“I think that you told me that my mother would be arriving soon, and I’ve yet to see her.” I leaned forward, splaying my hands on the table as I glared at the king. The manacles around my wrists bit into my skin, reminding me that despite our lavish surroundings and creature comforts, I was still a captive, still held here against my will. “How do I even know she’s still alive?”
“Oh believe me, I wanted to execute Gelsyne for the treason she committed.” The king spoke the words casually, but something ugly shifted behind his eyes that made my stomach twist. “She fled the court and kept you hidden all these years. Can you imagine how many lives could have been saved if I’d found you sooner? How much more wealth and freedom our kingdom would have?”
“Wealth and freedom?” I asked, confused. “I don’t understand how my magic would help you accomplish any of that.”
The king laughed again. “You must be joking,” he said. “Surely you know of the treasures that lie in the Deadlands?”
I went still, my mind racing to catch up. I knew that the Deadlands—formerly known as Hearthfyre, the fire fae realm—were full of veins of precious metals, and more importantly, primal stones, which fae used to store and harness fae magic. Access to those primal stones was one the main reasons we had fought so hard to reclaim the fire fae lands back from the dragons, but even though the dragons were no longer there, the mines were still inaccessible. Only those who had a death wish, or were exiled, traveled into the Deadlands. It was overrun with shadow creatures.
“You…you want me to use my magic to defeat the shadow creatures so that you can mine the Deadlands?” I asked, aghast.
“Well, not just that,” King Aolis said with a wave of his hand. “I’d also like you to clear the taint from the rest of the kingdom as well. These shadow creature attacks have not been good for trade between the realms, and the house leaders have been making more noise about them. That’s why I’ve been recruiting so heavily for the army. But,” he said, his eyes gleaming as he leaned toward me and took one of my hands in his, “with you by my side, as my queen, there will be no need for that anymore.”
“As… as yourwhat?” the word came out in a shriek—I couldn’t help it—and I snatched my hand back. “Why in the name of the Radiants do you think I would ever marryyou?”
My heart thundered in my chest as I stared at King Aolis, and I gripped the arms of my chair until my fingers turned numb. I knew the king wanted me to use my magic, but marriage? This was just too much.
King Aolis raised his eyebrows. “I would think that obvious,” he said. “I am theking.A marriage to me would be a great honor. And besides, as far as I’m concerned, your hand in marriage is owed to me, since your mother chose to marry someone else.”
“Huh?” I stared dumbly. “My mother was supposed to marry you?”
King Aolis frowned, then chuckled again. “I keep forgetting that you think Gelsyne is your mother,” he said, shaking his head. “Allow me to correct that. Your mother was the late Princess Olette.”
I stared at King Aolis, certain that I’d misheard him. “No,” I said, my voice cracking a little. “That’s not right. Chaya—Gelsyne—is my mother.”
King Aolis scoffed. “You really think that Gelsyne, a powerful earth fae with a strong lineage, could have birthed a daughter without a drop of earth magic in her? No, my dear, you are not Gelsyne’s child. Olette must have been pregnant when Gelsyne smuggled her out of the castle, no doubt to keep her away from me. King Cyrian had promised me her hand in marriage, before that blasted dragon prince stole her heart.”
His lip curled at the mention of the dragon prince, and his cerulean eyes blazed with hatred. “I don’t believe you,” I said, my mind spinning. “I…I can’t.”
King Aolis smiled. “Well, if you can’t take my word from it, let’s get it straight from the horse’s mouth.” He clapped his hands, and a door on the far left side of the room opened. My heart dropped as two guards dragged my mother in, her too-thin form draped in a ragged, stained dress, her arms weighed down by chains.
“Gelsyne, why don’t you take a minute to set Adara straight?” King Aolis asked, his smile widening. “After all, youarethe one who’s been lying to her all these years, haven’t you?”
32
Einar
Gone.
The word echoed in my mind as I smashed into the china cabinet directly behind where Slaugh and Adara had been standing. Broken glass and china rained around me, but I barely noticed the shards slicing into my arm as I spun around, looking wildly for Adara as if she might reappear.
But in the back of my mind, I knew that was foolishness. Slaugh had taken her. And he wasn’t coming back.
“Die, dragon!” one of the shadow guard soldiers yelled, charging at me with his sword drawn. I dodged the blow and blasted him with a torrent of fire, but unfortunately, the flames licked harmlessly against his inky black armor.
My fire wouldn’t be of any use here. It was time for a good, old-fashioned brawl.
The soldier swung for me again, but this time I grabbed his wrist before he could bring the sword down, then kicked him in the stomach. He flew back against the wall, sword flying from his fingertips, and I was on him in an instant, tearing off his helmet. His eyes widened as I opened my mouth and spewed fire at his head. A scream ripped from his throat, but it died quickly as the flames quickly ate through his flesh. In seconds, his head was nothing more than a blackened skull, the stench of charred meat and black magic clinging to him.
Sensing movement behind me, I spun around and chucked the body at another soldier charging at me. The soldier stumbled back, stunned by the unexpected weight, and I wasted no time, snatching up the fallen sword of the soldier I’d just killed and hacking at the weak point right at his shoulder. Blood spewed from the wound, but instead of going down, the warrior sprang back, out of my reach. Dark magic coalesced around the wound, and I gritted my teeth as the blood flow ceased, the wound healing before my very eyes.
“You’re going to have to try a little harder than that,” the soldier said smugly.
He raised his hand, and I cursed as he blasted me with a gust of wind. Shadow magic crackled along my exposed skin, and I hissed as the taint bit into me, finding weaknesses in the myriad cuts along my arms. These soldiers might have been fae, but they were fae who had been gifted with shadow magic.
“Don’t let them hit you with their magical attacks!” I shouted at the others, who were locked in their own battles. “You’ll be infected!”
Gritting my teeth, I resisted the taint and squared off against the soldier again. This time, when he lashed out at me with his magic, I went high, flipping overhead and avoiding the attack. Landing behind him, I spun around and grabbed his head, then twisted sharply until a fatal crack echoed through the room.
