“It didn’t need to be there.” I shrugged, letting the chain fall against my chest. How could I tell her that something in the way this piece of metal heated reminded me of the Angel’s presence two nights ago without testing his command? It was in the familiar warmth and presence that settled within me.
But it was a secret I had to keep because it kept my friends safe. Even as I told myself that, though, something I didn’t want to acknowledge squirmed in my gut.
“Erista,” I said, searching for a way to distract myself. The Soulguider delegate’s catlike eyes flashed to mine. “When you journeyed to Damenal, did your party encounter any aberrant creatures?”
“Aberrant?” She propped her chin in her hand, the gold ink around her forearm glinting in the light. “Not in the desert, no. The streams have been clear, too.” The Soulguiders’ sand dunes stretched from the western coast of Gallantia to the base of the mountains. Thinrivulets ran through the dust, used to deliver Spirits home. Hearing all was well in that sacred land calmed my nerves a bit.
“There was one night, though,” Erista continued, her brows pulling together. “When we stopped in a small mountain town to eat…there was a roar. No one knew what it came from, but it shook the walls of the inn.”
Jezebel stiffened, flipping through the pages of the book she read on the Spirit Volcano’s history.
“Interesting,” I mused. Watching my sister, I shrunk at the memory of that winged beast attacking in the forest. Then, I thought of Santorina beside me, a knife to her throat. “And no other creatures?”
“What should I have seen, Ophelia?” Erista asked.
“Fae?” I breathed. Rina’s hand clenched atop the table.
“Fae,” Erista repeated. “How in the name of Xenique would a faerie be in Gallantia?”
“We encountered one on our way here,” Jezebel explained.
“He tried to kill me,” Santorina ground out. Taking a breath, she finally uncurled her fingers. “But he realized I was under warrior protection.”
“Why was he here?” Erista gaped.
“To put forth a warning,” I explained. “He said that threats to fae magic are looming. He was sent to see how far they spread.”
“Sent by the queen?” The Soulguider looked between my sister and me now.
“I believe so.” I clutched my necklace again, its heat steadying. “Lancaster—the fae—agreed not to harm anyone in our lands and to keep us notified of developments in this looming power.”
“I don’t think we can trust him to hold to that.” Jezebel’s voice was dull. “But it doesn’t sound like we have a choice.”
“The fae queen has a bloodied history,” Erista said. “Composed of secrets, tricks, and bargains normally ending worse for the other party. Rumors say she can read bloodlines.”
We all shivered at that. Prejudices ran deep between warriors and fae, but it was hard to deny the stories we’d been warned against. Legends of their queen were slick with blood. The lives shackled to hers due to naivety. The secrets she wielded
And if Lancaster was here on her order…
“We don’t trust Lancaster, but we can’t discount his information. Not until we know what’s waiting for us.” I shivered at the thought of him being out there somewhere, doing Spirits knew what on our continent. What threatened fae magic would surely threaten our own. “Besides, fae can’t lie. They may be bred to play with words and calculated tricks, but that earns him a certain degree of trust. Theirs isn’t the queen I’m the most concerned with, anyway…”
Twisting my necklace around my finger, I contemplated Kakias. We hadn’t heard a word of her since the Rapture. What was she planning?
Jezebel slammed a book shut, pulling me from my thoughts. “Come on, we’ll be late for training.”
As Rina and I followed Erista and my sister down the wide open-air corridors of the palace, the mountain breeze helped me organize my thoughts. I’d been picking apart Damien’s prophecy, but had gotten nowhere, circling back repeatedly to this Angelcurse and what in the Spirits it could mean.
The windows we passed looked over the Sacred Quarter, the Sacra Temple’s golden spires shining in the distance. Perhaps I needed to extend my research outside of the palace walls.
And maybe…just because I couldn’t tell anyone what exactly Damien said, didn’t mean I couldn’t ask for help in other ways.
Gripping Rina’s wrist, I pulled her back a step and lowered my voice. “I need your healing expertise.”
“Are you okay?” Rina’s piercing stare assessed me.
“Yes,” I said quickly, but was I? “I’m wondering about curses.”
Her eyes narrowed on the dark webbing on my wrist. “I thought it was gone.”
