My pulse quickens, but this isn’t the time for soft confessions. “Go check on your family. I’ll find you once I’ve spoken to Trentas.”
With a deep breath, she gives a reluctant nod. I step away and launch into the sky. We keep our eyes locked as she moves to the door that leads into the palace. She hesitates, then finally tears her gaze from mine and enters the palace.
As soon as she closes the door behind her, I soar back over the wall of brambles in search of my first father figure.
* * *
I findhim near the ongoing melee. No longer in his dragon body, Trentas leans against a tree in seelie form, half hidden by shadows as he watches the fight. Only the faintest blush of sunset remains on the horizon, leaving the burning trees and shrubs dotting the ruined lawn as the primary light source.
Trentas doesn’t bother looking my way as I approach. He simply crosses his arms over his chest, a humorless smile stretching his lips. He’s dressed in a long black coat threaded with violet embroidery at the hems and sleeves—an elegant fae style not often seen in modern fashion. The tips of his pointed ears show through his strands of long black hair.
This is my first time seeing him in person since the day he brought me to Edwyn Blackwood. Seeing him now, I’m struck by how young he looks. When I was a child, he looked ancient, but now we look nearly the same age. With his long black hair and dark eyes, it’s easy to see why everyone believed we were related by blood. Still, no matter how young he looks now, I find myself intimidated in his presence. He’s always been a force to be reckoned with, and I’ve respected him all my life. Even after I built a far warmer relationship with my birth father, I never forgot my respect for Trentas. I cherished his part in my life so much that I inked my loyalty to him onto my skin.
Now, for the first time, I must defy him.
“Vintarys,” Trentas says in greeting, finally deigning to look at me as I stand before him. There’s no warmth in his expression, only reprimand. It cuts like an iron dagger to my heart. This is the first time we’ve seen each other in fifteen years, and he looks at me like I’m the greatest disappointment of his life. For a moment, I feel like the child version of me, eager for his approval, his pride. That need to change the way he sees me crawls up my skin, compressing my lungs—
Then I realize…this is exactly how Briony feels now. About her family. This wretched feeling, this dark desperation, is what drove her into this bargain with me.
And I’ve already decided to choose her. To reverse what I made her do. To ensure she never has to feel this way again.
If that means taking this awful feeling upon myself, casting a divide between me and the fae I looked up to, then I will. I’ll take Trentas’ resentment and burn with it. Reflect it back to him. Just because I respect him doesn’t mean I must obey.
I breathe out slowly and meet his gaze without falter, silently conveying I’m not the little boy he pretended to sire.
Trentas shakes his head with a mirthless laugh. “So I was right. I knew there was something strange going on. You finally succeeded in fulfilling your mother’s mission, yet you’re working withher.”
“I never told you I succeeded,” I say, my fingers curling into fists. Hearing him refer to Briony with such venom sets my blood boiling, strengthening my will to defy him.
“No, you said I’d have a chance at challenging King Horus after the princess’ wedding, and you refused to answer any of my correspondence thereafter.”
“I’ve been busy.”
“Doing what? At least tell me your actions are all part of your revenge. Tell me you’re not trying to protect the girl. Tell me there’s a reason why her family isn’t in the catacombs yet.”
I curl my fingers tighter. “How did you find out?”
“I was suspicious. My spies hadn’t seen the king and queen in days and word had spread that they’d left for the princess’ wedding. Yet my Earthen Court spies hadn’t seen Horus and Divina there either. I came to investigate myself and found a dining room full of lifeless bodies.”
Shit. So he truly knows everything. “What are you doing now? What is all this?” I gesture toward the combatants.
“The factions are fighting over their right to claim the throne. We all deserve a fair shot, so here we are.”
“You’re stirring chaos.”
He pushes off from the tree and burns me with an icy stare. “I’m establishing my reign. One that should have been mine from the beginning. This court has suffered from Horus’ neglect long enough. I will be the seelie king the people deserve, and that starts with fairly engaging with my challengers now. I will let them choose their victors, and then I will defeat them one by one until there’s no question that the throne belongs to me. Unlike Horus, I won’t have my right to rule constantly questioned. I will prove myself now.”
Stones, I know he’s the right ruler for the throne. I know this court needs him, but I can’t let him take away what Briony deserves. “I need more time, Trentas. I told you about the princess’ wedding for a reason. You weren’t supposed to challenge her father until after she’s married.”
“Why?”
I clench my jaw, unsure if I should tell him the truth. Could he use it against me and Briony? Or will it get him to understand? Fuck. What other choice do I have?
“The princess and I made a bargain.”
He narrows his eyes. “Explain.”
“She found a way to break the sleeping spell on both our families. She learned the truth from Nyxia herself. Waking our families hinges upon this wedding, which won’t take place for another six days. Back off. Call off the fighters. Once Briony is married, Divina Briar is bound by a bargain with the king to cease using her magic on challengers to the throne. No one will ever be subject to her manipulations again.”
