Chapter Twenty-Three #2
Veles purses his lips. He looks some way past me, considering whether to speak at all.
After a few seconds, he sighs and his shoulders drop.
“The witch gave me the power,” he says. “After your father died. Your mother sent me to her to ask who should take the crowns. Your brother was already dead, and the entire court knew you would be unwilling. Iagan… Iagan was not an option.”
I don’t ask him to elaborate on that, even as a spark of interest lights up inside of me. Why not? It is unimportant right now.
“What did she say?”
“She said she could not say anything at all. That it was up to fate. However, considering my level of power, she could give me the ability to tell whether another fae would be strong enough.” He narrows his eyes. “When I looked at you, I believed you were.”
“But we can all tell, can’t we?” Oisin asks. “I feel the strength of other fae.”
“It is a fine line. But no. It is not sensing another fae’s power. The crowns speak to me in their own way. They told me that you both would be fine. The best choice, perhaps. I do not understand…”
Neither do I. If Veles can truly tell who can or cannot wear the crowns, then why am I being drained so heavily?
“What are they telling you now?” I ask.
His power flickers out, strong like the roots of that oak out there. “Nothing,” he says finally. “They are silent.”
Likely due to the bond; they have their bearers, after all. I rest my chin on my hand. “We need a smooth transition of power.”
“Lark,” Oisin begins, but I shake my head.
“I would say it best to let Aodhan wear a crown and have it drain him, but that will inspire no confidence amongst the other fae. Are there any Seelie who might be strong enough?”
Oisin nods slowly. “A few.”
“There was one,” Veles says with a faint snort, “but he is an impossibility now. I will have to journey out among them. I have not met enough Seelie to be sure, but I know there is no one in the court who can take your place.”
“And for that matter,” I say, “why would Aodhan drag me back here? Given that if I did take the crown, I would not ask him to rule with me. He brought you to the court.”
“Yes,” Oisin replies.
“So why kidnap anyone? Bringing me here gave him even less chance to wear a crown.”
Veles shakes his head. “I cannot pretend to understand your uncle. He brought Oisin to the court not long after you left. Your mother… She thought his theory that having a Seelie in our midst, to quell any potential uprisings, might be prudent.”
“But she never said he would take a crown alongside her?”
“She refused,” Veles says. “Though I doubt a bond would have taken. We all knew.”
“That she was fading?”
He nods. We sit in contemplative silence for a few moments, and I wonder how I can broach the one topic I know will be the most difficult. The witch. How can I ask him if she has been manipulating us? How would he possibly know?
“Who ruled before my parents?” I ask instead, and Veles sits up a little straighter.
“I… what?”
“Who?” I tip my head to one side and study him closely. “You would have been alive then. You would know. Doubtless you were close to them, if not on their court. Who were they?”
“I-I…” Veles presses one hand against his thigh, the muscles rigid. “I do not know.”
“How can you not?” Oisin exclaims. “How can—”
“No one does,” I say. “I did not think about it, not until Dante asked, but I believe there is only one fae among us who will be able to answer that question.”
“The witch?”
Veles pales. “You cannot go to her with accusations, Lark, not even wearing the crown. She will—”
“Kill me?” I ask dryly and wave in the direction of the crown, still in the bedroom. “That is making work enough of that. What can she do that is worse?”
“A great many things, I fear.”
Some of that fear prickles the back of my neck, but I remind myself that Dante is safe. Undoubtedly home and enfolded in his pack again. They are too canny to allow him back here, despite his protests.
“What do we do now?” Oisin demands of Veles. “How can we save him?”
“There is…” Veles clears his throat. “There is no breaking the bond between the crowns. Even the witch cannot do that. You are tied into the magic of our realm now, and in the end, it will take you.”
“When I die, Oisin will not be freed?”
Oisin stares at me as though I have grown another head. Veles appears less surprised, but perhaps that is simply because he hides it better. “He might,” he says, “if we find others who can wear the crowns. He will not fade like your mother.”
I nod. I knew that already. “Very well.” I wave at them. “If you need me for anything…”
They both take it for the dismissal it is, although there is a moment where Oisin clearly hesitates before he stands. He is king in his own right, of course. He need not listen to me.
But he does, trailing Veles out of my rooms and into the hall. I feel for the wards once they have left. They are still strong, threaded through with my magic, but I am not certain when I will be able to strengthen them again.
I sigh and push to my feet. My head spins for a moment. This is… unexpected. Devastating, if I were to think on it for any amount of time, but I cannot do that. I wander over to the greenhouse and shut myself inside.
The lavender is already sprouting, sweet green shoots pushing through the dirt. I rest my hands on the workbench and stare down at it. It does not smell of the flowers, of course, not yet, and I do not know if I will live long enough to see them.
I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I am not dead yet, and I will not die tonight.
I am determined to uncover the truth of what Aodhan is up to before the crown drains me fully.
If he is a threat to Dante, then I will ensure he never has the opportunity to harm him again and that he never sits on the throne.
And the witch… She is not my mystery to solve, not with the time I have left. But by the look on Oisin’s face, I have no doubt he will investigate in my stead.
I have no doubt he will protect our soulbonds either.