Chapter 18
RENEL
Tarlia leaned into Ziven’s touch. Leaned into his touch—and the image won’t leave my mind.
In the maelstrom of emotions taking over my mind, amidst the dangers looming over all the fae lands, I didn’t need to feel that. Is that what they call jealousy? Why does it turn me inside out? Why do I suddenly hate her, hate Ziven, hate everything?
I try to stuff down those useless thoughts as I follow the guards up the stairs, wondering what Queen Berta has in store for us.
And then I want to strangle my brother. What kind of idiot offends the queen of another court?
He might think he’s untouchable with all his powerful magic, but that’s not how a king should behave.
Wasn’t he so desperate to call himself king of the Crystal Court?
He should have acted like a king. I wonder if I should have fought harder, should have tried to remain in control of the court.
And then, the truth is that now, somehow, Zorwal is the one in control, and that’s what we need to solve first.
We climb up to the castle’s entrance, then to Berta’s mezzanine, where she usually receives guests. She’s already there, sitting at a high chair, her legs crossed, as she eyes us with a strange mix of curiosity and disdain.
“Let’s get straight to the point.” Her voice is steely but not hostile. “You want access to my library. Is that correct?”
Berta has more than one library, and her words could be a trick, so I say, “The library with the older collection.”
She chuckles and rolls her eyes. “Obviously. I’ll take you there, and let you peruse it, with a few stipulations.
Before you go there, you’ll have dinner and tell me what’s happening.
Now, here’s the important part. You will tell nobody from any other court that I gave you access to these books, and will share the information in them only with the people who absolutely need to know it.
Second, you will be careful with the books.
I’ll give you paper and ink for notes, but you cannot remove a single book from the library.
Third, you’ll leave the books you consult on the tables, and won’t try to put them back on the shelves.
Fourth, and this is unrelated to the library.
After you leave the castle, if you learn that trouble is coming my way, you’ll find a way to warn me. ”
“I can do that,” I say.
“I want promises! And promises that you’ll ensure your human companions also keep your promises.” She points at me. “A promise from you, former acting king, and from you.” She points at Mirella. “Former dead princess, apparently future acting queen. Is that not so?”
Mirella shows no reaction and says, “Not right now, no.”
“Interesting. Now promise.”
I clear my throat. “I won’t tell anyone from another court that you helped me, unless they’re among the group who absolutely needs to know this information.
I won’t put the books back on the shelves.
I’ll take notes using the paper you give me.
I won’t take any books out of the library.
I’ll find a way to warn you if things go wrong and your court is in danger, and I’ll ask my human companions to do the same. ”
Mirella repeats my words, her tone lacking any emotion. No anger, no fear, not even any of her previous pride and haughtiness. For a second, I wonder if she’s changed, but I know that if I let my guard down, she’ll use the opportunity to hurt me.
The queen snaps a finger. “Dinner time!”
In a few seconds, servants bring wine, fruit, some unknown venison, and bread.
They set a table by some windows, where we sit.
The queen takes a place by my side, and Mirella sits across from me, beside Ziven and Tarlia, who barely looks in my direction.
I wonder if it’s because I mentioned her name when Berta was threatening to drop us, but it’s not like I can explain it now.
What I do is try to be friendly with the queen, despite everything.
I wasn’t meaning to tell her about the Witch King, but at this point, I have no choice, so I tell her that he’s in his prison in the Shadow Lands and that Marlak is on his way to kill him or perhaps has already killed him, then I tell her that we are supposed to research his anchors, and even tell him that Zorwal might be one of them.
It’s more than I’d like to tell a queen I don’t trust, but it’s true that we need her help.
“Anchors…” She looks up. “That doesn’t sound like fae magic. I think… you might need to look at older Tiurian records.”
“I’ll do that.” I didn’t tell her about Astra or even about my vile stepfather’s journals, and I’m glad she doesn’t ask many questions.
I get a feeling that, oddly, she would rather not know too much, that she would rather not have any secrets that could compromise her.
And that’s why she doesn’t anyone to know she’s helping us.
If everything goes wrong, she’ll have to kneel to the Witch King.
I hope it doesn’t come to that. It shouldn’t, right?
Marlak should have killed him by now, and all we have to do is figure out a way to get rid of Zorwal and Otavio.
In fact, fire might be all that’s needed, and we’re here for no reason.
But then why is my heart tight with worry? Why do I have a feeling everything is about to go wrong?
AZUR
I’ve been in this cage for a long time, my anxiety squeezing my already struggling chest.
Breathing is harder than I expected. The air I fought so hard to keep with me is stuffy, old, and no longer brings any sustenance to my lungs.
At this depth, the minuscule air bubbles are too few and far, hardly enough to help me breathe.
I don’t want to transcend away, when the Sea Court is my only solution, and when I’m so weak that if I tried to go too far, I’m sure I’d end up in the Witch King’s grasp, enslaved to his command.
What I found were particles of breathable air in the water, but it takes so much magic to get them. Any other fae with less power would have died by now. The Sea Court is indeed ruthless.
My thoughts veer away from this place, and I think about Lidiane, alone on that island.
She’s safe, and yet I look back and wonder if I should have warned her, if I should have said a proper goodbye.
Terror overwhelmed me so much that I transcended away as fast as I could, and now I want to go back and tell her…
I don’t even know what. Is there a word that wouldn’t split my heart in two?
It’s my fault she’s got magic poisoning, my fault she might become a bloodpuppet, and remorse is eating me from the inside out.
And yet I miss her and wish we were together, staring at the endless mountains, watching the clouds gliding above us.
But I need to do this.
I yell a few times requesting an audience with the Royalty of the Sea, or begging to see their king, but the guards don’t even react.
There’s only one thing they won’t ignore. One thing that will for sure draw the attention of their king.
“Guards,” I say. “I invoke the ancient laws and ask for a duel with your kraken.”
They laugh, and it’s like poking my anger with a sharp stick.
I approach the bars and shake them. “Is Prince Machiel that much of a coward? I mean, I understand that he doesn’t want to duel me, but he won’t even feed me to the kraken? Really? Because if he doesn’t answer my plea, I’m going to yell that he’s a coward. Prince Machiel is a coward!”
The water gets warmer all of a sudden, and then the prince steps into the cave. “A duel, guardian? Is that what you want?”
What I truly want is an audience with his father, but at this point, I doubt they’ll summon him. My best bet is to cause enough of a scene for His Majesty to notice me, and this is my chance.
“Yes, prince,” I say.
He approaches the cage and cranes his neck as if to examine me better. “No gills?” He looks me up and down, I suppose noticing the air around me. “You’re bold venturing this far into our waters. Do you think boldness will save you?”
“I’m under no such delusion.”
The prince sneers. “And you think you can kill our Kraken.”
“Defeat the Kraken. I’m not in the habit of killing innocents.”
His mocking smirk turns into laughter. “Bold indeed. Perhaps a little stupid. It means there won’t be much spectacle. Don’t worry. I’ll still enjoy it.”
“Your lack of enjoyment doesn’t worry me in the slightest.”
The spark of amusement in his eyes doesn’t dim.“We’ll see.”
He swims away, leaving me here hoping he won’t take forever to summon me even if I’m dreading facing the Kraken.
I trust my magic, but it’s going to be tricky to evade the gigantic beast while worrying about finding breathable particles. To say that I’m not in my element is an understatement.
At least I don’t have to wait much, as three new guards come to the cave, and one says, “Come.”
They open its door, and two of them pull me by the arms, then swim fast away from that underground hill, the movement making my body even colder than it already was, as I focus on keeping the little air I had with me.
We advance in almost darkness, passing by sea creatures, coral reefs
They take me to the edge of a fissure. The Sea Prince is standing on the other side, flanked by his retinue, and points at it. “Down there. It’s her lair.” He chuckles. “Let’s see who survives.”
“I need to ask for a prize, don’t I?” I say. “If I defeat the kraken.”
I wouldn’t be crazy to ask this prince for what I really want, but I need to give them an excuse for my presence here.
The prince takes a long look at me and says, “You could have asked for something, except that you requested to fight the kraken with no stipulations. Too late.”
I sense more guards and sea fae arriving at the area, and then lighting some kind of crystal which at least lets me see further, but not into the fissure. Many guards surround me, golden tridents pointed at me, and two of them kneel and wrap something on my feet. Weights, dragging me down.