Destiny's Queen by J.D. Rogers
Chapter 17
"You're making a mistake," Iderra said. "A big mistake."
We were eating breakfast in the dining room of my private suite. I just told Iderra of my plan to sail to the other side of the continent and try to stop the war between Adah and Sorea. Needless to say, she didn't like the idea.
"It won't be my first mistake," I said.
"But it could be your last." Iderra leaned across the table and looked me in the eyes. "Why should we care what happens on that side of world? This is our home now. We have a good life here. With the deaths of Max and your father, we have a chance to usher in an age of peace and prosperity. Why would you want to sail to that side of the world and throw yourself into the middle of another war? Especially with Bedonna there. You know she'll settle for nothing less than your death."
"I won't tell her about this side of the continent. If that's what you're worried about. I won't tell her that you're here. I'll let her think I've spent the last year inside Sorea."
"I'm not worried about me, Mouse. I'm worried about you. I'm worried that you'll be killed and I'll never see you again. I'm worried that I'll be left to run your empire without you." Iderra smiled, a sheepish smile. "When I put it that way, it does sound like I'm worried about myself."
"If I don't go, thousands of people will die, Adans and Soreans. I can't allow that to happen. Not when I have the power to do something about it."
"Adah has never conquered Sorea. What makes you think that Bedonna will succeed when all of our grandmothers failed?"
"In Sorea, the king or queen is their most powerful seer. Without me to tell them when or where their enemy will strike, they're vulnerable."
"They didn't have any trouble capturing me when I crossed their border. What makes you think they'll have trouble with Bedonna and her soldiers?"
"The seers guarding their border have limited skills. They can only see a mile or so in either direction. That's why their guard shacks are so close to the border. They don't have the ability to watch an army of twenty thousand men. Only their king, or in my case, their queen, possesses that ability. If I don't go, Bedonna will conquer Sorea."
"So, let her have it."
"Once she conquers Sorea, she'll turn her eyes toward Gibney."
Iderra saw where I was heading and finished the thought for me. "And once she conquers Gibney, she'll hear stories from the traders, stories about a barbarian queen that rules on the other side of the desert."
"And knowing Bedonna, she won't rest until she brings her army to this side of the world and kills both of us. I either stop her at the Sorean border, or within a couple of years, she'll rule the known world."
"Her dream come true," Iderra said.
"Yes."
"What if you can't stop her?"
"Then I can slow her down, buy you some time." I smiled. "If there's anybody in the world that can come up with a way to stop Bedonna, it's you."
"How long before she invades Sorea?"
"The Soreans believe she'll be ready to go by fall. I doubt if she'll wait that long. You know how impatient Bedonna is."
"It'll take you a month to sail around the continent."
"Which is why I have to go now. The spring winds have arrived. They'll quicken my journey."
Iderra sighed. It was a sigh of resignation. "I knew one or both of us would have to face Bedonna sooner or later. I was hoping it would be later, much, much later. Like when we're all old and gray."
"You and me both," I said.
"I feel guilty, sending my baby sister to fight Bedonna." Iderra looked at me and smiled. "But then you're not my baby sister anymore. The past year has changed you. You've gone from being our little Mouse, to the woman everyone calls Destiny's Queen."
One week later, I boarded the Edgerton Hooks, which I hoped would carry me safely to the other side of the continent. It seemed appropriate that I return home on the ship named after the man that brought me to this side of the world.