Chapter 52 Serena
SERENA
Still mortified from Zadyn witnessing my sex dream, I skip breakfast.
I can’t believe I showed him.
Yes, that was rather brazen. Furi’s voice makes me jump.
Woah. You should really knock if you’re going to pop in unannounced and eavesdrop on my inner dialogue like that.
He didn’t seem to mind, though, she muses. Quite the opposite, in fact.
We are not. Discussing this.
Why not? He’s rather handsome. For a measly fae, of course.
That is really not the point.
And you’re well—you—
Thanks? I think.
You both clearly enjoyed yourselves up against that building in Aeix. Such urges are only natural.
What circle of hell is this?
Please excuse me.
Where are you going?
To drink bleach.
I find the library empty. Plopping down in front of the fireplace, I begin to sift through the grimoire’s ancient pages, basking in the warmth and solitude until my neck is stiff from reading.
I stretch my arms above my head, flexing through my fingertips and toes.
The book slides from my lap before I can catch it.
“Shit,” I mutter, bending to pick it up.
A folded piece of paper slips from the back cover. I pause to read it.
My dearest love,
I am so sorry. If you are reading this, then I am dead. Our star still burns bright. Two halves of a whole will always find each other. You know what you must do. Guard it with your heart and with your life. Together, you hold the key.
Find me in the After. I will be here waiting.
Yours forever,
Arden
A love letter. From Arden.
To who?
I comb through the records section, eventually coming across what I’m looking for. The witches and their lineage.
I locate Arden’s name on the parchment and follow the dash across the page to her mate’s name.
Garron…Garron Barlowe Triori.
Arden, the High Queen…was mated to a Triori?
I stare at the page, unblinking.
“It’s been in my family for generations,” Kylian had said as he presented me with the locket. “Keep it on you at all times, and you will never be lost. It will always guide you home.”
Oh my god.
I have one half of the key. I’ve been wearing it around my neck this entire time. My fingers close over the smooth metal at my throat.
Why would he give this to me?
The answer sits in the darkest corner of the room, staring at me from the shadows like a watchful demon.
One I’m not yet ready to face.
“What do you know about Garron Barlowe Triori?”
“He was Arden’s mate,” Eaton answers.
“Is there any information in here about him?”
“Maybe in this one.” He slides a heavy, dark red tome from its place on the shelf and spreads it out on the polished table. I follow his eyes down the page, trailing his pointer finger.
“Garron Triori, son of Melanthe Barlowe and Vance Triori I. He was Arden’s king consort. When she died and the kingdoms broke off, he relinquished his crown to his older brother, who then became the first king of Vod. He was a starsmith.”
“What the hell is a starsmith?” I cock my head.
“Starsmiths were extremely rare and powerful. They could essentially capture stars and fashion them into magical objects.”
“Objects like a key?” I glance around, locking eyes with Zadyn.
Eaton gives me a half-assed shrug. “It’s definitely possible.”
I unclasp my locket and place it down on the table. Zadyn leans over, watching intently as I take a breath and flip it open. The star bounds from its shell, trailing light across the library as it dashes in all directions.
“What is that?” Eaton breathes.
“A star fragment.”
Kai swings his legs off the table and stands. “Where did you get it?”
“Kylian gave it to me. Right before I walked down the aisle.”
Zadyn gives me a long, wary look, his lean-muscled arms crossed over his chest.
“Did he ever say anything about a star passed down from your ancestors?”
Kai shakes his head. “No, he never mentioned it. But then again, we are not particularly close.”
“What makes you think this is a key?” Eaton draws my focus.
“This letter.” I pull the parchment from my pocket and smooth it out, allowing them to read it for themselves. “I found it tucked inside the grimoire. This book belonged to Arden.”
My friends stare at me, brows slashed together. I toss open the grimoire to the page with the Aurea Dei constellation.
“Eaton, you said this page is a bunch of notes on this constellation? I think Arden was trying to figure out how to harness one of its stars, and I think Garron was helping her.”
“You think Garron fashioned the star into a key for Arden?”
I nod. “Kylian said this was in his family for generations. Probably starting with Garron.”
“Hold on. A key for what?” Zadyn asks.
“The portal, if I had to guess,” I conclude.
“Look. This line says it right here. ‘Together, you hold the key. Two halves of a whole will always find each other. You know what you must do’. When I asked the grimoire to show me something that could help us, it chose this page. There has to be some connection. I think we have to find the other half of the star and join them.”
Eaton hums. “A star key. I’ve never crossed anything like that in my research.”
“Would you want anyone to know about a magical key that can lock and unlock the only gate known to Solterre? Think about if it fell into the wrong hands.”
“I think it already has,” Kai says under his breath.
Mar shakes her head. “But what would they need a key for if they had already installed the Guardians?”
“To keep something out, maybe. Something more powerful than a Guardian,” Zadyn mutters.
I snap the locket closed. “When I saw Arden in that tree, I asked her if a key existed, and she just stared at this. She knew what it was. She warned me not to let it fall into the wrong hands. Maybe this is why.”
“If the other half is out there, we have to find it,” Marideth says.
“Wouldn’t be surprised if Kylian was already in possession of it.” Kai’s voice is grim.
“Two halves of a whole will always find each other,” Zadyn repeats. “I know how to find the other half.”
He moves around to the grimoire and begins thumbing through it. “We need a tracking spell.”
“I saw one earlier—I think it’s here.” I move to his side, finding the page for him. Eaton fetches a large map of Solterre and spreads it before us. I settle into the chair, taking a deep breath.
“I’ve never done this before,” I say, glancing up at Mar.
She offers me an encouraging smile. “Time to spread those wings.”
“Right.” I nod. “Somebody knife me.”
Zadyn draws a dagger, his eyes secured to mine as he takes my hand and pricks my finger. A drop of black rushes to the surface.
Clutching the locket, I recite the words from Arden’s spell and squeeze three drops of blood onto the map.
Then we wait. I feel the cool metal heat against my palm, vibrating as the blood on the scroll begins to travel.
I flip it open, freeing the star, and the blood moves faster, forming a single black dot across the Praxian Sea.
“It’s in Vod.” I leap to my feet. “We got a lead!”
Finally, something, no matter how small. I turn to Zadyn, high on the rush of the spell, ready to launch myself at him. His smile sparkles with pride, but I stop myself at the last second, holding up my hand to give him the most emphatic high five in the history of the world.
A high five? What is the matter with me?
“Well, the good news is, it’s in Vod,” Eaton announces. “And the bad news is, it’s in Vod.”
Our smiles falter.
“Alright, so all we have to do is find a way to obtain it,” Dover says brightly.
We shoot him an incredulous look. Easier said than done, I fear.
“I think we’re on the right track,” Zadyn says, “but if this is the answer to the portal problem, why would Kylian put that kind of power in your hands? It’s risky.”
“I believe it’s what they call hubris,” Kai interjects, flipping his onyx waves out of his eyes. “Not that I would know.”
“You? Of course not,” Mar retorts.
Zadyn and I are the last to make our way to dinner. I slip the locket over my head, cursing when the chain snags on my hair.
“Here.” He pauses in the doorway to help untangle me.
“Nice job with the spell,” he murmurs, his voice low. He keeps his eyes on the knot as he patiently works to unravel it. “You’re a natural.”
Heat races to my cheeks at the compliment.
He frees me and glances up, his hands still in my hair.
I clutch the grimoire against my chest, leaning back against the door frame, biting my lip like a fucking schoolgirl with a crush.
The way he drags his eyes over me makes my breath hitch.
Then he gives my hair a tug and walks off, chuckling after our friends.
I sag against the door, all the air exiting my body.
I am so fucked.