Astreia

Yorkton was a bright spot in the middle of the sweeping darkness. Torches cast a golden glow on and before the small wall that had been erected around the city. Everywhere but the far eastern side that abutted Estrellum. Why waste resources to protect against a dead land?

From our vantage point atop the hill, we could see into the city. Like its wall, it was well lit within. Almost to the point of absurdity, as if the inhabitants were afraid of leaving room for shadows.

It was smaller than I remembered, with only a single paved road running through its middle. That road was lined with shops and taverns, and at its end sat a massive house of stone. All straight lines and harsh corners, it looked more like a fortress or palace, but it was not quite big enough to earn those monikers.

Beside me, Yoko fumed as she took mental notes of all she saw. Anger would not undo years of training, and we would need her skills as a former soldier in the Royal Army if we hoped to be successful tonight. I just wished she would get over it.

As if she could read my mind, she tilted her head, bringing me into her peripheral vision. "This would be much easier if you would let me go in alone."

"We are not separating," I snapped, checking the hood hiding my hair. The light brush made me wince. Freshly woven braids pinned against my head made my scalp tender.

"You're being unreasonable."

"Would you let me go down there alone if the roles were reversed?" That had been my trump card from the beginning, and it worked as well now as it had the first time I played it. "I know the added risks this creates, but we are stronger together. If Hyllie turns you in–"

"She won't."

"You don't know that. I've already lost Morana. I won't lose you too."

"And you think I want to lose you? They're looking for two of us, and you're the more recognizable of the two."

"My hair is hidden, and I have enough control not to start glowing in the middle of the street." I'd covered as much of my skin as possible just in case, but with enough concentration, I could snuff my light out completely. I hated the way it made me feel, but it was better than how I would feel if Yoko left me behind.

A bell pealed in the city. Twelve times the discordant note played, and soldiers filled the streets, their boisterous voices loud enough to reach us here. Those relieved of their posts stumbled toward their homes or into the taverns. The shift change lasted only a few minutes, and then the city settled back into the sleepy quiet of a late night.

"Where do you think we'll find her?" I asked as we slipped down the hill, keeping to the darkest places under trees and behind bushes.

"She'll be near the Estrellum border."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Hyllie is like any other Will-o'-the-wisp. She's going to want to be near the woods."

"She could be close to the woods if she guarded the front gate."

"Hyllie is a soldier because her father sold her into service to pay for his debts. Guarding the front gate is far more work than she's willing to do."

Yoko yanked me down to crouch in the bushes as the guard at the front gate stopped and peered in our direction. He held up his hand, and a flame appeared above his palm. Walking forward, he swept his arm from side to side. I curled my fingers around the hilt of my dagger, preparing to strike if he got too close, but just when the edges of the light threatened to spill into our hiding place, he turned and went back to his normal route.

We let out synchronized breaths of relief, and when Yoko pressed a finger to her lips, I nodded. These guards here were far more capable than the ones in Fridesh, not that I would expect less from members of the Royal Guard.

Nearly an entire bell later, we had reached the end of the wall. To go any further would force us into the Argen River that separated Yorkton from Estrellum. I stared at the moonlight-flecked river with longing and wondered if its waters still tasted of snow and cypress like it had when I was a child.

"Now what?" I asked after spending an absurd amount of time staring at a wicket gate. The soldier guarding it was currently preoccupied with a barmaid with a lusty set of lungs.

"I-I think that's Hyllie," Yoko said, scratching the back of her neck and looking up at the sky.

"Hmm," I replied, returning my attention to the lovers before us. The barmaid's thighs trembled, and the soldier kneeling between her legs hooked them over her shoulders to keep her from collapsing as she came with a cry. "I think I see what you saw in her."

"Yes, well..." Yoko cleared her throat. "I think we will stand a better chance with her if we let them, um, finish things."

"Oh, of course." A grin stretched my lips until they hurt. "I'm not sure I'd help the person who interrupted a good time like that, either."

A loud crack echoed through the night as the barmaid struck Hyllie across the cheek. She dropped her skirts, shoved the soldier, and marched back into the city without saying another word. Yoko started to rise, and I grabbed her hand.

"What if that's not her?" We'd only seen the back of the soldier, and while I was certain we could handle a single soldier if it turned into a fight, we were doing our best to get in and out without anyone being the wiser.

"Oh, it's her." She squeezed my hand and pulled me to my feet. "What did you say to her, Hyllie?"

The soldier spun around, and at the first sight of her electric blue eyes, I knew Yoko was right. Blue fire flared across Hyllie's body as she prepared to defend herself, but the flames fizzled out when she caught sight of Yoko.

"Well, may death overtake me," Hyllie proclaimed, bounding to Yoko and pulling her into a tight hug. "I never expected to see you again, but then I should've known anything could happen when we got the report that you had turned traitor to Edresh."

Irritation flared within me as the hug lingered beyond appropriate. Finally, the women separated, and Hyllie turned her attention to me. I stuck out my hand.

"Astreia," I said as she raised my knuckles to her lips. I might have snatched my hand away if Yoko hadn't tensed at my side. It was only fair that she got to experience a little jealousy.

Hyllie hummed under her breath as she stepped away. "I could buy a palace with the coin they're offering to bring you two in."

"But you won't, will you?" Yoko said, uncertainty heavy in her voice.

"Soldiering isn't as fun as it used to be," the woman mused, tapping her thin, dimpled chin. "And being stuck out here for so long has made it a lot harder to find someone to warm my bed at night."

"Coin won't make you better in bed," I said, folding my arms over my chest and arching a brow. "I'm sure you'll get slapped just as often, with or without it."

"Oi, princess. I'm guessing you didn't receive many lessons on diplomacy while living in the palace. Otherwise, you'd be talking a lot nicer to someone you mean to ask for help. That is why you're here, right? You need my help with something."

"Stop it, Hyllie. We both know you're going to help us. We're wasting time."

"And what makes you think that?" Her skin rippled with flame again, and this close, I could see the shadows of bones and organs through the fire.

"Because you told me once if they ever gave you the chance to overthrow the king, you would take it."

I snuck a look at Yoko. She claimed Hyllie used to say things that bordered on treason, but that crossed the line completely. Digging into the pocket of her coat, she withdrew a crumpled bit of parchment and handed it to the Will-o'-the-wisp.

"These are the supplies we need to enter Estrellum. Will you get them for us?"

Hyllie unfolded the list and nodded. "I can. They're fairly easy to get, and I'm due for an excursion soon, anyway. They'll think I'm preparing for that, but..."

Yoko frowned. "But what?"

"You can get all the supplies in the world, but you won't ever get into Estrellum. No one has entered since Queen Vega was assassinated."

"Why not?" I asked, turning toward the river. The land beyond it was cloaked in an impenetrable darkness.

"You don't know?" Hyllie snorted in disbelief. "How can you not know?"

"They took me before they killed my mother," I snapped. "I was barely more than a child, and if you think the king sat me down and gave me regular updates about what happened in my home, you're out of your mind. Even speaking the name of my home was forbidden."

"I'm sorry."

Scrubbing away tears, I shrugged. "It doesn't matter. I can't change the past, but I have to go home to undo the evil that was done there. And that means you have to tell us why we can't get in there."

"There's a wall of thorns that rises into the clouds, and what is beyond that, no one knows."

Yoko threaded her fingers through mine. "Thorns can be burned."

"Not these. We've tried everything, and nothing works."

Turning my hands over, I eased the grip on my light and smiled as the silver shimmer spread across my skin. "I think I know how to take care of that."

Hyllie's face was grim. "Fine. I will help you on one condition."

"What condition could there be? This is what you've always wanted."

The woman ignored Yoko's outburst. She held up the list. "All of this is yours, but you have to take someone into Estrellum with you."

"Absolutely not. The land will accept Yoko because she's my...my mate." The admission tumbled out. I'd known it was true for sometime, but speaking it out loud made it feel all too real. "I won't bring another Edreshian into my home. Not after what they've done to it."

"He's not Edreshian," Hyllie blurted out. "His name is Dante–"

"Ishtan?"

"You know him?" Yoko asked as Hyllie nodded in answer to my question.

"Dante was the second-born son of Lord Ishtan, my mother's advisor. I didn't know he survived." It didn't feel necessary to mention that we had also been betrothed since birth.

"He did, and he's being held prisoner in the Governor's mansion. I owe him my life, and my debt will be repaid if you can take him home. So, that's my deal. The supplies for freeing Dante."

We didn't have any other choice, and now that I knew one of my subjects still lived, I couldn't leave him behind. I only hoped he wasn't as unbearable as an adult as he had been as a child.