Page 96 of Queen’s Gambit

I avoided most of the missiles, but one grazed my cheek, and another sank into my thigh. My scream echoed through the night, but I forged ahead.

I flew over the wall like a shimmering ghost, disappearing into the forest canopy.

Trees surrounded me, their branches knocking me from side to side until my strength gave out and I plummeted the short distance to the ground. The snap of the arrow left me whimpering, but I shook a fist at the city in triumph. I’d escaped.

My back muscles were so weak after the short flight I couldn’t stand straight. Worse, all I had were the clothes on my back, a dagger at my belt, and the few poisons I had with me in the bathing chamber.

‘At least it’s not bloody winter,’ I muttered, stumbling deeper into the woods.

The Tangrians wouldn’t know the forest well, and the locals feared the Piran monsters. If Siras were still alive—and I hoped he was—the Clericus would likely take him to the Hierophant to earn merit. I just needed to get to them before they reached the Tivalaran Castle.

My alchemist’s belt clattered as I rifled for a numbing powder and poured it onto my thigh. The pain subsided enough for me to walk, and I hobbled west, circling the town at a safe distance to avoid those few determined to search for me.

If they would even try in the overwhelming darkness.

I soon lost all sense of direction, hobbling through the dense undergrowth for hours. Pain shot through my thigh and back, slowing me down, as any rapid movement reopened the wound. The sky brightened in the east, and I cursed. East meant the wrong direction. I wasn’t circling the town but heading farther into the swamp.

My forehead was feverish, and my thigh was now throbbing. A forest stream murmured in the distance, and I limped towards it.

The simple beauty of the babbling brook didn’t ease my dire situation. The mossy rocks and the light reflecting from their surface were charming, but I was in no fit state to appreciate them. I gulped the water before washing the crusted blood from my wound and pouring another hefty dose of numbing powder on it.

‘Why do I get hurt each time I come here?’ I moaned, half complaining, half laughing, when a lilting laugh joined mine.

As I turned, my gaze fell on the willowy girl in a white chemise, a flowery wreath crowning her long, shimmering hair.

‘Hello, I hope I’m not intruding on your domain? Would you be willing to help me?’ I asked, gesturing for her to come closer.

She tilted her head, taking a few steps forward. ‘I can’t heal if that’s what you need.’

‘I need to know if the man I was with is still alive. One of your kin must have seen us together. His name is Siras. I also need to know what’s happening at Tivalaran Castle,’ I said, and her youthful face changed, ageing before my eyes. She no longer looked like a girl but a woman my age. She studied me, frowning.

‘You’re asking a lot.’ She dipped her fingers in the water.

‘I’m asking for what was promised. Aren’t you one of Vodnik’s daughters?’

She huffed, twirling and splashing water in my face before disappearing into the brook.

Well, that was interesting. I ripped a strip from my already tattered shirt and wrapped it around my thigh. Clean and medicated, my wound stopped throbbing, but I had no illusions the relief would last long.

I was staggering upright, bracing against the willow, when the water rose again, forming a female shape.

‘The man who carries your mark is wounded. He has a noose around his neck and is standing near the town gates surrounded by others. Tivalaran’s Castle is dead to us. The Aether is trapped, corrupted by the warped pillars, but my sisters saw dragons circling in the sky and an army heading towards it from the sea,’ she said, shimmering as she sank back into the water.

‘Wait! Do you know the bies that lives in this swamp, with a burrow under an oak tree?’ I shouted before she disappeared.

‘What do you want from the lost one? He is still seeking his master.’ Her words made me swallow hard. If I called him now, would I be able to let him go? The beast that saved my life hated when I left. Still, being so far away from any allies, what choice did I have?

‘I’m his mistress. Bring him to me,’ I requested, and the rusalka disappeared.

I closed my eyes and slid down the willow tree, allowing myself a moment before my unusual mount arrived. He would come. I felt it deep in my core, just as I knew Cinared would come if he knew where I was.

At the thought of Rey and Cin, I smiled and closed my eyes, awaiting the bies’ arrival.

A wet nose snorted against my ear, jolting me awake. Yellow, gleaming eyes focused on my hand where an emerald glow pulsed, welcoming my strange companion.

The bies licked my hand, his rough tongue trailing between my fingers. With a cry of relief, I wrapped my arms around his massive, shaggy neck.

‘You came, my precious. Thank you, thank you so much.’ I rubbed his bovine head, and he huffed again, his warm breath caressing my cheek as he knelt down beside me.