Chapter 10
Aurora
My mind barely processes Lord Arc’s words when, with a wicked grin, he flicks his hand and a sharp dagger of ice speeds toward me.
I push back from the table, throwing out my arm as a ball of burning light hurtles toward Lord Arc’s icy weapon.
With another breath, I’m by Camryn’s side, throwing a physical shield of magic around the both of us.
We watch wide eyed as the ice dagger collides with my ball of fire and melts into a puddle, splashing atop the table.
I wrap my arms around Camryn tightly. Panting, I keep my gaze locked onto Lord Arc, waiting to see what he will do next.
He slowly rises from the table and claps his hands. “Bravo, Miss Aurora. Bravo. Your sentinel would be so proud.” He grins at me. “Please, relax. I wish you no harm.” He gestures for me to lower my shield.
I don’t move. “If you don’t want to harm me, what the hell was that?!”
Camryn trembles in my arms. “You fucking asshole!” She lunges toward Lord Arc and I tighten my grip on her.
I push my shoulders back. “It’s okay.” I look at Lord Arc again before reluctantly lowering my shield. “Fine. I still have my fae powers.”
Lord Arc’s face scrunches in contemplation. “Quite the wonder. A mortal woman from another time and place falls into our realm and wields our power? How is this possible?”
I sigh. “There’s something we need to talk about, and since you seem to want to get straight to the point, then so be it.”
I return to my seat and tell him everything I know about the travelers and half-bloods. It’s clear that keeping secrets from him is impossible, and I need to sway him to our side.
When I finish explaining, the room falls silent. Lord Arc looks almost livid as he stares at his wineglass while circling a finger around the rim. Camryn tenses beside me, her mouth agape. “Does this ... does this mean I’m part fae, too?”
I look nervously at her. “Supposedly.”
She inhales, and her eyes widen. “Then where the fuck are my powers?! I’ve been locked up in here for months and I would’ve roasted that asshole if I could!” She glares at me as if I have the answer.
“I don’t know,” I breathe. “Maybe something needs to trigger it, and it just hasn’t happened yet.” I turn to Arc. “You’ve had other travelers here, yes? Did any of them have any abilities?”
He looks at me with cold, dead eyes. “Not one.”
How can that be? How can I be the only traveler with powers in almost five hundred years? Certainly, we must be missing something. Perhaps other travelers just went unnoticed, or nothing triggered their magic.
My head throbs, and I rub my temples. “I truly don’t have any answers.
I don’t know how this happened to me. All I know is that the travelers have been called to form a legion against your father, and time is running out.
We need to gather any more who come to the realm and ready them for the inevitable battle.
And we need your help.” I look up to meet Lord Arc’s icy gaze.
“Now tell me, Chosen One, why would I ever help you?” He looks down at me from across the table.
Frustration flares my cheeks with burning heat. I was na?ve to think this would be easy.
“Well, unless I was misinformed about the curse your father bestowed on you, the travelers falling into the realm aren’t exactly human, at least not entirely.
So, unless your father is a little loose on the terms of your imprisonment, which I highly doubt, your cause is hopeless.
You will never break your curse, because you will never find a human who will fall in love with you.
” I steel myself for how he will react to my abrasive words.
Lord Arc slowly nods, keeping his icy blue eyes on me.
“It does seem particularly cruel, doesn’t it, to curse me to fall in love with the one being that no longer exists in this realm?
And then to be handed a glimmer of hope when travelers from a mortal world began appearing.
But then again, that’s my father—cruel.” His lips press together and his face turns solemn.
To my surprise, Camryn’s maniacal laugh shatters the tense silence lingering between me and Lord Arc.
I whip my head to her, my eyes wide. Her head tips back, her black hair a flowing curtain down her back.
“That fucking figures. You’ve been snatching every woman you could get your hands on for hundreds of years in the hopes of them falling in love with you, and it was all for nothing.
” Her laugh rises to hysterics, and I watch Camryn gasp for air as tears trickle down her cheeks.
“That was your plan? To get me to fall in love with you?!” She’s laughing so hard now she’s breathless.
I watch her nervously, silently willing her to knock it off. My head pounds, and I wish for nothing more than to fall into Soren’s arms and pretend this is all a nightmare.
“ENOUGH!” Lord Arc bellows, making me jump in my seat.
His outburst barely disturbs Camryn, and she slows her choked chuckles until she steadies her breathing.
“Nothing has changed. You are a simple human who has had her head filled with fantastical ideas about a realm she knows nothing about,” Lord Arc spits.
I open my mouth to speak, but he cuts me off.
“You are to remain here while I can do research of my own.”
I stand, slamming my palms on the table. “You can’t keep me here against my will!”
Lord Arc’s nostrils flare, and his face hardens.
“You are in my land now, and I will do as I please. You will train with Miss Camryn to see if she has any dormant powers to unleash. I expect a progress update every evening at dinner. Other than that, you are free to roam the palace grounds, but you may not explore other areas of my realm.”
“I will not stay a prisoner here. I have told you what I know, and it isn’t my fault if you refuse to believe it. Camryn and I are returning to Riverholm immediately! Do you think Soren and the others won’t come for me?”
Lord Arc holds my gaze and smirks. “I will deal with your sentinel.” His eyes shift to Camryn, seething at my side. “It is late. You and Miss Camryn should return to your rooms and get some rest. Tomorrow is a new day.”
Camryn’s fingers softly wrap around my wrist. “Come on, Rory. Let’s go.” She tugs on my arm, pulling me toward the hall.
I glare at Lord Arc. “If you insist on keeping me, I demand to room with Camryn. You’ve kept us apart for long enough.”
He sighs. “Very well.”
With that, Camryn hurries us out of the dining hall. I look over my shoulder as she tugs me along, giving Lord Arc a final defiant glare before we pass beneath the archway.
A shadowy figure along the wall makes us jump and Caelum steps into the light, a tight look on his face.
Camryn scowls. “Oh, it’s just you.”
His golden eyes are locked on her, and he clenches his jaw.
She narrows her eyes at him. “I hope you enjoyed the show in there. I guess it’s a good thing Aurora has magic. What a big help you were.”
“Camryn …” he murmurs.
“Yeah, whatever.” Her eyes scan the length of him. “It looks like the frosty bastard is keeping us here a while longer.” Camryn looks at me and squeezes my hand tight before gazing back at Caelum, who stands motionless beside her. “At least I have a friend now.”
The tension that hangs between them makes my eyes dart from one to the other. I will need her to unpack whatever that’s about later when my head isn’t splintering in pain.
Vespera suddenly appears in the hall, and Camryn tugs me toward the sprite. “Come on, Rory.”
We follow Vespera up the stairs to my room. Once outside my door, she quickly removes herself from the situation.
I nod in Vespera’s retreating direction. “What’s her story?”
“Oh, the bastard cut her tongue out a long time ago. Something about her protecting your good friend Isolde for killing a traveler.” Camryn’s dark eyes look at me, and concern floods my face as I realize she is unbothered by her words. What else has he done?
With my mouth gaping, I turn the door handle and push into my room, quickly locking it behind Camryn.
She glances around. “The blue is nice. Tranquil almost. If we weren’t locked inside a mountain by an ancient maniac.”
“Yeah, it’s nice, I guess. What’s your room like?”
“Similar in layout, but mine is decorated in black and red, and for the longest time I swore Arc was a vampire trying to desensitize me to the color of blood.” Camryn scrunches her nose and sticks out her tongue. “The guy’s a certified freak.”
My head pounds. I want to talk to Camryn about so many things, but I desperately need to sleep. “I know we have a lot to discuss, but can we talk in the morning? My head is going to explode if I don’t shut my eyes.”
Walking toward the bed, I catch sight of a familiar object sitting on the nightstand. My eyes widen. The communication mirror.
I snatch it, holding it to my face. My eyes scan the reflective glass and shiny metal. “How does this thing work?”
Camryn turns her head to me, her face scrunching. “What is that?”
I huff. “It’s some magical mirror that’s supposed to let me talk to Soren through it.”
Camryn walks to me, settling on the bed, and looks over my shoulder. “Huh. Maybe you need to tell it who you want to talk to.”
I give her a skeptical look. “What, like Siri?”
She shrugs her shoulders and chuckles. “A fae-powered smartphone.”
I move the mirror close to my lips and whisper, feeling like an idiot. “Call Soren.”
I stare at my reflection before the mirror pulses in my hand. The glass glazes white before it clears and I’m left gazing at the ruggedly handsome, albeit concerned, face of Soren.