“A child born of life and death…” I recite, and my father nods.
“Your mother was the High Priestess of blood—life and death. I am the High Priest ofSeti,the God of Death, who once could bring life to those slipping away.” He shrugs. “A bit on the nose, but accurate.”
The prophecy is about me.As much as I didn’t want it to be, as much as I fought the odds, and Oslo and everyone else… the prophecy is about me.
I grab on to one part of the story, mind spinning. “What happened to your magic?”
My father sighs deeply. “When I was only a few centuries old, a plague fell upon my kingdom. It turned the Fairies to stone.” I gasp and he nods. “I tried to heal them. Spent every moment, willing my magic to work. But it continued to spread until everyone was stone. Except for me, my sister, mother and father.
“In the last attempt to save us, my parents took us to the boundary of our land and said their goodbyes.” He clears his throat, jaw cracking. Rubbing my heart, his emotions become mine. The agony must have been hard to bear. “Then they cast a protection spell to keep it contained. No one can enter and no one can leave.” His shoulders fall. “They did it to save the world—but in truth, they did it to save their children. After that, I brought my sister to this cottageandSeticalled for me. I had to make a choice—followSetior keep my magic.”
My heart warms to my father. To his ordeal, his pain, I feel it in my soul and understand his trials. “You chose to give it away.”
“If my magic could not heal when needed most, why bother to keep it?” He crosses his arms. Gods above, I understand. How many nights did I wish for my magic to be gone when all it did was hurt? “WithSeti, I could do good in the world, helping those who died, to cross into the Underworld. So, I trained. I listened. And I heard of the prophecy.”
I still, mouth parting. “Myprophecy. The Mad Witch told you?”
He scoffs. “The Mad Witch? That old crazy bat. No, I was told the prophecy bySetiand spread the word to those with connections,” he growls under his breath. “The Mad Witch was just someone I needed.”
“And?” I press. “What of it?”
“It’s your destiny, little one. The world was broken years ago by an evil Fairy. She tempted the Humans with magic, claiming the rest of the world kept it from them. Because of that, the Great War began. You know that history—they fought against the species for superiority. But I was able to intercept it.
“I asked Neith to enact a curse to pause the fighting, to take away magic, until you would be born.” He rolls his eyes. “I admit, I didn’t know it would bemydaughter when told of the prophecy. Once I knew, I tried likeSeti’sHell to keep you shielded.”
Sitting back, I’m at a lost.He did?“How?”
“The Veil.” He nods. “Magical barrier, like my kingdom, keeps everyone behind it protected. That with the Eternal Night Forest beasts, no one can enter. We were happy for a time.” Baris shakes his head. “But your mother wouldn’t be swayed. I’m afraid you both share this insane need to do the right thing.” Kneeling, my father grabs my hands, pressing a small kiss to the back of each hand like a devotee praying to a God. “She sacrificed herself to save you. Griffin killed her when she claimed your place. And sent us away to live. To grow strong. To live out your destiny.”
“But I woke up in the Blackwoods Coven alone,” I argue. It’s too much—too fast. My mother was killed for me? And my father—the gruff male who is aFairy—sacrificed everything to bring me to this moment.
And somehow, I’m supposed to save everyone. “I’m going to be sick.”
Baris rubs my back, hovering over me as I wheeze. “You were injured in the attack, and I askedSetifor help. He guided me to herbs, things that slowed the bleeding. Along with your powers, I got you close to the Blackwoods boundary. There, Griffin kidnapped me. It’s sheer Gods’ Will he didn’t see you.”
“Kaden found you in the dungeon,” I pant. My mouth waters and I pray toEnyoto keep the wine down.I knew I shouldn’t have had anything.
“I stayed there, feeding information to Griffin. Could I have escaped?” He shrugs. “Yes. But this was my way of keeping him away from you.”
Dropping beside me, he tucks a piece of my hair behind my ear. “You were safe. I didn’t care about your destiny, I just wanted you tolive. Until an old crone told Griffin about the girl with blood magic.” Baris rolls his eyes, lips curling. “Wretched woman.”
“Then, he came for me.”The Blackwoods Coven was attacked because of me.
Guilt sours my gut. People were injured and killed for me. A village was torched to find me.I’m definitely going to throw up.
Baris lays a heavy hand on my shoulder, wings surrounding us. They’re not scary things, but soothing as they wave back and forth, fanning my face. “Do not mourn what happened. Fate would’ve found you some way.”
“Fate,” I spew. “You think Fate is the reason I’m here, searching for a way to break a curse on my mate, stuck in this world, told I’m to save everyone?” I stand, knocking him away. Even his wings can’t distract me. “Ican’tbe that person.”
“But you are,” he affirms. When I glare at him, he holds his hands up. “You asked about my sister. About why your powers didn’t workon me. What if I told you, all of this, the prophecy, the curse, it all relates back to your mate?”
Crossing my arms, I bite back my anger and hopelessness. “How?”
“There is a protection spell that keeps our hearts protected from magic—it was a fun little spell we did as children, my sister and I. Unfortunately, because of its success, it gave my sister confidence in her newfound ability.” He rubs his eyes. “It corrupted her. Made her yearn for more things—things she shouldn’t use magic to get.
“Kaden’s ancestor, was one such thing. When he didn’t reciprocate her affection, she thought to enact a love spell. When he claimed another, she tried something worse.”
“The curse,” I whisper, mouth to my hand. My disbelief vanishes under outright rage.
