“Fucking gods above,” Nox swears, pushing away from the table as he stands, his hands resting on his head as he begins to pace.
“What?” I ask, standing along with him.
He turns to look at our mother, his gaze hard. “You knew Rhea’s mother.” A statement, not a question. My eyes widen as I swing my head to look at her.
She nods, remorse drawing her mouth down. “It had been so long since I had seen Stellaluna, since I had heard her name spoken, that I forgot. I knew someone named Luna had been made queen in the Mortal Kingdom, but I knew my friend as her true name, so I did not put the pieces together. But the moment Rhea came into this very room with you, it all came rushing back.” She stands and lets go of my father’s hand to walk around the table. “I did not tell you because I did not knowhowto. Or if it would matter at all.”
“It would have,” Nox snaps, closing his eyes and blowing out a breath. More calmly, he adds, “It would have mattered to Rhea.”
“Then it will be my top priority to tell her everything I know when she returns.” The promise does very little to appease Nox’s scowl.
“Wait,” I say slowly, holding my hand out in front of me as I organize my thoughts. “You said Kallin knew that they hadn’t done Stellaluna’s Flame Ceremony?” At my mother’s nod, I continue. “Does that mean that Kallin might have recognized Rhea too?” If she looked like Stellaluna, then it stands to reason my mother wasn’t the only one who saw the resemblance. But if he suspected her to come from a Void queen line, why would he get rid of her? Besides his preference to have Haylee in her place.
“It’s possible,” she answers solemnly, and Nox curses again.
“That fuckingbastard. I’m going tokillhim.”
I can tell protests begin to form on my mother’s tongue, on my father’s, stars above, even on my own, but they don’t get the chance to fall before the door to the dining room swings open, and Max, of all people, is standing there.
“Highnesses, Sarai sent me,” he says, his chest heaving as sweat gleams over his brow.
“What is it, Max?” I ask, drawing nearer to him.
He gulps in a few more breaths, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand before looking to me. “They’re back.” At the silence that follows, our confused glares boring into his, Max clarifies, “Your friends are back from the Fae Kingdom.”
“They snuck in a side entrance and found Sarai in the seamstress quarters. She brought them up to the medical wing,” Max says from ahead of us, sharp breaths bisecting each word. While he hadn’t been brought up to speed regarding the mission to the Fae Kingdom, his willingness to help clean up and hide evidence of what Nox had done to Stephan—and his silence after—wasproof enough that he could be trusted. Sarai must have felt the same if she sent him to retrieve us.
“Are they injured?” Nox asks, breathless where he runs beside me, our parents just behind us.
“They are, but I’m not sure to what extent. I haven’t actually seen them. I just got the order from Sarai when she came to my post.”
My heart pounds in my ears in anticipation of seeing my friends as Max rounds a corner and slows to a stop in front of one of the doors lining the left side. A cautious elation fills me at the chance to try to repair the Mirror and, selfishly, all that may come after that if we are successful.
But those thoughts are expelled from my head the moment Max knocks on the door and Sarai opens it with a look of devastation that makes it hard to swallow. Stepping out of the way, I let Nox in first, following behind him and coming to a stop as I take in the two beds and the two figures that lay in them.
Onlythe two figures.
“Where is he?” Nox asks, confusion tilting his brows down as he searches the room again, as if his friend is hiding. At the impossible silence that answers, Nox asks again, “Where is Cass?”
Chapter One Hundred and Six: Bahira
It’sElorawhoanswers,her face contorted into a grimace as she cradles her left arm, white bandages wrapped around it from her wrist to her elbow. “It happened while we were collecting the glass. They came from inside the caves and hidden tunnels within their dark mountains.”
“The fae?” my mother asks from where she is sitting on the edge of Daje’s bed. I take in the white gauze wrapped carefully around his head, stark against his dark brown hair, and swallow roughly.
“And their dragons.”
Air squeezes from my lungs as I shut my eyes, my chin falling to my chest.This can’t be happening.
“I don’t understand,” Nox protests from where he stands centered in the room, his hands flexing at his sides. “We received Cass’s letter. Iknowhe wrote it.”
“It was right after he sent it,” Daje says, voice raw and eyes weary. Then he relays the story of the dragon riding fae who had descended upon them, each detail more horrifying than the last. As he speaks, Elora softly cries, the hand of her good arm covering her mouth as her pale skin grows pink. “We fought them off, but they were faster. Stronger. Our magic only held them back long enough for us to catch a breath, and then we were back to fighting simply to block their blows. We were nearly surrounded, the fae at our fronts and their dragons behind them. The forest at our back was our only escape, but we knew that if we turned, if we ran straight for it, the dragon fire would blast us before we ever got to the safety of the tree.
“I could feel Cass’s signature building in the air, but he refused to look at me. All he said was that when he gave the signal, I’d better make damn sure Elora started running. The fae advanced, and we retreated. The dragons roared, and then Cass’s magic glowed at his hands. He caught them off guard as he sent it barreling into the fae, a wall of glowing blue that knocked them all to the ground. I knew it was the signal, and still, I hesitated, calling my magic to the surface. But Cass, he—” Daje shakes his head as he stares down at his blood-splattered trousers, bottom lip trembling. Pressure builds behind my eyes as my father’s hands land on Nox’s shoulders to steady him.“With one hand outstretched towards the fae, the other reached in our direction. Blue surrounded us as he used his magic to carry us to the treeline, his power giving out right before we reached it. But it was enough. Enough for us to close the rest of the distance as the magic holding the fae flickered out. Enough so that, when we turned around, we saw him gutted by dragon claws, his body collapsing before flames engulfed the beach. I tried…” Daje clears his throat, the back of his hand wiping his eyes.
“He tried to go to him,” Elora adds, her gaze locked on Daje. “But I stopped him. Selfishly, I stopped him because I didn’t want to make the journey home alone. I didn’t want to watch two friends die.”
“It is not selfish,” my mother says, shaking her head. “Cass’s choice was his and his alone.”
