Chapter 12 #2
“Yes, for the fifth time, I’m fine. The dryads had me patched up within the hour,” Alastor says with a sigh.
He’s annoyed with himself for succumbing to my grandfather’s magic, but it took Ana intervening for Fairon and me to escape it too, so he shouldn’t blame himself.
And he certainly shouldn’t be snippy with Ana.
I’m about to point out it was her work that saved him from Respen in the first place when I catch her eye, and she gives a little shake of the head.
“Leave it,” she says gently into my mind.
“He should know who brought Respen to his knees yesterday. Most of them haven’t worked it out yet.”
“And I’m fine with that. I mean…I don’t know if I want to explain it just yet.”
I nod, accepting her request. But still, I wonder. I felt her magic through the mooring when my grandfather fell. I knew it was her doing, I just wasn’t exactly sure how.
It was later she explained she’d worked out how to dim a celestial flame rather than rejuvenate it.
It makes sense—two sides of the same coin.
However, the power suddenly coming to her in that moment caught her off guard, and even after I promised we’d figure out her new capabilities together, I can tell that it disturbed her.
I let it lie for now, confident she’ll open up to me when she’s ready.
As the line of nobles starts to dwindle, I get increasingly impatient for it all to end so Ana can get to work fulfilling her promise from earlier. But it seems my brother has other ideas. Captain Odaire appears at my elbow.
“His Majesty would like you to come with me.” He looks over to Ana. “Both of you, if you’d be so kind, Your Highnesses. There’s something he wants to show you.”
We follow Odaire out of the throne room, toward the king’s quarters. I suppose this is how it’s going to be now Fairon is king. Instead of pulling us aside himself for a quick chat, he has to delegate.
Odaire takes us along a corridor I don’t think I’ve ever been down before. My grandfather never liked us wandering his wing without his supervision. Even as children, his security officers knew to send us on our way if our games took us too far into his private part of the palace.
“What’s wrong?” Ana asks, sensing my confusion.
“I’m trying to work out what’s different,” I say out loud, frowning.
“It’s the flowers,” Odaire answers without turning. “His Majesty had them taken out yesterday. It was one of his first orders.”
That’s it. The place looks so normal I couldn’t put my finger on it, but almost every trace of my grandfather’s deadly blooms is gone. Only the faint scent of their perfume lingering in the air gives any sign they were ever here.
“Good riddance,” Ana murmurs.
“Quite, Your Highness,” Odaire agrees, taking us toward a set of tall doors made of dark wood.
They have a pair of spears carved into them along with thick iron studs.
They look like they’d lead to a war room.
To my surprise, Odaire doesn’t take us through them.
Instead, he makes a sharp left turn beside a statue of Lusteris: goddess of the moon and Ralus’s queen.
The captain presses a link on the anklet around the goddess’s foot, and a section of the wall springs open.
“Please wait just inside, Your Highnesses, but go no further. The king will be with you shortly.”
So Fairon isn’t willing to delegate everything.
We move inside, where we’re met with a long, dark curtain hanging about five feet from the door. I’ve no doubt there’s something behind it.
“Well, this is mysterious,” Ana says, tapping her foot lightly as we wait.
We don’t have to stand there long before Fairon joins us. It’s almost insulting how at home he looks in his long cloak and crown, even squashed into this secret room with us.
“Sorry, I just had to finish up with some baron from Scletera—he wanted to talk fruit taxes with me.”
“Welcome to being king, brother,” I smirk.
“If fruit taxes were all I had to worry about for the rest of my days, I’d be glad,” Fairon says. “As it is, we’ve got things like this to contend with.”
He pulls back the curtain to reveal a glass box.
Inside is a jagged black stone the size of a cart wheel.
But it’s not only black. When I take a step closer, I see the opalescence running through it and the silvery glow emanating from its surface.
It looks like the gaidonesti in Starfall, only darker. It’s somehow…malevolent.
My soul recoils just looking at it.
“The star,” Ana gasps. “Respen didn’t destroy it?”
“No,” Fairon says grimly. “He didn’t.”
“How did you know it was here?” I ask.
“Hours after Grandfather’s death, Velrir came to me. I suspect he wants to prove himself now that his old protector is dead and disgraced.”
“But he hates us,” I say, confused.
“No, he hates you,” Fairon corrects. “I’m the man who can help him keep his job, if he’s useful to me.”
I want to ask Fairon if he really thinks that’s a good idea, but I’m distracted by Ana taking a step closer toward the box and lifting her hand.
“Careful,” I say, pulling her back. “That thing’s toxic.”
“I didn’t forget,” she says, looking from me to Fairon. “But I can’t feel anything coming off it, not like the dryads’ gaidonesti. The power of those stars was obvious. Or…” She squints. “Maybe I do feel something, but it’s very faint.”
“Don’t worry,” Fairon says. “You’d have to actually touch it to get sick. That’s what the box is for. It’s lined with dimane—see?” He points to the base of the glass case. “It’s blocking most of the star’s power.”
“But why would Respen keep it?” Ana asks.
“That’s easy,” I answer bitterly. “He couldn’t resist anything that promised him more power. Even cursed power like this. He didn’t need to know how he’d use it exactly to be sure he wanted to keep it.”
“Power for power’s sake,” Ana says with a shake of her head. “That sounds like Caledon.”
“Yes, and no,” says Fairon. “Our grandfather may not have had many redeeming qualities, but at least his motivations weren’t selfish. His goal was to strengthen and enrich Filusia, rather than him personally. He just often felt that one followed the other.”
“And Caledon only cares about himself,” Ana finishes his thought. “The Temple is just a tool to lift him up.”
“Precisely,” says Fairon. “Which is why I’ll do what my grandfather wouldn’t, Morgana. As Filusia’s king, I pledge my support to you. You’ll have Filusia as an ally in your fight against Marek Caledon.”
“Really?” Ana exhales. “I know it’s not a small decision. It might mean war for the fae.”
“It most likely will mean war,” Fairon says calmly. “But Filusia came to Trova’s aid against the Ethirans once before, and we’ll do it again. It’s what’s best for all three nations.”
“Thank you,” Ana says, stepping forward to clasp Fairon’s hand. “Thank you.”
“Well, I know I’d never hear the end of it from Leonidas otherwise,” Fairon says, smiling with just a hint of mischief.
“And the star?” I ask, staring at the box. “What will you do with it?”
“Nothing, for now,” Fairon says. “Eventually, I’d like to ask Proctor Gallis and some of her mages to look at it.
Then maybe we can find a cure to help people if a stone like it ever falls again.
Morgana cured me, but only because of her rare abilities.
It would be better to have options aside from relying on her. ”
“You said eventually,” Ana prompts, a question in her voice.
“Yes, because right now I need to focus on bringing some stability back to the kingdom. I may have been coronated this morning, but now I have to hold onto my crown.”
Ana meets my gaze, and I don’t need the mooring to tell the direction of her thoughts.
While Fairon’s focusing on his kingdom, it’s time we get back to hers.