Chapter 6 #2
Many-Greats rummaged through the supply box Vyraetos had opened and pulled out salves and ointments.
His once-elegant garb was shredded in multiple places, and blood soaked the bandage wrapped around his arm.
“It fits with what Calla Lily has already done. Vad and Thalen can attest that she slipped a venom-coated blade into one of your gowns’ pockets too, Briar.
Initially, I believed it was to frame you, but now I wonder if perhaps it was also meant to kill you.
Perhaps both. The blade matched the one used in the assassination attempt. ”
He straightened, face grim. “I’m still not certain how deep her involvement runs. But one thing is clear—Calla Lily is not to be trusted.”
“What are you even talking about, old man?” Quen demanded as she crossed her arms. Fire blazed in her eyes. “You were the liar who stood there and announced Calla Lily as Fate’s chosen. You wrapped that lie in your role as an Aureline High Council member!”
With sweat beading her forehead and her lips taking on a dull, grayish cast, Thalira lifted her head and glared at him. Beside her, Rhielle didn’t speak, but disapproval radiated from her rigid posture.
Many-Greats sighed, his muscles tense. He dragged a hand through his wild auburn hair, making it even more unruly. “Briar, I realize that we must speak about what has happened, but I would prefer to have this conversation in private—”
“Tough,” I cut in. “We’re running out of time. Say it now, or don’t say it at all.”
Pain shot through our bond, and Vad grimaced. Vyraetos had pulled one of the embedded bolts free. I flinched and caught his gaze.
I’m fine, he reassured me.
We may have to redefine what fine means, I shot back.
A faint smile tugged at his lips, then faded as he focused once more on Many-Greats.
“I’m leaving as soon as Vad’s treated,” I told him firmly. “So if you’ve got something to confess, now’s the time.”
Many-Greats clenched his jaw, a muscle ticking as he held my gaze.
He exhaled and tilted his head. “When Calla Lily learned you were part of my lineage, she threatened to expose my treachery. I assumed she meant she’d inform the prince.
And she was already at the threshold of Briar's room with guards less than thirty feet away. One well-placed shout would’ve unraveled the entire plan to get you out. ”
Gasps followed along with murmurs of surprise. Elara covered her mouth as Silus scowled. Thalen's shoulders slumped as if he were confused.
Many-Greats’ throat bobbed as he swallowed hard. “She offered me a deal. If I went ahead with my plan to remove you from the realm, she wouldn’t tell anyone or try to harm you. In turn, I had to announce that she was the one chosen by Fate. Publicly, with all the authority my position carried.”
His mouth tightened as the weight of the betrayal settled between us like lead.
I stared at him, waiting.
I felt a shift in Vad’s energy—a bristling storm just under the surface. His silence spoke louder than words. Vyraetos kept working, dabbing his wound with a glowing blue liquid, though his eyes flicked between us. He was listening to every word.
“And?” I asked when the silence dragged on too long. My voice was cold. Flat. “You took the deal?”
Many-Greats offered a slight stiff nod. “I saw no reason not to when your life was in the balance. She told me that she had no desire to see you dead. Simply out of the way. And since you had to go home to keep the warning from Fate from coming true, it seemed a viable solution. She told me that Kaylen would make a scene, and after Kaylen’s failed announcement, I had to present her. She made me vow to do so.”
“And you did.” Vad growled the words.
Many-Greats lifted his chin but focused on me.
“I do whatever it takes to protect my family. And I had sworn to Ember that, no matter what happened, I would protect you and bring you home. That’s why I made you promise not to tell anyone that you were related to me and why I never told you my name. It saved your life.”
“Of course, she’s Aureline, and related directly to you,” Thalen snorted. “I’ve called her Chaos since the beginning.”
Others mumbled, but no one truly reacted. We were all beaten, injured, and exhausted.
Vad’s jaw flexed. I could feel the fury simmering in him, hot and sharp.
“Did Calla Lily say anything else?” I asked. Given what was on the line, it was hard to know whether Calla Lily was involved in the planning or just another pawn like Kaylen. “Did she say how she knew that Kaylen would try to claim the title?”
“She probably just knew who Kaylen was and what she was like,” Quen muttered.
Many-Greats shook his head. “She left immediately after I made the vow, and she helped me get two of my men into position to retrieve Briar and send her home. That was all that was required, and I didn’t push for more. I was more interested in getting Briar to safety.”
Annoyance flashed through me, and I felt it mirrored in Vad as well.
I pursed my lips. “And then what?”
“I took advantage of the confusion that followed your disappearance. The High Council, along with the joint council between the Shadow and Aureline, was in disarray. Most of the council members were too shaken by the signs to take clear action. Two council members came to me in private to ensure that Calla Lily was named officially. The collapse during the third bridal trial only deepened the confusion.”
Vad shifted suddenly. “If I’d known picking Briar would cause the loss of magic—”
“You wouldn’t have picked her,” Many-Greats interrupted flatly.
Vad’s anger flared hot. His lips curled into a snarl as he took a step forward. “Don’t you dare presume I’d ever choose anything over Briar. I would give up the crown, my realm, and my magic for her. There is no one else for me.”
The air crackled. Even Vyraetos froze, the bandage in his hands forgotten.
Many-Greats shook his head, like he didn’t believe Vad.
Vad’s voice dropped, low and lethal. “I would burn this realm to ash before letting her go. The fact that you thought otherwise says more about you than me.”
Emotion flooded through the bond like a raw, unshakable devotion.
Some of the weight lifted from my chest. I hadn’t realized I had needed to hear him say that, no matter what, he chose me. And somehow, someway, I fell even harder for him. I love you.
Love isn’t strong enough to describe what I feel for you.
Blinking, Many-Greats cleared his throat. “I stand corrected.”
Vad cleared his throat, and some of his anger eased. “Who were the council members who approached you? Was one of them about so tall—” he lifted a hand “—with light-blue eyes and freckles? Perhaps in league with someone on the Shadow Council?”
Many-Great’s brow pinched, and his lip curled. “Yes. Bram. I suspected him already. He and three others had been behaving oddly, speaking in hushed circles about the instability of the current system. Some believe Fate’s ways are obsolete. That it’s time for a drastic change.”
His voice dropped lower. “There are whispers of removing all the kings and queens and installing one single ruler for the entire realm.”
Vyraetos clicked his tongue with disapproval. “I have heard similar rumors. Some of our council members were compromised as well. I suspect that this mutinous horde believes they can justify this coup by claiming Fate has allowed it and use that lie to crown themselves.”
Silus stood beside Elara again. “And they knew that this union would end our magic?” His tone was clipped but calm.
“No. No one knew what Briar was except me,” Many-Greats said sternly. “If they had known, they would have tried even harder to kill her. And not only them, but others as well. I did send Briar away. I had this handled.” His eyes narrowed at Vad. “You vowed to send her home.”
“She is the one who decided her home is with me,” Vad said coldly. “I kept my vow.” He stepped closer, smoothing his tunic with one hand. “You should have told us more, given the threat was that serious.”
“What could or could not have been said is now irrelevant.” Many-Greats narrowed his eyes, and the wrinkles in his face deepened. “I warned you as best as I could without putting lives in more danger. I would have said more at the coronation, but your purple-haired friend—”
“Don’t speak ill of Velessa.” Quen balled her fists.
“If you hadn’t been acting like a creepy old bastard trying to keep our friend from being queen, she wouldn’t have had to silence you.
You think we don’t know that Briar and Vad are meant to be?
That there wouldn’t be consequences for what you did? ”
Many-Greats opened his mouth, but I cut in, “That’s enough. What’s done is done.” I turned toward him. “As far as Calla Lily goes, do we know how she got the daggers into everyone’s pockets? You said she planted one in my room. Did she break into theirs too?”
Did we need to search for more? My hand slid tentatively to the pocket in my dress, even though I knew nothing was there. But if she’d gotten into everyone’s room, then who knew what else she had done? The timeline mattered as well.
“We were all in my room, getting ready for the wedding,” Thalira said, her voice strained. She gasped every few words. “She came in to wish us luck. Hugged Myantha, Yuki, Velessa, and me. Maybe she slipped them in then.”
My stomach turned. I remembered Yuki and Velessa mentioning those hugs. It had meant something to them. Now I saw it for what it was—another layer of Calla Lily’s cruelty.
“So we still don’t know whether she was a vile opportunist or part of a larger plan,” Rhielle muttered. She crouched beside Thalira and reached into her pocket. Her expression twisted as she removed a blade smeared with the same iridescent green substance. “Fecking void.”
My shoulders tightened. A cap covered the blade’s tip, keeping it from piercing anything easily, but the sides would’ve easily nicked skin.
Veralt swore under his breath. “Brutal bitch.”
Thalen stood next to Myantha now, his hand cradling hers. They exchanged glances, and there was concern in his eyes.
“None on Quen, or you, Rhielle?” Vad reached into one of the boxes higher on the shelf and removed two sheathed daggers. He passed one to me. The smooth leather sheath had a button-on strap that allowed it to be fastened to a belt or sash.
“I don’t do hugs,” Quen muttered. Her brow furrowed. “I should have shoved her out the door as soon as she came in.”
Rhielle shrugged. “I wasn’t interested in random affection.”
Thalira cut her eyes away, her eyelids shuttering. Her breaths sounded shallow and uneven.
I crouched beside her and wrapped my hands around hers. “Thalira, I give you my word that I’ll do everything I can. This won’t be how you die.”
Her lips trembled, and tears clung to her dark lashes. She squeezed my hand with her uninjured one, but her fingers were cold as ice. “I know you will,” she whispered, quiet and certain.
Those four words nearly broke me.
I forced myself to smile, squeezed her hand again, and rose.
“How’s the pain?” My gaze dropped to the bolt embedded in her shoulder.
The bandage around it was already dark with blood.
Though the wound was deep, the bolt hadn't pierced all the way through.
Holding it in place was the only thing keeping her from bleeding out.
“It’s manageable.” Thalira pursed her lips. “Whatever Councilman Bryn gave me took the edge off.”
“There’s a small wood stove two doors down on the left,” Vad said.
“You can heat water. There isn’t much wood, but it’s built in such a way that the smoke is dispersed without drawing attention.
At least one of the teas will help with pain.
Use it for heating food and water only. No hot baths. We need to make the supply last.”
Many-Greats snorted as he examined the vials and salves laid on the bench. “That tea won’t work miracles. These herbs and tinctures are rudimentary. Nothing here will treat medical conditions. It’ll be pain relief at best, with potentially antiseptic properties.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “We’re not in the Healing Hall, and miracles aren’t coming. Just do what you can. Keep the pressure on all of Thalira’s wounds and check for shards of glass or small cuts.”
Vyraetos gestured Vad over. The two of them slipped into a quiet conversation while Vyraetos packed away jars of salve and opened another bin.
“Don’t dally while you’re up there,” Many-Greats warned.
“This rebellion has been planned for ages, but we still don't know everyone who is involved. I have allies, but they won’t know where to find me. We need to determine whether the loss to magic is beyond this palace, as I suspect, and who is leading this coup.”
“How did they know that Vad choosing me would sever our magic?” I asked. “If that’s what they wanted, why wait until now?”
“I don’t believe that they did. We knew they were manipulating the bridal competition, and we knew a few other loyal members who were on our side. But we didn't know the extent to which the manipulation had gone.”
My gut hardened.
“It has always been known that a royal must not wed an Aureline. Aurelines are neutralizers,” Vyraetos explained from his position on the far side of the room with Vad. He sealed the jar of salve and set it back on the shelf in front of a bin, then pointed to another as if to show Vad.
“Please understand, Briar, I couldn’t tell you that.” Many-Greats wrung his hands. “If I had, you’d be dead. And once they knew about you, they wouldn’t have stopped with just you. They’d have hunted down your sister as well as anyone loyal to you and killed them all.”
I went still. Ice crawled down my spine. “They know about Ember? Is she in danger?”
This couldn’t be happening. Not now, when we’d lost everything.