He takes a small drink from his chalice before continuing. “I’ve had a lot of time to wonder why a man I thought was on my side might go to such lengths to dethrone me. To tear down one child while elevating another.”
“Poor Nox, always getting the short end of the stick,” I joke, earning one of his grins.
“Kallin’s actions are not that of a man only recently obsessed. And Ithinkit has to do with our ancestors’ decision after the war.”
“The war?” I question.
“When Queen Lucia died putting up the Spell, she did not have a contingency in place for a successor. A Void queen doesn’t just have powerful magic, she also has the gift of immortality for as long as she is queen. Until a successor is found through the Flame Ceremony.” I nod my head, vaguely remembering reading this.
“Why have a plan of succession when you’re all but invincible until the next Void queen comes around,” I state, folding my arms over my chest.
“Precisely. So you can only imagine how it rocked the men and women left in charge. Of course, you know a member of the Daxel line was one of her closest advisors, and he was eventually named king, but it wasn’t without protest, and the loudest voice came from that of the Keria line.”
I let out a groan.Fucking Kallin.
“Because a queen of Void Magic could be long-lived between successors, they often took multiple partners through their lifespan, and one of Queen Lucia’s was from the Keria line.”
“Are you telling me that Kallin—thatDaje—are partroyalty?” I ask incredulously.
My mother laughs as she shakes her head. “Not exactly. Though Void queens all descend from a single familial line, it’s not like passing the crown down through a born heir. But Kallin’s ancestor tried to claim that it was. He knew that if it went to a vote among the council members, he would lose.”
“Which is eventually what happened,” my father supplies, taking another drink. “All that to say, I don’t have proof, but there is a chance that Kallin is acting on some long-term revenge plot.”
I scoff, reaching for my own drink. “Gods help us against the wills of men who believe they are owed something they aren’t.” At that, my parents chuckle, and the mood in the room softens.
“How are you, Bahira?” my mother asks, in a way that tells me she sees more than I want her to. I bristle because of it.
“Well enough.” I drag my fork over my plate as I avoid my parents’ knowing gazes. “With my discovery of the connection between blood and magic, I might have a new pathway to reversing the loss of magic. I’ve borrowed some journals from the archives—”
“The archives?” my father cuts in, an eyebrow raised.
Shit. I may have forgotten to let them in on that little adventure.
“Yes, and before you question it,youare the one who showed me where they were, andyourbest friend is the one who let me in.”
My mother covers her mouth with her hand, but not before I see the smile blooming there. My father rolls his eyes in feigned annoyance, but his own grin gives him away.
“Anyway, though they talk of blood and magic separately, there isn’t much yet in the way of what exactly happens when youmixthem. I meant to try it on Nox when I had gathered samples of Cass’s blood, but—”
I pinch my lips together and swallow roughly. When I glance up at my parents, I find their eyes glassy and red, Cass as much of a son to them as he was a brother to Nox and me. Clearing my throat, I push back the pressure that builds in my eyes.
“I hope that I can experiment some more, if the state of things will allow, but…” I pause, searching for the words. “It is strange to focus onthiswhen there is so much happening externally. I’ve been trying for so long to uncover why our people’s magic is failing—why I’ve been cursed to livewithoutmagic—that it feels selfish to keep focusing on it while Nox is trying to rescue Rhea and run a kingdom. While you both try to figure out who on the council is innocent while making sure our people don’t revolt.” WhileI’mtrying to figure out how to move forward knowing a piece of me is still back in the Shifter Kingdom.
“You are a leader, Bahi,” my father says, giving a small shrug. “You always have been. Those qualities won’t just quiet themselves because other things try to grab your attention.”
“But what if I’m wrong? What if I’ve spent all this time chasing a dead end when I could have been doing something else. Something of value. Something—” Somethingworthyof my status. My position. The privilege I’ve been given as princess—former princess—of the Mage Kingdom.
“There is no failure in trying something only to have it not work out. The only failure is to never have tried at all. You care for your people, for your family and loved ones. But you cannot expect to be something for them if you are not first honoringyourself.”
I stare down at my plate as I wonder if I know how to do that anymore. However, I have a feeling there will be many nights spent stuck in my own head wondering just that, so I opt for a topic change as I return to the meal ahead of me. “So, a Void queen has returned. What are the odds that the heir to the throne would be the one she fell in love with?”
Conversation blossoms from there, the topic shifting from Rhea to Nox and his reluctance to take the throne without Rhea at his side to my father’s temporary return to said throne. I ask if the power has gone to his head. He answers, saying that it never left. And though there is the persistent hum of chaos surrounding me—the Spell and the Mirror, Nox and the council, Kai—I’m able to temporarily block out the noise as I laugh and eat with my parents.
When dinner is over, we get up and say our goodnights, my father’s embrace tightening around me when I try to pull away. “I am proud of you, Bahira. You haven’t just been the smartest among us but the bravest. Your instincts haven’t guided you wrong yet. Trust them. Trust in yourself.”
I don’t voice the questions that nag at me in response. Instead, I just wrap my arms around him more tightly and hope that if I never do anything else, I at least keep making my father proud.
Chapter One Hundred and Thirty-One: Bahira
