Chapter 42
C HAPTER 42
LOR
S eeing Atlas again is a shock to my system. I wasn’t prepared for this onslaught of emotion. Nadir wraps an arm around my neck and drags me close, speaking against my temple.
“You okay?”
“Yeah,” I say. “I think so.”
Atlas used me and abused me, but I am at the bottom of the very long list of his victims. While I could hold on to my anger, I also want to step aside and make room for those he lied to for a century. For those whose lives he’s affected in unalterable ways.
Whatever my personal grievances, they’re nothing compared to what Gabriel, Tyr, and the other warders had to endure. The pain is written into their faces, etched into the haunted look in their eyes.
Atlas spared only a glance for me. I never mattered to him anyway, and knowing that doesn’t hurt as much as it might have once.
He’s yelling at Gabriel now. Pleading for mercy and for himself, but I don’t know how he can stand there and look anyone in the eye.
He’s dragged away into the palace as thunder booms overhead and the rain starts to fall in thick sheets. Now that the show is over, everyone scatters. We make a break for the palace, where we find Gabriel standing with some of his brothers, all of them murmuring soft words to each other.
Gabriel leans against the wall, pressing his arm to the surface and then dropping his forehead. We all watch him as he drags in several long breaths. Hylene walks over and runs a hand down his back, stretching onto her tiptoes to whisper something in his ear.
I exchange a curious glance with Nadir. Seems these two have gotten close.
Suddenly, he looks up, and his gaze finds me.
“You want answers from Atlas?” he asks, and I nod. “Then come.”
He doesn’t wait for my response before he pushes off the wall and stalks down the hallway, his footsteps ringing in the silence. I look at Nadir, who nods, and then I take off after Gabriel, running to catch up.
His gaze remains forward as we march through the halls. I resist the urge to fill the silence for once, sensing he needs me to shut up.
We finally approach a wide archway and then enter through a set of fortified doors flanked by six guards wearing the livery of Aphelion. They both acknowledge Gabriel as he yanks on one of the handles before we head down the spiraling stone staircase.
Fire-lit torches guide us down through the gloom and into the dungeon, where I enjoyed a brief stay myself. Many of the cell doors stand open, and Gabriel catches my stare.
“Low fae broke into the palace and released their friends and family from the cells during the riots,” he tells me.
“Good,” I say. “That’s good.”
“Yeah,” Gabriel agrees as we proceed past more guards and to the end, where four warders flank the locked door of a cell. They greet Gabriel and then bow to me, their eyebrows climbing.
“Aren’t you the Final Tribute?” one of them asks, eyeing me up and down. I remember his name was Rhyle.
“She’s the Heart Queen,” Gabriel says. “Show her the proper respect.”
I glare at Gabriel. Some might argue the Heart Queen deserves little from Ouranos, but he’s giving me a look that suggests maybe he’s a little proud.
Rhyle stutters and then bends at the waist. “I’m sorry, Your Majesty,” he says, standing back up. “If it’s not impertinent to ask, then what were you doing in the Trials?”
“That’s what I’m hoping to find out,” I answer, gesturing to the bars. He and the other warders step out of the way, revealing Atlas kneeling in his cell .
I approach and wrap my hands around the cool iron, pressing my face close.
“Atlas,” I say softly as he ignores me. “Why?”
The word hangs in the air, waiting.
Slowly, Atlas lifts his head. He scans me from head to toe, his eyes narrowed with suspicion. There was a moment when I thought he felt something for me, and when I thought I felt something for him.
“Because I was destined for more,” he says. There is no arrogance in his tone—only a statement of fact that proves just how deluded he is.
“How did you trick the Mirror?” Gabriel asks. “How were you getting away with this?”
Atlas cocks his head and stares at Gabriel. “I am the most gifted illusionist to ever grace this kingdom, Gabe. It wasn’t hard.”
Gabriel lets out a long breath, and I can’t believe what I’m hearing.
Did the Mirror not know?
“Did you know?” I ask Gabriel.
“I suspected,” he answers. “It was the only thing that made sense.”
“That’s why you kept it covered,” I say. “Just in case.”
“And never stepped in front of it when anyone else was in the room,” Gabriel adds. “It took me a long time to notice it, but once I did, it became so obvious.”
I think back to the times I was in the throne room with Atlas. The day I arrived here when I found out about the Trials, Atlas had sat at the front of the room, out of sight of the Mirror. And at the end when I’d lost my shit, he’d told Gabriel to bring me to the Mirror. He didn’t do it himself.
“Wow,” I say because while it’s awful, I’m almost impressed. “That’s one hell of a cover-up.”
Atlas glares at us both.
“Proud of yourselves?” he asks. “Now that you’ve figured it out, can you leave me alone?”
“No,” I say. “I want answers. What did you want from me?”
I think I understand though. After discovering he was never the true king, it all became much clearer, but I need to hear him say it.
He narrows his gaze. “I was going to be powerful beyond measure,” he says. “She was going to help me.”
It takes me a moment to put it together but of course.
Cloris. I’m so glad I fried her.
“How?” I ask.
He rolls his neck and shoulders, jostling the glowing blue ring surrounding his throat. “There was a magical object that would help reverse the Mirror’s decision and allow me to bond with you.”
“But you weren’t the king, and you could have bonded to her at any point,” Gabriel says, and the heat of Atlas’s glare is enough to melt the bars around him.
“And what good would that have done? Everyone had to see the Mirror choose her.”
I shake my head.
“Cloris lied to you,” I say. “The magical object is an ark, and I doubt it can do what she told you. She was using you from the very beginning. She never had any intention of helping you. ”
“Why would I believe that?” Atlas asks.
“Why would you believe her ? She wanted to use my magic to find the ark for Zerra.”
That causes his eyebrows to pinch together.
“Zerra?”
“Yeah,” I say.
“I don’t understand.”
“No. I wouldn’t expect so,” I reply.
“So explain it to me.”
I look over at Gabriel and then back at Atlas. “I don’t think there’s much point in that anymore.”
“Why not?” Atlas asks, and then he looks at Gabriel, and whatever he sees in his face makes something crumple out of him. I realize then that Atlas really thought he’d talk his way out of all this, but Gabriel must follow through for his kingdom and its people.
Gabriel stares at Atlas, and I watch as a silent message passes between them. I can’t imagine the oceans of hurt and unspoken words conveyed in that look.
“How did you break out of here?” Gabriel asks. “How did you kill Drex and Syran?”
A gleeful light sparks in Atlas’s eyes. “You think you know me so well, don’t you?”
“What the fuck does that mean?” Gabriel growls as he wraps his hand around a bar, his knuckles turning white.
“It means you’ve never understood everything I’m capable of. No one has.” Gabriel just stares at him, clearly at a loss for words. “Besides, I still have some friends left in Aphelion. Not everyone thinks the way you do. ”
Gabriel rotates his shoulders. “I suppose you won’t give me names?”
Atlas doesn’t respond. He glares at all of us, his jaw hard.
Gabriel leans in closer. “Why the low fae, Atlas? Why did you do any of it?”
Atlas’s eyes turn flat, the corners of his mouth turning down. He waits on his knees, his hands pinned behind his back, the shine of the once golden sun king tarnished to rust.
“You won’t answer that either?” Gabriel says.
Atlas watches Gabriel, his face unreadable. And all I see before me is a prince who tried to take what didn’t belong to him. He used everyone around him, including me, but in the end, he will not be the victor.
It’s in that moment that I choose to forgive him. Not for his sake, but for mine. I will no longer live with this in my heart.
After we leave for the settlements tomorrow, I will never think of him again.
I look up at Gabriel, who’s still watching Atlas, then he drags in a very long breath and says, “Very well. Then for committing treason, for impersonating the king, for killing two of the king’s warders, you are found guilty. As per the laws of Aphelion, you will be executed for your crimes against the true Sun King and everyone in this kingdom.”
He pauses as Atlas’s face drains of color.
“And though no one can technically punish you for it, for crimes against the low fae as well.”
Atlas’s entire body jerks like Gabriel slapped him across the face.
“Gabe,” he hisses, finding his tongue again .
“Don’t bother, Atlas. After your execution, my brothers and I will be released from our duties as warders. We will no longer be slaves to Aphelion or to you.”
“What?!” Atlas says. “You can’t do that!”
Though I can see the slight tremble in Gabriel’s limbs, he lifts his head high and holds his shoulders straight, his game face on.
“This is the last time we’ll ever speak,” he says. “Goodbye, Atlas.”
He then looks at his brothers and bows to each of them. Spinning on his heel, Gabriel stalks away to the sounds of Atlas shouting after him.
I run, catching up with Gabriel. Turning around one last time, I see the warders embracing one another, their faces pressed to each other’s shoulders.
Soon, Aphelion can begin to heal.