They wanted to know if Stryker had come with me? Did that mean they expected him to?
I shook my head, a sudden ball of emotion clogging my throat. “He …” I was going to say he couldn’t make it, but that wasn’t really true and I got the overwhelming sense that lying to these fae would be detrimental.
His mouth downturned ever so slightly. It was a microexpression, but it told me that my answer didn’t please him. Why would he care if Stryker had come with me or not? But his next words surprised me so much the question was wiped from my mind.
“You think you are faint hearted, but you are not,” the Wise One said. “You are one of the strongest fae we’ve ever met. Don’t forget that. Especially in the days to come.”
Tears sprung in my eyes. I’d always struggled to see myself as strong. To hear someone else say that I was, helped me believe that it was true.
“Thank you,” I choked out, but then reined in my emotions. “What about my question?”
The Wise One directly in front of me nodded once and then said.“You do, indeed, have a part to play in ending the curse that ravishes both lands.”
Both lands. To me that was definitive confirmation that the magical sickness in the Northern Kingdom was because of the curse in Faerie.
I held my breath, waiting to find out what I needed to do. They’d told Dawn that she’d already completed her task when she bonded to Zander. I didn’t think that my task would be as easy, but I secretly hoped it wouldn’t involve anything to do with getting Stryker to love me because that felt impossible at this moment. He’d made it perfectly clear he didn’t want me when he left.
“You need to find the Shadow Heart buried in the place that treasures are kept.”
The Shadow Heart? What was that? A literal heart, or was he speaking metaphorically? If it was buried it couldn’t be a living heart, right? Either way, I had no idea how to do that.
“What’s the Shadow Heart?” I asked.
“Your question has been answered. No more will be allowed. Farewell, Aribella.”
That couldn’t be it. I didn’t understand what I was meant to do. They couldn’t just send me away without answering my question.
They all bowed and before I could contest, everything went pitch-black again. My heart sank. I fumbled my way in the darkness before finally emerging from the cave to find that dusk had fallen. My final hope was that Dawn would know what I was talking about, but when I explained to her what had happened, she was just as confused as I was.
“The Shadow Heart buried where treasures are kept,” Dawn mused,tapping her finger against her lip. “Someone must know what it means. We’ll go back to Noreum and talk to Zander. He might know something. And even if he doesn’t, we won’t stop until we figure it out.”
I nodded, but still felt defeated. I couldn’t help but wonder if Stryker had come, if he’d have known what it was, but then I gave myself a mental shake. Going down that road wouldn’t help any. Stryker wasn’t here and he’d made it clear he didn’t want to be.
Chapter 17
It was a full day’s ride to Noreum if we rode fast and hard, but three hours into it, Dawn had us stop at a trader’s stall and we got some fresh fruits and filled our canteens.
We walked over to a shaded rock to take a break and joined some of the seelie fae that were standing there.
“My lady.” One, wearing a wide-brimmed hat, drew himself into a deep bow. His redheaded friend looked confused. “Lady of theNorth,” the fae wearing the hat said pointedly, and his friend quickly dipped his head.
“Oh, I’m sorry, I missed the wedding. You are much prettier in person than people say,” the redhead said.
Dawn laughed at that. “Thank you, gentlemen. It’s nice to meet you.”
Ever the polite princess, just as we were taught.
Dawn then turned to me. “‘The Shadow Heart buried in the place that treasures are kept.’ I wonder if it’s in a vault or something.”
The man in the hat perked up. “Does my lady like fanciful tales?”
Dawn frowned. “What do you mean?”
“The tale of the Shadow Heart,” the redhead said.
“Carved of black stone, yet it glows blue with magic,” the man in the hat finished.
I froze, realizing they were talking about what the Wise Ones had told me.
