12. Delphine
There aresome things understood without words.
Without need for explanation.
Icarus was not concerned with power. He was not concerned with losing his kingdom.
This heir he spoke of, she mattered to him in the same way the five fae that had come to Luxia with me mattered to me. She mattered for reasons greater than power, greater than thrones, greater even than the glamour.
I saw it in his eyes, that different kind of fear that came only with this kind of impending loss.
If it was just up to me, if it weren’t for the fae standing before me with weapons drawn and murder already in their eyes, I would have struck the deal then and there, without hesitation. I knew the look I saw in the dark fae’s eyes. I knew it because I’d felt it all too well, all too often, in the weeks and months since I came to faerie.
I’d known it, deep in some part of me, from the moment Caldamir and I first locked eyes in Lord Otto’s study.
I’d come to know that feeling first as fear, then as hate. But it was neither. It was always something more. Always something deeper. Something more complicated, more complex, something as deep-rooted as the glamour that ebbed and flowed between the realms. There were some bonds between fae that couldn’t be explained any easier than they could be broken. If it had been up to me, I would have broken this bond between Caldamir and the other princes long ago, long before I understood what it was.
And for that, I was grateful that I’d been unable to.
For now, it was the most precious thing to me.
Not just to me, but to all of faerie—because it was this bond that was going to save us.
Just as it was this bond, unspoken as it was, between Icarus and this heir of Mordrigal’s, that was going to help us.
I could see that the others were not convinced. I didn’t need to hear their words to know what they felt, either.
All I knew was what I felt.
I knew all I needed to know from Icarus.
It was too far-fetched to claim I trusted this strange fae, but I came somewhere close. In spite of all he clearly was, all he was not, and even more—what he so clearly had designs to become—I wanted to trust him. At least in this.
I had a choice; I always had a choice. This had all begun—all this mess, all this turmoil, all this race against time—because of a choice. But in the end, I really had no choice at all. The only choice I had was to hedge my bet the best way that I could, the way that protected both fae and humans from the tyranny they were sure to face at the hands of two high kings who saw them as nothing more than pawns in their own play for power. How I, a human-born fae with the power of a long-lost high king, came to be in possession of this great burden, I had no idea.
But it was my burden, still.
We were all pawns in this game of fate. If we didn’t want to end up pawns to another king, then we had to trust something.
I took a long look at Icarus, then at Caldamir, Seren, Armene, Tethys, and even Nyx—and as different as they all were, they were, in a sense, the same. Each one was as powerful as the next, in his own right. As cunning as the next. As ruthless, when need be. I’d seen it for myself, I’d felt its sting. There was once a time when I would not have trusted any one of them, any one of my princes, not even my king, for a second. And yet, here I was. They had not deserved my trust in the beginning, but they did now. Now, after all we’d been through together, all the testing of that unbreakable, indeterminable bond, they deserved even more.
I did not trust Icarus, the dark fae.
But I did trust myself, my own instinct, the new sense running through my blood that bade me listen to this winged creature before me. I might not be able to trust him now, but by the end of whatever we were to face together, I was willing to hedge my bet that I could. At least in this. For this.
So that was what I did.
We struck a deal, the dark fae and I.
Before anyone could convince me otherwise, before I could be talked out of it, before I could talk myself out of it.
“So, it’s agreed,” I said, holding out my hand. “You take me to this realm of yours, you teach me how to use my powers, truly, and in exchange I send the armies of Deimos and Mordrigal to you.”
All eyes turned to me in horror. All but one pair.
But when Icarus held out his hand, the blackened fingertips pointing towards me, I hesitated only a second—a calculated pause.
“But with two caveats. Just as you have your heir, I too have fae I need to protect.”
Icarus paused, but there was no surprise or dissuasion in his eyes. If anything, the spark re-lit within, as if I was finally meeting his expectations again.
“First,” I said, “my generals here, the princes of Avarath, will remain here, in your realm, as protected guests as they prepare the way for me. They may only remain here for a couple days while you and I are gone for months, but I know as well as the next fae that’s all it takes for betrayal to take root.”
I saw Armene’s mouth drop open, practically heard the first sounds of his argument, before the others’ glances stopped him. The most surprising of these was Caldamir. He glared at the Sand Prince with the kind of fury I’d only seen reserved for the worst of his enemies. It was, of course, a look I’d been on the receiving end of more than once, myself. But to see it used now, to silence any word against mine, it made a heat flush through me that had nothing to do with the chill now racing up my spine as I revealed the second half of my deal.
It was not out of fear, not out of uncertainty, but instead due to the weight it carried.
“Second, Nyx.” I glanced once at the beautiful creature seated down the table from me, his brow furrowed slightly as he tried to work out why I’d mentioned him as a part of this deal. “Nyx will be one of the fae called to you,” I said, and as I did, that crease in the Woodland Fae’s face smoothed momentarily—only for it to grow ever deeper as he realized why, exactly, he’d be one of the fae called to Icarus’ side. That was, of course, because Nyx would soon be changing places with my brother in the Afterworld.
In all the other chaos that had erupted, that had not yet been forgotten.
Not by me, anyway.
“I expect Nyx to be returned to me,” I said, nodding at Icarus. “All the rest of Deimos’ fae you can keep. But my princes, I expect them to be returned to me.”
Nyx caught my eye just long enough for me to see the tears welling at the corners.
He was never very good at concealing his emotions for a fae.
Icarus watched me for a moment.
“Very well,” Icarus said, outstretching his own hand again. “At the end of my war, I will return the prince to you.”
“And the rest?”
He bowed his head.
“It shall all be done. Your princes, all the fae here beside you, they’ll be treated with nothing but the highest honor here, in my kingdom.”
It wasn’t missed by me that Luxia was not, quite technically, his kingdom yet.
Old Delphine might’ve let that slide.
But I was not her, not anymore.
I was high king Delphine, now.
“I expect my fae, for Caldamir, Nyx, Seren, Armene, and Tethys to be protected, respected, cared for and revered here, in Luxia, in this kingdom and the next, so long as you are with me, Icarus,” I said. “Can you promise me that?”
That spark really did light, this time.
Icarus drew one of his own long, blackened claws across his palm until blood trickled from the gash it left there.
“So it shall be. I agree to this deal, high king.”
“As do I.”
Blood dripped from Icarus’s wound, his body healing slower than any fae’s should. I, meanwhile, held my hand close as Armene was the one to take a knife from his belt to cut it.
Together, the blood of the dark fae and mine mingled as the deal was sealed.
Blood was not needed for the deals of Avarath, but I felt it seal this bond with the strange new glamour that was here. Two glamorous, two words, united together.
For my own fate, and for the fate of all of Avarath and the realms beyond, I hoped it was enough.
He left us this time, and only then did all five sets of eyes turn towards me, their tongues no longer so ready to be stilled.
Seren was the one unable to stay silent for a moment longer. He moved to stand before me, his hand lifting my palm to his lips, where his kisses smudged the already rapidly healing cut on my skin. When he lifted his bloodstained lips to look at me, there was a look in his eyes that made my stomach drop, the lining of it hardening into stone with each moment our eyes remained locked together.
“Why even use the dark fae? Why take his deal? I could find you a realm. We have the map here, before us. It must be here.”
He’d been the one most adamant we consider Icarus’ offer, and yet, now that I’d taken it, the first to voice his fears against it.
I’d be confused if I didn’t see that the fear in his eyes was the same one ... The same one that had made me accept Icarus’ deal when I saw it in his.
“Because you saw, it’s too risky. You tried once, to teach me, all of Elysia did. I need to learn how to use my powers, my powers. And I don’t have any room for error. There’s no time here for mistakes.
I rested one hand on his broad chest, forgetting myself in the steady beat of his heart against my palm. “Besides, I need your power used elsewhere, Seren.”
If we were going to make this work, if we wanted a single chance to destroy Deimos and Mordrigal, we had to do it now. We had to do it before they had a chance to make their own plans, before they caught wind of what we aimed to do.
They may have learned, already, of our escape into the human realm.
Try as we might to keep it a secret, we’d already seen how quickly news was spreading through the realms. We’d have to be careful to keep our true plans, our true intentions, close to our chests. I had one chance to send back Deimos’ army before he realized what was going on. One chance to weaken him that I wouldn’t get it again. If he got even an inkling of what we planned to do, of what Icarus could teach me to do, we’d be doomed.
We were betting everything on this. I was betting everything on this.
Seren bowed his head slightly, and though he nodded, I saw the unconvinced look in his eyes. For the first time, I saw the flicker within that he wasn’t so sure of me as he’d made out.
I wished I could claim it didn’t shake me.
But shake me, it did.
If this was going to work, I needed all of them on my side. I needed all of them to believe in me.
Because even I didn’t believe in me. I believed in fate, and that was all I had.
“Of course,” Seren said, and though his voice was steady, the slight hesitation spoke even more volumes than the flicker in his eyes.
“Stop, Delphine.”
He caught me by my shoulders before I could turn away. He stood still, unmoving, unspeaking, until I felt my own gaze drawn like a magnet to his. He looked at me with all the fire, all the passion, all the stern, unyielding power I’d come to know from him.
“I don’t doubt you, let me make that clear,” he said. “I doubt only myself.”
His words were not the first spoken to shock me, but they were perhaps the most shocking yet.
Seren bowed his head again, his hair falling in a silver curtain across half his face, and for the first time, his eyes struggled to meet mine.
“I’m ashamed to admit this, my high king, but I feel adrift without my throne. For the first time in thousands of human years, I’m without one.”
I found myself floundering for words. “But…but you’re still a king.”
He swallowed, forcing himself to look at me again. “No, Delphine,” he said. “That title went to Itris when I took your throne. It is hers to keep.”
“But … but … it’s just …”
The words still refused to come to me. I was about to tell him it was just a throne, but I knew that wasn’t true. I felt it. I felt the power that now flowed through me because of it. It was more than a chair, more than a title. It was a direct line to the glamour, a floodgate to power unparalleled.
“I am a Seeker, still,” Seren said. “But I no longer hold the kind of power you deserve.”
He swallowed, hard.
“I’m not even sure I possess the power you need.”
“Together, we have more than enough.”
Caldamir was the one to step up, his hand stretching out to clamp on Seren’s shoulder. They held each other’s gaze for a long moment, and for the first time, I saw the same brotherhood pass between them that I’d witnessed between the other princes.
“Whatever Delphine has planned, I feel sure of it.”
“I agree.” It was Armene who said it. He was the next to step up, to stand beside Caldamir. “After all the times she’s had to put her faith in us, misguided as it often was, it’s time for us to return the favor.”
He stopped and bowed his head to me, just long enough for the long wayward strands of his dark hair to fall into his eyes.
“For you, Delphine of Elysia, let us never falter.”
“Well said, my brother.”
Tethys was the next to join. There was that unsettling power to him that swelled once more as he did, a look in his eyes that wasn’t quite him. He was a fae possessed, that was the only sure thing about him. He was there, the Sea Prince, but there was someone else there, too. For a moment, however, as he stepped up to stand beside his brothers of centuries, his fellow princes, it was Tethys standing before me. Just Tethys, for but a second.
And in that second, as Nyx came to join them too, and Seren bowed his head, they were all together.
For the last time.
All this talk of time, and I’d nearly forgotten what truly mattered, what time truly could not be won back. I could call Icarus back now, could steal a few more hours and turn them into days, weeks, but no amount of practice could guarantee I’d ever again have what I had before me now.
So, instead, I took a moment to look at them, really look at them—to appreciate the sight of all five of them here, united with me, together. Seren, standing tall and proud, despite all he’d already lost. Caldamir, steady and strong as always. Armene, determined to prove his loyalty. Tethys, still fighting the deity that possessed him. And Nyx, Nyx … trying his best to right the wrongs that he’d committed, no matter if they had been committed with the best of intentions.
They’d been through so much, sacrificed so much for my sake. Now we faced the greatest battle of our lives with the fate of not just Avarath at stake, not just the other faerie realms, but of our own lives, too. This was at stake, this bond that we shared. I still didn’t know if we could win against Mordrigal and Deimos. The odds, even now, seemed impossible, but seeing these fae here with me, feeling the faith and resolve flowing into me, I almost allowed myself to hope.
Not just for the realms, not just for our thrones, but for us.
Hope that together, we might just be enough. That the bond between us could overcome anything.
Time was not on our side, but for a moment, for a few hours, I wanted to use a little of what we’d been given to appreciate what we had—while we still had it.
I stepped forward, a new kind of quiet falling as I did. I reached for Seren and Caldamir, standing so close together, and in turn, they reached for me. My hands fisted into their shirts, fingers curling into the fabric as I drew them in until they were close enough for me to press my forehead into their chests. I breathed deeply, taking in the scent that was uniquely theirs as the others came to join us in silence. I felt hands come to rest on my back, another on my shoulder, still another to tangle in the hair that whispered across the back of my neck. When I looked up into their faces, the connection between us, all six of us here, was undeniable—magnetic—in its intensity.
I could feel Seren’s heartbeat steady against my skin, Caldamir’s warmth mingling with the heat of the others. In this hallowed circle, we each found a moment of peace amid the chaos that loomed so ominously on the horizon. There were no more words needed, no more arguments, no more plans. It was, for a moment, just us. We lingered in each other’s company, the tension that had been so tightly coiled beginning slowly to unwind. For just a while longer, we could pretend that we were not on the eve of battle. For a little while longer, it could just be us.
But only for a little while.
Only for a moment. Even as I allowed us this brief respite, I knew that soon we would have to step out of this temporary haven and into the turmoil that lay before us. The gravity, the weight of our situation was never far from my mind. I eventually had to step back, break us apart so we could prepare our defenses, fortify ourselves for what lay ahead. It was time for me to harness every ounce of my strength and every scrap of my power as high king. We disentangled ourselves with a pain that felt like sticking myself with knives.
I knew it, even before I called Icarus back, even before I laid out my plan to Seren and the princes, before I gave them their instructions to prepare the way for my return. I knew before Icarus stepped back through the door, before I took his blackened hands and let him pull me through into the next realm.
I knew before all of that, that it was the last time I’d see them all together. Like this. Like that.
For, at least, a very—very long time.
If not forever.
Nothing in this life was guaranteed anymore, however long that life may be.
Nothing made me surer of that than the moment I emerged from the human realm into the next, only to find it was nothing like the world I thought I’d been promised.
We struck a deal, the dark fae and I—and he took me straight to hell.