And yet, the rulers across from us still seemed to be questioningme.
“You mentioned you had Southern ziriliumandyour Northern ones. How is that?” King Rividian asked, looking my way.
“While in the South, I discovered that my mother hails from one of the South’s noble families—theAshfords.I’mnot sure how our mother came to be with my father, but she ended up in the North—as the queen. Though, shewasn’tseen often by the civilians—likely so her origins would remain secret.”
“Ourmother?” the queen pushed.
“Yes,” I said, motioning towards Matea.“This is Matea Ashford, my half-sister. We share a mother, andas a matter of fact, her father was originally from these Isles.”
The queen cocked an eyebrow as she took in Matea with a newfound interest, but she said nothing further.
“Entertain me—which zirilium are you able to wield?” the king said, eyes back on me.
Beginning to grow frustrated, I snapped, “Allof them.”
The king’s eyes widened as his wife gasped, her hand flying to her mouth.
“Et monlya,” the queen whispered the Nolvym words—though it was so quiet, I wasn’t sure I’d heard her correctly.
“Et monlya?” Byn questioned.
Adding in the same dead language so few new, I asked, “What does that mean?” Despite my studies of the ancient tongue, Ididn’trecognize the word.
The queen, seeming to regret having spoken, clenched her jaw shut.
The king, though, looked more than willing to fill in the blanks. He looked around at those sitting at the table, whoall weretrying to decode our conversation, before looking back at Byn in question.
“Whatever you have to say can be said before anybody we brought into this room,” he reassured KingRividian.
Nodding, the king picked up the slack of his wife.
“Etmonlyatranslatesliterally tothe one who commands earth and sky. In the ancient texts of the ancestors, though, it wasa title. A name for somebody to come.It’sbeen solong,everybody simply assumed it was nothing more than a myth. And yet… hereyouare.” He cast his gaze my way.
“It was a text written bymyancestor,” the queen chimed in, clarifying. “Her name wasTarynama, and she was a fierce ruler. This war you are in started a few generations before her reign.It’snoted that as a child,she’dbeen in an accident where they thoughtshe’ddied—but somehow,she’djust barely survived. Yet after the accident, it was said that she came backdifferent. Wiser, but often more distant. She wrote that in herdreams,the Stars themselves would visit her. And that they would someday sendetmonlyato fix the mistake they had made.”
“Mistake?” Teagan chimed in, pushing for more information.
The king and queen stalled, as if stunned by our lack ofwhat seemed to be commonknowledge to them.
“The star stones, of course,” Caelia said, finally speaking up for the first time since making her entrance alongside her older brother.
The room went silent enough that I couldhearByn’s breathing next to me—deep and deliberate, probably to combat the immense anxiety flooding between himandme.
When none of the Valwain said anything, Callum picked up where she’d left off.
“According to the records, the Stars toldTarynamathat sending the star stones to your King Baron had been a mistake. That if theyhadn’tsent the stones, this warwouldn’thave broken out.Sothey promisedTarynamaa solution someday—a solution that may just beyou, Aviva.”
“Me?” My eyes widened, then I shook my head. “That’s impossible. It’s just a coincidence.”
“My thoughts exactly. The Stars wouldn’t make another horrible mistake—such as makinget monlyaaNortherner,” Queen Rividian hissed. “Who knows where her loyalties lie?”
I ground my teeth together as I listened to the queendoubtmy motives and loyalties. Who wasshe to questionme?
I could feel the air in the large room beginning to stir. The more my thoughts spiraled, the harsher the wind within the room became. Soon, our napkins were flying off the table, and our hair was flying in all directions as my emotions overcame me.
I was the physical embodiment of the wind of our realm.
And I was the very air they all breathed.
