Page 50 of The Moon Blessed King
‘Just come back,’ she cries.
‘This time,’ he swears to her, ‘we will.’
Cat and Elician will travel into Alelune together, and they will save the people of his country from a horror not of their making. And in their wake: they will need to trust that all the people they love and have depended on in Soleb will be able to manage a crisis on their own.
PART III
For many years, Nightcat follows Death. It watches her move through the world as a constant companion and friend. When she takes the souls Life brings to the world and ends the lives of those who are born, Nightcat says nothing. When she brings famine to the earth and a harvest of war and mayhem, Nightcat does naught to interfere.
‘You do not let any see you,’ Death observes as her companion continues stalking her steps. ‘Do you not wish for friends? Those who understand who and what you are?’
‘No,’ Nightcat replies. ‘For they will not understand me whether they see me or not. So, I will not show myself to them. I do not wish for their companionship.’
‘What do you wish for instead?’
‘I wish only to learn,’ Nightcat replies. ‘I will learn from you.’
‘And what will you do when I go?’
‘By then I will have learned all there is to know.’
‘And will you wish for friends then?’
‘Perhaps,’ Nightcat replies. ‘And perhaps then, they will want to understand me too.’
–Myths, Legends and Realities, Anonymous
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Cat
Cat and Elician purge the plague from Altas. They go door to door, family after family, making sure there is not a single sniffle or sore to be found. Cat says goodbye to Cieli. He pulls her into a room just for themselves. He closes the door behind them so no one can see and he holds her the way he always wished he could. Her arms wrap tight around him. Her lips press against the hair above the shell of his ear. ‘You will be crowned, Stello.’
‘Do you truly believe I can do this?’ Cat asks her.
‘Yes,’ she swears. ‘And so do all who know you, truly.’ He wishes he had her confidence. Instead, he steps away and bids her well. He finds Marina next, already preparing her bag for the road. She glances at him as he approaches. Presses a hand to his cheek before letting it fall.
‘You’ll be all right,’ she decides, and he says the same to her for want of other words. She finishes packing, tosses her bag over her shoulder. Then asks, ‘That book, the one I gave you for your wedding. Did you ever read it?’
‘No,’ he confesses. ‘I brought it with me though. Hoped perhaps it could be a distraction. But…’
‘Read it. Promise me you’ll read it before you meet your brother.’
‘I promise,’ he swears with all the solemnity it requires. Shesqueezes his fingers. Muscle and bone sing beneath her touch. ‘Ride well…and…come after us if we fail to return.’
‘Yes, my king. I will.’ She leaves, and Cat only has his own things to take care of. His own journey to the barn. He arrives to find his horse ready, its saddle and bridle in place. Elician nods in his direction, mounts his horse and leads it to the barn door. Lio loiters only a moment longer, offering Cat a boost. He settles one hand on his saddle, the other on Lio’s shoulder, and prepares to step into the cradle of Lio’s hand when he stops.
‘Lio…I don’t know what I’m doing,’ he admits.
‘With…the horse?’
‘No.’
He lowers his hand from Lio’s shoulder. A quarantine. A plague. Sending Reapers into Soleb and hoping they’ll listen and won’t kill anyone. Trusting strangers. Returning to Alelune. With no army, no assurances, just Death and her wide arm swinging across the swell of a continent, casting her fury at any who dares to cheat her.
And, in the midst of it all: a throne.
He still means to gain his throne.
