Don’t turn away help, even if it comes from an unexpected source.

The Book of Lost Wisdom, Kalutu

Thirty-fifth of Learning 1142

Only a handful of humans had heard of the Undead Queen, and even they weren’t sure that she existed. Rumor had it that the Undead King had recently taken a bride. That he had provided her with powers greater than that of other reborn. Some claimed that he had done so because she was so beautiful that even he had fallen under her spell.

Others felt that it made no sense for him to marry, because marriage was designed so that people could carry on their bloodline. But the reborn didn’t reproduce, so why marry? A few even thought that the story had been fabricated to obscure what was really going on, though no one could say what that was.

As confused as the few humans who knew about her were, the reborn were even more mystified. They knew of the union between Nylus and his queen, and she was indeed beautiful. But they had no idea what authority she commanded, who her followers were or what the Undead King saw as her purpose. She didn’t seem to have a position in the hierarchy of Xarinos.

She never issued commands, never involved herself in politics, never seemed to make any decisions of note. She was an oddity in a kingdom of oddities. Yet when you lived as long as the reborn, novelty of any kind was welcome, so they welcomed her. After all, she was married to their liege, and no one wanted to anger him.

It was near midnight on the plains, when the Undead Queen heard her husband’s voice in her mind for the first time in weeks.

Greetings, my love.

She had been walking through bleak and barren wastes that very much reflected how she felt—stressed, irritable, impotent. War was coming, bringing with it death and destruction on an unimaginable scale. It didn’t need to happen, but it would. There was nothing she could do about it—nothing anyone could do. And then he was there with her—Nylus, the Undead King.

An unexpected surprise husband. Are you well?

I’m better than well. I’m here.

Here?

I’ve come home. I’m in Orientation Village. I’ve only just arrived.

Shall I come to you?

We should talk first.

About?

I know how you feel about Queen Treya, but she has become troublesome. I plan to remove her.

The Undead Queen frowned. Remove her?

You know what I mean.

Then why not say it. You’re going to have her assassinated.

Yes.

You won’t succeed.

But I will. King Terrence has marched off to war. He won’t be there to protect her. Captain Maynor isn’t around. Captain Jericho is dead…and I still have spies in the palace. Soldiers loyal to me.

I understand the situation, but Queen Treya will surprise you. No matter who you’ve sent after her, they will fail.

I am sorry, my love. The Queen of Twyl will not live out the week. I strongly suggest you prepare yourself.

I hate your war.

I know you do.

I won’t go along with this, Nylus. Call an end to it. All of it. It’s not too late.

In case it hasn’t come to your attention, I didn’t declare war, the gods did.

And will you stand against the gods?

The gods won’t be the ones wielding weapons.

She could see him in her mind’s eye, wearing those ridiculous Earth clothes. He was one of the most attractive men she had ever seen. He was huge, but without a frame of reference you couldn’t tell because he was so perfectly proportioned. His black hair was too short to be called shaggy, but still had a few wild locks, enough to suggest it would never be completely tamed. His dark eyes had depths that most would never dive into, and he had what he called a five o’clock shadow that never seemed to vanish, even though he never shaved. He was in a house in Orientation village he’d reserved for himself. For once, he wasn’t sitting on an ergonomic desk chair, but instead lay back on a recliner and stared at the ceiling. He loved the Earth, had even brought her there to show it to her, but she had returned to Thysandrika and he had not—until now. She believed she knew why.

Stolen story; please report.

It’s Terrence, isn’t it. He’s the reason you’re so obsessed. The gods chose the one man you resent more than all others. You don’t care about humanity, you care only about Terrence. Is that worth the mass casualties that will inevitably result from this cursed confrontation? When does it end, my love?

It ends when every last human belongs to me. It ends when King Terrence is kneeling at my feet as my loyal subject. It ends when my victory is complete.

Why do you hate him so much?

We didn’t start the Undead War, the humans of Death’s Doorstep did, with their repeated incursions into my territory. Anyone that had bothered checking would have had to cede the moral high ground to me, but no one did. And then the nations of the world joined together to punish us for defending what was ours. In all the years I’ve walked Thysandrika, we had hurt no one. We had taken no life. But still they feared us. They hunted us. And when we dared to defend ourselves, they united against us. But that wasn’t the worst of it…

To them, we were the aggressors. We were the evil waiting in the darkness. And after all was said and done, King Terrence of Twyl was the hero. All over the world, they sang his praises. And what had he been doing during the war, the great and honorable King Bloody Terrence? He’d been breaking his marital vows, siring a bastard…

And what did he do after that? Did he acknowledge his son or ignore him, doing the bare minimum out of the guilt he felt. The great, noble, honorable King of Twyl, hero of the Undead Wars, emerged from that war as a modern day Arimen—his name on everyone’s lips. They revered him. They reviled me. He reviled me. He has such hate in his heart for us…

For years, I’ve been with him—in him. Watching him raise Prince Eric. Watching him malign me, my people, my kingdom. Watching him hide his sins from the world, shunning responsibility for his own actions. I’ve been there—inside of him. He is mine and has been since the war. I know everything that goes on in his mind. Perhaps if you did, you’d hate him too…

But it wasn’t just that. I’m in hundreds of human minds. Kings, Queens, nobles of all types, and they all see him as this larger-than-life hero, and they all see me as some sort of big bad at the end of a movie that only exists to be conquered. The whole world sees us that way.

She frowned again, or perhaps she had never stopped. So, this is about your ego. What do you care how the world sees you? You’re the Undead King. Isn’t that enough?

Do you know what it’s like to be reviled by the world? The whole world? It makes you question yourself. Have I been so terrible? Has King Terrence truly been so great?

I admire him.

Of course, you do. You’ll see. They’ll all see. King Terrence will fall.

You’re a fool. Terrence will not be beaten so easily.

Even the great King Terrence can’t overcome the odds I’ve stacked against him. He’s outnumbered, outmaneuvered, outgunned. And when he marches into Xarinos he will lose the gods, the only advantage he has.

The Undead Queen remained silent, but she knew he could feel her pain.

You would choose humans over your own kind?

It wasn’t so long ago that I was human, if you recall. I never asked for any of this. But I will not stand idly by and allow you to destroy everything I hold dear. Choose, my king. My love or your vengeance. You can’t have both.

Then I am sorry, my queen, but the good of our people must come first.

I’ll find a way to stop you.

Good luck with that. Just remember, every move he makes, every order he issues, every step he takes, I’m with him, watching, learning, making my plans around his. Tell me, do you really believe the great and noble King Terrence can walk into Xarinos and defeat me, when I know his every move?

The Undead Queen closed her eyes. Her husband never lied. It was the one fact everyone agreed on. Even when she had still been human, she knew that. If he said he was inside Terrence then it was true. Terrence would lose the war, and there would be nothing left to stand in Nylus’ way. And still, a part of her didn’t believe.

You don’t know Terrence.

The Undead King’s laughter infuriated her. I know him better than anyone. The final battle between us will be his undoing. King Terrence is marching to his death, and not even the gods know it. When he dies, I will no longer be the Undead King. I will be King of all Thysandrika.

The Undead Queen shuddered. Nylus believed every word he spoke. Between his hold on King Terrence, whatever that was, and his attempt to assassinate Queen Treya, he could very well emerge victorious.

From everything she’d heard, the humans were throwing everything into their holy war. And if they lost, there’d be nothing to stop the Undead King’s armies from marching.

If only she had the power to intervene, but she wasn’t strong enough. She didn’t have a following. What she needed were allies. But precious few in the Plains of Xarinos would follow her against the will of the Undead King.

Even if she could find aid, then what? She didn’t want to see humanity destroyed, nor did she want the reborn to suffer. There had to be a solution.

And then it came to her. The one possible future where everyone won. She needed help and thought she knew where to get it. The path forward would not be without dangers, but she was prepared to face whatever she had to to succeed. She had only one final message for her husband.

Oh, Nylus.

Yes, my love.

If anything happens to Queen Treya, you can consider our marriage over.

That makes me sad, but I have a responsibility to my people.

And I have a responsibility to all of Thysandrika.

Why? He sounded genuinely curious.

Because no one else is in a position to stop this madness, and it has to be stopped.

Then this is where our journey together ends. Goodbye my love.

Goodbye, Nylus.

And just like that it was over between them. Did it hurt? Perhaps one day it would, but not today, for she realized that Nylus had lost the ability to reason. Someone had to stop him, and she might be the only person in a position to do what needed to be done. There would be time to mourn her failed marriage tomorrow.

Today, the Undead Queen had a world to save.