Chapter 33

Leo had no trouble getting Alanna to agree to get off the ship to tend to her daughter. The queen seemed more concerned about the welfare of her daughter than how her country was, which said a lot about Alanna's values. The Lioness was known for her dedication to Tortall, but obviously her dedication to her family outshined her country.

"Oh," Alanna froze when she saw Eliena. She was brought back to her days as a page, when she had saved Jonathan from the Sweating Sickness. Eliena looked as Jonathan had then—near death.

"What?" Jonathan asked.

"Jonathan," Alanna rasped, "she looks as you did when you were in the place between life and death." Jonathan gulped. He never wanted to return to that place.

"Can you save her?" Jonathan asked, holding his wife's violet eyes.

"I saved you, didn't I?" she replied, trying hard to keep the mood light. It wasn't working. She took a few big breaths. "I need to get somewhere protected. And it would be best if you stayed with me, Jonathan." The king looked at his squire.

"Leo, I'll need you to stay here for me," he said. Leo nodded. He knew what he had to do. "I'll keep the Jewel. Send someone if they need me." Leo nodded again. Jonathan picked up Eliena and carried her down the tower and into the large chambers Imrah had given Jonathan and Alanna in Legann. Jonathan gently put Eliena on the bed.

"Guard the room," Alanna said. Jonathan did, and a blue fire circled the room, shielding them. "I'm not even going to try natural remedies this time." Jonathan smiled. Alanna had come a long way from the days when she feared and hated her magic. But he knew that no natural remedies could save Eliena from the magic that was killing her. "Keep me alive, Jonathan. Don't let me tap my life force."

"I won't," he assured her, setting a hand on her arm. "If you need more magic, tell me and I'll give you some of mine." Alanna smiled and he took his arm off her arm. "Gods bless, Alanna." Alanna nodded and placed her hands on Eliena. She took a deep, shaking breath. As the queen's eyes closed, violet fire bloomed around her palms. Jonathan knew that she was now inside Eliena.

Alanna looked around and saw red fire inside her daughter. She shoved away the fire blocking Eliena's lungs and arteries, so Eliena had a chance of living if Alanna managed to get rid of Death. Alanna also found Eliena's source of Gift—it blazed steadily violet intertwined with the white of the Bazhir magic and the blue of her father's. Alanna called out to Eliena and got no answer. She would have to enter Eliena's mind. Taking a deep breath, Alanna made her way into the princess's mind.

Eliena's mind was blank, which made it easier to find her. Eliena stood at the edge of an infinite expanse of darkness that Alanna pegged as the Black God's realm. The God himself reached out to Eliena.

"Eli!" Alanna called. Her daughter turned—causing Alanna to gasp. Eliena's black curls were topped with a grand golden crown and cascaded down her back. Her violet eyes shined with a new maturity and power. Eliena wore a simply cut blue-violet dress that sparkled with diamonds, amethysts, and sapphires. On top of that, Eliena stood nearly six and a half feet tall, and was surrounded by a white aura. Her blue ember glowed steadily.

"Mother?" Eliena asked. Her voice was musical—calling to mind singing whales, twittering birds, and the light sensation of dancing with the one you loved—so unlike Eliena's natural voice. Alanna knew in an instant this wasn't just grown-up Eliena. But she didn't know what Eliena it was.

"Its me, Eliena," Alanna replied. "Come home, sweetheart. Come back to us." Alanna extended a hand. Eliena looked between her mother and the Black God. The god nodded slowly, telling her to go home.

"It is not your time, young princess. You shall join us in good time," he told her in a deep, rumbling voice that made Alanna shudder with fear. Eliena smiled and walked to her mother.

"Mother." The princess embraced Alanna, whose eyes leaked tears.

"You're safe, Eliena, oh, you're safe," Alanna murmured, stroking her black hair. Eliena smiled. "Let's go home, shall we?"

"Yes," Eliena replied almost dreamily. "Let's go home." Eliena took Alanna's hand.

Alanna's eyes fluttered open. Jonathan's heart caught. "Is she…?" Moments later, Eliena's eyes opened. "Eli!" Jonathan hugged his daughter tightly. "I thought I'd lost you."

"No, father," Eliena said. "You didn't lose me. Even if I had died, you wouldn't have lost me." Both Jonathan and Alanna looked in surprise at their oldest daughter. Her eyes were full of strength and maturity, one that they had never seen before. There was also a white glow around her. Eliena shook her head and smiled. She saw her father's wet blue eyes. "Oh, father!" Eliena's own violet eyes filled with tears as she threw her arms around her father. "I was so scared!"

"She was in the place between life and death," Alanna explained to her husband. "The Black God almost took her." Jonathan nodded, color finally returning to his face. He took off the guards on the room.

"It was terrifying," Eliena remarked, face buried in her father's tunic. She was soaking it, but Jonathan was glad that she was—it meant his little girl was alive.

"I know, little one," Jonathan murmured, stroking her hair. "I've been there too."

"That's right." Eliena looked up at her father. "You almost died too." She turned to her mother. "And you saved him." Eliena hugged her mother. "And you saved me. You're so brave, mother." Alanna smiled. "I wish I were more like you."

"You're more like me than you think, Eli," Alanna told her. "Trust me."

"You're alive, Eliena. You're alive!" Leo exclaimed, coming in. He threw his arms around Eliena, reducing their ages to ten again. "I was so scared… I thought you were dead…"

"Mother saved me, Leo," Eliena told him. "I was almost taken by the Black God. She brought me home."

"All I care about is that you're here. And breathing," Leo said. Eliena grinned.

"How are things?" Alanna asked Leo.

"Fine," he replied. "The enemy's run away. Daine went after Numair. The cloud disappeared a while back, but we don't know the outcome yet."

"When he comes back, I'm going to have a long talk with him," Jonathan growled. "He almost killed Eliena!"

"It wasn't Numair, father. It was Inar," Eliena reminded him. Jonathan glared at her, but then laughed hollowly.

"I can't be upset at you, Eliena. Not after such a scare," he said. Eliena grinned.

"Maybe I should almost die more often," she remarked.

"Don't," Alanna said. "Because I don't think I'd bring you back again."

They all laughed, but there was worry behind it all. Tortall had almost lost their princess—their future queen.

"I killed Ozorne," Eliena admitted. "I ran my sword straight through his head."

"Just like a little Tigress," Leo teased. Eliena smiled.

"Exactly. And the men—they chanted that. 'Tigress', I mean. I felt like… well, I felt like a hero." Eliena looked at her mother. "Like the Lioness."

"Tigress," her father corrected. "Tortall can only have one Lioness, but we can have a Tigress."

"Yes," Eliena said. "I felt like a Tigress. And then it was like I couldn't breathe. The magic was… choking me."

"It blocked your lungs, and your arteries," Alanna told her daughter. "Even if I had saved you from the Black God, you wouldn't have lived with that blockage." Eliena put her hand to her neck. She knew that lungs allowed her to breathe, and her arteries carried her blood to her body. Without those, she would die almost instantly.

"But she unclogged them," Leo put in. "And now you're here, telling us about it."

Eliena smiled. "I only hope that Numair will be able to answer to exactly why he allowed Inar's magic to leak out. As long as the answer isn't that he's dead."

Author's Note- REVIEW. Now.