Thirty One
Bright light jolted me awake, and I lifted my head off the pillow, squinting.
“Rise and shine,” came Lady May’s husky voice as she spun around from the balcony doors. She must have just opened the curtains, plunging the room into late morning radiance.
“Lady May? What are you doing in my room?”
“Preventing you from sleeping the day away by the looks of it.”
“How did you get in? I thought that no one could glimmer inside.” I sat up in bed and rubbed my eyes.
“I am the one who spelled these chambers. I can get through my own wards. Get up and get dressed. We are going to train.”
“Train?”
“Yes, you still need to work on your magic.”
“I do? But Emeraldia is no longer in danger.”
“You need to grow stronger for your own benefit.”
“I’ve tried that, remember? My powers remained weak.”
“Yes, but now there is a way around that.”
“There is?”
Her gray eyes narrowed, and instead of replying, she strode to me and snatched my arm, studying the golden patterns. “Did you siphon Silberium from Adrian?”
“I did, last night.” Stay with me. Adrian’s plea flashed through my mind. “I’m going to ask Thea to take me to Emeraldia this morning, so I can release the ancient magic into the land.”
“I will take you, and this time, you will not transfer it all into the land but keep some for yourself.”
“I can do that?”
“You can do anything you set your mind to.” She dropped my arm and stepped away. “Now get ready.”
With a grunt, I crawled out of bed and headed to the bathing chamber. After a few minutes there, I went to the dressing room and picked out an outfit, settling on a long-sleeve yellow dress and brown leggings since I was going to Emeraldia, where the weather was still cool.
When I walked back into the bedroom, Lady May stood by my nightstand, leafing through the journal she had given me.
“I haven’t finished reading it yet,” I said on my way to the vanity.
“I would prefer not to be parted with it for too long lest it fall into the wrong hands.” She closed the journal and stepped closer to me.
“Isn’t it spelled so only I can read it?”
“It is, but where there is a spell, there is usually a counter-spell to reverse it.”
“In that case, why didn’t you reverse the spell you performed on Oberon to bind him to all of the Fae realm?”
She stopped not far from me, and her gaze turned hazy for a second as if she was lost in a memory.
“Because some spells—grand spells—that remold the structure of the world itself are irreversible. The only way to sever the link of the Argent family to all of Aubrielle is to erase their bloodline, but then there would be an outpouring of Silberium into the land, which would be catastrophic.” I didn’t say anything as I faced the vanity mirror.
Pondering what Lady May had revealed, I picked up the brush and ran it through my hair. “What is that?”
Her question drew my attention to my reflection, to the auburn strand peeking through the blonde. “Nothing.” I mixed it in with the rest of my tresses and set the brush down.
When I faced the Sorceress, she was watching me through narrowed eyes. “You are a queen now, Emelin. Do you know what that means?”
“That I will be miserable for the rest of my life?” I snapped, throwing the crown sitting on top of the vanity a scathing look.
“It means that you cannot trust anyone.”
“No one? Because that would mean that I can’t trust you.” My words were meant to highlight the hypocrisy of her statement, but they only made her chuckle.
“Now you’re catching on. Give me your hands, I will take you to Clairborne Palace.” When I reached for her, she frowned. “Where is your ring?”
“What?” My gaze dropped to my left hand, to the bare ring finger. Finn hadn’t returned my star-shaped diamond last night.
“It’s on the vanity in the bathing chamber. I took it off before I showered last night,” I lied.
Lady May pursed her lips. “Do you want to go retrieve it before we leave?”
“No. I don’t feel like wearing it right now.” Another lie. Though I didn’t know where Adrian and I stood, I missed the ring’s embrace on my finger. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t noticed its absence until now.
“Don’t let Adrian see you without it. It will upset him. You can trust him, you know. He didn’t choose this life, either.”
I scoffed. “Just take me home.”
“This is your home now, and the sooner you accept that, the better.”
A sigh of contempt was my only reply as I felt the pull of her magic. She took me to the royal gardens right outside my bedroom at Clairborne Palace.
“While you release the ancient magic, I will let Queen Dahlia know that we’re here. Remember, keep some of Silberium for yourself.” She disappeared then, leaving me alone in the chilly but bright winter morning.
After I had transferred the siphoned magic into the land two weeks ago, the deterioration of our climate had stalled.
Emeraldia had started to thaw, patches of new, green grass emerging from under the melting snow.
The revival was going slowly, but it filled my heart with joy because I would take progress, no matter how glacial, over no progress any day.
My only hope was that even though it had taken a century to bring us nearly to the point of no return, we wouldn’t have to wait another hundred years to see our kingdoms fully restored.
Emeraldia and Aubrielle were both on my mind as I faced the gardens and closed my eyes.
My heart still belonged to the human realm as it always would, but I couldn’t deny the relief I felt knowing that by siphoning Silberium I was also helping the Fae.
The entire nation didn’t deserve to suffer because of the arrogance and delusion of one egotistic king.
With those thoughts in mind, I went through the same motions as I had two weeks ago, sharing the magic of life, love, and abundance with the gardens before me.
The rippling effect would carry it far beyond the palace grounds.
Silberium would feed the starved land with the sustenance it desperately needed.
I let the magic pour out of me for several long minutes as I felt myself getting lighter and lighter, almost to the point I thought that I might float.
Lady May’s instruction kept me grounded as I slowed the current of Silberium leaving my body until it was nothing more than a trickle before stopping it altogether.
I didn’t keep much, though saving any of it for myself felt wrong because it belonged to my people.
“There you are,” my mother’s voice drifted from behind me.
I opened my eyes and released a long breath as exhaustion, deep but rightfully earned, came over me. My recently imposed duty had been carried out, and I could rest until next time.
“It’s done.” I faced my mother and smiled. I would have run into her arms but feeling weak on my feet, I was afraid I might collapse if I moved from my spot.
“Good.” Smiling back, she came closer and draped a knitted shawl over my shoulders.
“I didn’t expect to see you so soon, but I’m delighted that you’re here.
Come, have some tea with me.” Seeing my drained state, she offered me her arm for support.
“Your father and Sebastian are holding a council meeting, so they won’t be joining us.
” We stepped inside the palace and set off in the direction of the veranda off the West Wing, which was one of my mother’s favorite places to have morning tea.
“Your father has finally appointed a replacement for Adrian in the Zalie region.”
“Oh?” I managed to ask, too focused on putting one foot in front of the other. With each step, I felt more energy returning to my limbs.
“He selected Christian York.”
“That’s wonderful to hear. Christian is a good man.”
“I agree. He just wasn’t good enough for you,” she said simply and matter-of-fact. “How are things going at Castle Argent?”
The little burst of energy I had experienced a second ago dissipated as I felt deflated by her question. “They’re not going well. You told me to pretend, but I fear I’m not good at pretending.”
“Oh, Sunshine. Only a day has passed. Even if you stumbled, you didn’t fall. Rise up and take another step, more confidently this time. And remember, the goal is to keep moving forward. Do not let the past drag you down.”
“How do you always know the right thing to say? Will I ever become wise like you?” I wondered aloud.
“You will. You’re my daughter, after all.” She gave me a reassuring smile. “How are things with Adrian?”
“I keep pushing him away,” I confessed.
“Is that why you’re not wearing your beautiful ring?” We halted before the glass doors that led onto the veranda, where Lady May sat on one of the outdoor sofas.
“What if…” I stopped myself, not sure I should finish the thought.
“What is it?” my mother asked as she reached for the door handle to step outside.
“What if I can be married to Adrian but be romantically involved with someone else?”
She paused and let go of the handle. “Is that truly what you want?”
“I don’t know what I want,” I admitted.
“Well, you had better figure it out. Because you don’t sound like the Emelin I know and love.”
“Maybe it’s time for a new Emelin.” I lifted a shoulder.
For a split second, she looked taken aback before she smiled softly, her wise eyes looking at me, into me. “You know that I want you to be happy, but true happiness rarely blossoms from spite. Here is my advice if you want it. Heal your heart first before you decide who to give it to.”
“I trust that you have gained a deeper understanding of Fae magic from my journal,” the Sorceress said in a measured tone after we had returned from Nasyra.
She had glimmered us from the chilled stillness of the royal gardens at Clairborne Palace to the lively warmth of the gardens at Castle Argent.
“I have, though I must admit some aspects of it I still find confusing. For instance, how are the Fae lords bound to their respective provinces?” I asked as I rolled up my sleeves, already feeling flushed in my dress and leggings.
“A binding spell is performed when one becomes a lord.”
“Like the one you performed on Oberon?”
“No, that spell was unique because it defied the rules of nature and bound him to the entire realm.”
“Will you ever disclose the price Oberon had to pay to accomplish that?”
“I don’t know if I ever will, but he was not the one who made the sacrifice.”
“The sacrifice?” I shuddered at the gravity of the word. “What about the other spell? The one you used to make Rosalie the conduit? Did it require a sacrifice as well?”
“It did, though of a different kind. Have you wondered how you were able to defeat Sorin?”
The memory of that day flashed through my mind, and I shuddered again. I had pushed the thoughts of Sorin’s death aside in the past two weeks, refusing to take the time to fully process what I had done.
“I thought I was able to…kill him because I had some of Adrian’s magic in me.” I paused. “But that explanation doesn’t make sense. Sorin was all-powerful. I couldn’t possibly have had enough magic in me to defeat him.”
“Oh, but you did. A trace of Silberium had always been present in Adrian’s blood because he’s an Argent. It was merely a drop to the bottomless ocean that Sorin possessed but present nonetheless.”
“Are you saying Silberium was present in me when I defeated the king? But you said Adrian had possessed only a drop.”
“Only an ember was needed. You see, the spell that made Rosalie the conduit came from the Isle of Lumen. Light magic dwells there. Magic that seeks to restore balance. When the spell turned the first mortal queen into a conduit, it also granted her the ability to kill Oberon. Through siphoning Silberium from him, she gained the power to save his life, but she also became the only being who could take it.”
I swallowed and wrapped my arms around myself, feeling cold despite the warmth that surrounded me. “I never wanted that kind of power.”
“Which makes you the right person to possess it. You have to be careful, though. Balance is only achieved when the pendulum can swing both ways. Silberium can kill you if you ever take too much.”
“I’m not the only one who can siphon the ancient magic, am I?” I asked, my mind working on overdrive to put all the pieces together. “That power lies with the Clairborne bloodline. It could have been my father, my aunt, Sebastian, or even Luna who defeated Sorin and siphoned Silberium from Adrian.”
“It could have been. In fact, I thought Luna was the ‘child of light’ from the prophecy. That’s why I convinced your father to send her to Zalie to help reinforce the wards. I wanted for her and Adrian to meet.”
“Was that why you got upset when you caught Adrian and me kissing at the Solstice Ball?”
“That was part of it, yes. I was also trying to spare you both the heartbreak of being caught on the opposite sides of the war when Sorin inevitably attacked.”
“So you were going to stand by and watch Sorin invade Emeraldia? Why not tell him that there was another way to save his kingdom?”
“I couldn’t. Not unless a Clairborne brought down the wards. I was bound by a blood oath.”
“A blood oath?”
“Keep reading the journal, and most of your questions will be answered. For now, let us train. I want to teach you how to use the elements for self-defense.”
“Self-defense? Why do you think I need to learn that?” The cold feeling in my chest intensified.
“Because you have become very important. The fate of two realms rests on your shoulders, and when the stakes are high, the world becomes a dangerous place. You need to learn to protect yourself in it.”