11. Chapter Eleven
Casynox had returned to Magyn Manor before the moon was entirely in the sky. His brow was slick with sweat from training, but he was happy.
I sipped at my wine and stared at the dazzling stars that danced atop the rolling hills.
After we ate, I’d told Aurelie everything Julius had said, despite my instinct not to, and I don’t know if I’d ever seen such a distant look in her eyes. I’d promised her answers, though—answers to why I seemingly ignored her only request and lost myself in the sort of rage I hadn’t felt in years.
Somehow, the thought that Yenira had taken up the Winter Court mantle in secret broke her more than Julius’ involvement.
After Casynox set down his things, he sat beside me on the grass and followed my gaze. “Eventful day?” he asked, then quickly added, “Sapphire stayed?”
“Yes, on both accounts,” I muttered. Aurelie was resting, to my fortune, but my head was racing with so many…thoughts. I knew what she did was rash, but I couldn’t necessarily blame her. I knew the Julius I saw downstairs was a result of the magic that plagued him and likely not what was within his heart.
I still would have snapped his neck in two, given the chance.
“Aurelie has promised to find a cure for a curse I’ve never seen before,” I said slowly. After emptying the glass in my mouth, I set it down and moved so my back was flesh with the grass. “I nearly killed her former lover. It was a rather mundane day, if you ask me.”
Casynox twisted to look at me, brows raised with a slack jaw. “I never took you as the jealous sort, Eero.”
I chortled before pulling my hands over my face. “The magic he attacked you with…he claims Aurelie is why he has it. Whatever she did to him inflicted this curse or sickness.” I paused, sitting up slightly to support myself on my elbows. “Whatever it is, it’s like the stars have plagued him. When he spoke, there was another voice tailing his own. I wish I wouldn’t have let my anger get the best of me, or perhaps I could—” I paused, eyes hardening. “No, I won’t pretend to ever have a clue what’s happened to him...let alone care.”
“Do you think she was the one to curse him?” he asked. “Or do you think it’s a trick?”
“Well, if he’s desperate or stupid enough to side with Sólkon—estranged friend or not—then I won’t trust him more than I can throw him.”
“I don’t know about that, snowman. You’re pretty strong. You can throw him to the…” Cas paused, looking over the rolling hills for a moment. “At least to the meadows. At least.”
“There’s more,” I said, sighing and rolling my eyes at his poor joke. “He claims Yenira took up the Winter throne…as if she was worthy of such a thing. If Aurelie hadn’t stopped me, I would have turned him into an ice sculpture.”
“Artistic. I like it.” Casynox, too, laid down. “I can’t say I’m surprised. Sólkon has reigned over the Winter Court as a distant leader for too long. Now that you’re back, he’s probably clawing for any way to hold onto power.” After a brief pause, he continued. “So how are we going to find a cure to this elusive, never-before-seen curse?”
I shrugged. “That’s something I don’t have the mental fortitude to think about right now.”
“Well, I might have an idea or two.” Casynox picked up a stick and started twirling it between his fingers mindlessly. “One idea is Lyra, and the other is Sapphire.”
“One idea is a bone of contention, and the other has become obsessed after barely getting a taste of having her mate near her.”
“One idea is a bone of contention because you sentenced her brother on some perilous march of death, for all intents and purposes.”
“Oh, I did, huh?” I snickered. “Funny. I didn’t know I made such commands while playing guard in Novus’ domain.”
“Okay, fine,” Casynox said with a sour chuckle. “But you’re the figurehead, so you get her rage.”
I shook my head. “Do you think Lyra truly has the capability to help her? Does she even know the extent of her power?”
“Maybe not, but she sure knows it better than our sorry asses.”
My thin-lipped frown twitched into a grin. “Fine. Maybe you’re right, but we have a month. I don’t have much time to play her little game.”
“Well, lucky for you,” Casynox said, grunting as he pushed himself back onto his feet, “I don’t think she has the patience for games anymore, Eero. I think she’s out for blood unless we find a way to get her brother back.”
I looked at him and frowned. After nodding silently, I sat up and recoiled when he slapped a hand on my back.
“Besides, you have me and those little scholastic fuckers studying the neighboring courts. I’ll work with them, and we’ll figure out how and if Yenira got the icy throne.”
Without having the time or energy to contest, I watched him depart to his room. Lyra held a lot of resentment toward me. Not the sort of resentment that warranted treason, nor was it a cause of concern, but the kind rooted in the only family she’d ever known.
That was when I paused.
I was such a fool. Of course, that was why Aurelie sought closure for a man who pushed her right into the lion’s den. It wasn’t because he’d spent years manipulating her into hating the fae or herself—no. It was because he was the only person who had shown her what a semblance of security felt like. He was all but family to her.
As was Yenira.
And as was Azalea.
I breathed in disbelief before standing to my feet and returning to the guest house, where she was curled over the blankets, her head buried beneath the pillows. I stared for a moment and frowned.
I’d not only nearly killed the man partially responsible for the worst night of her life…but the only person she’d seen in months who reminded her of home. I sat on the edge of the bed near her back and stroked some of her hair, watching her lip twitch. There were raw, red lines that trailed down her cheek.
“I’m sorry, Aurelie,” I whispered quietly before kissing her cheek. She stirred, but as I pulled away, her hand coiled around my wrist and held me there. I smiled.
“Don’t be,” she whispered hoarsely. I slipped from her hold to untie my boots and take them off my feet before moving onto the bed alongside her. I pulled her close and nuzzled into her hair, closing my eyes. I’d terrified her today.
That was the one thing I never wanted to do.
“Are you okay?”
She hummed before shaking her head slowly. I didn’t blame her but knew we’d make this right. If Julius was worth a cure, we’d find it. If hellfire rained down upon the rebellion forces, we’d fight it. And, most of all, if Aurelie needed to not be okay, even if for a minute, then I would let her sulk. Cope. Heal.
But I would do everything in my power to tear down the source of her misery. One by one, they’d fall. I just hope she found it in her heart to forgive me should the day come when I did not hold back. Because if Julius was not worth a cure, I would be his downfall.
Not Queen Evangeline.
Not the swing of an executioner’s blade.
Me.