Twenty Five
Thea stayed with Adrian and me for a while as the three of us tried to devise a plan to get me out of Sorin’s clutches. When we weren’t able to come up with a solution, she broke down in tears.
“This is all my fault.” She sobbed. “I shouldn’t have brought Emelin to Aubrielle.”
Adrian held her while she cried. “It’s not your fault. I asked you to take her away from the border, and you did.”
“I made the wrong call,” she lamented through the tears.
I stood nearby in silence, trying not to show how shocked I was by her outburst. It was as if she genuinely cared about me. Even if she did, she had betrayed my trust. Besides, could she truly care about me if she had been actively working against my kingdom?
“How did Sorin know we were going to be on the border?” I asked in a detached voice.
A strange numbness had descended upon me. It was as if I were trapped in a giant hourglass, slowly drowning in the sand as my time was running out.
Adrian and Thea exchanged a look.
“It was Tom, wasn’t it?” I ventured a guess. The conclusion wasn’t difficult to draw, given his open hostility toward me from the time we had first met.
“When we arrived at the border,” Adrian said thickly, “Tom used his magic to send a note to the king. Sorin already had archers stationed in the woods.”
At the mention of the archers, my heart twisted as I thought about my father.
“Tom is not evil,” Thea said, wiping away her tears. “But he is loyal to the crown. Loyal to a fault.”
“You all are,” I said, even though I felt like a hypocrite. Would I not have done the same thing if the situation were reversed? I wouldn’t have, I decided after a moment of introspection. I would have found another way. And so would have my father.
“I’m going to check with Tom to see if there has been any word on Lady May,” Thea said, seemingly having regained her composure. “What are we going to do?” she repeated the same question she had asked Adrian when she had first shown up at his room.
“Pray for a miracle,” he replied, and the feeling of numbness that had taken over me intensified.
Thea’s chin trembled as if she were on the verge of tears again.
She kept it together as she turned and looked at me.
She wanted to say something, but a heartbeat later decided against it.
I was glad she had because I didn’t have it in me to show grace and be kind.
With one last desperate look at Adrian, she slipped through the door.
Pray for a miracle. I lifted my eyes to the decorative ceiling. “Do faeries also pray to the Stars?”
“We do. Like yours, our magic comes from the Stars.” He sounded hoarse, as if it were difficult for him to get the words out.
I lowered my gaze to his. “You also speak Stellian—the language of the Stars.”
“We do. Though here, it’s known as the Fae language.”
“Our people coexisted in peace before the war. It only makes sense that we used to speak the same language,” I mused aloud.
“Is this really what you want to be discussing right now? How are you so calm?”
“Because there is nothing we can do,” I whispered the words, but they sounded deafening. They ricocheted off the walls, lashing at me with their finality.
“Emelin,” Adrian’s voice broke as his eyes filled with anguish. When he stepped closer to me, I didn’t back away. A part of me wanted to find comfort in his arms for the short time that we had left together. “I—” He reached for me, but before he could touch me, I grabbed his hand.
“Your hand has healed.” I ran my thumb down the thin, shimmery trail of dried blood on his palm, feeling smooth skin where he had made the cut to seal the blood oath.
“We, the Fae, heal quickly,” he explained.
“Extraordinary healing abilities, heightened sense of hearing…and smell.” I recalled how Thea and Tom had known that Adrian and I had spent the night together.
They must have smelled him on me, and me on him.
I swallowed, trying not to open the box with the memories of what he and I had shared.
“Impossible strength,” I added, remembering how Sorin had lifted Adrian off the ground as if he were nothing more than a helpless pup.
“My people don’t stand a chance,” I whispered the terrifying realization before I uttered fiercely, “you have to kill me.”
“What?!” His eyes widened in shock.
“Sorin needs me alive to bring down the wards.”
“It’s only a matter of time before they are down, with or without you.”
“I refuse to expedite my kingdom’s demise!”
“You can’t possibly ask that of me!” He wrested his hand away.
I opened my mouth to tell him that if he wouldn’t help, then I would find a way to do it myself but stopped when the air beside him became distorted.
Ripples of soft, shimmering light rolled up and down that section of the room until Lady May appeared in that spot a moment later. Her gaze immediately zeroed in on me.
“I’m getting you out of here,” she said urgently as her arm shot out in my direction.
“No!” I stepped out of her reach.
My wide-eyed gaze darted to Adrian who looked relieved to see the Sorceress.
“Please, Emelin,” he said, his eyes pleading. “Go with Lady May. She will take you to safety.”
“Safety?!” I scoffed. “Like Thea took me to safety?!”
“We don’t have time for this!” the Sorceress hissed.
“Why would you help me?! You’ve been working against Emeraldia!”
“It’s complicated. I’m not doing this for you, but for him.” She jerked her head toward Adrian. “We must go. Now.”
A gut feeling was telling me to go with her, but something was holding me back.
“What about the blood oath?” I asked Adrian. “If you let me escape, you will die.”
His face lit up at my words because they were a confirmation that I still cared about what happened to him. One side of his mouth turned up. “I’m not letting you escape. I’m making you escape.”
“A loophole? Even if it works… If the oath doesn’t kill you, the king will!” I argued.
His features hardened with determination as he looked at Lady May. “Get her out of here!”
“Adrian—ow!” I yelped when Lady May’s fingers dug into my arm.
My gaze locked with Adrian’s once more as I waited for the Sorceress to transport me out of his quarters.
This might be the last time I see him. My heart lurched in my chest. Even after everything that had transpired, I felt crestfallen.
“You are my North Star,” Adrian whispered with a wistful smile.
I squeezed my eyes shut to fend off tears as I waited for the pull of Lady May’s magic on my body. The pins and needles sensation never came.
“We are too late,” the Sorceress said, releasing my arm. “The king knows I’m here.”
I opened my eyes at the same time Sorin strode into the room.
“So nice of you to finally join us, Augusta,” he greeted her. “And what perfect timing, too.” He looked at me. “Your father is here.”
“My father?!”
The king only smirked before he turned and walked out. “Escort them to the throne room,” he commanded Killian on his way out.
The guard looked conflicted for a brief second before he schooled his features.
Adrian and I exchanged a glance. A tormented expression had returned to his face because I hadn’t managed to escape.
Resignation rolled off him as he stepped into the hallway.
Lady May and I followed, and under Killian’s watchful eye, we began our trek to the throne room.
My mind raced as my gaze fastened on Sorin walking ahead of us.
Why was my father here? Had he come to negotiate?
Could the Fae king even be negotiated with?
My father wouldn’t have come unless he had a plan.
Hope sparked in my chest at the thought.
When we entered the throne room, the King of Emeraldia was standing by the foot of the dais.
He was dressed in different clothes from the ones he had worn earlier, and his right arm was in a sling.
He must have taken only as much time as was necessary to get cleaned up and get the wound treated before he had rushed to my rescue. How had he known where to find me?
The crown of gold leaves gleamed when he turned his head to look at me. Relief washed over his face, but the expression was swiftly replaced by one of defeat. I realized with a sinking heart that he may not have a plan either.
“Emelin, are you all right?” my father asked as our little group approached the dais.
I nodded, quickly appraising his taut features to see if I could glean anything from them.
His complexion was pallid due to blood loss and the gravity of our situation.
I searched for a spark in his eyes that would let me know that he had a plan to get us out of here.
When all I found was despair, my chest constricted, making it difficult to breathe.
“Princess,” Sorin said, drawing my attention to him. “You should be elated to learn that you won’t have to choose between your lover and your kingdom.” My heart sank lower at his words. “Your father has agreed to bring down the wards in exchange for your life.”
The outer edges of my vision dimmed as panic flooded me. “It’s not true, is it?” I looked at my father. “Father, you can’t!”
“I can and I will,” he said firmly.
I couldn’t believe that he was willing to put Emeraldia on the line in exchange for my life. I was going to be sick.
“There is no need to delay it,” Sorin said, excitement lacing every word. “Lady May will perform the spell that will render the wards obsolete.”
The Sorceress’s face was unreadable when everyone looked at her. “A blood exchange is required for the spell,” she declared flatly, her voice not betraying any emotion. “Much like a blood oath.”
Sorin withdrew the dagger he and Adrian had used earlier.
I didn’t know how to wield a weapon, but in this moment, I was desperate enough to snatch the blade out of the king’s hand and thrust it in his throat to end this madness.
Or I could use it to end my own life. Then, my father wouldn’t have to forfeit Emeraldia to save me.
As if sensing my intent, Adrian moved closer to me, poised to stop me if I lashed out.