Parting Roada

Parting Roada
Someone else will deal with Voke, Luther had said. I’ve sorted it all out.

I stood by our bed, immobile, staring at the hummingbird. Sounds from the festivities flowed in from a distance.

We promised not to do anything brash before talking to each other.

No, a small voice chimed in. You promised.

My throat tightened. I picked up the wooden hummingbird, twirling it between my fingers. Luther had compared me to a hummingbird once…

He might simply be down at the banquet.

But a quick glance around the room proved otherwise. Near our bed, Luther kept an emerald green travel coat, as well as the sabre he had rescued me with long ago.

“I am the king,” he had once explained. “It is my duty to be ready to leave at any moment.”

The coat and sabre were gone.

The gardens! That’s where he must be, I lied to myself. There was no reason why he would go to the gardens with a sabre.

It is strange, I thought, as I stared at the wooden hummingbird, how our minds can ignore the obvious when it is too horrible to consider.

My stomach was twisted in knots, yet I continued to convince myself that Luther was simply...elsewhere. That there was no problem.

Collecting myself, I set out to find him in the gardens, picturing him waiting for me on our bench, by the brook.

I’ll feel silly when I see him, to have been so worried over nothing.

But he wasn’t in the gardens. Nor did I locate any hint there that could explain the wooden hummingbird. If this was a treasure hunt, I didn’t want to play anymore. I wanted to sit by Gaia and Cleta, to celebrate the wedding with Luther by my side.

But there will be no more Luther by my side, the small voice reminded me. He is gone.

I brushed away the tears that were stinging my eyes. The last time I saw Luther, earlier in the afternoon, I had refused to acknowledge the sadness that colored his face. Now, I realized that he had been planning this. I suspected that he was riding to Thornland. Where else would he go?

Countless times, he had told me that he would never let anything happen to me, that he would keep me safe. What better way to keep me safe than to trade my life for his?

I searched for Colm, Kenai’s father. After Gallen, he was the Dryn I was closest to, and I wasn’t about to disturb the groom on his wedding night. Forcing a smile on my face, I scanned the crowd of dressed up courtiers until I noticed the amiable, lanky demon. I beelined towards him.

“Colm,” I greeted him, linking my arm through his. “May I have a moment?”

He turned to look at me, surprised. “Tatiana? Excuse me,” he said to the group he was chatting with.

I practically dragged him away from the great hall, stopping when we reached a quiet nook.

“Where is Luther?” I demanded.

All color drained from Colm’s face. “I don’t know. Is he missing?”

“If you’re lying to me...” I said menacingly.

“No! Tatiana, I have no idea...what...I don’t understand!”

“Then it is worse than I thought,” I replied, my heart sinking in my chest. “If the high-council doesn’t know about his disappearance... Who rules over Voke if the king dies or disappears?” I asked Colm.

Surely Luther wouldn’t have left his kingdom aimless.

“The Dryns vote every year to elect a regent, in case the king dies. The name is only known by the Dryns, and revealed in a situation of crisis. Such as this one, I suppose,” Colm answered. “Tatiana?” he asked.

“What is it?”

“We voted two days ago for this year’s regent.”

Of course, I thought. Luther waited for the kingdom to be in good hands.

“Who was elected?” I asked, expecting him to answer with Gallen’s name.

“You,” Colm replied.

My eyes widened so much they almost hurt.

“No he didn’t,” I whispered. Only Luther could have convinced the Dryns that I was the best fit for the role.

“Your work for Voke hasn’t been going unnoticed by the high-council. Everybody agreed that you, more than anyone, know what our people need.”

I let out a wry chuckle. “Everybody except for the people harassing me.”

Colm waived a dismissive hand. “As far as we know, it might just be the work of one deranged woman.”

Except it started before her arrival at court, I thought, although I refrained from mentioning anything to Colm. This wasn’t the debate I wanted to have right now.

“Let’s go to the stables,” I told him. “If Luther’s truly gone, Oishen will have seen something.”



Oishen had seen Luther leave.

“What do you do to make them all run away, Tatiana?” he joked.

Oishen didn’t have a great sense of humor.

“Saddle my horse,” I replied, before rushing back to the citadel with Colm.

“Do you want to call an extraordinary high-council meeting?” he asked.

I shook my head. Not only was it particularly bizarre to be addressed as if I had any sort of power, but all I wanted was to go after Luther.

“Get a squad of guards ready this instant,” I ordered. “We’re going after him. I have a plan.”

Colm nodded and marched off.

Frantically, I ran to my apartments, forcing myself to think of nothing but practicalities. What I needed to pack. How fast we would need to go to catch up with him. I had to see him, to stop him from giving himself up. Living without him was pointless.

My head started to throb. At that moment, I realized that I had been wrong all along. My love for Luther was more important than anything else in my life. More important than Voke. I finally understood why he couldn’t bear to see me die for the kingdom. If he died, I wouldn’t have the strength to carry on. I was certain he felt the same way.

I have to find him.

I grabbed everything I needed for a short trip, then, with one last look back at our apartments, walked out the door.

And bumped straight into a huge demon whose face was covered with a dark hood. Before I could scream, he placed a large, smothering hand over my mouth. I saw a flicker of movement, and an instant later, felt a sharp pain in my skull.

I can’t have this bad of a headache, I thought, before my legs collapsed under me.



It was hot when I woke up. Hot and dark. I was thirsty, hungry, my stomach was churning. Something was moving under me. A horse? I peered through the fabric of the black hood that covered my face, trying to figure out where I was. But all I could see was the bright yellow of desert sand.

“We stop here!” I heard a demon order.

Despite myself, I whimpered, before passing out again, too weak to stay awake.