Otavio pauses. “I don’t think you were ever told our story, were you?Properlytold. Because I know you, Astra, and you believe in justice, fairness, goodness. While you might berate me because I wasn’t perfect, because I might have made wrongchoices, you can’t deny that I raised you to become a formidable young woman. So I’m sure you’ll understand what I was doing.”
For some reason, his compliment still hits the target and brings some warmth to my chest. I can tell myself it’s all lies, it’s all fake, but part of me is still the little girl seeking his approval. At least I see it now, and can brush these feelings aside and focus on what I need to learn.
“Whatwere you doing?” I ask, my voice calm.
“You’ll need to look far back. We were a kingdom once, did you know that?”
“Well, I readTiuris, the Fallen Kingdom. So I suppose I know.”
“Indeed. There aren’t many records left. At that time, there were few humans, few fae, and almost no giants in these lands. We had a royal line, but at some point, something went wrong. Instead of governing for their subjects, the royal family governed for themselves. Our people revolted, dethroned the king, and decided never to have a monarchy again. The Tiurian government was decentralized, fragmented. It’s when the Amethyst Palace, with the Heart of Magic, was hidden, as they thought it would be too much power for only one family. So Tiuris was never defeated, not by outside forces.”
He’s still leaning on the heart, as if caressing it, and continues, “They never killed the royal family, though, and one of their descendants decided he wanted to be king again. Some Tiurians supported him. Some fae, too. He unearthed the heart, and with it, powerful magic. Too powerful, and yet he wanted more and more and more power. You know who I’m talking about, right?”
“The Witch King. So he found this heart?”
“Yes, but then he lost it. Tiurians fought against him, but it was difficult. He has the power to mute and absorb other creatures’ magic, which makes him almost invincible.Eventually, he was defeated by a group of Tiurians, who made a great sacrifice to use their magic to imprison him. You might be wondering now where Downshadow comes into play. Well, the fae Rideia had been the woman he loved. Once. That’s how she got close enough to him to behead him. Beheading can’t kill him, but it weakened him enough to give the Tiurians time to imprison him. How come there are no records of this, you may ask? They were removed. The Tiurians worked with the newly formed Crystal Court to clean their name, to remove all mentions that the Witch King was Tiurian, but they also made sure nobody knew that he was being kept with Tiurian magic. The reason for that, I think, is that Tiurian magic is what can free him.”
“Hewasfreed. How?”
He tilts his head. “With time, magic fails, I suppose. Now, back to my story. The Tiurians lived among fae and humans, but the Crystal Court got greedy, like Tiuris once had been. Too many fae tricked humans into servitude, and it’s when the humans fought against the fae. It doesn’t take a genius to understand how the humans had a chance.”
“The Tiurians helped them. Gave them opus stones.”
“Indeed. And that scared the fae and the humans too. The truth is that the humans didn’t win. Not really. What they got was an agreement with the fae to eliminate the people the Crystal Court feared the most. That’s why the Krastel king drafted the River of Tears treaty. It was in exchange for betraying the Tiurians, the very people who had helped them. Now, many Tiurians knew that. Most of us fled, and the ones who remained suppressed their magic. But many of us died. Died for doing the right thing, for helping the weak. Is that fair?”
“I suppose not.”
“It’s why Krastel and the other kingdoms named us darksouls, dangerous. They were the ones with tainted hearts,and yet they wanted to exterminate us to hide their own dirty past, to eliminate what they saw as a threat. And that’s why I decided to destroy Krastel from the inside.”
A flame of anger awakens inside me. “You used Sayanne.”
He chuckles. “Oh, no. I wish I could say that, but the credit is all hers. She was eager, so eager for power, that she took the initiative. I was her first target. She thought she could manipulate me. Poor thing, ended up all tangled. I must confess that she carried out my plans brilliantly. Soon there won’t be any Krastel royal family left.”
“What about the Crystal Court?”
“Same thing. They also betrayed us. My plan was to gain control, and then…exert revenge.”
“You could have told me that.”
“I would. One day, Astra. It was too early for that. Perhaps you’re right that I should have given you more credit, that I should have trusted you.”
None of what he’s saying is truly shocking. I suppose I had gleaned all that, but what might be important now is that he knows what happened in the past. “Do you know how to kill the Witch King?”
“He can’t be killed, Astra, only imprisoned.”
I blink and almost mention that fire can kill him, at least in theory, except that something makes me pause. “Why?” I ask.
“His soul is not tethered to one body. If he dies, he can create another. Like his ghouls, but better. His ghouls are that. He promised them eternal life—and gave it to them, in a way. The souls are trapped.”
I shudder, horrified at the thought, then ask, “How can the Witch King be imprisoned, then?”
“Ican imprison him.”
“How?”
“With my magic, just like it was done three hundred years ago. I want to defeat him more than anything, even more than I want revenge. Will you help me?”
I still don’t trust him, even if he sounds sincere. “What do you want me to do?”
