Chapter 24
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
ASTER
I strolled the gardens, eyeing the calla lilies that defied their sun and bloomed in the heat of the night. It was poetic, in a way, but part of me questioned whether it was yet another sign that the elusive Goddess of Death was reminding me that she was waiting.
The sheer weight of such a task weighed down my shoulders. The magnitude of curing not only my bloodline so the Sinclair name could reign on, but the world itself, seemed insurmountable. That was why I often spent my evenings thinking, my mornings sleeping, and my afternoons regretting my birth. It was a pathetic cycle, yet it was one I could not break free of.
“Aster,” my sister’s shrill voice snapped the back of my head. I jolted from my thoughts and twisted away, finding Erynna storming at me with a red face and curled fists. Behind her, Morgana seethed alongside a few guards, not stepping beyond the doors. Far enough to be out of earshot, but close enough to capture my attention. “We have a problem.”
“Don’t we always have a problem?” I muttered and clasped my hands behind my back. “What is it? Has Morgana broken something?”
Erynna rolled her eyes so dramatically, I feared the apathy was powerful enough to move mountains. She hissed beneath her breath. “Atlas has returned from his journey.”
A chill rushed down my spine, my eyes flicking to Morgana, then to the palace that loomed over her. I faced my sister head-on and cleared my throat. “Back so soon, is he? He hadn’t sent word.”
“I am not so surprised by that, and I do not have my doubts that you are the least bit surprised either.”
I forced the sickest smile I could muster, sighing through my nose before pacing away from her and pinching the bridge of my nose. “And of our… guest ? Did they mingle?”
“He knows of her, that is for certain. He was practically undressing her with his eyes like the debauchee he is.”
“I can do without the imagery,” I muttered and kicked up a few pebbles absent-mindedly. Atlas was my cousin with far too close a hold on the throne. Between it was me, my uncle, and a sickly cousin. It was a tempting fight to be had, and tension was negligible whenever Atlas was away. When he returned, however, it seemed a metaphorical knife was always held at our necks.
One day, it’d become physical. That was how history was written, and ours was no different. If I could secure a cure, however, my claim to the throne would be all the much stronger—with or without a treasonous cousin.
“What are we going to do?” she asked, taking a step closer. “He’s far too much a risk.”
I cackled and faced her head-on. “What do you suggest I do, Erynna? I can lock Morgana away where the guards torment her, set her free and possibly never find her again, or give her a servant’s bed where Atlas can still happen upon her. My patrol can only do so much to prevent Atlas from inquiring about her.”
My sister’s face looked pained, the red across her cheeks turning pallid with a deep frown. “There is only one option that keeps her close, guarded, and monitored.”
At the idea, my heart sank. Morgana, while abrasive, had done exactly what I asked, even fighting tooth and nail against men twice her size in the name of freedom. My mouth opened, almost inclined to agree to Erynna’s depressing solution, but my gaze found Morgana’s distant glare and my throat closed. With flared nostrils, I shook my head once.
“If we are concerned about Atlas, Erynna, then it is a matter of keeping him distracted. He is a royal. He has responsibilities, tasks. I will not lock her away and worsen any distrust that already exists.”
“Aster—”
“My word is final,” I said and met her sharpened features once more, from the narrowed eyes to her curved frown. “Atlas has always been a pest. My shadows can follow Morgana just as well here, in the palace where she can hopefully find a way to aid us. It may even be easier to tail her here than in a dark, wet dungeon where my reach is limited.”
Erynna’s jaw flexed, but she bowed her head before curtsying at my command. “As you wish, Your Greatness.” I cursed beneath my breath at her hostile formality, to which she smirked. “You’re so certain she’d be willing to help us? What if our training does not amount to anything?”
I sucked in a breath and scratched the back of my head. “Only time will tell. For now, we will figure out the root of her magic and locate the mirror. Without those two things, we will remain at a dead end.”
Silence brewed between us, a war of emotions crossing my sister’s expression. I closed the gap between us and rested a hand on her shoulder, giving it a slight shake. The omen of our legacy was a terrible one, but I was certain this strange creature left at my feet in the Afterdark was a gift. A sign that our trials and tribulations were not endured in vain.
So I smiled at my sister, despite the anxiety gnawing at me from within. “Our time is fleeting, Erynna, but I am certain we can make the best of it. With or without Morgana’s involvement. And, more importantly, with or without Atlas’s schemes.”
Her nerves faded, and she shook her head once. “You better be a damn good king, Aster. Else I’ll be the one to put your head on a pike for the torture you put me through.”
“I would expect it no other way,” I said with a sigh and patted her shoulder before aiming for our guest—a captive who, by some strange stroke of mercy, did not deserve infinite darkness as she awaited trial at the gallows. I walked over to her after giving Erynna one clear command. “Go and find our cousin, Princess. He will be brought to Verdana Estate, where he can indulge in his debauchee fantasies privately.”