Chapter 5
RYLIAN
I’m slumped in the Oaken Throne, completely exhausted.
Court must be held, but with the loss of the crystals and the spring equinox drawing closer, I feel like a horse has run me over.
Or maybe a stampede of horses. And left hoofprints on my face.
Fortunately, it is a quiet day, and the nobles and dukes are chatting among themselves, happy to leave me to my misery.
I try not to cringe when I hear the page open the door. A petitioner from among the commoners?
No, worse. Duke Alred. I do not hide my lack of enthusiasm about seeing him.
“My deepest, deepest apologies, sire,” he says. “But I have terrible news.”
“Yes?” What could be more terrible than what had already happened?
“The destruction of the hall and the theft of your father’s crystal. We have found who was responsible.”
At this, the quiet chatting stops. The attention of members of my court turns toward Alred.
He takes a deep breath before speaking. “The culprit was one of my students. Forgive me, sire.”
“What are you talking about?” I blurt. I feel something go cold inside of me.
“The traitor. We have discovered that one of my students was responsible. I am mortified, sire, that I brought a traitor into your midst—”
“Tell me more,” I demand, blood quickening hot in my veins. “Who? Where are they? They’ll pay for what they’ve done.” And if they’ve been around Castelis, that makes me even more concerned.
“Appropriate measures have been taken, sire.”
I rise to my feet. “Do not trifle with me, Alred. You will tell me who this instant. The appropriate measures are for me to decide.”
His eyebrows raise, but he ducks his head as he should. It feels more for appearances, like anything else with him, but appearances are enough. “My note taker was responsible, sire. The one with an interest in crystals. My deepest apologies, sire. I should have suspected.”
“Castelis,” I breathe.
His eyebrows twitch. He didn’t know I knew her name.
Perhaps I’ve revealed something I shouldn’t have in that statement.
Yes, I know her name. Yes, I have respect for the common people and the humans.
He doesn’t know that I have more than simple respect for her.
That one word couldn’t have given away that much, surely.
But there’s something worse. Castelis was with me when the crystals were shattered. That—I will not tell him. Because it means he’s lying.
And now I know his secret. He’s found a way to lie to me. Unless it’s something in the twist of his words. But how could Castelis be in any way responsible for this?
“She had such a promising mind, sire, very promising, but I suppose I let that blind me to a corruption of character—”
I force myself to appear calm and unconcerned, reassured even. “And do you have evidence of this?”
“I found three vials of Snowdrop potion in our workshop, one emptied. She must have been a human traitor all along.”
I blow out a breath. Snowdrop residue had definitely been in the Hall of Crystals. Had he asked her to brew the potion? Is that how he was weaving this untruth? Or did his secret gifts lie in deception?
Clearly, someone is trying to hurt or even destroy the Autumn Court. And me. Trying to power the entire Court’s magic and wards by myself, well… It would take a toll. It might kill me.
And that is something I am sure Castelis would never do.
I can’t let him know that, though. And perhaps she could have taken it, but based on some other motivation. To keep it from whoever destroyed the others? My silence is growing too long.
Alred clears his throat. “The potions must have come from our enemies in the Winter Court, where our true enemies lie. One vial from them was more than enough, let alone three. But rest easy, sire, the matter has been handled. I sent her away, and she won’t trouble us—”
“What?” I shoot back to my feet. My anger darkens the hall, dimming the torches and darkening the glittering leaves around the throne, their usual orange hue melting into cranberry red.
This has gone from a ridiculous accusation to—to what?
Unmitigated disaster? As if losing the crystals didn’t already qualify for that.
“Banished, sire. I absolutely could not continue to educate a human with such designs on our future—”
“How dare you act without bringing her before me for trial and punishment?” The force of the words is absolutely deserved, but Alred seems at least a little surprised by them.
The members of the court lingering nearby don’t seem surprised, but they fall silent, suddenly every ear keen.
He could challenge me on this, with my coronation not complete, but everyone knows this is my right.
“My apologies again, sire, most deeply and truly—” He bows his head and drops to one knee now.
My voice is tight with control and edged with rage.
“Banishment is much too mild a punishment.” I try to rein in the anger, but the hall continues to plummet into darkness.
Wind stirs, like a fall thunderstorm brewing.
From the few human auras in the crowd, I sense genuine fear.
The vines that circle the columns have gone deep dark brown, and black thorns have sprouted on their edges, in between the amber flowers.
“Sire, please—she was quite harmless without the help of the Winter Court.” Alred is glancing around him, looking truly panicked now. “She can’t harm us now. I thought it merciful—”
“You did not think. You overstep your bounds,” I thunder. “My family’s legacy has been destroyed. Mercy should not be your concern. Justice should be. And it is I who determine what justice is in my Court.”
The words echo, thundering underneath the rising wind. Pure silence follows. No one moves to speak—or to argue. Alred has acted without me—beyond me—and he will do it again if I don’t make him pay a price.
“Forgive me, sire,” Alred murmurs into the silence.
“I will not,” I say, raising my chin. “You will make amends for your presumptions, if you truly wish forgiveness.” I take two steps down toward him, toward where he is still on one knee before the steps that lead up to the Oaken Throne. “Where did you banish her to?”
“The Spring Court,” he says quickly. “As far from Winter as possible, and we have many allies there. If she’s truly determined to harm you, it will be an immense effort to even get near our Court again. Or to reach the Winter Court for help, for that matter.”
I grit my teeth. All that thought put into a punishment, and no thought to the fact that he had no right to mete out punishment, no consideration that this should go before the king.
I don’t make the flippant observation, because I know the truth—Alred knew full well he was out of bounds.
He believes he can get away with it. And he’s about to find out whether that’s the case.
On top of it all, is this even true, or is this too a lie?
I let out a slow breath. I need to calm down. Concentrating, I’m able to raise the light in the room a little. But I feel weak. Without the crystals, without Father… without her. What support do I have? I shouldn’t have let my anger expend so much magic.
Castelis—gone, just when I thought I might like to know her. The crystals—gone too, just when I truly need them. My father—gone thrice. To war, to death, now his crystal too. The pain is unending, I suppose. What will I lose next?
Despite all these fae and supposed friends crowding this room, I am alone. Deeply, truly alone. They all depend on me. And who can I turn to for aid? No one. To power the wards? No one. To trust? I trust Warden Jahan, but I’m not sure about the other wardens, nor the dukes.
As for companionship, laughter, blushes over tea in dark conservatories? None of those will be mine anytime soon.
Survival will be my focus, and only that. Powering the wards alone will take everything I have. We will just have to fight to survive until… Until what?
The shattered crystals are irreplaceable. Only my magic remains. Until I can trust another fae to power them and not open the gates to the Winter Court the minute I shut my eyes? I won’t be doing that anytime soon.
Alred cowering before me is evidence of the folly of trust.
I have to focus on getting through today—and then tomorrow, and the day after that—and hope some solution comes to me.
And I will have to sort out this mess.
I straighten to my full height and pin Alred with my eyes. His head has been bowed, but he feels my gaze and looks up to face me.
My glare is made of granite. “To make amends, you will retrieve Castelis from the Spring Court.”
“But, sire—”
“Silence, before I make your punishment harsher. I don’t care if you must go there yourself. I have a thirst to punish her myself. As is my right. Retrieve her for me before the equinox, or you will pay her price.”
Alred has gone pale. “But the Spring Court, sire—we are weak there now—”
“No excuses. You made your choice, and now you will make amends to your king. You will bring her here to me, and she will beg for her life.” I add that last bit because I don’t like that twitching in his eyebrows.
I don’t like how he seems to see that there is some connection between us.
No one must think I want him to bring Castelis back for a personal reason.
Or because she is innocent. I need to know more before I can reveal what I know.
Like—why did Alred blame her? Was the evidence well planted? Or did they think she would make an excellent scapegoat, as a human hovering around crystals? Why did they seek to get rid of her in the first place, since she obviously didn’t do it? What did she do—or see?
That last question makes a lead weight drop in my stomach. There’s a good chance, I realize, that I’m never going to see Castelis again. The hall darkens around me, like the walls are closing in, and Alred isn’t the only one who flinches and cowers.
And who actually destroyed the crystals? Was it Alred?
“Bring the girl to me before the equinox,” I say, my voice quiet now. “Or her proper punishment will be yours, and then some.”
The human members of the crowd have gone awash with streaks of yellow, but also a base of smooth black. The color of respect, in this moment. In their eyes, my judgment is just.
“Yes, sire.” Alred rights himself, bows deeply, and hurries out, members of the court turning their backs to me to watch him go.
I sink back onto the Oaken Throne, the soft warm wood not as comfortable as I remember it being as a child playing king with my father. I’ve fought the first of many battles I’ll have to fight—alone. Did I win? Can I even know?
And where is Castelis really?