“Not all of us are loyal to her. My sister’s an idiot for thinking she could be anything more than the pathetic person Seda truly is.”
“What’s your name again?” The Monster King stepped back to his desk and leaned against it.
“Feich,” the informant replied.
“And how did you get away from this group you were traveling with?” he asked him.
“I faked my own death. They all believe I’m dead.”
The Monster King studied him for a long time. He walked over to him and looked up into his dark eyes and moonlight skin.
“Do you know what I do to betrayers?” he asked while pulling out the Dark Stone from his pocket. The deep burning sensation he often felt when he touched the stone ran up his arm, giving him a sudden burst of powerful energy, just waiting to be used.
“Yes, I do. I’m not a betrayer. I’m loyal to only what’s best for the Corvids.”
The Monster King grinned and placed the stone back into his pocket.
“Gather the Corvids who aren’t loyal to Seda and report back to me as soon as possible. Be discreet. We don’t want word of this traveling.”
Feich nodded, stood from his chair, and walked out of the office.
When the door closed, the Monster King looked over to Jason. “I’m having trouble trusting you, Jason. You’ve been lenient with Mordred’s punishments, and now I discover that King Ael of the Fae has been living under our noses for years. Someone who, apparently, was close to you.”
He walked to the door, opened the creaky metal, and called over a few Dragors.
When they walked in, he said to Jason, “I apparently need to remind you who’s in charge around here. And it’snotyou. Let’s hope this lesson never has to happen again.”
The room darkened as the door closed, and the Monster King smiled as Jason began to scream into the dimly lit room.
Chapter 22
Ael*
(300 years ago)
“Cahir, darling,pleasestop flying that thing so close to my work,” Ael’s mother, Misandra, pleaded with him as he flew his paper airplane with his newfound magic. They were in her dark room, as they usually were, while she focused on her important work—something related to a different kind of magic she often mentioned.
“But mama, Ibooorreedddd.” He dropped the plane mid-flight, and it landed on the stone floor with a soft thud. He roughly sat down in the chair, pouted, and crossed his arms, making sure to furrow his eyebrows especially hard at the back of her head. He glared at her long black hair streaked with white. Ael was bored with being in this room and wanted to go outside and play with Luelle.
A slight smile touched his lips, but he kept his brows furrowed as he thought about Luelle and the funny trick she played on one of the maids. She was a couple of years older than him and hisbestest-best friend in the entire world, even if she sometimes teased him.
His mama’s back was still turned away from him as she reviewed her papers and picked up some funny-smelling leaves. “I can sense how you’re staring at me, Cahir. You know I have the eyeball on the back of my head.”
He quickly masked his anger as she turned around and looked at him. “It’s not polite to make mean faces at people.” She furrowed her brows and pouted, exaggerating his own expression just moments earlier.
Ael couldn’t help but laugh at the silly-looking expression, and she ran forward, swooping him into her arms and kissing him all over.
“I sorry, mama,” he choked out through laughter. She began tickling him, and he struggled to breathe through the happiness that swelled within him.
When she stopped, he reached out and tried to tickle her back, but she quickly ran away from him. He chased her around the room, bumping into her amethyst crystals and knocking them over. When he finally caught her, his mighty wrath descended upon her, especially with tickles to her neck, where she always laughed the hardest.
“Stop, Cahir! I give in! I give in!” she said through ragged breaths. She pulled him into a big hug, and when she finally released him, she looked into his eyes, which mirrored her own emerald gaze. “You are the best little boy in the entire world. Do you know that? I love you so much.”
He nodded his head as he gently reached for the dark bruise under her eye. How was she always getting hurt? “I wuv you more. To the moon and back.”
Luelle always teased him about how he said ‘love’, and he winced when he realized he said it wrong—again. It was the best he could do, though, and Mama didn’t seem to mind.
She cupped his hand in hers and reached forward to kiss him on the forehead.
