How could her voice surface after such a request?
Rune had closed himself off from the bond completely. She couldn’t feel him or even sense him in the shadows. It made her chest feel hollow in a way she didn’t understand.
His phantom touch still lingered where bruises had bloomed on her skin. He had healed the bite on her thigh, but the spot was still tender.
Alora pushed the feeling aside. She leaned against a tree stump behind her cottage, letting the night’s breeze cool her puffy eyes. The pond’s surface shimmered beneath the moonlight.
From the bushes came a soft meow as Nexus stepped out. He trotted over and climbed into her lap, purring.
Alora smiled tiredly. “Sweet kitty,” she whispered, stroking his ears and little horns. “You always know where to find me, don’t you?”
Nexus came and went as he pleased.
“Has Rihan been well?”
The heightened purrs in response must mean he liked her brother. Rihan was most fond of him as well, judging by the new leather collar he wore, gilded with extravagant filigree.
There was a note tucked beneath it, but the letter was sealed with Theia’s crest. Alora’s chest tightened as she read the scrawled words. Argyle was fraying. Delphi schemed, loyalties were slipping like sand through her fingers. Her brother was to be crowned.
What else could she expect, after leaving Argyle unattended?
An overwhelming weight pressed on her chest. Alora wrapped her arms around her legs, hiding her face against her knees. What was she doing? Nothing felt right anymore.
A flicker of light danced through the night air, and the scent of autumn and old magic drifted through the trees.
Alora looked up.
Three glimmers soared forward. Tiny, lithe bodies shimmered with pixie dust, wings like stained glass. They were barely three inches tall. Adorable, harmless… but no less deadly.
The Harbingers fluttered around her, their Bloodstones glittering in the evening.
She cracked a smile. “Oh my.”
“I will not hear a word of it,” Deimos grumbled, blue dust flickering around his translucent wings twitching like an irritated dragonfly.
Alora covered her mouth. “Why do you look like…?”
“Fairies?” Calla flew down to her eye level. Her purple wings shimmered like lilac petals in the light. “I thought it might cheer you up.”
Alora’s small smile wavered. Of course, Calla must have sensed Rune’s earlier arrival and departure. They weren’t exactly quiet. Then she must have heard her weeping, too.
Alora looked away, blinking against the sting in her eyes. “Why did he send the rest of you here?”
“One final lesson remains to complete your training,” Hadeon answered, fully armored despite his pixie size. His wings reminded her of autumn leaves, burnt red and gold. He crossed his brawny arms. “The court will only acknowledge their Shadow Queen when she is ready to become one.”
She shook her head. How could she be a queen of a court where even the king no longer acknowledged her?
“It’s time you reclaim your magic.” Deimos flitted forward, carrying the knapsack that contained the glowing jar. “According to the archives, you need only to summon it back.”
But the mention of it only made her anger curdle.
“Cast it into the Abyss,” she muttered. “I don’t want it.”
“You cannot dispose of half your power,” Calla said, brow furrowed. “You need it.”
“I don’t want it!”
Her dark magic flared. Thorns and spider lilies burst from the earth beneath her hands.
