She seems relieved, rather than annoyed. She points at the Queen’s heart, her finger forming a delicate line to the most powerful heartstone unearthed. “You must tether the Queen’s heart to your own. Then the other heartstones will follow. That is the only way we will have peace in Erador.”
I scan the distant faces. The clan leaders wait and watch me too. Now that Howl and Gerst are gone, and with all of the royal family deceased, the danger is that the clans will go to war to determine their new leader.
The Priestess gestures from the stone to my heart. I know what I have to do. I watched Baelen do this very same thing during the Heartstone Ceremony when he bound himself to me.
I draw the Queen’s heart tomyheart and press it against my armor. It feels right that the inner suit of my armor is made out of Elyria thread, the light and life of a gargoyle’s nest. As the stone presses up against it, warmth spreads through me. Light flickers around my torso and it feels like the storm. It is lightning and thunder, a tornado of tears like rain, a torrent of emotion. It’s so much. And it’s…mine.
Still pressing the Queen’s heart to my own, I focus on the three other hearts as they continue to spin in a slow, lazy circle in front of me. They revolve slowly enough that I could reach out and grab them, but I decide that isn’t what I should do. The sense I get from each of them is so different: Virtuous responds to my sadness, Lightsworn responds to my determination, and Prime, well, Prime responds to the Queen’s heart with the same bond I’ve seen in Baelen’s eyes when he looks at me.
I don’t want to force a connection with the other heartstones like Howl did. Instead, I extend my free hand, palm open beneath them. Inside my mind, I ask:May I have your permission?
All three hearts drop into my palm. They’re too big to fit all at once but each one balances on the tips of my outspread fingers, weightless, not heavy. A glow spreads up my arm and I can’t help but smile at the happiness I sense from them.
As I open my fingers, preparing to release the Queen’s heart—myheart—the Priestess visibly braces. Baelen plants his feet. He thickens the tornado around me just in case.
I release all four heartstones into the air and a thread of light forms between the Queen’s heart and my chest. As soon as the diamond floats into sync with the others, the thread extends between them all, connecting them in a circle that is connected to me.
It looks just like the thread of storm power that used to link Baelen and me: a thread of deep magic.
The Priestess sags with relief. “Thank the ancients. Now that they’re all tethered, the Queen’s heart is not volatile anymore. It will only react to your conscious and deliberate thoughts. And what’s more…” Her gaze flickers back to the watching clan leaders and the remaining soldiers. “Nobody else can claim them. Remember this, Lady Storm: the stones are yours and yours alone. Even Howl was not tethered to them.”
I have a feeling I should be afraid, but I’m not. For the first time, I understand why Cassian believed so strongly in this, why he gave his life for this. My purpose now is to keep the stones safe. To never allow them to be used like Howl used them. Never again.
The Priestess rocks back on her heels while Baelen eases the windstorm around me, lowering me to the ground, shifting me away from Cassian. The gusty wind dies down but Baelen retains his position as my quiet sentry, staying out of the Priestess’s way but remaining close at my side.
I meet his fiery gaze. While he’s in this state, I can’t read anything in his eyes, but the quiet curve of his lips and the angle of his shoulders tell me he will help me, no matter what I have to do.
Everyone has moved closer to me now that the threat is over. I expected to see Jasper at the front given that he was determined to get to me before, but instead he pushes his way back through the crowd. I follow his line of sight with a gasp.
Llion has collapsed to the floor. Liliana crouches next to him, crying.
That’s it. I’m not staying put any longer. “Llion needs my help.”
The Priestess blocks me. “You need to convince the clan leaders to accept you.”
I glare across the room at the older males standing apart from the others. “Their acceptance is not more important than my friend’s life. They can wait.”
Her lips compress, but understanding warms her eyes. “Very well, I will do what I can to hold them off.”
That’s good enough for me. My heart hammers inside my chest and the heartstones flare. I take off toward Llion with Baelen close behind. Baelen uses a firm but gentle breeze to pick onlookers out of the way, setting them down at the side, creating an opening for me straight to Llion. It’s just as well because the gargoyles nearest to me scatter as soon as I approach. They obviously don’t want to touch the stones that fly after me wherever I go. I growl inside. If being Queen means I’m going to end up isolated like I was when I was Storm Princess, then I’m going to abdicate super fast. I’ve tasted a life where I was one of them and I don’t want to go back.
When I reach Llion, it’s my worst nightmare. His breathing is labored and his skin is pale and tinged with a shade that reminds me of death. Liliana clutches a cloth soaked in blood. Jasper holds his head and both Roar and Welsian support his wings on either side. One of his wings is a gruesome mess from shoulder to tip. A gargoyle’s wings are indestructible but Howl used the heartstone’s power to tear Llion’s wing apart.
Jasper’s solemn expression breaks my heart. “He’s dying, Marbella. He doesn’t have long.”
My jaw clenches. “Llion is not dying today, Jasper. It’s not happening.”
I’m not letting him go. I’ve lost one friend today. I’m not losing another. Tears fill my eyes as I meet Llion’s.
He sighs, trying to smile. “Lady Storm, you are Supreme Incorruptible now…”
My shout echoes through the suddenly quiet Court. The heartstones crackle around me. “You’re not dying today!”
I seize the Queen’s heart in my fist and drop to my knees beside him, drawing on its power. I will heal Llion. I will save his life—
“Stop!” The Priestess’s shout breaks through my concentration as she races back to my side. Once again she moves faster than expected. “You can’t use the stone to heal him.”
Incredulous, I raze her with a fiery glare. “Why not?”
