“Morkai knew all about the prophecy,” Cora said, sending a spear of betrayal through Mareleau’s chest. It wasn’t like Cora was necessarily agreeing with Ailan, but she was supporting the woman’s case, if only slightly. “He channeled it through a seer named Emylia, and he reported his findings to his father. Darius was the one who had sent Morkai to find information on El’Ara in the first place. There’s no doubt Darius knows everything now, as he’s already begun targeting our kingdoms—and he did so even before the Veil was torn.”
“Then he’s even more dangerous now,” Ailan said. “He will invade to gain access to the Veil and seek the tear. He’s always wanted complete control over El’Ara, and he will stop at nothing to get it.”
“Then how,” Mareleau said, “do you figure it’s safe for Noah to enter the very realm your brother seeks to attack? Wouldn’t it make more sense for me and Noah to stay out of El’Ara entirely? If he’ll be so fixated on the Veil, he won’t have time to consider some prophesied baby that might one day be his doom.”
“Noah poses a danger to Darius in the present, simply for being the true Morkara. Themorahas chosen him, and Darius will be forced to act.”
“What do you mean themorahas chosen him?” Cora asked. “Isn’t the title of Morkara passed down through named heirs? You were named Satsara’s heir, which would make you the Morkara.”
“Yes, I am Satsara’s heir.” Ailan frowned as if she was surprised Cora knew that. “Yet there are other ways for a Morkara to name their heir, and there are ways other than death to pass the title on. My mother named me heir, overriding Darius’ birthright as eldest, which sparked the war with my brother. He sought to kill both me and my mother, for themorawill still recognize bloodline inheritance, if the Morkara and their named heir die before a new heir is named. When he murdered Satsara, I inherited her role as Morkara.
“When Darius realized we were trapped in the human world, he tried to defeat me. If he’d managed to kill me, he would have inherited my newly given title. And he almost did. Before he could land the killing blow, I thwarted him in a similar way my mother had; I relinquished my title. But not to my named heir, for I had no children yet. Instead, I passed the title to my unnamed heir.”
“What does that mean?” Cora asked.
“Passing the title of Morkara to one’s unnamed heir gives agency to themora, allowing it to choose someone from the Morkara’s bloodline. It isn’t always the nextborn, either. It can be kin further down the bloodline. Anyone. Unless the Morkara names another, themorais free to choose, however long it takes. This protected me from Darius, for he could no longer end my life without risking his place in bloodline succession. If I’d died before furthering my bloodline, themora’ssearch for my heir would have stalled, and it would have been forced to forge a new path. Yes, there was a chance it would simply have worked in reverse and chosen Darius as my heir, but it also could have chosen a new bloodline entirely.
“He knew themorawouldn’t choose him willingly, not unless he was a last resort. It would sooner choose a new bloodline to carry the role of Morkara. Thwarted, he fled to Syrus and left me alive, knowing he wouldn’t get another chance at taking the title he so greatly coveted until the next Morkara was chosen from my bloodline.
“Noah has been chosen. Heisthe Morkara. If Darius meets your son face to face, he will know it as well. The Elvyn—even half Elvyn like Darius—can sense their kin when in their immediate proximity. Since Darius and I share Satsara’s blood, he will sense that blood in Mareleau and Noah. There will be no fooling him. He will seek to end Noah’s life and mine, to follow the reversal of the succession until it’s back in his hands.”
“Follow the reversal…” Cora tilted her head. “Doesn’t that mean he has to kill every person in your bloodline in order to be next in line?”
“No. In the rare cases where themorawas given agency to choose an heir, it doesn’t consider the generations that lie between the new Morkara and the previous one as contenders for the title. Instead, it considers only the chosen heir, the previous Morkara, the children of the previous Morkara, and so on. I was briefly Morkara, before I passed the title to my unnamed heir, so at one point, my children counted. But as none are still alive, no contenders lie between me and Noah. We are the only living contenders aside from Darius.”
Anger simmered in Mareleau’s gut. “You drew a target on my son’s back. You passed on this burden to some future kin just to prolong your life. Wouldn’t it have been better if the title had passed on to a new bloodline? To someone inside the Veil and not in the human world?”
Ailan’s face fell. “I considered taking Last Breath and letting the role of the Morkara leave my bloodline. Had my memories not faded shortly after, I may have eventually done so. But all I had by then were my whispers, and they told me to wait. That the true Morkara would be born from my blood and that Darius would be defeated at last.”
“What purpose would your so-called whispers have had for waiting? For passing this burden on to my son?”
“I can’t say. There’s no way to know what alternate future there could have been. Darius would likely have continued to seek El’Ara despite being thwarted. He’d likely still have fathered Morkai and sent him to find information on the fae realm. Maybe you’d all have been safe from his machinations, but maybe he’d have gotten his way instead. Maybe he’d have succeeded at becoming Morkaius of the human realm without having made an enemy of Cora.”
That sent her mind reeling. She hated that Ailan was right. There really was no way to know whether things would be better or worse if Ailan had made a different choice.
She shook her head. “You still haven’t given me any reason to believe Noah would be safer in El’Ara than here.”
“He’s safer on the other side of the Veil because there’s still only one way for Darius to enter El’Ara: through the tear, and that is somewhere we can defend, if we can get there first.”
Cora spoke. “Does that mean you believe the tear to be a singular location and not a general weakening of the Veil?”
“Yes, the tear represents a single location. One mere split in the Veil. I can feel it like a sliver in themorathat flows to me, and it’s close. As of now, Darius doesn’t know where the tear is. It won’t be easy for him to find either, for he’s not as strong as he believes. His connection to fae magic is weaker than mine. He relies on his powers as a witch and a worldwalker, but he has no abilities as a weaver. No way to find the tear in the Veil quickly.”
Salinda arched her brow. “And you can?”
“Yes, for I have something he doesn’t,” Ailan said, her lips curling slightly at the corners. “A dragon. Two, actually.”
“The dragons can sense the tear?” Cora asked.
Ailan nodded. “Fae creatures have the strongest connection to themora. Uziel and Ferrah will guide us to it. And that includes you, Cora. I need you to come with us.”
Cora stiffened. “Why the hell would I come? Why do you keep including me in this?”
“You are Queen of Khero,” Ailan said, voice firm. “You speak for your kingdom, and you’ve already admitted Khero is being targeted by Darius. We’re in this situation together whether we like it or not. If we have any hope of defeating my brother, we must stand united and forge an alliance. I want you with me when I return to El’Ara and speak to the tribunal.”
“I’ve already been to El’Ara,” Cora said, voice low. “I was neither well received nor well departed.”
Salinda and Bernice turned wide eyes to Cora. While Cora had given Salinda a summary of last summer’s events, she hadn’t gone into much detail.
