“I thought I was going to kill you to make things easier, but you’ve surprisingly made yourself useful,” Malicine said. “I’ll take you to the princess and see what she thinks.”
Corin bit her bottom lip to strain a smile. The gears of her new plan clicked together, and she finally knew a way to escape from the tunnels, the darkness she had spent so long wandering. There was a light at the end, after all, and it glinted like gold.
Malicine beckoned their raven while descending the staircase. Corin trailed behind, then stopped at the handrail when she realized Elly hadn’t moved. Her sister’s brows remained furrowed, a darkened expression on her face.
“You don’t plan on giving the treasure back,” she said. “You’re going to keep it for yourself and let Ezran destroy this world.”
Corin shrugged. “Not necessarily. If the treasure turns out to be an artifact or some royal heirloom, I’ll sell it.”
Elly’s lips pressed tight. She dipped her chin to her chest, staring at her shoes. The floor reflected the icicles that dangled from the chandelier like teardrops.
“Harlow was right about you.”
Corin bit her tongue to refrain from cursing at her sister. A faint taste of blood lingered in her mouth. When her lips parted, a breath of smoke came out, a tremble of air before it disappeared.
“Harlow’s dead.” Her voice was flat, hard. “Maybe if she had been selfish, she would’ve survived like we did.”
A prickly silence hung between the sisters as they joined Malicine outside the castle. Corin didn’t want to deal with Elly’s moodiness, so they ignored each other while crossing frosted fountains and ice-coated trees. Elly ventured far enough to reach the end of the frozen lake, where the ice had pieced itself back together. Corin wished it was as easy for her to put things back in place. To no longer see the cracks of something after it broke.
She turned to Malicine, who kept an eye on Elly without saying anything. Whatever they thought of Elly or the tension between the sisters, they did not speak it out loud.
“There’s something else I want to know,” Corin said, breaking the silence. “If the dreamworld is supposed to collapse when people enter it, how are we still here?”
Malicine turned to her and broke into a grim smile.
“Because you and your sister are living a lie. And what are dreams, if nothing more than lies?”
CHAPTER 12
118 YEARS AGO
ITWOULD HAVE BEEN a lie to say Malicine wasn’t looking forward to ruining an infant’s birthday.
Though magic concealed the demon from sight, they still wore a cloak as black as their raven, the two blending as one. They floated among shadows in corridors and watched blurs of faces pour through double doors.
Crystal chandeliers spiraled from the arched ceiling of the ballroom. The floor was polished like an iced-over lake, and the room was filled with noble men and women who sparkled in shades of emerald and ruby. Between two tiers of windows were floor-to-ceiling mirrors, an infinite reflection of a room Malicine would never belong in.
They scanned the crowd, aiming to pluck three faeries in the midst. The thought of seeing their sisters again shot a bolt of thrill up their spine. Four years was enough time for a family reunion. When the raven first told them about the ceremony, Malicine hardly cared about the trivial matters of a spoiled human girl. Thenhe revealed an even more inane tradition: inviting the entire kingdom to witness the heir’s godmothers granting their gifts.
Well. It would be rude if Malicine didn’t bring a gift, too.
Black clouds sprawled across the sky, billowing over the moon like a flapping cloak. A low crackle of thunder rolled across the fields to rainfall. Inside the warmth of stone walls, Malicine let the muffled crackles pace their excited heart.
Tonight would be a welcome reprieve from the past few years. They had spent years searching the land for a hidden portal to the Otherworld. The raven’s memories were too weathered down by time to provide helpful clues. He could not even recall his own name, so Malicine began calling him Talon. The only thing he remembered was the bloodred amulet the Demon King wore around his neck, how its color matched the edges of a circular portal before it faded as quickly as the amulet’s glow. Still, they found nothing beyond the walls of foliage, the bottoms of lakes, the circle of redwood trees that created the perfect shape for a portal yet led to nothing on the other side.
After multiple failed attempts, Malicine needed a victory.
This would be a glorious one.
Guests chattered over wine and quieted to a hush when King Victor entered the room. His presence drained away every breath and conversation, the crowd stilling as he approached the throne. He wore a cardinal-red cloak that swept across his broad chest. White fox fur donned the collar, a color creeping closer to his graying beard. His hair had grown like a hedgerow, his shoulders wide like a bull. A faint shadow of purple hung below his eyes, a subtle betrayal that despite his air of nobility, the morning had depleted his energy.
He refused to look at the empty seat next to him as he sat onthe throne. Instead, the king gazed forward as servants brought the baby and placed her in a rocking cradle. The crowd cooed at the infant, delightful gasps that made Malicine twist their lips in scorn. These humans hardly knew the baby, yet they stared with wide-eyed wonder, like she was a miracle simply for being born. How easy it was for a girl to have the world on her side the moment she took her first breath.
“While it is a tragedy for the queen to die, we are grateful to have this blessing she left behind.” King Victor’s deep voice grabbed the court’s attention like a fist. “I introduce to you my daughter and future heir, Princess Amelia. She may be little, but she will grow to be strong, fierce, and brave, just like her mother. For this day of birth, she will receive a special gift from each of her godmothers.”
A gathering of violinists started playing from the far end of the hall. Light glimmered across the carpet. The crowd parted ways to make room for three faeries, who floated down the corridors and ended their arrival with a delicate bow.
Malicine watched through a black veil as their sisters reveled in the light. The faeries no longer possessed the scars from their last encounter. Iris had smoothed over the skin of her cheek after Malicine scratched her. Dahlia had healed the scorch marks on her face. And Clover, through pure magic, restored her vision with beautiful green eyes, the color of a forest after sunlight broke through the trees.
