Salinda pulled her head back. “What do you mean byyour whispers?”
“I’m a truthweaver,” Ailan said. “That’s my Elvyn ability. Like a witch who’s an oracle or seer, I weave threads that seek truth and receive guidance in return. The whispers of my weavings told me to stay. Wait. But then the dragons came.”
Cora’s eyes darted from Ailan to Bernice. “Is that why you had Bernice suppress your magic? To hide from them?”
“I wasn’t ready for them to find me.”
Anger heated Cora’s blood. She sat forward on the bench and spoke through her teeth. “Instead, you let them find her.” She gestured toward Mareleau. “Instead, you let them attack my castle. My people. You let them burn crops and…and let their flames take lives.”
Ailan’s face fell but she said nothing.
Cora spoke again. “You spoke to them tonight. You made them leave the camp. Does that mean you could have sent them away from the start? Could you have sent them back to El’Ara if you hadn’t been hiding from them?”
“I didn’t send them back to El’Ara. I ordered them to wait for me until morning. To find a safe place to nest away from people. Uziel is my bonded dragon. Now that he’s found me, he won’t leave my side. And Ferrah is young and reckless. Neither will return to El’Ara until I do. Which I will soon.”
“Why did you wait? If you can return to El’Ara, you should have done so as soon as you knew the dragons were looking for you.”
“I told you,” Ailan said. “My whispers said to wait?—”
“Your whispers are flawed.”
“They never speak without reason.”
Cora scoffed. “What reason could your whispers have had for allowing dragons to wreak havoc on my kingdom? Or do they only care for the fae realm?”
Ailan lifted her chin, refusing to be cowed by Cora’s growing rage. “I see three reasons sitting before me now. Three people they clearly wanted me to join before my return.”
Cora’s eyes widened as she realized Ailan was referring to her, Mareleau, and Noah. The latter two she could understand, but why had she included Cora? She’d lost her place in the prophecy—no, she’d never had a place.
“What do my son and I have to do with this?” Mareleau said. “What is his role in this ridiculous prophecy? You do see he’s a baby, right? Yet your brother is targeting Khero and Veranow. What can Noah do to stop the Blood of Darius, or whatever the prophecy says?”
Ailan’s expression softened, as did her tone. “Blood of my blood, I wish I had all the answers. Time and again, I’ve cast truthweavings, yet my whispers tell me the same things every time. Things I’m sure you already know. I’ve even shared these whispers—what you call theprophecy—with the elders, as it was the one way I could try to protect this land should I perish before my brother. I don’t know much more about the prophecy than you likely do, but without a doubt, you are my kin, and he is my heir. He is the true Morkara of El’Ara.”
Mareleau pulled Noah closer to her chest. “But what does that mean? What do you expect him to do? The prophecy states that Noah will unite three crowns and return El’Ara’s heart. That he will end the Blood of Darius. Does that not refer to him coming of age and inheriting three kingdoms? Facing Darius?”
Ailan furrowed her brow. “Inheriting three kingdoms?”
“Noah is the heir to Vera,” Cora explained, “which was merged from two kingdoms already. And I…I considered naming him my heir as well, as he’s my husband’s nephew.” She pursed her lips before she could say a word more. Before she could admit that she couldn’t have an heir of her own because of the curse Morkai had placed upon her.
Ailan’s eyes went unfocused as she considered. “I can see your reasoning for interpreting it that way, but it could mean many things. Prophecies are never infallible. They are merely whispers of one’s weaving, open to interpretation. Their very nature makes them deceptive, which is why they often come to fruition in unexpected ways, even when one tries to stop them.”
A flicker of anger ignited in Cora’s chest. She knew plenty about that. She was the victim of such misguided interpretation.
Ailan continued. “First of all, my whispers never said Noah would face Darius, only that his birth would tear the Veil and set into motion Darius’ end. That has already begun. As for uniting three crowns, it could refer to uniting the three kingdoms of Lela like you’ve surmised, or it could refer to uniting two human kingdoms with El’Ara. Returning El’Ara’s heart…well, that part is both essential and inevitable, but it doesn’t mean he’ll physically do it himself. You, however,” she said, shifting her gaze to Cora. “I’m uncertain of your role.”
Cora bristled. “My role? I have no place in this prophecy. Morkai thought I was the mother, and many of his actions revolved around that assumption. But he was wrong. He focused so much on me, he never guessed the true mother was meant to be Mareleau.” Every word burned like fire on her tongue, but she kept her expression steady.
“You may not have been named in the prophecy, but you have been drawn in nonetheless. Maybe you were always meant to protect Mareleau. To serve as a decoy for my kin.” She smiled indulgently, like she was bestowing some great honor upon Cora.
“Decoy,” Cora echoed, voice cold. All the anger she’d tried to hold back now flooded her, sending her fingers curling into her palms. “Do you know what Morkai did to me as adecoy?”
Ailan’s eyes went wide but she gave no reply.
“Are you saying that I suffered for some grand purpose? That I was cursed in her place by design? That I was toyed with all so I could protecther—” The bitter tang that coated the last word silenced her. Fire filled her vision, reminding her of the nightmare she’d had the night before her wedding, when Morkai had taunted her using Mareleau’s life.
Should it have been her?
Devils, no, of course it shouldn’t have been Mareleau. Morkai shouldn’t have cursed either of them.
