XXXI | THE TRUE DAUGHTER
Celvene's mouth opened to gasp for air, but all that she could do was exhale a pained wheeze.
The magic in her hands faded in an instant, her hands flying up to her neck to claw at the skin.
Pinpoints tingled in the tips of her fingers.
No matter how deep she dug her nails into her neck, she couldn't seem to open her airway.
Through the hot tears that immediately pricked at her eyes, she could see Zelphar stand.
She tried to writhe and break free of his magic's grip, but her body remained still.
Another smirk warped his lips, his dark eyes crinkled with joy.
The silence that hung in the air was all consuming, deafening.
"I do enjoy seeing my prey squirm," he said, clasping his hands behind his back.
A soft glow surrounded his lower body. "The glass wraith was not Melantha.
She was its prey: a white wolf, fur as bright as snow and soft as the sands of Khezzintis's desert.
Nature is quite the vicious cycle. You, of course, are a deer.
Harmless, doleful, na?ve. They fall to wolves quickly.
And white wolves do not stand a chance against glass wraiths. "
"You're..." Celvene tried to force out, the words hot and grating against her throat. It felt as though molten lava had been poured down her throat, burning her raw from the inside. She swallowed, but it did no good. "You're a... monster."
"A monster?" Zelphar repeated. "No. My role in this kingdom is simple: I am its god. I am the reason it is still standing after so many years of war."
"War... you caused."
Zelphar's shoulder dipped in a slight shrug. "Of course a girl as young and naive as you wouldn't see the complexities that go into protecting a kingdom. I do fear for Aizasea if you are able to take its crown."
"I fear for your life when I become queen. I will hunt you down like a dog, and you will be the first to fall by my hand."
Zelphar's chuckle pierced the air, followed by a slow rise of his eyebrow.
"A girl of your... ah, skill, would not be able to infiltrate Noriya's walls, much less the castle.
And what makes you think you'd be able to kill someone immortal?
A silly sense of overinflated confidence?
The belief that you're stronger than other mortals?
Pathetic. You refused my gift. You will never succeed now. "
Watch me.
"Now, I cannot have you returning to Aizasea alive.
No, that would ruin our plans. You'll be executed come moonrise.
Far more merciful than you deserve, but I'd like to assemble my kingdom to watch the execution of the fake queen of a scum kingdom.
It will send a message, and that message will reach Aizasea by sundown.
If you've become some symbol of a revolution there despite your shortcomings, then that vision will be squashed beneath my boot—all I need is an audience. "
Even through the thick pane of stained glass sitting above Zelphar's throne, Celvene could see the muddled streaks of the sun's golden hues rising. If she was going to die, it would be soon.
Zelphar clapped his hands. The magic in his hands sparked brighter, and one of his soldiers leapt to their feet, swaying in place before their body moved on its own.
They took one unsteady step, then another, yet the ice below their feet didn't seem to slow them down in the slightest. Zelphar's eyebrows pinched, then the soldier's pace picked up speed, and they were out of the throne room's doors in seconds.
"I can feel the rush of blood in your body.
Every frantic beat of your heart." Zelphar tightened his hand into a fist, and Celvene could feel an unnatural, taut sensation grip at her heart.
She tried to speak, but she'd been silenced, just as Melantha.
"Your blood feels quite delicious. It will be a pleasure to toy with it once you are put down.
I told my guard to save as much of your body as possible, so unfortunately for you, you may be in a lot of pain.
She won't poison your blood, of course, but she will not shy away from making a bloodless death painful. "
Celvene's eyes widened, then she remembered the flash of sharpened teeth she'd scarcely noticed when first speaking to Zelphar. The stark red of his eyes against his skin. His ability to sniff out blood, and him being the first to be able to manipulate it. All characteristics of...
Was he a vampire? Were his children pureblooded vampires as well—and the reason vampire spawns plagued the dark woods of Fellstride?
Celvene had heard tales of the bloodthirsty creatures lurking in the depths of the forests around the planets, but she'd thought of it being nothing more than a child's tale to deter the young from venturing into the woods.
She'd never seen a vampire herself, and she'd never met anyone who had; they weren't supposed to be real, just as wolf shifters were Vosalon's rumored beast and wraithtouched in Khezzintis, all children of the gods who ruled over their kingdoms and could turn mortals to lesser versions of their monstrous forms with ease.
Was that why Zelphar's guards were so obedient?
Were they under his control as vampires?
"So she figures it out." Zelphar took a step forward.
He clasped his hands behind his back, and the pressure on Celvene's neck loosened slightly.
She tried to choke out a response, but all that slipped past her lips was air.
"Were you not taught about my children in your.
.. mage's school?" When Celvene's eyebrows drew near, Zelphar scoffed.
"I knew of you long before you arrived here, before you found out you'd be queen.
Melantha has loose lips, something I thought I could correct, to no avail.
But it's no matter. I was quite honestly surprised to learn of your existence. "
Melantha struggled against Zelphar's hold. Her eyes, large, unblinking, pleading, met Celvene's, a sea of blue against her blanched skin. Zelphar glanced at Celvene, then Melantha.
And, with a single flick of his wrist, Melantha slumped over, face slack and body losing its tension. Celvene's heart dropped in her chest, and her breathing grew labored in an instant. Had he killed her?
"I'm not evil," he said, as if reading her thoughts. "She's unconscious. She'll have to go through reconditioning, though. Such a shame. If she wasn't such a valuable asset, I'd do away with her."
Celvene's body calmed, though she didn't bother to try to ease the vindictive thoughts that flooded her mind. She'd use them against Zelphar when the time came.
And, against her will, Celvene's thoughts soured towards Melantha.
She'd killed Virion. She'd plunged Aizasea into chaos, and now her father was doing his damn best to kill Celvene.
Was it possible to alter memories? To block them completely?
Or was Melantha simply playing dumb, to gain Celvene's trust?
Had she ever grown out of her hatred for Celvene?
Or was this all a ploy she'd constructed with Zelphar, and he'd planned for her to "rebel" and help Celvene?
"It is a shame, though," Zelphar said, walking down the steps of his throne. Zelphar was quiet for a moment longer. Then, he looked down at her with a knowing smile. "Despite all this, I am glad I was able to meet you before your demise, bloodkin."
A rush of confusion and fear surged through Celvene, powerful enough to bring her to her knees had she not been frozen in place. Celvene angled her gaze up at the king, her racing heart forcing her to take quick, pained breaths.
Please tell me he calls all his citizens and guests that. And... prisoners, I'm assuming.
"What?" she forced out, a raw rasp that Zelphar must've allowed her to say. It was as if every letter of the word ripped something from Celvene's soul, draining the energy she'd just regained. Her voice was shaky, strained, bearing a timbre of pain. "What do you mean?"
"Why, I would never shy away from welcoming family home, even if your father turned his back on me two hundred years ago.
It is sad to see his rebellion seems to be hereditary, but I'm rather unsurprised.
I can sense Virion's power in you, though it is dulled.
Very faint," Zelphar said. His eyes hadn't moved from Celvene.
"And those eyes... I knew you were hollowborn the moment you walked in here, just as you figured out my children's status.
I will say, though—I don't believe your father had many other children, if any, and certainly none who have lived through this war.
I'm surprised the people of your kingdom haven't figured it out.
Perhaps they're as dense as you seem to be.
Tell me, is it true the crops around you wither by a mere step of your foot? "
Celvene said nothing. She couldn't say anything. Despite Zelphar's conquest magic, her body quivered. He couldn't be telling the truth. This was a ploy to throw her off. To make her weak.
"But... You're lying," Celvene whispered. "That's never happened. I've... I'm not what you say I am. My father raised me in the circus. My father is human."
"You can feel it in your blood, child," Zelphar replied.
"I don't doubt your true father ensured you were relatively well-cared for, though, and that may have allowed your powers to lie dormant.
If I allowed you to return to your home after this, I suspect you'd find your powers awakened by recent.
.. events. A pity we won't see that happen.
But if that feeling is not proof enough, perhaps this will convince you. "
Zelphar reached into the velveted pocket of his cape, rummaging around for a moment before pulling out a pendant. Celvene's breathing hitched in her throat.
A silver dragon curled on a bed of sapphire. Its wings tucked into itself, scales accented a light gold, and spikes protruding from its tiny body. Celvene had seen the same necklace sitting on her mother's bed stand. How had Zelphar gotten his hands on it? And why was he carrying it now?
"Your father was a sentimental man. In part, I believe it led to his downfall.
When he met your mother, he gifted her a matching necklace, bought from a jeweler within this kingdom's very walls.
He kept her a secret as well. A shame, as they never received my blessing.
" Though his words were light, his eyes were dark, drilling into Celvene.
"How did you get that?" Celvene breathed out. This wasn't possible.
One side of Zelphar's mouth curved up in a slight smirk. "When Melantha returned, she brought this necklace as proof Virion lay dead. I know nothing of your mother, but I know your father never took this doltish necklace off. He would not have parted ways with it willingly."
Celvene couldn't respond.
"I can see his face and eyes in yours. His were a brilliant shade of gray as well, ash-gray famine. I suspect if you smiled, you would look just as he did."
"I..."
It made no sense for Zelphar to have a pendant identical to Celvene's mother's unless he'd killed her, which Celvene refused to believe. The very thought intensified her shivering, and her mouth had gone dry as well; she shook the thought away.
But how would Zelphar know? Celvene looked similar to her mother, but she was by no means a clone of her. Melantha had seen them so long ago that it would be a surprise if she remembered either of Celvene's parents, so Zelphar couldn't have learned from Melantha.
There was no realistic way for Zelphar to have located her mother, killed her, and waited for Celvene to come to his castle, especially with Virion dead; unless Zelphar and Celvene's mother met before, he would have no information on her.Was he telling the truth?
She took a deep breath, recomposing herself.
Why had her world come crashing down the moment she stepped into Zelphar's kingdom?
Why was it revelation after revelation in a non-stop stream?
Part of her wished she never tried to escape and to help other people at the ball and instead hid somewhere in the castle.
But... that wouldn't have been the true actions of a queen for her people. Even if Celvene were to die in a few hours, it would be in honor of her people.
Zelphar smiled wider. "Chin up, dear. Thinking of the negatives will do you no good. Look on the bright side: perhaps I'll be merciful enough and keep you under while you're put down, assuming my servant was quick with her preparations."
And with another flourish of his wrist, Celvene's vision went black as she slipped into unconsciousness. The last thing that was visible was Zelphar standing over Melantha's lean, limp body as it fell to the ground.