Chapter 56 Terms
TERMS
RAE
Other than seeing weird things all my life, I never felt different from the other girls around me growing up—or did I? Did I know the difference between feeling human versus Shyrlivi?
The guys acted human.
As far as I knew, only “lesser” infernals were the monsters who didn’t act human.
I cradled my forehead in my palm.
Zeke looked at Ezra. “How did you do the math so quickly?”
“It isn’t too difficult to work with a whole and three-quarters.”
“Can you tell us her real father’s name?” Amra’s soft voice pulled my attention. Why did she barely speak?
Quinfina shook her head, her chains tinkling again.
Cornaith hissed, baring his teeth. “It is your duty to tell us so that we may protect—”
“It’s my duty to provide you with information pertinent to the infernal plane’s prosperity,” Quinfina snapped.
Zeke’s eyes widened.
“It doesn’t matter,” Cornaith said, sniffing in disdain. “She needs to die, regardless.”
“Why?” Ash asked, brow furrowing. “If Quinfina gave her the book, doesn’t that absolve her of her crimes?”
“We still don’t know why or what bringing the princes to Earth meant,” Rhistel said, waving a hand in our direction. “What if the women in her family all did the same thing? Tricked our people into mating?”
Was he seriously suggesting they seduced and took advantage of them? It sounded like a tin-foil hat conspiracy that an entire family of women would target someone in each generation just for some twisted sexual gain.
Lymsrana shot him a flat look. “Do you truly believe that if they wanted to trick those men, they would do more than have children and remain on Earth?”
I looked at Lymsrana when she echoed my thoughts.
She understood, further backing my suspicion that the men on the council had a few screws loose.
Rhistel dropped his arm. “Perhaps, but what purpose does any of it serve?”
When Quinfina didn’t offer an answer, I wondered if there was anyone alive who knew why my family continued to find themselves entangled with infernal men. It couldn’t be mere coincidence that an entire family kept ending up in the same situation, generation after generation.
Ardvaen smoothed a hand over his robe, moving to Lymsrana’s side. “The princes are acting irrationally. Ash allowed himself to be injured to save her. Without whatever magic broke free, he would be dead.”
My stomach soured at the thought.
I didn’t want to think about any outcome that ended in Ash’s death. He didn’t deserve that kind of end, or the world’s cruelty. He was a good man.
Quinfina studied Ash. “While he didn’t die, he fell into a stasis from the magnitude of magic meant for a mere human.” Her gaze cut to Cornaith. “Had she really been a human, she would have died within moments after the execution started.”
The way she said it made it sound like they’d gone overboard to destroy me. No wonder I thought my insides were melting.
Cyn’s natural scowl deepened. “What do you mean by a stasis?”
Quinfina looked at him. “His energy is too strong to be destroyed by the force they exerted. I’m unsure if he would have survived if they’d all used their magic.”
“We did,” Caendra said.
Ezra and Cyn shared a look I didn’t understand.
Quinfina ignored her. “Raelynn’s magic healed them both, restoring Ashryn from stasis.”
Cornaith’s lips pressed into a firm line. He glanced at the guys and then at me. “If she has power like this, she needs to be put down. Someone of mixed blood shouldn’t possess such abilities.”
Racist fuck. Or is it specist… species-ist… speciest?
I shook my head to clear it, tensing as the start of his declaration hit me.
Cyn squeezed my ankle as Zeke took my hand again. Ash laced his fingers with mine.
Quinfina clasped her hands together and faced the council. “No.”
“No?” Rhistel’s eyes narrowed.
She continued to stare Cornaith in the eye. “To kill Raelynn is to kill your son. All of your sons.” Her gaze moved across the other council members.
“Explain,” Cornaith barked.
“You all know the answer. You simply refuse to accept it.”
“She’s their Nyrith,” Lymsrana said.
Caendra sucked in a breath, looking at Rhistel. Ardvaen looked at Lymsrana, and she nodded. Amra moved to Lymsrana’s side.
Ardvaen looked at Cyn, confusion lining his forehead. “How is it possible when only two mates—”
“It’s a question we’ve all asked,” Ash said, anticipating Ardvaen’s words.
One of the main points of contention since Shane dropped the mate bomb came with their understanding of Shyrlivi mate norms. From what I understood, I shouldn’t be able to mate all four of them—even if they accepted me, and I accepted them.
Quinfina nodded. “It’s new for our kind, but not an impossibility. At least, not anymore.”
Ezra stilled as Cornaith stepped around everyone to draw closer to where I sat.
Ash’s grip tightened to the point of pain. Cyn released my ankle, and Zeke shifted from foot to foot.
“Quinfina has been a trusted advisor to this council for the thirty-plus years I’ve sat on the throne,” Cornaith said, stopping in front of me. “So while I find this quite illogical, we must assume her words as fact.”
“What are you saying, Cornaith?”
Cornaith looked over his shoulder at Rhistel. “If Raelynn here is, in fact, a Shyrlivi—and the mate to our sons—I believe it appropriate for her to come to Elyrdin, where we can monitor her.”
Cyn’s eyes narrowed. “What?”
“Multiple Nyrith mates are unheard of,” Cornaith said, turning to Cyn. “And if her magic is enough to reverse our influence, she may pose a threat to both Earth and Elyrdin now that this ‘seal’ is broken.”
Ardvaen nodded in understanding. “She knows nothing of her powers. It could be dangerous.”
I didn’t disagree.
Quinfina said Ash removed the seal that had been there since I was a baby. I knew what the guys taught me about Shyrlivi, but nothing beyond that. And magic? Even less.
Still, I didn’t belong in Elyrdin.
Cornaith sneered. “And let us not forget her manipulation of lesser infernals. You all witnessed it with your own eyes!”
“Can she survive?” Ezra asked, ignoring his father’s rant.
“She survived Cholian,” Quinfina said as if that meant something. She looked at me. “The environment is harsher than in Elyrdin.”
I shook my head slowly. “But I have a home… a life…”
“You can’t live in the human world as you once did,” Quinfina said. “Lesser infernals will flock to you with your powers unlocked.”
They already flocked to me. I couldn’t imagine facing more of them.
I shuddered at the memory of the parking garage incident.
I couldn’t live with that happening all the time.
“Then it’s decided,” Cornaith said, turning to the triplets. “See to it she gets to Elyrdin. Ranthus, you’re with me.”
Did no one care what I wanted?
Rinlora and Roandra stepped forward in sync as Cornaith turned with Ranthus toward the dead trees. The other council members followed—all but Lymsrana.
Two guards remained with Rinlora and Roandra as they approached Quinfina.
I looked at Ash, panic tightening my chest.
He pulled me onto his lap, holding me tight. “It’ll be fine,” he whispered into my hair.
“You don’t understand. I have a job. Friends. If I disappear, what will happen to my house? My things? If I can’t live in the human world anymore, then what do I do? I don’t have a home in Elyrdin… I don’t even know how to live like a Shyrlivi.”
Ash put his large hand over the side of my head, cradling me close as I spiraled.
“It isn’t as bad as you think,” Lymsrana said, approaching and speaking in the gentle voice she had before, sounding so much like a caring mother it made my chest ache. “I understand changing everything can be daunting, but we will help you as best we can.”
Quinfina smiled at me, turning away with Rinlora and Roandra, disappearing where the council went.
Lymsrana extended her hand to Ezra, holding a large crystal.
“Take her back to Earth to collect the things she wants to bring here and handle her remaining affairs.” She looked at me.
“While I would like to give you longer, you can only be gone for a week, or their absence will upset the balance between Elyrdin and Earth.”
“But we were gone for more than a week before,” Zeke said, frowning.
“Yes, and even though things have returned to normal, we experienced more attacks from Feranzis on Elyrdin’s walls than ever before.”
Ezra took the crystal and looked at me. “We can stay on Earth for extended periods only when lesser infernals create chaos in your world.”
“It’s not her world anymore,” Zeke said.
I groaned.
How did I explain this to Maya?