41. Chapter Forty-One
The day had passed in utter silence.
The festivities outside died out almost an hour after I first woke, and if it weren’t for the rays of sunlight bleeding through the small window overhead, I’d never be able to fathom just how long I’d been locked away.
At least in Novus’ castle, I was given a bed. Food. A semblance of normality in a situation that was so much more dire than I had ever expected. If it weren’t for Eero, I wouldn’t have survived. Looking back now, I knew that was the case.
And now, chained by the neck with the beds of my nails bleeding from clawing at the stone relentlessly, I was faced with the idea of death once more. Flashes of that celestial void crossed my mind each time I closed my eyes—a plane of starlight and darkness, riddled with mind-altering, body-numbing experiences.
My ears perked when a cough echoed down the hall. I crawled toward the gate, the bits of loose rock and dirt digging into my skin like tiny razorblades. When the chain went taut, I choked on air and stumbled back to relieve the tension.
Another cough. Deep, weak.
“Hello?” I rasped. It could be a guard, a servant…anybody, really. But the idea I wasn’t alone? That another prisoner was chained away in this dungeon, tucked behind adjacent bars? “Can you hear me?”
Silence. My bottom lip puckered, and I crawled back to my place against the wall and hugged my knees to my chest. Rocking back and forth, I stayed just like that until the sun was replaced with moonlight. My stomach rumbled, my hands shaky, but I refused to sleep. I refused to let myself be more vulnerable than I already was.
I tried to use magic. I tried to conjure up enough energy to burn through the metal, to melt it off my skin. I just needed a way to break free. But it was hollow—empty, cold, and distant.
Reaching for the collar on my neck was useless too. There was no place for a key, and the only thing my finger rubbed against that wasn’t smooth metal was the inset jewel. I picked at it until my fingernail started bending, but it wasn’t budging.
I sighed and rested my head against the wall, wondering if that person would cough again. At the very least, it would fill the silence. I could consider them company.
My head fell to the side when I started nodding off, the sensation of sinking awakening me. It was like a smack in the face, but I needed it. I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t so much as stare at the darkness too long in fear that Myrthana—or worse—would rear their ugly heads. I winced as I stretched out my legs, grabbing hold of my tattered tunic and lifting it to look at my abdomen.
It was dirty, bloody, and raw—but the gash was gone.
This made me shudder. Flashes of Myrthana raced across my mind again, her words echoing like a terrible storm. I’d been forced into that deal, but what else could I have done? Let myself fade away? The idea of leaving this world when there was so much left to see, learn, do…it was enough for a tear to carve down my cheek.
Just one.
I’d all but run dry since getting here.
When the echoing of heels approached from the distance, I swiped it away and pressed my back against the wall. The stone was wet, seeping through my tunic and touching the exposed skin from the holes. Each bead of water was like a spider dripping across my skin, each scrape of stone like the Underfae, ushering in terror like never before.
I stared at the cell doors.
Click. Clack. Click. Clack.
And then, my heart shattered.
What I noticed first were her strands of midnight hair, pulled out of her face and into a braid—the same sort of braid she used to do for me. The metal of her key scratched against rough iron, rattling open.
Screeeeeeech.
Her crimson eyes burned into me as I stared back, unsure if my heart was even beating.
I couldn’t breathe; I could only stare. Yenira stood with her arms at her sides, lips curved into a desperate frown. Her mouth parted, but no sound escaped. Not even the fragment of a word. There was only air, fading into a forgotten thought. She was wearing a long, white dress, glittering gold racing after the train. She looked like she was to attend a wedding—not a dungeon cell.
There were two guards behind her, but neither moved as she pressed beyond the threshold of the cell and kneeled in front of me. After she cleared her throat, she said, “You look terrible.”
The air stuck in my throat cracked with a gasp, my teeth bared in anger. “How dare you?”
Yenira gulped. Her eyes flitted to the ground. “There’s so much I need to tell you, Aurelie, but I cannot do it if you play the enemy.”
“Well, we are clearly not friends,” I hissed. I dug my nails into my palms so hard, I could feel the skin break, but it distracted me from the looming terror. Yenira was here. I knew it all along, but she was here? With the man who’d caused me so much pain? Was she as involved as I initially feared?
Of course she was.
“Don’t touch me,” I shrieked and shoved her hand away when she’d reached for my neck. She snapped at me and slapped my hands away before taking hold of the collar around my neck. With a small click and burning magic against my skin, the collar broke free. I scrambled to the side to create space and glared at her, hand rubbing against my skin.
“Don’t be so dramatic,” she said as she let the metal clatter onto the floor. “If you keep causing a scene, I’ll be forced to put that leash back on. Do you want that?”
I huffed, gaze darting toward the open door. I wouldn’t be able to make a run for it, not past those guards at least, but I was so close, I could taste it.
“Don’t get any stupid ideas either.”
This recaptured my attention, and I straightened my posture as I stood. My entire body ached, and although the gash was gone, my abdomen stung, as if the wound was still there. “Why are you letting me off my leash?”
“I’m not evil, you know,” Yenira said as she closed the gap between us. Her frown had returned, and if I was any na?ver, I would have sworn I could see tears glittering in her gaze. How dare she—she was in no position to cry. She’d done this to herself, to me. She made this choice. “Aurelie, if we want to make this work, you need to listen to me. To trust me.”
I remained silent, jaw jutting forward as I fought back my own tears. Yenira was a sister, an aunt, a best friend—she was everything. She’d not only betrayed me, but she betrayed Azalea. Julius. I knew being mated was intoxicating, something I didn’t think I’d ever be able to explain to somebody who’d never experienced that sort of raw, visceral love. But I would never put her through the things she let Sólkon do.
I knew she was here when it happened.
I knew it in my bones.
“What could you possibly want to do?”
Yenira offered a hand, fingers loosely hung toward me. When her lips cracked into a sad smile, I got the inexplicable urge to smash a fist into her face. Still, I cleared my throat, swallowed the rage, and nodded. I didn’t accept her hand. I followed.
The bodyguards behind me were walking too close, their presence forcing my shoulders up in uneasy tension that ravished my body. I flinched every time their arms brushed against mine, winced when the pommel of their swords brushed against my wrists. I was in hell. Agonizing, tortuous hell.
My gaze lingered on each cell we passed in search of that coughing man. They were all empty—except for one.
I slowed my pace, eyes widening in disbelief. In the corner, linked by tarnished silver, was Casynox. His eyes were closed, and I didn’t think I’d ever seen him so pale.
But he opened his eyes, looking at me, and I choked on my gasp. Within seconds, the guards had my wrists in their hands and pulled me forward. “Keep moving,” they growled.
Casynox. What was he doing here? I couldn’t control the racing of my heart, the ringing in my ears, the whirring in my head. I needed to help him—I knew silver would do him no good. I knew it could kill him.
I blinked away the terror and ascended the stairs, and by the time the sun from the floor-to-ceiling windows touched my skin, I’d taken control of my breathing once more. Yenira hadn’t even looked over her shoulder at me when the guards pushed me ahead—she kept her head faced forward, an unwavering confidence in her step, as if she owned this place.
The Summer Court castle was just as you’d expect. The walkways were large, and soon, the closed windows turned to archways that allowed warm breezes from the shores on either side. The water was inexplicably blue, thousands of houses littering the cities below. We were perched on a hill nearest the westward shores.
The floors were marble, golden suns set every few paces in the center. Each of the guards and servants were dressed in teal, gold at the shoulder pads. On their backs was a glittering sun, one to match the floor.
Once we’d passed the bridge and the halls were again lined with closed windows, she guided me down winding corridors, another set of stairs, and eventually out into a courtyard. I could have wept at the feeling of the sunlight and breeze that kissed my skin.
Between the tunnels, the celestial plane, and that dungeon, I’d been long overdue for warmth.
Yenira stopped at a table, taking a seat after one guard pulled it out for her. I, however, glared at mine and refused to sit.
“That will be all,” she said quietly. The two backed away, situated on either side of the pathway far enough for comfort, but close enough that I knew I wasn’t breaking free. I stared at Yenira, eventually crossing my arms. She flourished a hand toward the chair, but I shook my head. “Fine. Stand, then. I don’t care.”
She braced a hand under her chin and studied me a moment longer. I’d seen this a thousand times before: judgment. Inquisitive, innocent curiosity that had the slightest edge of disapproval. “What is it?” I snapped.
“Sólkon told me you almost killed him.”
“And I’ll do it again.”
Her smile was wide. For a moment, it seemed genuine—genuine enough. “Will you please sit? I need to talk with you, but I can’t have you causing a scene.”
With flared nostrils, I chewed the tip of my tongue and screeched the chair against the rough stone path. When I sat, my aching bones screamed in relief. I knew I winced, knew the pain was riddled on my face, but I wouldn’t let her use it against me.
As of right now, she didn’t. She merely flicked her gaze up and down my torso before continuing. “I wanted to start off with an apology, Aurelie. I never wanted you to endure the sort of pain you did. That was never the plan.”
“Never the plan?” I breathed, exasperated. “Then what was the plan, Yenira? What could you have hoped to happen?”
Yenira winced. “Not that. Not what he did to you.”
I leaned forward, letting the rough stone table scrape against my forearms. “What do you think he did to me? I can paint a very clear picture for you, if you’d like.”
She scowled. “I do not control him. Do you not think I’ve endured?”
I barked out a laugh. “Only enough to have some strange desire to return. You were home, you could have stayed in the mortal realm and helped free Azalea far sooner than she was. Why? Why come back here?”
Yenira’s patience faltered, and it flashed across her face. I didn’t know if it was anger, annoyance, or terror—perhaps a blend of all three emotions. I didn’t like it, either way. “If it makes it easier for you to hate me, then do that. But I have a plan, one that will do us all some good. Rid us of all our beasts.”
I blinked, utter disgust roiling in my gut. The only thing that kept me from healing over was the warmth alongside it—akin to the sensation of magic. Something in that dungeon had suffocated it, but the sunshine was rejuvenating in more than one way.
“Who are ourbeasts, Yenira? Do not think I’m so daft to believe you’d speak so poorly of the man who owns this Court. Do not think I’m so foolish to think you’d not make an attempt on Eero’s life again.”
“You know nothing of that night,” she muttered. “Just as you know nothing now—beyond a taste of magic and the charm of the fae. Sólvon is no better than his brother, you know. You’re just as blinded as I once was.”
“I’m inclined to believe you’re still just as blinded,” I spat back, leaning against the back of the chair, arms crossed over my chest. “If you’re so high and mighty, Yenira, then tell me why you came back.”
“You know why.”
I blinked. “You overestimate my efforts. I stopped trying to excuse your choices a long time ago.” Yenira’s face had fallen into straight, terrifying neutrality. Her gaze was shadowed, and she pushed strands of black hair from her face before resting her palms flat on the table.
“It has nothing to do with my choices, Aurelie. I know I’ve made my fair share of poor decisions, but this is beyond my reach. If we do not heed this call together, the realms will remain divided. Our magic will dwindle.”
My brows knitted together. Realization struck me in the face, but I refused to assume anything. I didn’t want to give her a reason to lie or trap me in a corner. “I’m not following.”
“You are, because I know it’s the only thing that saved you when Sólkon tore you from those mortal tunnels. You’ve seen her. Every halfling has at least once—but if she has talked to you, Aurelie, that means you are of her few chosen. You are her child.”
I scoffed. “You sound insane.”
“I might be,” Yenira hissed as she leaned forward, pointing a finger at me. “But you should not make light of this situation. Myrthana’s influence has remained dormant since the war, but she has returned. The stars are aligning, which means we must act. If we don’t…we’ll lose everything. Our power. Our destiny. It’s all threatened if we do not free Myrthana.”
“Sapphire told me about her influence over our kind,” I said with a small, trembling smirk. “I’m no fool. You will not control me with these lies.”
“Sapphire knows nothing, she’s just as brainwashed by the fae as you are. They want our power, but they don’t want us to experience that sort of reckoning. It threatens more than the two realms—it threatens their power. Why do you think Sólkon accepted me back? It’s not because of our bond, mind you. It isn’t because of love. It’s power.”
“Are you so blind to your own greed?” I challenged. She groaned and swatted her hand at me, pushing herself from the seat. “How does freeing her do anything good? Have you even asked why she disappeared in the first place? I think it’s you who desires power. If it wasn’t, then you wouldn’t have taken the fucking Winter Throne!”
Yenira’s face turned pale. “You know nothing about the throne, Aurelie. I did not take it for a desire to rule. I plan to let the Winter Court fall as soon as I’ve fulfilled my part in this destiny.” She turned her glare to the flowers and ground her teeth together. “She didn’t disappear, Aurelie. Gods, you’re so na?ve. She was sealed away in a tomb designed to keep her at rest, just far enough away that nobody would find her, but close enough that halflings would continue to be bred for power. It was before anybody we know existed—before fae and humans cohabitated in the way they did prior to the war. Myrthana ensured peace before the idea of violence tainted our minds.”
“You’re delusional.” I, too, stood, and walked after her as she paced closer to the gardens. “If she was such an omen of peace, why ruin it? Besides, nothing but violence ensued when she appeared. She’s no good, Yenira. At all.”
“And that is why you will fall with the rest of them,” she muttered and shook her head. “This was a mistake. I shouldn’t have taken you out of that dungeon.”
I gasped, and as if the guards had been listening the entire time, they both aimed toward me. I had seconds before their grimy hands were on me again, seconds before I was dragged back down to the darkness to await a cruel fate. “What are you saying?” I rasped. “You’re just going to let me rot?”
“No,” she said as she looked at me. Her eyes were void of love, void of remorse, of sympathy. They were dead. Dark. I didn’t know who I was looking at. “I’m going to use your magic one way or another. This…well, this will just be far more painful than it needs to be. Lyra and I will just have to do this on our own.”
I sputtered out in disbelief, but the guards had me in their hands again, dragging me away. I thrashed my legs, howling in pain as they lifted me in the air and smashed me on the ground again to stop the jerking. A shock of pain rocketed up my legs, forcing my knees to buckle as I howled out. “You aren’t doing this to me, Yenira! This isn’t you.”
I blinked away the tears as they dragged me further down the path, my thrashing eventually numbing into limp defeat. Yenira had turned away long before they’d gotten me to the door. Even more, she had given up on our friendship—our family—long before I was ever taken to the fae realm.
That, I was certain of.
No.
No. I screamed out when I grasped onto the inkling of magic that bubbled inside my chest and let it blow off me like a wave. It sent the two guards flying, and stardust fell from the air onto their limp bodies. I’d heard their bones shatter, their hearts cease—it rushed through me unlike anything I’d ever felt before. I’d taken the threads of their lives and severed them—and I’d do it again.
I collapsed to my knees, thick liquid oozing from my nose and dripping into my mouth. Blood. I slowly looked through loose strands of hair at Yenira, who had turned to look at me.
She was smiling.
I screamed out again and forced myself up, a wave of starlight blasting from my fingertips toward her. Sapphire’s words egged me on—she’d told me that in moments of life and death, my emotion would guide me. She told me that anger, rage, jealousy, love—anything passionate enough that I could pick apart and hold onto—would be my awakening.
And it was.
Starlight started bleeding from every pore, carving symbols into my skin. Yenira’s cockiness faded into shock when she hurdled out of the way, her crimson eyes glowing with rage.
“You weren’t supposed to do this, Yenira,” I cried with a crack in my voice, using that anguish to whip another bout of magic toward her. This one hit her right in the chest, and she went soaring backward, head smacking against the stone path. “You were supposed to be good.”
She was groaning when I made it over her body, feet on either side of her hips. I fell onto my knees and grabbed her by the throat, tears dripping from my face onto hers. Magic bled off my palms and burned into her skin, and she screamed. She grabbed hold of my wrists, my body arching as a wave of terror rushed through me. It was unnatural and raw, something crafted of my worst nightmares. When I blinked, I saw visions of what terrified me most.
Sólkon. Loneliness. Abandonment. The weight of it crushed my chest, and it was Yenira’s doing. She was not altering starlight—she was altering my mind.
I was flung backwards with a gust so strong, it sent me into a bush, twigs slicing into my skin. Within seconds, more sweaty hands took hold of me. I screamed, thrashed, cursed, but they overwhelmed me. This time, they did not drag me—this time, they bound me by the wrists and ankles and gagged my mouth with cloth. Tears lined my eyes, and I was carried into the castle. My magic faded as soon as the cold metal linked my hands together, and I was left to the mercy of these guards.
I shook my head, trying to wash away the lingering nightmare that waned after Yenira’s assault on my body. I wasn’t foolish enough to think the only magic we could use came from starlight—but that was dark. It inked my soul, and I feared it would forever color it black.
It shadowed the lightest parts of my mind in false memories.
Each time I blinked, I saw more false memories. I witnessed history unravel and be sewn together in ways I always feared they would. The sort that meant Eero’s death—that meant my eternal imprisonment by some fae king’s hands.
It was my misery.
This time, they did not toss me into a cell. They hung me by the wrists with rope, those cuffs still digging into my skin, with my feet dangling mere inches off the ground.
They left.
And I wept.