Chapter 98
CHAPTER 98
Farron
C oppershire is beautiful at dusk. I walk through the grand living quarters of Keep Oakheart. Has it ever looked so lovely, drenched in dying sunlight? A warmth fills my chest, an almost drunken sense of peace.
My father sits on the couch, laughing with the twins. They wave to me as I walk past. Nori lounges in a chair nearby, legs stretched over the armrest as she flips through a book. She glances up at me as I pass and graces me with one of her rare smiles.
My family. My beautiful family that has stood by me throughout fire and ash.
The glass doors to the balcony are open, letting in the warm Autumn breeze. It smells of a rich harvest, my realm bountiful and prosperous. Kel and Ezryn lean on the wall beside the open doors, deep in conversation. Kel looks resplendent in the brilliant blue robes of Winter, his brow adorned with a sapphire circlet. Ezryn wears armor of starlight silver, his helm shining in the fading light. Both of them nod their heads toward me. My chest thrums with the strength of our brotherhood.
Two figures walk in from the balcony, their laughter a joyous sound. Dayton has his arm around Rosalina’s shoulders, and she places a hand on his chest. When they see me, their eyes crinkle and smiles break across their faces. My heart swells. They are both so beautiful, backlit by the sun.
Rosalina strokes a hand along my arm as I walk past her onto the balcony. I stride to the railing and look out at the city. My citizens are busy in the streets, pulling carts of Autumn’s bounty and selling handcrafted wares. Each one of them is under my protection. They are my responsibility to keep safe.
“Is this not everything you’ve ever wanted?” a familiar voice asks.
I turn to see my mother standing beside me. Princess Niamh looks as elegant as ever, dressed in shining bronze armor with a golden thread woven through her braid. “Mother.”
She takes my hand and kisses it, her smile so warm. “Your family safe. Your friends happy. Your realm thriving. You, surrounded by those you love. Is this what you want?”
“Of course it is.” I run a hand along her cheek. “How are you here?”
“I came to show you the threads of destiny, clove.” She puts a hand on my back and guides me to look into the living quarters. Everyone I love is in there.
“What would you do to protect those you love?” my mother breathes.
“Anything.”
She stares at me. “What would you give?”
“Everything.”
She smiles, then lurches backward. Her skin starts to turn ashen, crumbling away like dust to reveal bone beneath. Dark circles turn her eyes to pits. She looks down at a hole in her armor, revealing a wound in her stomach, a gaping thing that drips blood all over the ground. “Will you stop what happened to me from happening to them?”
“Mother!” I cry, then turn to look into the living quarters.
They’re gone … replaced with a shadowy, ashen mockery of what had been my home. “Rosie!” I scream, running inside. “Father!”
It looks as if a fire has ripped through the keep, turning the furniture to piles of dust. The couch where my father sat with Billy and Dom … Now, there are three smiling skeletons. I fall to my knees, throwing up a plume of ash, and crawl over to them. “No! No, not my brothers!”
On the couch where Nori lounged, a skeleton has its legs up on the armrest, the burned pages of a book catching in its ribs. A guttural cry escapes me, and I spin.
Two skeletons lean against the wall near the balcony, one in tattered robes that may have once been blue, the other in charred armor. The bottom of the helm is seared off, revealing a jaw hanging on only by one hinge.
My heart feels like it will rip out of my chest. “Rosie. Day.”
There, by the doorway to the balcony, are two skeletons clutched in an embrace, their mouths agape in a forever scream.
Numbness takes over my body. I waver on my knees, feeling as if I may black out. Hoping against all hope I will.
My mother’s voice cuts through the shock: “I can give you the power to save them. To keep them with you forever.”
Slowly, I look up. But it’s not my mother standing above me. It’s a man. He looks almost-fae, but his ears are too long, a sense of strangeness to his features. Long, pale white hair falls to his hips, but he has a kind smile. My mother’s smile, I think distantly.
“Who are you?” I ask, voice weak.
“A friend,” the man says. “I want to help you.”
“How can I trust you?”
He kneels down and takes my head in his hands. His touch is the only thing keeping me upright, my whole body dizzy and numb.
“What would you do to save them?” he asks.
“Anything.”
“What would you give?”
I meet his milky-white gaze and intake a sharp breath. My heart pounds a strong rhythm within my ribs. “Everything.”
He stands. There’s something cunning in his gaze, a knowing I can’t help but admire. “Then trust in that.”
He steps back, and I reach for him. “Wait—”
A smile crosses his clever mouth. He keeps walking backward. “Anything! Everything! That’s it, Farron, Autumn-blood!”
My vision blurs with each of his steps, the ashen remains of Keep Oakheart drifting away to pure darkness. Suddenly, the only thing that remains is a pool glowing with green light as if lit from the depths itself and … and him.
The man floats above the water, arms outstretched to me. “Step into the pool, Farron, Autumn-blood. I shall give you the power you seek.”
I blink. The water is so close, I can feel its pull like the moon to the tides. “And what will I give in return?”
The man smiles. “Anything. Everything.”
Shakily, I get to my feet and stare into the deepness of the pool. The power to save them …
My mother didn’t need to die. I don’t need to live in fear every day that someone will take Dayton or Rosalina from me. I could keep them safe forever …
“Farron!” Someone screams my name.
The man above the water looks past me, face turning into a sneer. “Come into the water now, Farron, Autumn-blood.”
“Farron,” the other voice says again. “Listen to me. You are not alone.”
“The water knows,” the floating man says.
I tilt forward, peering into its depths. He’s right. The water does know. Within are the answers I seek.
Fate decided by one step: either back to the voice, or forward into the pool.
“Farron, I’m right here with you,” the voice says. “You can fight this.”
He’s right. I must fight this. Must fight death.
I know the step I must take to decide my fate.