It's taken us years to reforge the portal, but the last message I received from the team in the middle of the desert, was all the pieces were put back together. There are cracks since it will never be whole, but it's erected. All we need now is Enver Sol's blood. Or rather, Shaye's blood. There's no way she isn't the Celestial's heir. Vesper is sure of it. No one except an heir would have light magic like hers.
She was under my nose the entire time.
I purge Shaye's smile from my mind, and hard set determination takes her place. She will be mine again in due time and we will put all this ugliness behind us. Despite Vesper's unsolicited opinion on the matter, I know she's been brainwashed by her captors, lulled by their wicked spells. I will free her from them. I will rescue her and with Drogon as our ally, we will rule all six kingdoms of Dalerin as king and queen. There will be no more strife, no more wars, no more animosity and fickle alliances. All will hail under one banner, and we will finally have peace across the continent.
When the double doors leading to the throne room open, my heart spears up to my throat. My anxiety is confirmed. Something bad is going to happen.
The king and queen are seated on their thrones. Keres' gaze darts past me, searching for her daughter. Realization settles across her features, and a lone tear slips down her cheek. She doesn't appear to have slept a wink since I departed and with her daughter no closer to being returned, I doubt rest will find her anytime soon. The dark bags beneath her eyes tell the sorrowful tale of a mother grieving for her missing daughter. King Garren, on the other hand, is hardened by Shaye's noticeable absence, and stares down upon me as if I've committed treason. I can deal with his anger. It's the judgmental glare of my father standing just to the right of the king that shakes me to my core. Retribution for returning empty-handed will be swift and torturous. I can decipher that much by the tension in his broad shoulders and the twisted grimace of his lips. Vesper might be right. Today could be the day my father's wrath is more than I can bear.
I bow before them, my knees trembling. I wish I could say it was from exhaustion, but it's fear. A fear that grips my heart and squeezes so tightly I feel as if I cannot breathe.
I lift my head and latch onto the queen's tearful eyes. "Your Highness – "
"Where is she?" Keres asks, her bottom lip quivering. "Where is my daughter?"
"That is my question as well." My father's voice echoes through the marble-walled chamber like a war-cry on a battlefield. "Where is Princess Ilaria?"
"She…" I clear my throat, feeling my father's ruthless gaze fixed on me. "She refused to come with us."
My father takes a heavy step toward me, his fingers tickling the hilt of the sword swinging at his hip. Suddenly, it's like I'm sevenyears old again waiting for him to launch a beating that will take me a month to recover from.
"What do you mean the princess refused to go with you?" He growls each word; a familiar angry vein pops on the side of his temple. "Are you not a commander of armies, Bastian? Surely one woman didn't defy you openly."
"I tried but – "
"Tried?" My father scoffs, his face reddening in rage. "Apologies, my King and Queen. I should have gone to Elowen myself. I knew Bastian was incapable."
"Father –"
"How many times have I warned you about calling me that?" He spits and my left eye twitches. "I am your superior officer, and you have failed me for the last time."
Unadulterated fear ricochets in my chest and even though I was prepared to keep Shaye's secret, in a moment of self-preservation, I blurt," "She has magic!" Regret immediately overtakes me. The king and queen pale and it's then I realize they aren't surprised by the revelation. "You knew?"
My father scoffs. "What are you accusing our king and queen of, Bastian? Treason? You know the law of our land. Magic wielders – "
"I can see it on your faces," I interrupt my father, risking the physical repercussions for my interruption. "You know about her magic. You know about her Frost Elf features too, don't you?"
"Frost Elf features?" Cadmus guffaws but before he can chastise me further, the queen slumps in her chair and the king nods his head.
"We didn't know she possessed magic, but we did know she had Frost Elf blood," the king rubs his fingers along his jawline. "When Keres was pregnant all those years ago, she lost our child. He was stillborn. Somehow, Armas Basilius knew of our lossand offered us a solution. He informed us of a child, a little girl, who had lost both of her parents in the Great War and needed a home. We should have said no, but we were so desperate and filled with immeasurable grief we took him up on his offer. We met Armas in the mountains of Durne in secret to acquire the child. Frost Elves are extremely protective of their own, and he didn't want his people to discover how he'd helped us."
"He instructed us to give her a concoction nightly," Keres finally chimes in. "He said it would hide her Frost Elf features. If she failed to take it, everyone would discover her true parentage, and we would ignite a scandal with our allies in the north."
"So, you didn't realize she had magic?" I ask.
"No." Keres shakes her head, and I'm inclined to believe her. "What kind of magic does she possess?"
"Light magic reserved for the Celestials." I explain and they pale. "Her real name is Aurelia Basilius-Sol. She's the daughter of Sylvane Basilius and Enver Sol."
"Enver Sol?" Garren clutches his chest. "What was Armas thinking offering his granddaughter to us?"
"Unfortunately, Armas Basilius won't be answering any of your questions, Your Majesty."
Garren shoots to his feet, red in the face. "He will answer me!"
"He's dead."
"Armas Basilius is dead?" My father points at me. "How do you know this? We haven't gotten word of his death."
