Elyssa smirked. “I think I’ve corrupted you.”
“What are friends for, right?” Farren’s smile was timid but true.
Eyden remained serious, but Elyssa could tell he held back a smile. His eyes travelled between her and Farren. “Even if we somehow achieve all that without ending up dead or worse—and that’s a big if—how do we know whoever takes over the throne after him is any better?”
Elyssa didn’t miss a beat. She had thought about this often. “It won’t be an Adelway, that’s a good sign. Karwyn has no kids. He has no relatives except that uncle who was banished years ago. I heard he’s engaged to some princess. But if they’re not married, I guess she wouldn’t be eligible to take over.”
“We need to find someone respectable who can argue for the Turosian throne once Karwyn’s out of the picture,” Farren stated.
Elyssa tightened her ponytail as she considered the easiest path. “Maybe we can find out more about Karwyn’s fiancée. She can’t be worse than him, can she?”
Farren squinted in thought. “Just so I’m following, you want to find out if this fiancée is a perfectly nice, humane fae who at the same time would jump at the chance to become a widow?”
Elyssa tucked a curl behind her ear, hiding her grin. She couldn’t deny it was a tricky situation. They wouldn’t come up with a solid plan as quickly as she’d like to. “I see there might be a flaw in my logic.”
“You think?” Farren’s voice was light as he grinned.
Eyden let out a loud breath. “The stakes are too high, El. We can’t just hope for the best.”
“No one said it’d be easy. But we have to try. Otherwise, what’s the point? If we do nothing, we can accept defeat right now and go bury ourselves. It’s now or never, the way I see it. We have to take bigger risks—gigantic ones, even.” She set her hand on her brother’s arm, meeting his gaze. “For everyone who’s taken to the sky. Everyone who’s soon to be lost.”
Eyden’s eyes were a pool of uncertainty and desperation. “For Lora. For us,” he whispered, loud enough for Elyssa to hear at this distance.
“Does that mean you’re in?” she asked. She needed her brother by her side more than anyone. Together they could achieve what she’d been dreaming of all her life. With her brother’s protective determination and fighting skills, Farren’s kindness and spells, and her own badassery, she had to believe they had a fighting chance.
Eyden looked up to the darkened sky. Whatever he saw, it made his eyes shimmer. When he turned his gaze back to her, his pale eyes shone brighter, more determined. Fear wasn’t holding him captive in this moment and Elyssa wished he could hold on to that forever.
“No more holding back,” he said.
Chapter59
Amira
Was she too late? Amira had run faster than she thought she was capable of to get back to the palace after her strange encounter with the human girl. The redhead’s face was still imprinted in her head. It was her first time meeting a human and she was scared to admit that the girl had seemed more similar to her than Amira would’ve liked. Their banter came back to Amira’s mind, but she pushed it away, trying to focus on a more important matter. Saving the human girl’s friend.
Amira couldn’t help but wonder how an apparently powerful fae had become friends with a human girl. To her knowledge, the two kinds never mixed. There were few humans left in Liraen and the fae had no love or respect for them, as far as Amira knew.
It didn’t matter who the fae was, this time, Amira was going to save someone. The panicked eyes of the young woman were burned into her. When she had seen the young fae being dragged outside, Amira had made a silent promise that she would help her break free.
She had to act fast. Amira wasn’t sure if anyone had noticed her absence yet or had discovered the rope hanging out her window. She tried her hardest not to think of the consequences.
She’d free the young woman and go back to her room. For Amira, a real escape was still impossible while Wryen had control over her mother. As long as no one found out Amira had helped this new prisoner, she’d be able to deal with the repercussions of sneaking out of her room.
Next to the experimentation room, she caught sight of a strange door she hadn’t noticed on her way out. Wondering what could be hidden there, she pushed it open.
It appeared to be an office. Ancient books written in a long-forgotten language were splayed across the large wooden table as well as piles of notebooks. Amira suspected they were magic books. A family tree of the Adelway line hung on the wall. Approaching it, she noticed that someone had written on it quite recently, as the ink appeared less old.
Karwyn’s uncle, Lozlan, had his name underlined multiple times. It seemed strange to Amira, considering he’d been exiled over a decade ago. Being exiled from Liraen was the worst disgrace one could wish upon their enemy besides burial. Wryen had threatened Amira with a similar fate more than once.
Another thing she noticed was that Karwyn’s mother didn’t have a maiden name listed and the space dedicated to her family was completely empty.
Just as she was about to open a small notebook, she heard a faint voice coming from another room.
The fae. How could she have wasted time when someone was in danger? Amira rushed out of the room.
She returned to the wall outside the experimentation room. Hastily, Amira pressed all the stones on the wall, trying to open the hidden passage. After her tenth try, the stones started to turn. She didn’t even wait for it to be completely open and carefully stepped inside the room.
The experimentation room was unoccupied. Amira looked for clues of the young woman’s whereabouts and her gaze settled on the table where a body was covered up with a black cloth. A lifeless, pale hand hanging from the table was the only visible body part. Amira dropped her gaze, but the shiny red floor did nothing to calm her.
