Kaija: Queen of Stone

22.5

Later, when night fell, I sat in the queen's quarters, lying in the bed I had once shared with Mara. I stroked the pillow, feeling loneliness cloak over. The sour words Qia spat formed in my mind. I had changed, but I had believed my change was for the better. With a sigh, I sank down to the pillow, pulling the linen to my chest. I rested on my back, feeling peace. I was certain the incantation was going to work. Everyone would sleep, and they would have to worry about the Rabaka attacking Udan directly now. My eyes waned as a heavy dosage of sleep clouded my mind. I breathed in and out before falling into a dream. I let myself fall, convinced we were safe.

"Udan is falling."

Fire raged around me like an angry inferno. I stood in the middle of it until I was consumed, burning until I was ash.

My eyes flashed open. Screams burned through my ears. I shot up, running out of the chambers. I picked up a rogue spear that a statue was holding. Rushing down the ivory steps, the screams grew louder, bursting like thunder. I followed them, listening. They leaked out into the streets of Udan. I opened the doors. People were running after each other, their minds no longer belonging to them. A young boy was running, his bare feet pattering against the dirt paths. Our eyes met as a woman fell onto him, sinking her teeth into his neck. He let out a guttural shriek, drowning in his blood as it leaked from his throat.

She lashed her head around toward me, bearing the most horrible of claws and white eyes. Blood dripped from her elongated teeth to her chin. Running forward, she was a blur. I kept my eye on her, adjusting my stance. I steadied my spear, shifting as she pounced, screeching an inhumane cry. In the middle of the air, she was impaled. I threw the spear and the woman to the ground, meeting eyes with Rooke.

I was going head to head with a few more women that were also monsters. Instead of claws, their eyes bulged and their teeth elongated to their chins. Blood coated them. I feared how many they had killed. I slashed through the air with my spear, yanking it out of the chest of one of the women.

Rooke's eyes met with mine as the last one fell. "What have you done!" he shouted, rushing toward me. He grabbed me by the arm and twisted it around. Holding the spear to my chest, he screamed. "What words have you spoken!"

"The incantation," I said. "I showed you!"

"This was not what was in the book," he hissed. "This is dark magic."

My breath caught as I remembered what Tiroa had said. Rooke motioned for two more soldiers to come over. Once they did, they grabbed a hold of me. Qia and Tiroa, women that could have been affected by the incantation. I turned to run toward the castle, but Rooke's grip was too strong.

"Take him to the dungeons!" he cried out. "Udan is under new rule until the return of the queen."

Defeat rushed over me as I sat in the depths of the dungeons. They had not been used in so long, considering Queen Baria executed everyone who went against her. All except for the few I had saved. None of them mattered now that many innocents had turned to monsters and murdered others.

My stomach twisted, I had made many mistakes but this was one of the worst. My mind was clouded, I had said things I did not mean to say. Maybe there was something lurking inside of me; something dark like Tiora claimed.

I sighed, picking up a small pebble. I gripped it, shaking my head. I touched the dagger in my pocket with my other hand.

What have I done?

Skipping it across the small cell, Nasira's voice called from the other side of the barred wall. "Oh, poor, poor, Hona," she whimpered. "Betrayed, misguided, now imprisoned."