Chapter 19
Leaf
Outside the cave, rain slashed at our faces, our hair tangling together as I pulled her close.
“How?” I yelled over the roar of the wind. “What did you do, Esen?”
Her cheeks flushed red, and she gave a faint laugh. “I’ve always been one of them. I was born a fire fae.”
“What?” In shock, I spun on my heel and started walking up the path. I stumbled on a slab of slippery rock and gripped Esen’s arm for support. “That’s not possible. I’ve seen you wield storm magic.”
“King Azarn planted me at the Storm Court as a spy. I only recently found out. Apparently, it took his mages centuries to find a child whose power was strong enough to be subdued then transformed into storm magic. But they did it. They found me. Killed my family and dumped me at the gates of Coridon.”
Pity and horror churned through my stomach. At such a young age, Esen had been used, abused, and twisted into a servant of the Fire King’s greed. On some level, she must have felt warped, wrong, her true essence incompatible with the lightning magic running through her veins.
A lot of things about her made sense now, especially her bitter personality. As was the way with most hate-filled beings, she’d been damaged at a formative time and had suffered greatly.
“But why didn’t the fae of Coridon notice something was amiss? I mean Arrow’s father must have been—”
“Melaya’s ability to block and repress power is formidable.” Watching me warily, she heaved a sigh, then grinned. “Come on. Let’s keep walking before we drown. I’ll answer all your annoying questions when we arrive at the beach.”
“In this rain?” My boots crunched and slipped over stones as we started down the hill. “Can’t I interrogate you in comfort by the fire in my chamber?” As soon as I said the word fire, my heart clenched, and the image of Orion hanging over the Sentura Pyre assaulted me. His hollow, twisted features. The sweat coating his leathery skin. So much agony. And all because of me.
“I’d prefer to do it out here,” said Esen. “Where the sound of the waves will ensure no one can eavesdrop.”
I tuned into my body, searching for any strange sensations. “Melaya’s not listening in, Esen. I feel no signs of another being’s magical interference. In fact, since I was given the anklet, I’m fairly certain that I never have.”
“Good. But I still prefer to be outside, where the wind and rain will hide my tears.”
Shocked, I shot her a glance. With her tough exterior, it was easy to assume Esen didn’t have any feelings. But clearly, I’d been wrong.
Nearly at the beach, I pointed up the hill. “It would be better if we headed back to the palace. I need to find Estella and—”
She cut me off with a snarl. “Do not tell the queen I took you into that cave. Please, Zali. It will be the death of me.”
“Who should I speak to, then? Who can help me free Orion?”
“No one,” she said, jumping off a flat boulder onto black sand and gesturing for me to follow. “No one can help you do that.”
Wrong answer. Someone had to be willing to help. If there was no other choice, I’d even ask Arrow, which would test his much-professed loyalty and clarify if he was indeed a liar. A matter on which I remained uncertain.
Not a single gull or sea eagle swooped through the slate-gray sky looming over us. Esen’s sobs were audible above the crash of waves and the sizzle of raindrops hitting nearby rocks. My heart broke for her, and I longed to gather her in a tight hug and offer comfort.
With my face upturned and arms spread wide, I spun on the sand, sucking cool air deep into my lungs to clear the horror of the cave from my mind. I stopped turning, my heart filled with compassion, as I took Esen’s hand.
“Did you suspect you were different to the Light Realm fae?” I asked.
The leather armor covering her chest creaked as she heaved a sigh, her black and red cloak whipping around her body. “No. They wiped my memories when they dumped me at Coridon, a bit like what happened to you, Zali. Our stories are quite similar.”
I nodded and pressed my palm to her cheek, wet with rain and tears. “We are alike, Esen. We’re not enemies. Not if we choose to be friends.”
She smiled through her tears. “You’re right in a way. As a child, I did feel wrong inside. Somehow, I knew that I was different, unworthy of the storm fae’s love. Anger flowed through my veins, sustaining me, and I made myself hate everyone except Ildri and Stormur, my foster parents. I loved my brother, Raiden, too. And I foolishly adored Arrow in the exact way one shouldn’t love a male like him. I hated you because from the moment he first saw you, something about you called to his damaged heart. I longed for him to look at me that way. I thought if I got rid of you, one day, he would.”
I squeezed her shoulder. “Esen…”
“Don’t pity me. Please… anything but that.”
I forced sorrow from my features, then stepped away, no longer offering comfort, since it was the last thing she wanted.
“While Arrow was in Mydorian helping you kill your brother, Azarn sent a messenger to Coridon who revealed my true identity. The Fire King asked for a meeting, and filled with hate for Arrow, the fae that had put you—a human—above me, I did as Azarn asked. And then I learned the horrible truth about what they’d put me through to transform my fire magic into lightning. Instead of feeling used, I felt wanted, needed, as though I’d finally found my place. My purpose.”
“But something changed,” I guessed. “What was it?”
“I saw how the fire fae used you, Zali, as if you were nothing. Chattel to be bartered. Manipulated. Imprisoned and controlled. Jealousy stopped me from pitying you when you experienced the same treatment in Coridon. But your ancestor married the great Zareen. Her blood flows in your veins, and yet Azarn has no respect for that. No respect for you, even though your magical bloodline demands it. And I finally realized he only cared about what I could do to help him build power and wealth. I meant nothing to him. I never had.”
“I understand. Men like Azarn will always underestimate us, but if we unite and stand together, we can wrest the power back from them. Will you help me, Esen? If you do, I’ll give you a position you deserve. A high counselor to the Queen of Mydorian perhaps. And if that role doesn’t suit you, then I’ll find another that does.”
For the longest time, she said nothing, but at least her crying had ceased. The rain continued to pelt down, our clothes hanging like wet sacks, stuck to our bodies.
Finally, Esen smiled. “I want to be your ally. I really do. But more than anything, Zali, I want to be your friend.”
With a gust of delighted laughter, I lurched forward and wrapped my arms around her stiff frame, hugging her tightly. She bore the affection for the span of a few heartbeats, then wriggled out of my arms.
“We must go,” Esen said. “I need to find Arrow and beg his forgiveness. Enlist his help as best I can while Melaya’s magic ties my tongue in knots.”
As we trekked up the mountainside, I pondered her words, a new-found hope brimming in my heart. If Esen planned to seek Arrow’s help, then she must believe that his cozying up to the Fire King since he’d arrived in Taln was just act. Nothing more.
“Tell me the truth,” I said as we neared the fire moat. “Did Arrow betray me? Or did Azarn trick me into believing so?”
Blue hair curtained her face as she shook her head. “I can’t speak about that. Melaya has cursed my speech so that I can’t disclose Sun Realm plans that directly concern Arrow. Even if there was a way to break the spell and tell you, it would be the end of me. A long and painful end. But I advise you to think carefully about what I did tell you and everything you’ve seen since your capture.”
“I will,” I said, my heart turning somersaults against my ribs, because her words almost seemed to confirm that Arrow was on my side.
Giddy with hope, I grinned at Esen as we rounded the south wall, then climbed the steps into the main foyer of the palace. “Your magic, storm and fire combined, must be incredible when unleashed.”
“One day, I’ll show you.” She flashed a smile. “I’m no match for Melaya… but I will be quite the asset in Mydorian. Azarn’s soldiers have a training session I must attend. Go now and spend time with the royal family. Appear meek and mild—if you have it in you—and watch everything like a sea hawk.”
Hurrying through the palace, I wondered who else knew about Esen’s astonishing revelation. Did Arrow or Raiden realize that she’d been born a fire fae— here —at Taln?
Esen and I were so similar. Our memories and pasts had been wiped, stolen from us by Azarn and Quin, who had used us for their own twisted means, and when we’d served our purposes, discarded us like foul-smelling shit they had trodden in.
United, we would make men like them pay. Together, we could fuck them up and make them sorry they had ever underestimated us.
For the first time since arriving in Taln, I felt a weight lift off my shoulders.
Now, I had Esen as a friend and ally.
And possibly Arrow, too.
The part of me still hopelessly, foolishly in love with him was busy swooning and performing a victory dance inside my head as I headed toward the Great Hall, hoping to find Azarn and his family on the dais, eating lunch.
As I marched along the shape-shifting passages, I kept my gaze fixed ahead, away from the endless mirrors lining the walls. Today, their dark surfaces reflected images of horned fire fae that spat a tar-like substance at anyone who made the mistake of glancing at them.
Disorientated and doubting my ability to locate the hall, I rounded a corner and came across Ruhh hovering like a ghoul at my eye level.
“Shit,” I said wittily, leaping backward to stop myself passing through her translucent body, which I’d learned from experience was a terrible feeling for both of us. “Could you please stop being such a… a ghost and scaring the life out of me at inconvenient times?”
“Wish I could,” she replied, her raspy laugh raising hairs along my spine. “How have you been occupying yourself this morning, human who was unable to achieve the simple mission of killing her ex-lover?”
“Simple? Ruhh, I tried to kill Arrow. Twice . The other night, I made it into his bedchamber, but he knew I was there the second I entered. And why didn’t you tell me that fae can only be killed by a knife to the heart, not the chest, or throat, or the dust-damned stomach.”
“That isn’t true of all fae—only the kings and queens.”
“Okay. That’s confusing but useful information. Where’s your family?” I asked. “Since I’m soon to marry your nephew, I should probably get to know them better.”
“Eating lunch in the fire conservatory. I will kindly show you the way.”
I dipped a mock bow. “Oh, yes, you’re a translucent beacon of benevolence.”
“ Indeed I am kind today. Not that you deserve such courtesy. Fortunately for you, your motivations interest me. I’ll take you to the conservatory via the route that passes by the stables so you may see Luna briefly. Since the mergelyn anklet has given you freedom to move about the city, I’ve watched you visit your horse, and I like it best when you ride her through the fire gardens. I keep hoping she might stumble onto a geyser.”
I rolled my eyes. “Charming.”
“I do my best,” she said with a grin, before zooming along the corridor, forcing me to sprint after her like we were children playing a game of tag.