My finger taps on the page as I draw my brows together. Galina and Santor are both small towns that are close to the border of the Mortal Kingdom. Odd that, of the three ceremonies documented on this day, the two of those from these border towns produced a much smaller flame than the one child from Galdr. I set the councilman’s journal to the side and reach for my pack on the floor next to the bed, digging through it until I find my own journal. The pages rustle as I flip through them, stopping when I reach the chart that I had created to plot not only the details of the Flame Ceremonies but any mention of magical discrepancies.
I study the graph, most of the x’s marked are information gleaned from the past few years. There is a gap in the middle of the graph, that timeline missing because I haven’t read enough journals to fill it in. Yet, as I study the markings and find where the majority of the disturbances in magic are noted, the similarities between them become abundantly clear.Galina. Santor. Polatos. Agarino.All of these towns are near either the mortal or fae borders, andallof them have markings that shownot only decreasing magic but a rate higher than any of the other cities that are centered in the Mage Kingdom. Like Galdr. Despite having the highest populace, according to the data I’ve plotted so far, the capital has the lowest amount of noted magical discrepancies.
Sitting up taller, I let the journal fall to my lap as I stare at the wall of wooden slats across from me. Hadn’t Kai also said that the shifters who live near the edges of the island are more highly affected by their magical blight than those who live near the island center?
“Fucking gods,” I whisper, running my hands over my face.
The blight in the Shifter Kingdom. The decrease in magic in the Mage Kingdom. It isn’t some random coincidence. There is only one thing that both kingdoms have in common. Only one thing that would affect the towns more closely located to the kingdoms’ borders. My legs shake as I force myself up from the bed, pacing on the squeaking floorboards as the gears of my mind turn and turn until they lock into place. Looking back down at the journals spread out on the bed, goosebumps break out over my arms as a chill runs down my spine.
“It’s the Spell.”
Chapter Eighty-Two: Rhea
I’m freezing.
The cold air of the room I’m in sinks beneath my skin, somehow touching my bones. My tongue feels heavy in my mouth, the need for a drink driving my eyes to flutter open. I wait for the details of our bedroom to come into focus, but when the double vision finally evens out, above me isn’t a ceiling made of wood but one of gray stone, sending confusion spiraling through me. I blink several times, the act doing nothing to make sense of where I am.And my head… It is as though there is ahaze clouding it or it’s been submerged in water. I try to shake the sensation off, pushing myself up to sit as my hands cradle my temples.
“Nox,” I rasp out, working to clear my throat and feeling as if I haven’t spoken in days. Slowly, my memories filter in. Tienne’s body in the foyer. Nox staying with his dad and Cass and the council. Daje and I—
Daje.
I had tried to help him when… The thought dies as I look down at my dress, the green fabric covered in dirt and the hem ripped in multiple spots. The slits in the front show my bare legs, dried blood crusted on one of them. My hair hangs down past my shoulder, a rust color dyeing the ends of the strands.
“What happened?” I whisper, finally turning my attention out to the room. It’s a modestly large bedroom. The bed I’m in is centered on a wall across from the floor-to-ceiling rectangular window. Curtains, in a light shade of purple, are pulled open and secured to pulls on the wall, sunlight pouring in between them.
A tapestry depicting a field of flowers covers a large portion of the wall to my left, and to my right is a wooden wardrobe—lilies, jasmine, and roses painted delicately on its front. Next to the wardrobe is an open door, and when I lean forward, I see that it leads to a bathroom.
“Nox?” I say again, my voice echoing ominously in the room, that odd feeling of a watery veil still in place. I reach for my magic, pulling at the warm tendrils to heal whatever thispresenceis, but it stops short of my head, like there is some kind of wall around my mind that my magic can’t pierce through.
My eyes lift to the ceiling again, to the gray stone.Gray. Stone.My magic thrashes wildly in panic as I choke on my fear, gasping for a single breath. No.No, it’s impossible. I am in the Mage Kingdom. I was with Daje on our way to the beach, and I—
The door to the room opens, startling me as I grip the comforter with both hands. My lips part, a yelp slipping out when a golden-armored guard steps in, his dark eyes boring into me with intense recognition.Xander. I shake my head, my body acting on instinct alone as I try to scurry off of the bed—intent on running through the window if I have to. Xander’s eyesscreamat me, the only part of his face that shows any sort of shock. Any sort of emotion at all.
And thenhewalks in.
“No,” I gasp out loud, legs tangling in the scraps of my dress as I haphazardly reach the edge of the bed. The moment my feet hit the rug, I spin towards the bathroom door, stretching a hand out for the door handle. Even if it’s just a bathroom, I’ll lock myself in there forever. I’d rather die there in the dark than live in the light with my uncle again.
“Stop,” King Dolian commands calmly. That film covering my mindflares, like a wall of water cast out by a tempest sea. It surrounds me until I feel as if I’m on the outside of my own body.
I watch in utter horror as my body obeys his command. My feet stay fixed to the floor, my hand dropping down to my side.Move. I send the thought to each limb, visualizing myself stretching my fingers towards that door handle. But I don’t go anywhere.Move!I scream in terror in my mind, my chest heaving and my eyes beginning to dry out from how wide I hold them open. King Dolian appears in my peripheral vision, walking until he is standing directly in front of me.
“My gods, itdoeswork,” he muses, his eyes scraping over my face,my skin, and making my stomach churn. “Hello, my darling. Gods have I missed you.”
“You bastard!” I scream, my limbs like lead. “Nox willkillyou—”
“You are toneversay that name again,” he snarls, his voice hitting a deeper octave as his lips curl in anger. Power flaresagain within me, the sound of rushing water filling both of my ears.
I open my mouth, Nox’s name on the tip of my tongue in any act of defiance I can muster.Nox.My voice echoes in my head, but the word…Nox!My mouth doesn’t move. King Dolian brings his thumb to my chin, moving higher until he’s caressing my bottom lip.
“What is going on?” I whisper, unable to stop the fear that ravages my voice. “What have you done?”
He reaches for my left hand, bringing it up until it’s between us. “Do you see this ring?”
Following his gaze, I look down not on the beautiful engagement ring Nox had given me but a different one. The band is gold, carved to look like coral with a small pearl resting in the center, the inside of it swirling as if it’s somehow captured the very sea within it.
“Where is my other ring? The one—” I choke, unable to say Nox’s name out loud. King Dolian studies me, watching as my eyes flit in panic back and forth between his face and the ring on my finger.
“This is the only ring that matters now,” he says gently, as if he’s speaking to someone he might love and not someone that heabducted. That he beat and tortured and abused foryears. “It’s a very special ring, Rhea. I even have one that matches.” He turns his hand around, keeping mine in his grip, as he shows me a gold and blue band on his ring finger.
