“What do you see?”
“Within.” Greer’s chin drops. She kicks her boot against the stone wall that separates us from the ledge and death. “It’s mostly useless. I can tap into the magic of others, strengthen or dull it. I can heighten emotions and manipulate senses. It’s nothing that saves a life on its own, even if it is helpful in other ways.”
She brushes her fingers over the stone ledge. Every surface here hums with secrets. It isn’t just the priestesses who tell stories in Tempest. It’s also the mountains. The creatures. This land is alive in a way that is unlike the Ley Court.
“Is that why the king has you training me? Can you see the magic inside me?”
“There are still many barriers in you, Elorie.” She shakes her head, her tone slightly bitter. “But yes, that’s why I earned my role. I’ll help the Crown however King Malachi sees fit.”
Greer turns to continue down the street, and I follow. Up ahead, laughs come from around the corner, and I assume that must be where the rest of the court has gathered when the priestesses are quiet.
“What made you leave Tempest?” I ask.
Now that she’s given me a hint of herself, I want to know more. But when Greer’s shoulders tighten, I sense I’m pushing too hard.
“You don’t have to tell me.”
“No, it’s fine.” She shakes her head. “It’s better that you understand.”
Greer pauses when we turn the corner. The group is still at adistance. We can see them, but they won’t hear us with how loud they’re being. She scans the street, but there’s nothing around apart from snow-covered roofs and the breeze.
“Before the Realm War, I studied under my aunt in the temples, while my parents traveled the continent, spreading word of the potential war. They helped coordinate the fronts in the event Queen Delayna and King Redsen made a move on Lyrichia. That, and they’d report on the Well. Letting the king know of its growth and the creatures coming out of it.”
“So your parents were warriors?”
“Messengers,” Greer corrects. “My mother had a nature affinity. She could hear the whispers in the wind. It came in handy for learning secrets. My father was a shadow wielder who could hide in a sliver of shade. Back when the Arches still allowed free travel between realms, they would spy on the Vaelier front to keep King Malachi apprised of any movement.”
“That sounds dangerous.”
Greer’s eyes swirl a touch darker. “It was. Especially after my mother uncovered how Vaelier’s queen planned to use the Well to steal the remaining magic in Lyrichia.”
My eyes widen. “Is that possible?”
“At the time, yes. Each realm’s magic was still independent from the other. The Well had not yet connected Lyrichia and Vaelier’s ley lines. The queen had a plan to use her son’s magic to alter the current, so it would drain all magic from Lyrichia to the Well, and then from the Well into Vaelier. It would have destroyed us.” Greer’s eyes glass over. “My parents warned the king of Queen Delayna’s plans, and she was not happy about it.”
Greer swallows hard, not meeting my gaze. The slightest wobble in her voice sends a chill up my spine.
“Vaelier rebels came to Tempest in search of my parents on a night I was at the temple. They ransacked the mountain. When they found them, they forced my father to watch while theytortured my mother. They did everything they could to extract what she knew. At the time, magic was stronger, and Fae could survive many things before they would succumb to a mortal wound. What they did to her lasted for hours.”
A single tear streaks her cheek, and she wipes it away.
“They were quicker with my father. His punishment was witnessing what they did to my mother. He was freshly dead when I arrived home, but the rebels were not gone. A few members of the Guard managed to stop them before they killed me alongside my parents, but not soon enough.”
She looks away, turning her face so I can’t see the scar running through her eyebrow, and I doubt that was the extent of it, but I know better than to ask.
“When they captured the assassins who killed my parents, I asked to be there while they were questioned. I came to the Ley Court to see that justice was served. Before they broke, they said they acted at the will of their queen. That a message was to be delivered that they would not tolerate spies.” She tightens her grip on the hilt of the blade sheathed at her side. “When the time came to behead them, King Malachi handed me the sword, and he handed me my revenge.”
It's clear now why Greer is cold but extremely loyal to the Crown. She has seen the darkest side of this war, and her losses are great.
“Queen Delayna was ruthless,” I say, a shiver running my spine.
“Not just the queen.Vaelier. Her kingdom.” Greer turns to me. “When she died, this war did not end. Peace did not follow. Vaelier fights as brutally as before, seeing no difference between guard or civilian. They will do worse than death if it means getting what they want. And their leader is no different.”
“Wilder.”
She nods. “Do not let him fool you. He is no better than hismother. I’ve seen you watching him. Spending time with him. And on the beach at Ruse Village?—”
Greer cuts herself off, not saying it. I don’t even want to think it, but we both know.
