Crow [Crow, Lily Anne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781777711764
Publisher: Raven & Rum Press
Published: 2022-06-17T16:00:00+00:00

* * *

A few hours later, the sun neared the horizon as Zairin neared the army. They were on the move again, only a few miles west of where he’d left them.

The Queen of Dust floated at the fore, as usual, Diarmud and Otara on her one side and the Hernaran thrall, Garakthan, walking on the other side, carrying Princess Siafa. The lifeless form of the young Namar’andomni princess was painfully thin. Even though Zairin had only been with them a few days, he could already tell how little the energy from the lilka was doing, barely keeping the girl alive.

The queen signaled a halt but said nothing, waiting for the minstrel to speak.

“Your Majesty,” he said, bowing low. “I found nothing of interest to the west.”

“The west,” she repeated, eyeing him with suspicion. “Indeed.” She remained floating there, watching him for some time.

He cleared his throat, about to ask about the recent feeding, about the health of the princess, when something moved just behind him.

The dark-haired man spun around to see one of the queen’s hollow one generals standing practically at his elbow. How had it gotten there so quietly?

“Oh, hey there,” Zairin said, nodding to the creature. It had a name—they all had names—but he hadn’t bothered to learn them.

The general turned its heavily armored head to face him, the pinprick lights of its eyes boring into his brain.

Too close. It’s too close.

The stench of death was thick, and a wave of discomfort flooded Zairin, making him nauseous. But he merely swallowed and stood his ground. He wouldn’t let the queen see the reaction his body wanted him to have.

“General Errovald here does not seem to think that you went west,” the queen said, her voice booming out over the grassy plain. “He seems to think you went south.”

“South?” Zairin said, disbelieving. “Why would I go south when the army is moving west?”

“Why indeed?”

The queen’s dark eyes remained on Zairin’s, boring an even greater hole into his mind.

What does she know?

“Perhaps we should all venture south,” she said, waving an arm to take in the whole army. “If you took the time to leave me and go there, it must be worthwhile.”

Zairin shook his head, his gut sinking. “Really, it isn’t, Your Majesty. Just a small town.”

Her lips turned up slowly into a sinister grin, and the minstrel’s gut sank further. “A small town. How lovely. We shall visit it.”

Without even a wave of her hand, the army behind her began moving again. The minstrel clenched his jaw, moving over toward his litter and the four hollow-one porters that carried it.

As he passed behind Diarmud, he hissed, “Thanks for sending the general after me.”

The gray-skinned half-breed shrugged. “I’m not here for you, human. I’m here for her. Never forget that.”

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