Chapter 5
TARLIA
When I came to this island, I thought I’d need to make an effort to overhear conversations, to collect information, to find anything that could perhaps be useful.
To my surprise, no effort was needed. It’s as if I was invisible.
That only means Zorwal isn’t planning on letting me walk away.
Not a cheerful thought.
And yet right now, I’m mostly worried about Marlak, not that I care for him—I barely know him—but because I don’t want to see Astra heartbroken with a dead husband. And I don’t want Renel grieving a dead brother. As much as he doesn’t get along with Marlak, I don’t think he hates him.
But how is Marlak going to survive?
My powerlessness grates at me like a persistent itch, and yet there’s nothing I can do other than continue to serve tea for a pompous, cruel fae, while I wait for Mirella to return with grim news.
Hopefully not.
How far can hope stretch? How far will luck grace me? I’m holding onto my heart, thinking about Astra, wondering if there’s any solution, still thinking about the moment that might have changed everything.
I had just helped Mirella get dressed when Zorwal asked to see her in his sitting room. They were debating the terms of her coronation when suddenly, her eyes widened. “I know where Marlak is. I can see him.”
“How?” Zorwal asked.
She frowned as if confused or perplexed. “I don’t know. But he’s in the Jewel Plaza. Let me go to him.”
Zorwal’s smile still gives me the creeps. And now she’s gone to do his bidding.
At least Renel should be far from his brother, away from this insanity. Zorwal deems him too insignificant to be worth pursuing, which washes my chest with relief, except that I don’t know what he wants from me, why he healed Renel in exchange for my servitude.
In any case, I’m trying to do my job as best as I can. I prepared her bath in minutes, cleaned her room, and got Zorwal some hot water. Maybe I’ll convince him I’m the best servant ever and he’ll let me live. What are my odds?
I know Zorwal wasn’t looking for a servant, and yet I need some comfort to cheer me up while I listen, pay attention, and try to form a plan to escape.
For a second, I wish I had never pledged loyalty to Zorwal, but then I recall Renel about to die, and my regret vanishes. He’s alive. And now I’m here, stuck serving tea and cleaning. It could be a thousand times worse.
Despite the roar of the ocean, I hear wings flapping outside, and it’s sheer survival instinct that keeps my feet locked instead of running to see who arrived and what news they’re bringing.
After many excruciating seconds, the door opens and Mirella walks in, her face impassive.
“Already?” Zorwal raises an eyebrow, clearly displeased.
She sits at the table. “Indeed. Here I am.”
“And yet he’s still alive and my bloodpuppets haven’t found him to trace his magic. You had one job.”
So Marlak escaped? I control myself not to exhale, not to show any relief, not even to draw any attention to me.
Mirella’s eyes seem to spark with a blue fire. “Marlak is not bonded to me. I can’t make him stay in a place if he doesn’t want to.”
“What about your impressive magic?”
“He also has magic. And isn’t patience a virtue? Look at the bright side. The guards in the plaza saw him running like a coward. Do you think they’ll respect him?”
Zorwal clenches his fists over the table then speaks slowly, as if addressing a child.
“All you had to do was delay him until my bloodpuppets found him. Doesn’t he still consider you a sister?
It shouldn’t be hard to draw his attention, to keep him busy.
You could have made him angry, curious, you could have pretended you were thankful to him. ”
She presses her lips together and looks down. “Isn’t his magic already being traced?”
Zorwal inhales slowly as if to keep his fury in check.“Not properly, no. All I needed was a few minutes.”
“We’ll have other chances. I…” Her voice is trembling. “He ran away like a coward, master. I thought—”
“You’re not supposed to think. You’re supposed to do what I ask you. Don’t you want to get rid of Marlak?”
Mirella shrinks in her seat, her voice apologetic like a child’s. “He ran away. Doesn’t it count?”
“I’m wondering if I’m placing my trust where I shouldn’t. Do you want to see him killed or not?”
She shakes her head quickly, her eyes wide, fear clearly written on her features. “Not by my fault, no. I have no wish to kill the Crystal Court King and be cursed again.”
He pinches the bridge of his nose. “Bloodpuppets won’t count as your fault, Mirella.”
“He escaped.”
“Very well.” His tone suggests that nothing is well. “Next time I’ll come with you. Go rest now. We’ll discuss these things tomorrow, once we settle back in the castle.”
She gets up at once. “I’ll do that. And I’ll try harder next time.”
Zorwal nods, his eyes distant, and I follow her to the room I set up, where she’s already unlacing her dress.
“Let me help.” I approach her.
“No need.” She removes the dress revealing her underslip, then throws a pillow and a blanket on the floor. “Sleep here. And wake me up if anyone comes in.”
“If Zorwal calls me—”
“Yes. Sure. Otherwise, stay here.” She lowers her voice. “Oh. Renel was there, with Marlak. They might be working together.”
That’s surprising, and there’s something else that intrigues me. “You didn’t tell Zorwal.”
Mirella gives me a nonchalant shrug. “He didn’t ask.”
“Is he in danger?”
“What do you think? But don’t worry. He won’t return to the castle.” She gives me an ominous smirk. “Now silence. I grow tired of voices. Tired of talking.”
She lies under the covers and closes her eyes, even if the rhythm of her breath doesn’t sound like someone about to fall asleep.
I am exhausted—but also worried, and thinking, wondering what’s happening to Renel.
And then, I don’t understand what’s happening here. At first, I thought Mirella had just fumbled her task, but now I’m wondering if she has her own plans.
What plans?
ASTRA
Everything’s spinning and the layer of ice Marlak created is moving like a boat even after we reached the island rocks. No, my head’s the one that’s spinning. Nothing’s moving other than this cursed magic inside me, poisoning my blood, my body, my mind.
But I brought us here, despite everything.
“Azur!” someone screams through the fog around my mind.
It’s Lidiane, kneeling by him, followed by Ziven and Ferer, who are standing.
“He needs a healer!” Lidiane says.
“We’ll find someone,” Marlak says, and I can feel his chest moving.
He’s holding me, and I just want to spend a moment here, rest for a while, rest until eternity, and yet there’s so much to do.
The others are already walking inside when I get up, even if I still think the ground is moving.
“Are you all right?” Marlak asks as he holds me.
“Dizzy. Sick.”
The corners of his eyes tighten with worry. “You’ll need a healer too.”
“No. I…” I lean on him, then try to focus even if my mind is still spinning, still strange. “I’m getting better.”
And yet down is up, up is down. I hold onto him as much as I can, grasping onto this reality I don’t want to give up, and yet my strength is leaving me.
“I need a bed,” I finally admit as I let my eyes close. Too much in too little time. Everything strange. More than strange. Terrifying.
MARLAK
Astra’s about to faint, so I carry her inside the house. In the kitchen, I see my brother sitting alone, a lightstone in front of him.
Renel’s eyebrows shoot up when he sees us. “Is she all right?”
I don’t know why he sounds concerned, and don’t have time to weigh that in, my focus on my wife.
“Not really.”
I take Astra to my bedroom. When I place her on the bed, she opens her eyes and looks around her. With no lightstone here, everything is dark except for the faint moonlight coming from the window.
“Did I faint again?” she asks.
“Again?” I kiss her forehead, hiding the worry in my voice. “No. Don’t tell me. Rest.”
“How’s Azur?” Her voice is slurry but she sits up, stubbornly refusing to rest.
“I don’t know.” And frankly, I don’t care, but I don’t want to tell her that. “We just got here. I’ll try to go to Serenade and get a healer. For you too.” Mostly for her, in fact.
“No.” She shakes her head quickly. “Do you really want me to tell them that I drank his blood? Tell them what I am?”
I run a finger through her hair. Even in the dark, I can see some of the purple shade from my dreams, my heart aching seeing her so vulnerable, so weak. “We don’t need to give them details.”
She grasps my arm in a strong grip. “How will you find a healer in the middle of the night?”
“There are healers who work at odd hours.”
I’ll turn the world upside down to find one. I don’t care. She’s still holding my arm tight and I bring her close.
“It will be fine,” I whisper. “Can you lie down and rest? It’s been an incredibly long night.”
“For you as well.”
“I’ll stay awake as long as it’s necessary.”
“The Witch King…” Her voice is shaky.
“Is on his way right now?” I don’t know how I manage to keep my tone flippant considering all that’s happening.
“Not right now, obviously, but—”
“Then rest, azalee. You moved an entire castle just a few hours ago. Cut the servitude bonds not long before that. Then you beheaded the Witch King. I’d say it’s enough for a lifetime, let alone a night.”
She lets out a soft, lovely chuckle. “Fair. But check on Azur. He did most of the castle moving.”
I kiss her cheek. “I’ll check on him. Don’t worry. And I suppose I’ll just ignore the fact he tried to kill me a few hours ago.”
My words were meant as a joke, but her face turns somber. “Sorry. For asking you to bring him here. I don’t fully trust him, but keeping him hidden is what matters the most right now.”
“Whatever you say, wife. I think I’d bring the Witch King himself if you asked.”
“You would not.” At least she laughs.
“Hey, I brought Azur. Do you doubt anything? Stay. I’ll go and see what I can do.”