My heart pounded. There, in bold ink, lay the Triskelion Sigil, the same one that had been carved into the wood of the fishing boat.
Fenlon looked victorious, like he’d proven something. As horrified as I was, I wondered if he knew something I didn’t.
“What about the Triskelion Sigil?” I asked. “Can you read the text? Do you know what it means?”
“I know it turned up on a boat as a warning sign,” Fenlon said. “With a lot of dead fishermen.”
“There were no bodies,” I corrected. “We don’t know if the crew is dead or not.”
“So it’s true.” Fenlon smiled thinly. “You admit the symbol was on the boat that washed ashore yesterday without its crew.”
Heat flooded my face. “Yes, that symbol was on the boat. That’s why I’m trying to understand it.”
“That’s what we’re supposed to believe,” Fenlon said. “The way I see it, you’re trying to make sure none ofusunderstand it. The Triskelion Sigil has been associated with Fae Queens in the past, a special kind.”
I knew where he was going with this. It wasn’t good.
“Those rare creatures who can control earth, air, and water. You think you’re a Triune Queen.”
“I barely learned what that is yesterday,” I said. “I don’t know what to think.”
“Admit it, Alessia. You believe you’re the next Triune Queen.”
“It doesn’t matter what I think. I either am or I’m not, by no doing of my own. I’m just trying to understand all of this when I have no experience in your world whatsoever.”
The crowd didn’t seem happy with my explanation. They seemed upset, like I was hiding something and Fenlon was right. Their anger crackled in the air.
“How many fishermen were on the boat?” Fenlon asked. “I’m assuming three?”
“We don’t know for sure,” I said. “There haven’t been any people, alive or otherwise, recovered from the wreck.”
“It’s was very likely three victims,” Fenlon said. “One for each arm of the goddess. Sacrifices for each element. You’re the Cursed Queen, continuing on your rampage.”
Roars erupted. Exhausted, hungry, and sun-drunk from a day of exposure on the dry, dusty ground, I couldn’t muster the patience to deal calmly with these accusations.
“I am not a Cursed Queen,” I said as evenly as possible, even though my voice trembled with frustration. “I don’t even know if I’m a queen at all. At our council meeting no one wanted me to be one, remember? So leave it alone. If you don’t want me to be queen, I won’t be. I’ll exist as I am now, doing my thing. I don’t need to rule. I’m just trying to understand how my powers and I fit in here.”
As the last word left my lips, the water before the castle swelled. I knew it was my doing, but I couldn’t help it. My control was slipping; I’d used it all up with my explanations to Fenlon, which had done nothing but fall on deaf ears.
I looked in horror as miniature tornados skittered across the surface of the river. Wind yanked my hair back, and the ground began trembling beneath my feet. The elements mirrored myexhaustion and rage, rising to defend me when I could not defend myself.
The crowd’s fear was palpable. Even Fenlon flinched as the waters crashed onto the shore in waves of heights not seen before. As wind whipped around us, blowing off hats and stripping leaves from the trees.
When it calmed, Fenlon stood up straighter, looking significantly more windblown.
“See?” he crowed. “She’s dangerous. Alessia can’t control her powers. We must remove the Cursed Queen from our island—permanently.”
I dragged myself home, rinsed off, and collapsed into bed. I was asleep by the time Silas came to bed sometime later that night. He must have sensed that I didn’t want to discuss the events of the evening, and he gave me the space to have time alone.
Because for the moment, at least, there was nothing left for me to say.
The next morning, I rose with more energy and summoned the strength to tell Silas and Millie what had happened the night before with Fenlon. Unsurprisingly, they’d both already heard the gist of it.
Technically, they’d heard Fenlon’s version of events, which involved the fact that I’d tormented a group of innocent people with the natural elements in “horrifying” and “dangerous” ways. I was a real menace, according to Fenlon and his gang, and I needed to be stopped.
“Keep your chin up,” Millie said. “He’s leading a vocal minority of idiots. It doesn’t mean anything. Lots of people love you.We’re glad you’re here. We want to support you however we can.”
“They’re very vocal,” I said. “And it seems like he’s getting more and more followers.”
