The king turned his eyes on Val. “Aodhan saw that using the gemstone’s power would kill him. To do this, he would have to sacrifice himself. And so he agreed to do his part only if Ovalis made a vow to dohis,as unpleasant as it was. He had to find a way into Andromeda’s heart so that he could sire her half-mortal son.”
“The true beginning,” I murmured.
“Oh, yes,” the king said with sad smile. “It was the beginning of her line. One that has suffered through the years, as if the world itself worked against them. Most of her descendants did not live long enough to keep their branches of the line going. Even now, Tessa and Nellie are her only living descendants. Did you know her grandfather wasn’t born in Teine? He was born here in Talaven. We had our fae contact in Albyria smuggle him in and make up a story about his birth. You likely know of our contact. His name is Ruari, Oberon’s firstborn son.”
“What?Ruarismuggled Tessa’s grandfather into Teine?” Val’s jaw dropped. “But…that’s…butwhy?”
“We needed Tessa to suffer in Albyria beneath Oberon’s reign,” the king said. “It was the only way for her to end up in the arms of Kalen Denare. Her promisedmate.”
Understanding washed over me all at once.
“For the love of the fucking moon, that’s why they’re so obsessed with each other. That’s how she’ll be able to channel his power, isn’t it?” Alastair said. “Because they have some kind of magical bond.”
“Magic is a wondrous thing. The stars blessed those two, bonding them so that they might save this world.”
I just shook my head, speechless.
Val, on the other hand, looked incensed. “You’ve known everything this entire time, and you’ve kept it to yourself. Do you know how much heartache you could have saved everyone if you’d shared this information with Kalen and Tessa and all the Mist Guard?”
“If we’d told you, Andromeda would have discovered the truth, too. As it stands, she’s only heard part of the prophecy. She believes Kalen is the one who might destroy her one day, but she has no idea it’s Tessa instead. She can never find out, not until we put the rest of the pieces into play. Otherwise, she will rip the two of them apart, and this world will never know peace.” He smiled. “I’m afraid that means I cannot allow you to contact them until we know Tessa has made the right choice. Now, do you have any more questions?”
I didn’t even know where to begin.
Thirty-Five
Tessa
Deep in my dreams, the world was ending. And it was ending because of me. Dust consumed Aesir, transforming verdant fields and snowy mountaintops into a gray, lifeless nothing. I hovered before it all on a pair of red-tipped wings with ash pouring from my fingers.
My wings flapped, stretching the muscles in my back. I gazed down at the destruction I’d caused, and I felt no remorse, just a wicked sense of satisfaction. The world as it was had been nothing but a pit of death and cruelty and blood, and I had washed all of that away.
I would begin a new world now. A better world. One that wasmine.
And then I jolted awake.
Within the cold stone walls of Dubnos, I gasped for breath, my heart kicking my ribs. Then Kalen was there, and his steady warmth soothed away my initial panic. Rolling over, I found him gazing at me with silent affection. He gently brushed a strand of hair away from my sweat-soaked forehead. “Breathe, Tessa. You had a nightmare.”
But I could feel his apprehension through our bond.
“Were you there?” I asked him after I’d calmed my breaths. “Did you see what I saw?”
“No, I wasn’t there, but I can still feel it somehow. The image is in my head.”
I searched his eyes. “Did you see the destruction? What if it’s some kind of warning of what’s to come?”
“Relax, my love. It was just a dream. Everything is going to be all right. I wouldn’t tell you unless I believed it. There will be no more secrets between us.” Leaning in, he brushed a kiss across my forehead. Sighing, I settled into the crook of his arm and basked in the warmth of him just for a little longer, though I could not shake the unease closing in around me.
I wished I could be as certain as he was. I wished we’d heard from Niamh and Val and Alastair. We needed to know more about the prophecy. We needed to hear the words that had given Bellicent Denare such a fright. If we knew all that, we might be able to determine our next steps. As it was, the gods were in our world once more. We’d somehow escaped them, but it would only be a matter of time before they came for us. Right now, we had no idea how to fight them, but I knew one thing for certain. We would have to face them sooner or later.
We needed a plan.
After taking a lukewarm bath, I dressed in a clean pair of black trousers and a soft periwinkle tunic. Just like always, I braided my hair. I was getting better at weaving the strands together myself, though Kalen moved in to help when I lost my hold on a section. He’d taken a quick bath himself, scrubbing away the grime from our rushed journey back to Dubnos. His damp, wavy hair curled around the sharp tips of his ears, and droplets of water dripped onto his finely tailored black shirt, which was embroidered with silver crescent moons along the collar. The glittering silver matched the crown on his head—twisting silver branches embedded with diamonds. Today, he was not the brutal warrior. He was a king.
He tucked his finger beneath my chin, still comfortable with touching my skin, despite everything. “Are you ready?”
I nodded.
Together, we walked hand in hand to the war room, where the others were waiting for us. Toryn and Fenella were chatting quietly and motioning at the wooden map carved into the table. The two of them fell silent when we entered the room, casting a quick glance toward Nellie, who sat beside the blazing hearth, flicking her tail. She looked alert, and there was a keenness in her eyes that told me she understood everything, even in wolf form.
