This was magic I could do when I was still sick, because it didn’t take any energy from my body. Hope started to grow in the pit of my stomach, and the sadness I’d felt when getting up this morning felt significantly less.
“Very good, Emma,” Lucien praised as I ended the spell. “This is a very strong protection spell. It should last for days.”
“Days? Wow.” I raised my eyebrows. Seelie shields only lasted a matter of a few moments, minutes, if you continued to sustain them. I wasn’t putting any energy toward the spell at all, and yet, I still felt the shield’s defenses hold strongly around me.
Lucien turned toward my mate. “Ethan, what’s an uncomfortable feeling you have that you could channel?”
“Rage,” he growled.
O-kay. Guess things weren’t hunky dory with my husband, either.
We waited a few moments, before Ethan’s eyes flashed violet and he cast his hand out. A fizzing sort of firecracker flung out of his hand. It bounced around the room, burning papers and causing books to fly off the shelves. Cinders began to burn into the carpet as they flew off the spinning explosive, and I wondered when it would erupt. I’d thought he’d put it out, but Ethan just let it simmer, allowing the firecracker to grow larger and more inflamed. I had to duck as it soared over my head, burning off the edges of my hair.
Lucien floundered out of his seat. He staggered toward the window, which he unlatched and pushed open.
“Ethan, you need to control it, before it backfires and hurts Emma,” Lucien said sternly. “Direct the spell out the window.”
Ethan seemed to wake up. He sent the firecracker ricocheting out the window. The spell soared upward and exploded outside like a mortar, setting off fireworks above the estate.
“What the hell was that?!” I heard Stefan shout somewhere outside. The chickens in the barnyard were going nuts.
“Impressive, if yet untamed,” Lucien said. “Remember that if you do not control Unseelie magic, it will control you. Unseelie magic isn’t evil, but itisdark, and dark magic can have dire consequences if it’s wielded in an irresponsible way.”
“I understand. I apologize,” Ethan said stiffly.
I was still staring at his eyes. “What?” Ethan asked.
“I don’t know why your eyes do that. Flash violet whenever you cast a spell,” I said.
“I forget that it happens sometimes,” Ethan said with a shrug. “It’s of no consequence to me.”
“I’ve noticed it before, but I figured I was seeing things,” Lucien said, sounding like he’d seen a marvel. “This is very unexpected.”
“Do you have answers?” I asked, sitting forward.
“Only speculation,” Lucien said. “It’s rare Unseelie knowledge. I doubt most know of it.”
“Tell us,” I said. Fringe stuff always came in useful to us, it seemed.
“There were certain Unseelie long ago who could channel exceptional dark magic,” Lucien explained. “Powers beyond what any other normal Unseelie could do. This was long before we left Edinmyre. Whenever these talented Unseelie performed magic of any kind, their eyes would flash violet. These exceptional dark fae became the monarchs the Unseelie needed. Ethan, I believe you must be descended from this line, and perhaps are the first to wield this kind of dark royal magic in centuries. This directly connects to the research I was compiling on the Hidden King during Elijah’s short rule. I abandoned it after his death, since I no longer considered it important to winning this war. But it has become relevant now.”
“What about it?” Ethan leaned against Lucien’s desk.
“We know the Black Claw proclaims the Hidden King to be their leader, but the cult was originally begun as an activist group to obtain Unseelie rights,” Lucien said. “Within that lore is the tale of the Hidden King. You see, a Hidden King can only come from the line of the first original Unseelie king, who ruled hundreds of years ago. This must be a bloodline that Ethan and Elijah both share.”
“It makes sense. Elijah was the Hidden King. Our shared bloodline through our mothers must trace back to the Unseelie kings of old,” Ethan replied.
“Lady Korva must’ve known about this. It’s why Elijah knew he was the Hidden King. His mother must’ve told him the history,” I said. “But why is he calledhidden?”
“Because, as you’ll recall, the Seelie and Unseelie were often at war. The Unseelie monarchs were oftenhidden awayor on the run, to avoid being killed or conquered by Seelie forces. That is where the name comes from,” Lucien said. “An Unseelie king never makes their identity known, for the safety of his court and his people. He makes moves and gives commands from the shadows. Oftentimes, these kings were even unknown to their own people. The only ones who knew of the Hidden King’s identity were his own inner circle, from which he used to rule and make his decrees. Therefore, if they are to betrueleaders of the Unseelie, these Hidden Kings must remain out of sight, and unproclaimed. That’s how the royal magic passes down, from one Unseelie monarch to another.”
“Fae wordplay means everything, because our intention becomes our illusion magic. Proclaiming yourself to be the Hidden King would remove any inheritance of royal dark magic, even if you obtained it from your bloodline. Got it.” I nodded.
“Perhaps that is why Elijah died, in the end. He rejected the title, his right to rule over the Unseelie, and the dark magic entitled to him, byproclaiminghimself to be the Hidden King. He was supposed to remain concealed,” Ethan theorized.
“I believe you are right,” Lucien said.
“What about his daughter?” I asked. “Could Signe have inherited Elijah’s powers, and this royal dark magic she’s descended from?”
