A queen?
“No,” I say reflexively. That’s absurd. “I’m just here for Aegar.”
“This is greater than Aegar, my warrior. The last Dragon Rider is no errand girl for warring kingdoms that seek to tear each other apart. Your fate is much bigger.”
“I don’t know if I can handle bigger right now,” I admit.
“Not today. And not tomorrow. But one day. The kingdoms are stronger united, and you must be the one to do it.”
“Well, today my focus is on stopping Kylian.”
“Your fight is not with Vod. Your fight is for the preservation of this world. You will need the young king to do what must be done.”
“What—”
“When you ascend and take your place as High Queen, he will be there beside you. It is already written. Your fate is to lead by his side, and he at yours.”
“No.” I step back. “No, there has to be some mistake.”
The wasteland I saw in that mirror, that war zone—all thosedeaths flash through my mind like a flipbook, growing more horrific with each new page.
Kylian had told me that if I refused him…No. That can’t have been real, it can’t?—
“He did not deceive you. What you saw was correct. Fight against him, and you and your friends will die.”
“No. We can’t just let him—this isn’t right. He can’t win,” I trail off, my mind spinning.
“His triumph is your triumph.”
“What?”How?
Have I had it wrong this entire time? In thinking that good always wins? That love prevails? It’s what every fairy tale preaches.
But maybe it doesn’t. Look at history. Filled with tyrants and conquerors. Corrupt kings and fallen empires. Wars. Death.
This isn’t a storybook, this is real life. Maybe this is a fight we don’t walk away from. All I know is that, fate or not, I refuse to be on his side.
“I have said all I can say. The rest is yours to discover.”
Well, that’s helpful, thanks.
“Please just tell me how to get the portal closed. Is there a key?”
Her brows thread together. She pauses, her eyes falling to the locket around my neck. “Where did you get that?”
“Kylian.” The name tastes like ash in my mouth.
Arden stares at it, puzzled. “A word of advice. Keep that star close to you at all times. Guard it with your life, and never take it off. In the wrong hands, it will cause catastrophe.”
“I won’t let it out of my sight.”
How did she even know it was a star?
“Queen Arden, the fate of Aegar, possibly of all of Solterre, depends on me stopping Kylian.”
“I cannot say more, my daughter. I will leave you with this. Open your mind to the possibility you fear the most. You cannot move forward without facing it first.”
What I fear the most? What do I fear the most?
