Chapter Three
Shit. Shit. Shit.
I attempt to twist myself from Gabriel’s iron grip, but he’s already dragging me deeper into the network of small alleys as the sounds of the fighting dim to a muffled hush.
“Let go of me,” I demand, stumbling after him, failing to keep up with his long, furious strides. His grip only tightens, and I wince, sure he’s leaving bruises on my skin.
Gods, I forgot what an asshole he is.
My time away from Aphelion softened my memories, reminding me of the slightly-better-than-the-rest parts. In my head, I’d painted Atlas as the chief villain in my story, but as I note the set of his hardened jaw and piercing stare, I remember Gabriel also had his role to play.
He ignores me and drags me further until we finally stop at a deserted corner. What’s he going to do? Murder me right out here in the open? Surely he’s going to take me back to Atlas first?
He yanks me forward and shoves me against a stone wall, my hands slapping the rough surface to protect my nose from a painful collision. I whip around to face him with my chin lifted high. If this is the end, I’ll try to go out with some dignity.
“What are you doing here?” he asks again, poisoning it with even more venom. “Do you have any fucking idea what will happen if Atlas finds out you’re in Aphelion?”
“Of course I know!” I snap. “What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be in your fancy palace.”
Gabriel closes his eyes and sucks in a long breath as he begs for patience. “I’m supposed to be out here, Lor. But you are not. Where have you been?”
“It doesn’t matter,” I say. “What are you going to do with me?”
He presses his mouth together, conflict warring in his eyes. Nadir told me Gabriel is essentially a slave, unable to disobey Atlas’s orders, existing with little agency of his own. At the time, it made me feel sorry for him.
“Are you going to take me to him?”
There’s no need to elaborate on whom I mean.
“I should,” he replies, but his words precede an unmistakable moment of hesitation.
“Do you have a choice?” I ask carefully, wondering how touchy he is about this subject. I can’t really hold it against him if some magical oath forces him to obey Atlas. Not that I think he’d be inclined to protect me either way.
His fierce gaze slides to me, his eyes blazing with fury. Okay, definitely touchy.
“I have my ways of getting around his orders.”
My breath hitches with surprise.
“Does that mean you’ll let me go?” My question probably sounds more hopeful than it has a right to be.
He seems to consider my question, his blue eyes swirling with that blend of anger and irritation I remember so well.
“I want to know everything,” he says finally. “Who are you? Why did I steal you from Nostraza? And how did you run away? Tell me everything, and I’ll do what I can to keep you out of his hands for now. But I can’t make that decision before knowing why he wants you and if you’re a danger to him or Aphelion.”
I try not to groan. What he’s asking makes sense, but how many people will learn my less-secret-with-each-passing-day secret before all of this is over?
That’s when a set of sharp footsteps draws our attention to a hooded figure ghosting down the alley. Someone else might find it ominous, but I know exactly who’s prowling towards us.
Gabriel visibly reacts as Nadir pushes off his hood, first in surprise and then with resigned exhaustion as he drags a hand down his face.
“I should have known,” he says.
Nadir smirks and then shrugs. “Probably.”
“I take it you two know each other?” I ask, picking up on the familiarity between them.
“Unfortunately, yes,” Gabriel says, and I don’t know why there’s something nice about the fact that he’s also irritated by Nadir’s presence. At least it’s not just me.
“What are you both doing here?” Gabriel asks, throwing up his hands. “Atlas banned you from Aphelion.”
“Mmm,” says Nadir. “You know I’ve never been very good at following orders. Especially where Atlas is concerned.”
Gabriel once again runs a hand down his face and then through his hair, mussing the halo of his curls.
“I want an explanation. Start talking,” he says to me. “Now.”
“Not here.” I shake my head. “Anyone might find us.”
“Come on,” Nadir says. “Follow us.”
Nadir’s gaze falls on me before he jerks his chin in command. I roll my eyes as I push myself from the wall. Zerra, he’s so bossy.
Then he turns, and we both follow behind as we curve our way deeper and deeper into the twisting alleyways. As we continue, I listen for the sounds of the confrontation in the square, but either it’s over or we’ve moved out of hearing range.
“Did you see what happened in the plaza?” I ask Nadir’s back. The path narrows, forcing us to walk in single file.
“They arrested some of the low fae, but most simply scattered.”
“Did they kill any?”
He peers over his shoulder at me. “Some. Yes.”
I don’t like that answer. “What was the point of that?” I look back at Gabriel now, continuing my line of questions.
“A message,” Gabriel says. “Atlas can’t take down Erevan yet and risk a full-out riot, but it’s a reminder that he won’t tolerate these acts of aggression.”
“Acts of aggression,” I scoff. “As if their demands aren’t perfectly legitimate.”
Gabriel says nothing as I cast another look over my shoulder, but I catch a falter in his eyes, there for a moment and then gone.
We continue in silence as we wind our way through the alleys until we emerge on the far side of The Umbra. It’s quieter here, where a small market sells fruit, fish, and other perishable goods. Food and other consumables are the only items low fae are permitted to trade and bargain for in the upper districts. So at least Atlas isn’t technically forcing them to starve. He probably looks in the mirror and pats himself on the back for his generosity.
We cross the northwest boundary of The Umbra and turn down a wider boulevard. Our Aphelion hideout is carefully situated in the Eighth District, which just happens to maintain the furthest physical distance from the palace. The nondescript house is of middling variety, owned by a High Fae of the working class named Nerissa. Apparently, she’s an old acquaintance of Nadir’s, and I haven’t entirely worked out their relationship.
Not that I care. It’s definitely none of my business.
I sigh, knowing how ridiculous I sound, even in my own head.
We always enter the house from the back—Nadir’s orders—so we make our way down another alley before we reach the gate that cordons off the rear of the property. I’m not sure if it’s safe to be showing Gabriel where we’re staying, but I’m trusting Nadir to know what he’s doing. If he’s known Gabriel for a while, maybe he understands his intentions better than I do.
We shove open the gate, ensuring the alley is clear before we file into the small backyard. The stone courtyard is surrounded by patches of green grass and flowerbeds stuffed with roses carefully tended daily and constantly by Nerissa, like they’re her children. In fact, she’s here right now, wearing her gardening apron, her chestnut hair piled in a messy knot on top of her head.
At our entrance, she looks over, a pair of clippers poised in midair. Her gaze skirts over me and Nadir and then lands on Gabriel.
“What happened?” she asks, dropping her tools into her basket and dusting off her apron. “Where’s Tristan?”
She peers past us, looking for my brother, as my throat tightens with fear.
“You mean he’s not back yet?”
Nerissa shakes her head, and I’m about to spin on my heel and head back towards the square when Nadir seizes my wrist.
“He’ll be fine,” Nadir says. “There’s nothing you can do.”
I grit my teeth, and my nostrils flare as I prepare to tell him I have no intention of abandoning my brother. But the gate creaks and a familiar head of black hair emerges through it. My chest expands in relief.
“Tris,” I say as he pauses at the sight of Gabriel. He’s definitely hard to mistake for a casual visitor, what with the wings, sun tattoo on his neck, and gleaming golden armor.
“Who’s this?” Tristan asks, his gaze sweeping over him with mistrust.
“This is Gabriel,” I say, and Tristan’s eyes narrow. He remembers everything I shared about my warder during the Trials.
“Why is he here? And why did you leave the bar so abruptly?”
“Come on,” I reply. “We’ll explain everything.”
Finally, we all filter into the house. I remove my hat and jacket and hang them on a hook against the wall. Gabriel follows me to the front sitting area, where we find Willow, along with Amya, Mael, and Hylene.
“I ran into someone who recognized me,” I say to Tristan to explain my abrupt departure from the tavern. “That’s why I left.” Then I look at Gabriel. “It was Callias.”
There’s a collective exchange of wary looks around the room.
“I don’t think he’ll say anything,” I say. “But I should probably try to find him.”
“Leave it to me,” Gabriel says, and my brow furrows with surprise. “As long as you keep up our end of the bargain.”
“What bargain?” Willow asks, her tone sharp. She’s also eyeing Gabriel with obvious misgivings, and after everything I told her about him, I don’t blame her.
“He wants to know everything,” I say.
“Oh great,” Willow says, throwing up her hands. “Just what we need. Another witness to our crimes.”
I nod at her words, which mirror my own thoughts.
“He said he’d consider not turning us in to Atlas if we tell him.”
“Why did you bring him here?” Mael asks. “If he plans to turn Lor in, is showing him our hiding place the best idea?”
He aims the question at Nadir, who shrugs. “He knows we’re in Aphelion now; finding us within its walls wouldn’t take long.”
Mael sighs and leans back in his chair, unconvinced but apparently resigned.
“Have a seat,” I say to Gabriel. “We might as well start at the beginning, I guess.”
Gabriel hesitates at first, then settles into one of the armchairs, perching on the edge and staring at me.
“This better be good, Final Tribute.”
Over the next while, I fill Gabriel in on some of the particulars about my past, careful to carve around some of the more significant points. I don’t know whose side he’s on, but I reason I can share the same details Atlas must have. He can learn it from me or the Sun King. I keep the bits about my trapped magic and the Crown a secret. Nothing good would come of that information falling into the wrong hands.
I do tell him who I am.
That I’m the grandchild of Serce, the Heart Queen who tangled with forbidden magic and nearly ruined everything. That I’m the Primary of Heart. He’s as shocked as Nadir and the others were when I told them the same thing weeks ago in The Aurora. He asks all the same questions. Makes the same comments.
The baby died. There were no heirs. All of it was a lie.
When I’m finally done, the room goes quiet as everyone watches my former warder, wondering what he’ll do. Several emotions cross his face as he pieces these fragments together. I know what he’s thinking. This finally explains Atlas’s strange interest in me during the Trials. Why he was so intent on me winning, and why he lost his shit when the Mirror rejected me. It probably explains some things going on in the Sun Palace that I have no idea about.
Finally, after several moments of silence, Gabriel speaks. “But why are you here in Aphelion? You must know that being here puts you in danger.” He looks around the room. “And who are all these people?”
“Oh, come on. I’m hurt,” Mael says, pressing a hand to his chest. “Surely it hasn’t been that long?”
“I don’t mean you,” Gabriel says, his voice rough. “You two.” He squints at Willow and then at Tristan before looking at me. “These are your friends. From Nostraza.”
“I… How did you know that?”
“I remember them from the fourth Trial.”
“You saw that?”
“Yes,” he says, his expression grim, but he doesn’t elaborate further. “But it seems pretty obvious now that you’re related.”
“Yes, this is Tristan and Willow. My brother and sister. The prince helped me ‘liberate’ them from the prison.”
He looks me up and down before he addresses Nadir. “The prince. And did the prince also ‘liberate’ you from the Sun Palace? I’ve been wondering how you managed it.”
Nadir’s mouth hooks up at the corner, a sparkle of glee in his eyes. “Gabe, don’t pretend you didn’t intentionally reveal who she was. You practically handed me an engraved invitation to steal her.”
Gabriel’s mouth presses into a flat line.
“What?” I ask. “What are you talking about?”
Nadir arches his brow. “During the Sun Queen Ball. Remember when he grabbed you? He very conveniently moved the shoulder of your dress so I could see the brand from Nostraza. It was only a second, but I’d bet money he did it on purpose.”
I blink, remembering so many things from that night with stark clarity, but I hadn’t realized that. I study Gabriel with increasing confusion.
“Or was that just a coincidence?” Nadir asks Gabriel, clearly goading him.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. If that happened, it was pure chance.”
“Hmm,” Nadir says, leaning back and folding his hands behind his head like his point has been made.
Gabriel doesn’t respond, instead looking around the room before his gaze lands on Hylene with a definite hint of admiration curving his mouth. “And you are?”
“Hylene,” she says, returning his look of interest with one of her own.
“That’s your name, but who are you?”
“That’s for me to know and you to find out.”
She winks, and it’s obvious Gabriel isn’t getting anything else out of her for now.
Finally, he returns his attention to me.
“What are you doing here, Lor? Why didn’t you stay in The Aurora, as far away from Atlas as possible?”
I wrinkle my nose because I’m going to have to tell him this part.
“Well, we kind of have to get to the Mirror.”
Gabriel lets out a long-suffering sigh and pinches the bridge of his nose like he can’t believe what the fuck his life has come to.
“Why in the heavens of Zerra do you need to get to the Mirror?”
“Because it told me I had to return once I figured out who I am,” I say, massaging the truth just enough to make it sound believable. I’m far too good at lying at this point in my life. I’ve been doing it for as long as I can remember.
“Why?”
“I don’t know. That’s what we need to find out.”
“And how do you plan to get the Mirror?”
I can see what’s written on his face. He wants to know but also doesn’t want to hear the answer.
“Don’t tell him anything else,” Nadir says now, his earlier cool slipping away. “He said he wanted to know who you are, and now he knows. That is enough.”
Nadir is right, but I harbor a strange old affection for Gabriel. He was kind of horrible to me during the Trials, but I think we understood one another by the end. At least a little. He said a tiny, infinitesimal part of him kind of liked me, and I know it’s foolish to put much stock in that, but he also didn’t run straight to Atlas today.
“Can I trust you?” I ask, ignoring Nadir, which feels better than it should.
Gabriel sighs. “I’m not sure.”
He rolls his neck, trying to ease some tension, clearly distressed about so many things.
“Don’t tell me,” he says finally, shaking his head. “I don’t want to know what your plans are. The less I know, the better.”
I nod and look around the room, catching everyone’s wary expressions as Gabriel stands.
“So?” I ask as I stand up too.
“So?” he asks.
“Was that enough? Are you going to tell Atlas I’m here?”
“What about the… thingy?” Mael asks, waving a hand at Gabriel.
“Thingy?” Gabriel replies, his voice dripping with disdain.
“You know.” Mael fakes a noose around his neck, his tongue lolling out. “The thing where you can’t lie to him, or you… die?”
Something flashes in Gabriel’s eyes, and it’s obviously a painful subject. I wish I’d known about this during the Trials. It might have made everything different between us.
“That’s not how it works,” Gabriel says, his tone sharp, and Mael holds up his hands in defense.
“Sorry, man. Just making sure.”
“I have it under control. But I should go,” Gabriel says before he tugs on the hem of his jacket and turns on his heel, heading down the front hallway.
“Gabriel,” I call, following him before he stops, pausing for a second before he spins around.
“Will you tell him?”
He looks down at me, his mouth pressing together. I don’t beg him to protect me. I don’t ask. I already know that nothing I could say would change his mind.
He huffs out a breath, laden with exhaustion. “I’m not sure yet.”
Then he spins around again, and before I can say anything else, he opens the door and slams it behind him.