We’d been back at school for two days now. Nothing in The Gilded City was the same after the latest Nightling attack. Guards roamed the streets tenfold, and we had drills on what to do in the event of another attack. The basement of each building was magically reinforced with protections and shields in the event it needed to be used as a safe shelter.
Large parts of The Gilded City’s perimeter were being shielded to a certain degree, but the fae could only expend so much magic, and the city was too large to encompass entirely.
I’d given Queen Solana a breakdown of what I had to do to get Ariyon back, but without compromising Emmeric’s secret ability of foresight. All she knew was that I needed to ride down on the next dying body and that she needed to have faith that I knew what to do from there. I admitted to her that this was hidden knowledge among the Ealdor Fae that I could not share. She didn’t like being left in the dark on that but had nodded, trusting me. Now I was grappling with my own panic about not knowing exactly how to switch powers back with Ariyon once I eventually made it down there. The only ray of hope I had was that Emmeric seemed confident that the information would reach me in time.
“It’s so weird that I’m just waiting for someone to be mortally injured so that I can save Ariyon,” I told Eden in the library.
She nodded, scanning a book about the dark powers of House of Ash and Shadow. “I won’t lie. I’ve had some morbid thoughts about harming someone so that you get can down there sooner.”
Yanric nodded.‘I approve.’
The door to the library burst open just then, and I looked up to see Queen Solana. Her face was ashen, and her hands shook slightly. The Royal Guard behind her appeared stricken as well.
“What’s wrong?” I didn’t curtsy or even give her a proper hello. I just rushed forward and waited for her to drop some horrible, heavy news on me.
She swallowed hard and tipped her chin high, clearly making an effort to remain composed. Her eyes misted with tears, but she blinked them back. “A man on my staff has been poisoned and is on death’s door. If you want to save Ariyon, now is your chance.”
“Yes!” Eden shouted and jumped up, causing us all to turn and look at her. She winced. “I mean, I’m so sorry to hear that, but yay for bringing Ariyon home,” she amended quietly, and then gave a deep bow.
I turned to the queen, who was already heading out the library door, and ran to follow her. Yanric flew to my shoulder and assessed Solana.‘She’s too coldhearted to be so upset over just any man on her staff.’
‘Be nice,’I warned him.
‘What I mean is, I think he might be her lover.’
Oh. That would explain her shaken appearance.
When we reached the courtyard, Ember was already waiting for me, along with the queen’s horse and two of her guardsmen.
“How did he get poisoned?” I asked.
She wiped at her eyes. “During lunch, with food that was meant for me. I’m sure it was Marissa,” she snarled.
So they were having lunch together? Might be a lover, for sure, or a food taster. Or both. Marissa sure knew how to hold a grudge; constantly trying to take out Solana was getting old. What would she gain? Did she really think the people of The Gilded City would bend a knee and worship her if she became queen? No way. Solana was stern, but she was beloved by her people. Her family had served for generations, and Marissa wasn’t going to be able to waltz in and just take that.
We were silent as we rode to the palace. My mind splintered off in a dozen different directions. Was I ready to save Ariyon? I still didn’t know how to switch our powers. Every late-night studying session and the trip to meet Emmeric had built up to this moment, and now I feared I would screw it all up. My palms sweated inside my gloves as I fought for strength I wasn’t sure I had right now. It wasn’t just losing the queen’s nephew that I feared. It was losing the only guy I’d ever love, the only person in the realm who could touch me without pain.
The Grim’s words came back to me in that moment, and they made me smile.
Ariyon is your balance. That you found him in your lifetime is incredible.
The Light had to be on our side, didn’t it?
‘Yan, I need that info on how to switch our powers back,’I told my familiar with renewed hope.
‘Let me worry about that,’Yanric stated beside me.
I nodded, my heart fluttering in my chest as I tried to remember everything Emmeric had said.
Switch powers, ask to meet with the Quorum, then give up my chance at a Nightling rebirth. No, not that order: ask to meet with the Quorum, then switch powers, then give up my Nightling life.
I got this.
We all rushed at a hurried pace through the street and right up to the front palace doors. The queen dismounted and ran inside, and I followed her, pulling off my gloves. I wasn’t 100 percent sure I had to physically touch him to be brought down into the Realm of Eternity with him. But I had touched Solana and Ariyon, and I didn’t want to screw this up, so I was going to recreate the scenario. A little pain was nothing if it got Ariyon back.
The Royal Guard was scattered throughout the house, watching every door and entrance to the building. It was clear something had gone down, and now security had been tightened.
The queen stopped in the opening to the dining room, and I heard her swallow a whimper. Following her gaze, I gasped. A handsome man about forty years old lay on the ground. He was twitching and foaming at the mouth. His black hair was streaked through with a few grays, and his large muscular build suggested he’d been one of the bigger guards.
