Chapter 26
A veiled figure beckoned to Aristea, its withered hand outstretched and a knobbed finger crooked.
“Come to me, Aristea,” it crooned. “Together we will achieve greatness.”
Though every instinct within her was telling her to run, she felt compelled forward, as if invisible hands were pushing her toward the veiled woman. She was standing before Aristea; the veiled woman’s blackened nails were long and rotted as if they belonged to a corpse.
“Without me, you’ll never be strong enough. Together, we can reshape the empire to make it greater than ever before.”
It showed Aristea crowned, carrying her mother’s Golden Blade, not the fake one, but the one from inside Liane’s back.
She stood on the palace balcony; the masses were bowing before her, including the dukes.
And at her side, in ermine robes, was Jonathan, her emperor consort.
It was everything she’d ever dreamed about and more.
“Come to the depths. Free me, and I shall give it all to you.” The creature held out its hands as if to embrace her. Aristea was leaning forward, tipping toward it, when she was startled from her sleep.
In her waking haze, she thought Heinrich had returned home drunk and agitated.
He’d often woken her in the middle of the night to rant at her about petty disputes that had nothing to do with her.
It didn’t matter if it hadn’t been her fault; it was she who’d borne the brunt of his anger. Then she remembered, Heinrich was dead.
She sat up in bed, body still tensed, awaiting the verbal barrage, but it wasn’t Heinrich sitting at the edge of her bed, but her Mathias, looking scraggly and thin. His beard was much longer than when she’d last seen him, and there were smears of dirt on his face and hands.
“Mathias?” she asked, reaching out to touch his face and make sure he was real, and this wasn’t part of her strange dream.
She brushed a hand against his cheek and felt him smile.
“It’s really me.”
Relief and anxiety swept through her. He’d returned safely and without an army at his back.
But she felt the weight of the unresolved tensions settle on her.
She glanced around the room, expecting to see her lady’s maid sleeping on her cot nearby, but she was awake, and a strange woman had her hands over her mouth to prevent her from screaming.
The woman had attempted to disguise her long elven ears, but Aristea could see the tips of them pointing out from her jet-black hair.
And there was no hiding the angular shape of her face and the unnatural way she stood perfectly still.
Alarm bells were ringing in Aristea’s head.
The rumors were true; he was working with an elf. Her eyes darted to the sword at his hip, and she scooted back in the bed, away from him.
“Let Jana go,” Aristea said slowly. Eyes darting between her brother and the elf.
Jana’s eyes were wide and terrified as she trembled in the elf’s grip.
“She’s innocent,” Aristea said.
Mathias looked confused for a moment and then glanced over at the elven woman.
“Sorry, I know this is a bit of an abrupt greeting. But we couldn’t have her alerting the guards, and I didn’t know how else to approach you, given the circumstances.
” He shrugged. As if he hadn’t snuck into her room, past her guards, and wasn’t holding her maid hostage. Had he gone mad?
“Mathias, does she have you under her spell? Can I help you break free somehow?” she whispered, eyes darting toward the elf.
Mathias glanced back at her with a smile. “Katya? She won’t hurt you. She and I… Well, it’s a long story. Which is why I came to talk to you first. Actually, I went looking for Liane but found out she’s gone. Mother won’t hear reason, but she listens to you, so…”
What should she do—try to call for help? But if she did, they might slit Jana’s throat. She had to be careful. Think things through.
“What is it you needed to ask me?” she asked in her best older-sister tone, even while her heart was thumping wildly in her chest. And hoped it could reach him behind this spell that the elf had cast over him.
Her brother wouldn’t betray her to the elves.
It must be a spell, even if he didn’t realize it.
“I need you to help me convince Mother to partner with the elves. They’re not like we thought they were. And they’re not this source of corruption the church led us to believe.”
She pulled her blankets closer to her and tried to act as if this were a normal interaction between siblings.
But her eyes kept darting toward the door, then to the elf, who was glaring at her, hand grasping tighter onto Jana.
What if she pretended to drop something by accident?
Would it be loud enough to alert the guards?
No, that elf was watching her like a hawk; one wrong move and she’d follow through on the threat in her gaze.
“Even if that were true, they are still our enemies. They’ve been attacking the borders and killing our people,” she said.
“You’re the ones who committed genocide against us and forced us into the frigid north,” the elf snarled.
Mathias held up his hand toward the elf. “Katya, please.”
She narrowed her eyes but pulled Jana into the tunnel and out of sight.
Aristea’s eyes widened. She could only imagine what she was doing to Jana.
But what was worse, Mathias didn’t seem to be under her control.
She’d listened to him. How much more was true?
Was he gathering a coalition like Captain Rosen had claimed?
“You’re seriously working with her?” Aristea asked.
He exhaled heavily. “I went to the feral lands, as you know. And I was intending to find out what they were planning. What sort of invasion... but when I got there, I discovered they aren’t plotting anything at all.
They don’t have the means to scale any sort of attack.
They’re struggling for survival. They’re not the organized threat we make them out to be. ”
“You’re lying.”
“Why would I lie?”
“Tell me this, have you been in contact with Duke Wagner?”
He looked away from her and tugged on his beard hairs. “I don’t know why that matters.”
“Answer me.” Her voice shook.
Mathias turned to look at her. “He’s sympathetic to elves, and I needed a way safely into the city. I know what you’re thinking. I’m not plotting to overthrow you.”
She laughed bitterly. “I’m just supposed to take your word for it as you plot to stab a dagger into my back?”
“It’s not like that. I have no aspirations for power.”
“Of course you do. You’ve been pretending to be the martyr all this time, and for a while, I believed you. But now you came in here, threatened me, and my maid. You’re not the brother I knew,” Aristea said, pointing an accusatory finger toward him.
Mathias reeled backward, as if he’d been slapped. “I was going to die for the empire and get out of your way, but when I found out the truth, I knew dying was the coward’s way out.”
Her blood ran cold. Duke Krantz would join Mathias’ side with his magical soldiers, and then with the elves, she’d never stand a chance. She’d be forced to give up her place or fight an embittered civil war for succession.
And even if she won, she’d likely end up married to some awful man, like Duke Mattison.
“Don’t be like that, Aristea. You weren’t like this before. Remember when you talked about how you were going to change Artria for the better?”
She bit her lower lip. “That was childish hope on my part.”
“You don’t have to hope. You have the power now. Mother listens to you. I need your support; the elves aren’t our enemies.”
She felt as if someone had a vise-like grip around her heart and was squeezing it. “But you are. We’re rivals now, don’t you see? Without a husband, I cannot become empress while you’re alive. Not with my current strength.”
“It doesn’t have to be this way,” he protested.
“It was always this way. From the moment you were born, Mathias, my position as heir has been destabilized. We’ve been pretending to get along, but I can’t continue. Not anymore.”
Aristea stood up. Mathias jumped up, throwing out his arms to block the door.
“What are you doing, Aristea?”
“I should be calling the Midnight Guard to arrest you and end your claim. But...” She took a shaking breath.
He was still her brother. She loved him dearly.
Even if he didn’t intend to usurp her, that was how this plan played out.
Knowing that, she should turn him over and secure her claim, but she loved him despite how much she hated him.
They faced one another. In her heart, she knew it might be the last time.
“Do you hear yourself? I’m your brother.”
“I know, and that’s why I’m giving you a fair chance. Leave now. I’ll give you a head start. Take Jana with you if you must. But don’t come back here, because I’m going to fight to keep what’s mine.”
He stared at her for a long minute before shaking his head and turning to walk away without a word.
He exited through the secret passageway, and she waited to alert the guards.
The time stretched out for an eternity, but she wanted to be certain he would be clear of the castle walls before the alarm sounded.
She didn’t want to do this, but she didn’t want to give up on the one thing that made her something.
Without the crown, she was just another body, another forgotten vessel, discarded and unloved.
When she was certain he wouldn’t be caught, she screamed for her guards. They rushed into the room.
“Mathias, he came into my room and threatened me with a sword. He took my lady’s maid and escaped through the secret passage.” She pointed a shaking finger toward the door.
The guards rushed into the secret passage, though Aristea was certain that they wouldn’t find him. She prayed Jana had been spared. One guard was left behind to watch over her.
“I need to speak with my parents.”