Chapter 54
I was still weeping from my conversation with Varius. I wasn’t sure if the amber stone would work, but I had to try. My heart yearned for him, to hear his voice one last time.
But Stones, it killed me to hear him beg. To hear his own voice breaking with sobs.
Tears streaked down my face, blurring my vision. I wiped them away impatiently. I had to keep moving forward.
I had a curse to break.
Clutching my amber stone, I opened a mental channel to Azure, wiping tears from my face. “Are you ready, Az?”
“Ready.”
“Good. Let’s?—”
A fierce pounding sounded at the door. I went rigid, my blood running cold.
Shit. Gerard was coming for me. And I hadn’t even found Ramia yet.
I hastily grabbed my cloak and fastened it around my shoulders.
More heavy knocking.
“Just a moment!” My voice was shrill and panicked.
“Sybelle, it’s me.”
I froze, alarm and confusion washing over me. The turmoil of emotions from the last hour was enough to drag me under for a full minute before I registered who was calling for me.
It was Tislora.
I opened the door, my pulse skittering at the sight of her. Her hair was disheveled, her eyes wide and slightly crazed.
“Tislora?” I asked uncertainly. I had never seen her look so… unhinged.
“I need to speak with you,” she said in a strained voice. “Urgently.”
I swallowed hard, uneasy with the idea of being alone in my room with her. But time was of the essence. I had to return to Gerard soon.
“Make it quick,” I said, stepping back to let her in.
She swept past me, one of her wings catching me in the shoulder and knocking me backward. I yelped, about to protest, when she spun to face me and held a jar up to my face.
“What does this smell like to you?”
I blinked, my brows furrowing. “What?”
“ Smell it, ” she hissed. “What does it smell like to you?”
I inspected the bright green powder within the jar, then lifted it to my nose and inhaled deeply. Then, I frowned. “It smells like… parsley.” There was something familiar about it, though. It was parsley mingled with an earthy scent that reminded me of home.
“Take another whiff,” Tislora urged.
I cast her an incredulous look but inhaled again. A sudden onslaught of memories filled my mind. Hot, fragrant tea from the kitchens of the castle I grew up in. My nursemaid used to drink this tea every single morning. The scent reminded me of her.
“That’s Terrish tea. Or, rather…” I paused, inspecting the powder. “Ground Terrish leaves, I suppose. It comes from the Earthen Court.” I handed the jar back to her. “Tislora, what is this about? ”
Her face crumpled, and to my surprise, she grabbed the jar and hurled it against the stone wall. I shrieked as the glass shattered, spraying the floor with tiny shards.
“Everything—Everything has gone to shit !” she screeched, her wings flaring wide. I gasped and withdrew a step, startled by how huge they were. Larger than Varius’s, they nearly filled the span of the room, black as death with sharpened talons at each peak.
“I don’t understand,” I whispered. “Why are you here? What’s happened?”
“Someone has tampered with my store of hellebore leaves.” She ran her hands through her hair, making it look even wilder than before. “Hellebore has a similar smell to whatever this tea leaf is. It’s quite close. Close enough to deceive me.”
I shook my head, not understanding. “What does that mean? What do you use hellebore for?”
Her silver eyes snapped to mine. “Varius’s elixirs.”
My stomach hollowed, and my hand flew to my throat. “No…”
She nodded, her eyes grim. “It’s a key ingredient. Without it, the elixirs won’t work.”
Dread coiled tightly in my chest, so sharp I couldn’t get enough air in my lungs. I sat down in the chair by the desk, my hands shaking. “So—So those potions you made, with my blood, with Varius’s…”
“They did nothing.” Her voice was filled with despair. “With your blood, they lessened Varius’s symptoms, giving us the illusion of success. But it was a farce. The elixirs did not push the shadows back. And they did not delay his condition.”
My head whipped up, and I stared at her in alarm. “What condition?”
“Every full moon, he transforms, his features becoming more monstrous with each cycle.”
My heart seized in my chest. “ What ?”
“The wings and tails were the last to appear before the previous kings were lost to the beast within.”
I felt the blood drain from my face. “What—What does that mean?”
“Every full moon, the king of the land becomes more of a vicious beast, losing all awareness of who he is. Varius’s father died from the wounds of the transformation.
His grandfather slaughtered an entire village before the soldiers managed to kill him.
” Tislora’s mouth thinned, her silvery eyes looking haunted. “Varius is out of time.”
My head was spinning, and my body felt icy with horror. My mouth went bone dry, and I couldn’t swallow.
Varius was dying.
The elixirs had done nothing .
All of it had been for nothing.
I took a shuddering breath, trying to calm my raging pulse. “I can fix this.” My voice was shaky.
Tislora looked at me incredulously. “What are you talking about?”
“I know how to break the curse.”
She went rigid, then turned to face me fully, her eyes flashing with intensity. For the first time since she appeared at my door, she seemed like the sharp and cunning Tislora I was used to. “Tell me.”
I explained about the two stones and how I needed the shadow storm to destroy them.
“Once they are destroyed, Varius will kill Gerard, and?—”
“Gerard?” Tislora said sharply.
“The captain of the Earthen Court armies. Well, he’s actually the Earthen King now, I suppose.” My stomach twisted at the thought. “But he’s Jessinda’s son, and?—”
Tislora’s face twisted with rage, her eyes going dark. She curled a hand into a shaking fist and bared her fangs with a feral hiss .
I staggered back a step, taken aback by this reaction.
“Gerard,” she seethed. “It was him . He must have tampered with my stores. Damn him!” She slashed her claws into the stone wall behind her, carving jagged grooves into the hard surface.
“How do you know him?” I demanded, my heartbeat quickening.
“We were raised together,” Tislora said. “I once considered him my brother. We came from the same witch clan.”
I sucked in a sharp breath, then pointed a trembling finger at her. “You—You are from Jessinda’s clan? You’re part of this?” I shook my head, gritting my teeth as rage blurred my vision. “I knew it. You’re a traitor! You?—”
“Silence, feeble human,” Tislora barked.
“I am no traitor. I already swore in blood my fealty to Varius. Gerard deceived me, too.” She shook her head so violently that her dark hair swung around her.
“No more. He has crossed a line he cannot come back from.” Her sharp gaze slid to mine. “Can you take me to him?”
I hesitated. I still wasn’t sure I trusted her. If she grew up with Gerard, how did I know she wouldn’t betray me for him?
Tislora stepped toward me, then dragged a claw down her palm. Black blood welled from the wound. “I swear on my fae blood that I will end Gerard’s life if you take me to him, Sybelle. Take me to him, and I will get you that bloodstone.”
The air hummed with power that rattled my bones and made my blood sing. I knew she spoke true.
She was on my side.
I nodded once. “Fine. Here’s the plan…”
After detailing our plan together, Tislora and I opened several doors before we found Enzira and Ramia huddled in the kitchens with the other castle staff.
I grabbed Ramia, promising I would keep her safe.
Before we could leave, Enzira rushed forward, insisting on coming, too.
Both maids were pale and panic-stricken, but the fire in their eyes told me they needed a purpose.
They needed to fight. Even if they couldn’t wield swords, they needed to retaliate somehow.
I understood that all too well.
So, I agreed.
The four of us headed down the spiral staircase that led to the dining hall. In an undertone, I told Ramia of our plan, while Tislora translated for Enzira. To her credit, Enzira only nodded, her mouth set in a grim line. But Ramia’s grip on my arm tightened with each word I uttered.
When I mentioned the role Azure would play, Ramia’s fingernails pinched my skin, making me wince. “Who is Azure?” she asked.
“Oh.” I cleared my throat. “She’s my dragon.”
The two maids stopped short, causing Tislora to bark at us to hurry up. She’d only blinked once at me, her face devoid of emotion, when I’d revealed I had a dragon lurking nearby.
“I knew it,” Ramia hissed, shaking her head at me as if I’d merely confessed to sneaking into her stash of sweets.
“You—You have a dragon?” Enzira whispered. “What is she like? Is she dangerous?”
“No. Well, not to me. She’s serpentine with blue scales. If you see her, keep in mind she’s on our side.”
Enzira’s mouth trembled, and she sucked in a shaky breath. I knew this was a lot for her to take in.
Her reaction reminded me of the awe and wonder on Varius’s face when I’d told him of Azure. My chest ached to be with him. To show him my magnificent dragon.
I would never get to see the look on his face when he finally met her .
My amber stone was still clutched in my palm, and I ran my fingers over it before I reached out to him.
“Varius?”
No answer. Perhaps he’d lost the gem while fighting.
I didn’t want to consider the possibility that he had been killed. Or that the curse had already claimed his life. He was too strong for that. And my heart couldn’t bear it.
We reached the double doors to the dining hall, and I paused, wondering if the castle would take us to a different room.
It had to be on our side. If it understood what we were planning, it would know we were only trying to save the people of the Shadow Court.
“Please,” I whispered before turning the handle and stepping inside.
Gerard was pacing the length of the hall, hands curled into fists and his hair disheveled as if he’d run his fingers through it repeatedly.