There are men who believe in the gods and others who worship magic itself. I find my divine holiness in you.Youare the only thing worth believing in.
Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Three: Aria
Ipacethelengthof the platform inside our cavern, my ears trained to hear the telltale sound of dragon wings. It is still early in the morning, but sleep the night before had been futile, and so when there was enough light in the pale sky that it could no longer be considered night, I checked in on Lyre—who was peacefully asleep—and began my journey to meet a fae who,despite the events of the last two days, has been a consistent thought on my mind.
She’ll be here. The affirmation swirls around in my head, my own voice echoing as I fold my arms over my chest, holding back a shiver from the winter air. Myla isn’t the only thing to blame for my anxiousness. Dyanna had not spoken a word to me the entire way to Lumen from the Mortal Kingdom. When we arrived last night, Sade and I met with Lyre, and I told them both of what I had done for Rhea. How I had helped her. Lyre’s look of surprise had at least been punctuated with a soft smile after her shock wore off, but Sade’s brows had lowered as she pursed her lips.
“This could either be nothing or turn into something that will get you killed.” At the terrified look that must have crossed my face, she added, “Dyanna may appear loyal to our mother, but as I’ve said before, I think at her core she serves herself first. Though”—she paused, casting me a concerned glance—“I have known her to cause chaos for the sake of chaos.”
I don’t want to think about how Dyanna could now hold this over my head or the fact that she might tell our mother just forfun, but the alternative is to pace a groove into the black stone, wondering if Myla has thought about our kiss just as frequently as I have. If it is something she might want to do again or if our time apart has made her believe it was a mistake.
She’ll be here. Not because of a life debt or because she’s bound to come, but because she wants to. Because we both do.
The sentiments give me only a few minutes of reprieve before the doubt creeps in again, especially as more time passes without her arrival. When I get bored of looking at the same vine-covered walls, I climb down from the platform and walk to the edge of the cavern, making sure to stay beneath the covered portion as I look out one of the openings to the clear skies and,in the nearby distance, the Spell. Eventually, the sun rises high enough to indicate a passing of time that makes my heart sink.
It shouldn’t hurt so much that Myla isn’t here, that she took the opportunity to not return. After all, I had given her a choice for a reason. No one deserved to be held against their will, least of all someone like her. But I suppose I thought that she felt something for me. That, despite our rocky beginning, there had been a new bond forming between us that had nothing to do with magic or owing the other something.
I wait a little longer. Just in case. But when morning officially gives way to afternoon, I turn and face the inside of the cavern for the last time, wondering if it is ridiculous to be sentimental about a place. Myla's smoky-sweet scent still taints the salty air, and though tears sting my eyes I don't allow them to fall as I say goodbye, and walk back into the ocean.
Sinking farther into the water, my eyes close as I pass through the layer of the Spell, the light feel of it tingling over my skin. Strangely, my magic rushes up my throat and pools there, drawing my hand to lay at my neck in confusion. But as I open my eyes and begin to swim, I only make it only a few lengths before I startle backwards, my heart careening in my chest at the siren who waits just in front of me.
“Well, Aria,” my mother starts, her trident held in one hand and a blue eelgrass sack in the other, her dark eyes piercing. “What are we going to do about this?” She moves the bag as she talks, and dark blue leaks from it in small wafts. It doesn’t take long for the scent of blood to hit me, panic trickling down my throat and into my chest. At the look on my face, she clicks her tongue and shakes her head. “Before I show you what I’ve brought for you today, I must tell you a story.” I say nothing though my talons lengthen in response. “I must admit, Daughter, that I might have underestimated you. Whenshecame to me right before we left for the Mortal Kingdom and toldme of your treachery, I thoughtsurelyshe must be lying. Aria? Going to meet with afae? It seemed…improbableat best.”
I swallow as Queen Amari begins to circle me, forcing me to turn in place as I follow her. “Who?”
She pauses, a smile born of savagery curling her lips. “Why Lore, of course.”
“L-Lore?” How in all of the Five Realms doesLoreknow about Myla?
“You look confused, but here’s the thing about a siren scorned, Aria: There isnodepth to the fury that we let build inside of us when we are slighted. For Lore, I imagine her fury began when you rejected her.”
“How do you know about that?” Our fights had been private, no one spotting either of us. My mother just chuckles as she resumes circling me slowly.
“Just a hunch,” she says, all too calmly. “She followed you out here before we left for the Mortal Kingdom.” My fingers curl in towards my palms.Godsdamn it.“Is it true, then? Have you met with a fae?”
“No,” I answer quickly. “I just use this spot to transform into my mortal form safely for a bit. I don’t know what Lore is talking about.”
Whatever mirth my mother was playing with drops immediately as her eyes grow darker. “It’s a pity I didn’t teach you how to lie better. You’re pathetic at it.”
Indignation—and maybe that deep-seated rage for my mother—forces the next words from my mouth. “No, you were too busy being cruel to teach me anything of value.”
“Cruel? Aria, cruelty is merely an adjective the weak use to describe those more powerful than themselves. It is notcruelto demand power in places where they would give us none. It is notcruelto take what we are owed from those who stole it in the first place.” She darts closer to me, and my magic blooms so harshlyin my throat I have to pinch my lips closed to keep from singing. I won’t show her that part of me unless absolutely necessary. “You have been a disappointment since the moment you came of age to hunt.”
“Then why keep me alive?” I snarl, satisfied when her eyes flash briefly with surprise. “We both know how fond you are of making examples of those who displease you. So why bother constantly having such adisappointmentattached to your good name?”
“It is easy to overlook your failures when I know what you are capable of achieving is far greater.” I blink, jerking my head back. “You are a product of two royal lines, and I knew it would only be a matter of time before we would once again have our chance at the Mortal Kingdom throne. Though, I couldn’t have predicted that there would be a rightful mage queen who could heal beings of Olymazi to pass through the Spell. I assumed that it would fall before then, but it was imperative that I have you at the ready as a way to convince the current king that we had a claim to the throne.”
Of course. She was going to use me to further her own insane ambition. “I’m not going to the Mortal Kingdom,” I tell her, shaking my head as magic tingles over my tongue.
“But youwill, Aria.” Coming to a stop in front of me, she floats in place, swishing her tail languidly and reminding me of the strength that is hidden within her body. She’s as formidable as Sade, even at her age—and with centuries more experience than myself. “Do you want to know how I know?” My pulse flutters rapidly at my neck, and though I’m not breathing with my lungs, my chest still constricts at her question. “Because I warned you what would happen if you didn’t listen.” My eyes drop to the bag she is holding again, dread seeping down my spine. “There is nothing andno onewho will distract me frommy mission to reclaim what was stolen from us. Let this serve as a reminder that blood meansnothingin the face of power.”
As if its contents are no more important than trash, she turns the bag over and empties it. I recoil in horror, swimming back with a few flicks of my tail as amethyst braids come into view. My heart stills as a ringing in my ears takes over, terror swelling in my belly. Even with the evidence in front of me—the stillness of her wide-open eyes and the blood still leaking from her exposed neck—I shake my head in denial. “No.”
“You’ll come home with me where I will announce your intention to take your place as siren royalty within the Mortal Kingdom’s court.”
“No.” That ember within me that had started as defiance ignites, my songclawingat my throat to be released.
“But first, I have Lore held in our prison. You will kill her for her discretion against you andthen—”
