Chapter 38
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
ASTER
M organa had been shown her sleeping compartment shortly after Erynna arrived in her carriage. It was two cars behind mine, and no matter how many times I walked by the door, it remained closed. Latched shut, in fact.
It wasn’t as if I tried to open it. No, that would be a complete invasion of privacy. Perhaps I laid a hand on the copper handle, just harsh enough to feel the lock ache against the force, but not hard enough to make a commotion.
I’d never do such a thing.
Retreating into the lounge car, I found Erynna sitting on a plush loveseat with a cup of tea. I took a seat across from her, my gaze chasing after the horizon that raced after the train. It took only moments to adjust to the justling carts against the railways, and before long, it’d maybe even be relaxing.
“Atlas is journeying to Vespera’s borders while we are away,” she said beneath her breath. “On official business.”
“What business does he have that excludes the crown?” I asked.
She turned to me, an unimpressed frown carved onto her lips as she shrugged. “What business does he ever care to share with the crown? The crown is incapacitated on their deathbed, Aster. As far as our cousin is concerned, there is no crown.”
The truth behind that statement was foreboding.
She shifted in her seat and set the tea cup on the table between us, hands folding over her lap as she took a long sigh. “Aster, we were all sent to the same school to train. We know what comes next following our father’s death.”
“A brighter future?” I mused sardonically.
“Perhaps,” she all but hissed with a narrowed glare. “But we know our traditions. The sacrifices made to symbolize such a thing… the future. You understand what you will be forced into upon your coronation.”
I cursed beneath my breath and turned my head away. “Yes, sister. Thank you for reminding me of our outdated, barbaric traditions. What of it?”
“It isn’t safe for her.”
I stilled.
“And Atlas will do everything he can to ruin that day. To make it a bigger bloodshed than it already is.”
“Do you have any suggestions?” I asked with a bite in my tone, twisting to face her head on. Why she decided to bring up such a dark, ceremonial event when we were crammed on a train for three days, I’d never know. Perhaps because there was nowhere to go unless I became one with the shadows. In fact, the corner of our train cart seemed entirely too tempting. “I would imagine you recall just as well as I do that I have little choice in the matter. Our magic will all but possess me upon his death. It yearns for this generational… generational massacre. ”
“Well, if I’m being frank, there are only two options. You let her go knowing that she will die a gruesome death when her own magic eventually murders her because she never learned how to tame it, or you continue to train her and tell her the truth. Something you’re doing a terrible job at.”
“And you’re doing such a great job at it. You’ve hardly spoken to her since Atlas showed up.”
“Who else is going to corral him into meaningless tasks so he doesn’t torment you and our esteemed prisoner? ”
The final word was a taunt on her tongue. We both knew Morgana was hardly a prisoner. If anything, it was a title that was enough of a threat to keep her near. Prisoners were killed for escaping their confinements.
Guests were not.
“She needs a friend,” I muttered. “A real one, Erynna. I fear she will go mad without it.”
“And who is to say that cannot be me?” A pause, and for a moment something lightened in her gaze, but she frowned. “Though, I do not think she’d care to befriend her captor’s sister. Should we return in one piece, do you think you’d trust her with a bit of earned freedom?”
My face relaxed. Trust was something I couldn’t fathom. There were even times when I distrusted Erynna—and she’d done nothing to wrong me. When someone was raised to accept the bloodiest birthright known to the six kingdoms, trust was a luxury they didn’t have.
“Perhaps,” I said quietly. “It may be time.”
“Then we must do everything in our power to show her a reason to return after tasting freedom again.” Erynna grabbed her tea cup and took a long sip, her eyes glittering. My sister was not empathetic, she was not warm and kind—she was calculated. But when regarding Morgana, she almost sparkled.
Only as bright as a dirty diamond, mind you. But she was a Sinclair.
We were not jewels. We were a bad omen.
An omen that had found the one and only shadow-wielding treasure in all the lands.