“You did it,” Emylia said, keeping her voice level despite the excitement it contained. “You moved your finger.
Teryn’s pulse quickened in response to his shock. He…did it. He finally managed to move something?—
A sudden wave of energy tore through his chest, and he felt as if he were torn in two. He shifted his attention to his surroundings, to the bed in the dark bedroom, the pale morning light creeping in through the closed curtains. His eyes fell on his own back, upright and no longer aligned with his ethera. His body moved of its own accord—no, Morkai’s accord—glancing left and right, eyes blinking furiously.
This was the first time he’d witnessed his body being operated by Morkai, and it drained all the pride he’d felt in having made his finger flinch. What good was a damn flinch when Morkai could make his body sit? Stand. Walk. Talk.
Keeping his eyes on his now-awake form, he slowly shifted away from Morkai and slid from the bed. “You did great,” Emylia said, standing at his side. “We will practice again next time he rests.”
Teryn could only nod, eyes trained on Morkai.
The sorcerer ran a hand through his stolen body’s hair, then threw back the covers.
Before Emylia could chastise him for his growing anxiety, Teryn focused on the sensations of his vitale, reminding himself that his heart was still his own.Hisbreath kept his body alive.Hisblood pulsed through that body, even as Morkai made it walk across the room to the wardrobe.
“Does he know we’re here?” Teryn asked. “Can he see us? Hear us?”
“No,” Emylia said. “He’s fully immersed in operating your body. He has no awareness of the spiritual plane we stand in now.”
That gave him some relief.
“Now that he’s awake,” Emylia said, “you should rest your ethera. If you don’t rest it on purpose, your ethera will eventually give you no choice. It’s better you do so now so that you’ll be at your best when Morkai sleeps. You aren’t strong enough to wrest control of your body while he’s awake yet.”
Teryn debated the wisdom of her words, but he couldn’t stand the thought of resting while Morkai did devils-know-what in his body. “I want to see where he goes. What he does. I need to know what his plan is.”
Morkai stripped off his nightshirt, giving Teryn the first glimpse of the crystal. It was wrapped in a thin strip of leather and secured around his neck on a long cord, the crystal itself resting at his sternum.
“We know what his plan is,” Emylia said. “It’s the same as it’s always been. He intends to become the Morkaius of Lela.”
Teryn whipped his gaze to her. “Morkaius? What is a Morkaius?”
She frowned. “Princess Aveline hasn’t told you everything.”
Mention of Cora struck him with a hollow ache. He recalled her tears last night, how she’d begged him to leave her alone. Now he’d give anything to take it all back, to storm up those stairs and refuse to leave her. He’d tolerate her rage, her ire, if it meant preventing what was happening now. If only he’d remembered the crystal. Perhaps she’d have had some idea how to destroy it…
Or would that only have gotten her trapped in his place?
Emylia’s voice roused him from his thoughts. “Morkaiuscomes from the ancient fae language. It means High King of Magic. Morkai is not the sorcerer’s real name but a title he’s given himself. It means King of Magic. He intends to become Morkaius by ruling all three kingdoms of the land once known as Lela.”
“Why?” Teryn shifted his gaze back to Morkai, saw him securing the buttons of one of Teryn’s shirts, then donning a waistcoat.
“Ruling over Lela will allow Morkai to tap into an immense well of fae magic. That magic isn’t meant to be wielded by a single person, and if he does harness it, he’ll be able to do terrible things.”
Teryn shuddered. He remembered how Morkai had boasted that he’d one day be King of Lela—that Dimetreus would conquer the three kingdoms, and Morkai would inherit rule after the king’s passing. “If ruling over Lela has always been his goal, why did he even bother going through King Dimetreus and using him as a puppet?”
“To claim the magic,” Emylia explained, “he must first inherit the land. Not through conquest either. Specifically, the crown must begiven not taken, which suggests his best bet is to insert himself into the line of succession.”
Morkai finished dressing and assessed his reflection in the mirror beside the wardrobe. Outfitted in Teryn’s trousers, shirt, waistcoat, and jacket, no sign of the crystal or the leather strap could be seen. Seemingly satisfied with what Morkai saw in the mirror, he lifted Teryn’s lips in a smug grin that looked nothing like his own.
“Are you starting to understand why Morkai chose you?” Emylia asked.
“What do you mean hechoseme?”
“You were his target all along, which is why the crystal’s magic was so strong with you. Why you forgot its existence so easily. Why you were so drawn to look at it. While the crystal is enchanted to have some semblance of self-preservation, its magic works strongest around Morkai’s targets.”
Dread filled every inch of his ethera. “And he specifically wanted me so he could…” He couldn’t bring himself to finish, to even think it.
Emylia filled in the blanks for him. “He wanted your body so he could use your identity, your title, and your position to become Morkaius. To inherit the three kingdoms of Lela and control the magic of the ancient fae.”
