Chapter 2
RENEL
No sign of the castle guards. No sign that the Crystal Castle was here a few hours ago, other than the vegetation crushed under its weight.
When ordering the evacuation, I was too disturbed by what I thought was my impending death to consider what would happen afterwards, too disturbed to even hope that there would be any after.
Now I’m alive—with no guards, and no power. How am I going to get Tarlia back? What can I offer Zorwal? I push away the questions and the worry and the fear, and try to focus on what I have to do right now. I can’t falter.
“They must have gone somewhere,” the human prince says as if it was a brilliant realization.
I’m still not sure why he decided to tag along. Ferer, the fae knight, is a transcender and brought us here, using a faerie circle to transcend to the last location of the castle, so his presence is incredibly helpful. The human prince is just dead weight.
“Unless the guards are invisible,” I reply. “Or were turned into ants.”
The prince raises his eyebrow while Ferer gives me a curious stare. Trying to be sarcastic with people I don’t know is a terrible idea.
I grit my teeth. “It’s a joke.”
The human prince shrugs as if the idea was quite sensible. “Anything is possible.”
The fae knight looks around. “I’m sure we’ll find someone who saw where the guards went. Did they have many transcenders among them?”
“None, as far as I know, so they shouldn’t be far. But…” My thoughts turn grim. “Anything could have happened in the many hours since the castle was evacuated. Perhaps Zorwal or someone else from the council ordered them to go somewhere else, for example.”
The human prince and Ferer look at me, expecting some brilliant idea, but I have none. Coming here was useless, and I don’t have any inkling how to find Tarlia, let alone rescue her. And yet I can’t simply turn back and do nothing.
No. There is something I can do.
My thoughts turn to the Jewel, the city of enslaved lower fae, all of them recently freed. It doesn’t take a genius to foresee some kind of conflict there.
I turn to Ferer. “The Jewel City is more urgent. Whenever you’re ready, if you don’t mind, could you take me there?”
He gives me his half suspicious, half accusing stare, likely still thinking I’m to blame for all the torments imposed upon the lower fae. Still, he nods. “I’m ready.”
We walk back to the faerie circle, and Ferer asks, “Where exactly do you want to go? The Jewel Plaza, a walking distance from there…”
“One of the circles by the gates. I’m still the acting king, so I might as well use the feeble veneer of power that still covers me.” So feeble, and yet I need to cling to it, hope that it will be enough.
The knight gives me a half nod. “Makes sense.”
We step into the circle, hold hands, then my surroundings disappear and I’m greeted with the roar of the ocean nearby and the smell of salt in the air.
I open my eyes and see the great circular plaza in front of the Jewel and its tall walls illuminated by several lightstones.
We’re at the back of the plaza, coming out of one of several faerie circles.
I haven’t been here in many years, as Zorwal advised me to keep my public appearances to a minimum. Looking back, I don’t know if his advice made any sense, don’t know if he meant well or wanted to manipulate me for some personal gain. Most of all, I don’t know why I followed him blindly.
In the beginning, when I was lost, hurting, with no parents, no family, perhaps it made sense to heed his words, to have someone guiding me, helping to keep the council in check and my head over my shoulders. Eventually, I should have opened my eyes, should have questioned things. Should…
I stop my thoughts. Should haves won’t bring Tarlia back. Instead, I consider the situation I’m about to face.
While more guards than usual stand by the faerie circles, there are no flying carriages coming in and out in the large side areas reserved for descending and taking off.
Instead, there are only three abandoned carriages, one of them toppled to the side.
I suppose that tells me what happened to these vehicles once the pixies who used to carry them came out of enslavement.
The humongous gate of the city is closed shut, which is quite unusual.
I can’t imagine what’s happening in the city. It’s a tight space for a conflict, right now filled with fae who just came out of bondage.
As I approach the gate and glimpse through the bars, I notice a multitude of fae there, eager to leave, some of them with colored skins and even horns.
No conflict—yet. All they want to do is leave.
A few of them in the front seem to be arguing with the guards, but other than that, it’s not as bad as I feared.
A sigh of relief escapes my lips, and yet it feels strange and lonely. I’m not sure what my companions were expecting and what they think of this. It’s odd not to have Azur beside me. Somehow, I still want to turn to him and make a comment, then hear his grumpy opinion. More than grumpy.
The reality is that the only person I thought was my friend hates me. He was my guardian just because he was forced to. A bitter taste comes to my mouth, and gets even bitterer as I realize that my current companions also hate me, just like my brother.
I shouldn’t care what a pompous knight and a idiotic human prince think, and yet my skin still prickles with discomfort. At least it’s a truthful discomfort, instead of a daft illusion.
And my goal here is to avoid a conflict, not to be the most likable fae in the Crystal Court—or anywhere.
The two turrets by the wall are more manned than usual, with archers at the ready, and I imagine that something similar is happening in the city.
A group of guards stands a few feet ahead of the gates, and I address their captain.
“I am Renel Goldenstar.” Using my stepfather’s last name always makes me cringe, even if I had no issue sitting on his throne. “Acting king of the Crystal Court. Open the gates.”
“Your Highness. Erm, Majesty.” The captain bows, followed by the guards beside him. “Apologies, but we’re not authorized to do that.”
“Not authorized by who? I’m your king, and this is an order.”
The captain bows again, his shoulders hunched. “We were warned an impostor could come.”
I’m assuming this is Zorwal’s doing—or the council’s.
“I’m Renel Goldenstar,” I say slowly, my words clearly enunciated. “Not an impostor.”
“I, I… I know. I mean, I don’t. I…” His bottom lip is quivering. “Orders, Your Highness.”
“Whose orders?” I keep my voice calm, as I don’t want to threaten anyone—yet. “Whose orders exceed mine?”
The captain looks at the ground. “Nobody’s. Except that if Your Highness is not Your Highness…”
He might be about to pee his pants—and yet he won’t open the gate. I glance at the guards flanking him. “What about you? Cowards as well? Do you know the penalty for disobeying your king?”
They remain silent, and I point at one of them. “You. Open the gate.”
“Apologies, Your Majesty. If we do that, they’ll escape.” He points at the lower fae.
“That’s not a problem. Let them go. It’s an order.” I’m using my best kingly voice, the one I had to deploy so many times in council meetings.
The guards look at each other, and the captain points at the archers up in the turrets. “They won’t let us.”
I huff but it sounds like a grunt, then walk past them and reach the gate.
“Where are you going?” that moronic captain dares to ask.
“That is none of your business.” I should leave it at that, but there’s a strange tension in the air, so I add, “I’m just looking.”
Ferer and Ziven are at my side, touching the thick metal bars closing in the fae in the Jewel City.
“I don’t understand,” the human prince whispers. “Didn’t you take your brother’s throne for power?”
I guess he’s implying I have none of it. Several murderous thoughts cross my head at once, and I think he notices my glare, as he hastily adds, “I was just confused.”
He seems to think his words are some form of apology.
I don’t even look in his direction, and say, “Some things are too complex for dimwit minds. Now excuse me, but I have a complex diplomatic situation to fix.”
Through the bars, I take a better look at the city.
My goal was to talk to the lower fae, but I realize there’s a line of guards on the inside, swords drawn, facing the multitude trying to leave.
That and the archers on top of the turrets, and who knows what else.
My stomach sinks. Conflict is brewing, and it’s just a matter of minutes before it erupts.
“Let us go!” a fae man yells.
“They aren’t fighting,” I whisper mostly to myself.
“Their magic,” Ferer says. “I can’t sense it.”
I’ve never heard of any fae who could sense other people’s magic, but considering his sister could sense the keep’s wards from miles away, I don’t doubt anything. “It’s blocked?”
He narrows his eyes. “Something to do with the city walls, I suppose. I don’t know. It explains why they haven’t escaped.”
The human prince stands close to us and whispers, “We’re almost by the sea.”
Another obvious piece of information. “And?”
He points at Ferer. “We’re both water wielders. I say we break the gate and make a run for it. How’s that for a diplomatic solution?” He then wiggles his eyebrows like a ten-year-old who thinks he’s invincible.
The fae knight looks up at the archers on the turrets. “We’d need to neutralize them first.”
He’s calculating the odds, not grimacing at the preposterous suggestion.
“Them as well,” the human looks at the guards in front of the gates.
What is wrong with them?
“I’m—” I was going to say here for a diplomatic solution, but the words sound hollow and pointless before I even utter them, considering nobody’s listening to me.
“Attention, lower fae citizens,” a loud voice comes from an inner turret by the wall, interrupting my thoughts. “Submit for detention peacefully, and you won’t be killed.”