Chapter 58
Mora
“Did you fuck Eris?” Imani raised a dark brow, not bothering to look up, slicing through an apple with her dagger.
Mora cringed, swiping her thumb across her inner thigh where a bruise in the shape of teeth marked the skin beneath her breeches.
She didn’t remember Eris biting her—the Fae, however...
Dear gods. It must have been her subconscious weaving memories and wishes together into something more pleasant.
Castellan was right, her dreams were the perfect place to safely explore her desires.
Her attempt with Eris was a mistake; she wasn’t ready.
What she wouldn’t give, however, to return to the meadow and gaze up at the glittering canopy of golden leaves while her Fae held her in his sturdy arms.
Anything would be better than suffering awkward questions while winter’s melt soaked through her boots.
“Imani!” Jade admonished. She offered Mora an apologetic look, her cheeks flushing.
“What, angel?” Imani asked around her apple slice, juice slipping over her bottom lip. “We all heard it. I’m only wondering if we should move tents.” She took another bite, smirking while she chewed.
Mora’s cheeks heated, a dull ache throbbing in her head. She shifted nervously on the uneven tree stump she’d made into her seat. “I’d prefer not to discuss it.”
Pointing her dagger at Mora, Imani sneered. “Then you shouldn’t have been so gods damned loud.”
Mora stood, squeezing her fists until her bones ached.
“Mind your business, Naturalist.” She turned to leave, deciding it was best to hide in her tent like she’d hid in Eris’s room back at the farmhouse.
Would it be cruel if she asked him to fetch her breakfast?
Could she face him so soon after everything that happened?
One step and Imani snorted, the derisive sound tugging on Mora’s fraying nerves. “I don’t take orders from fallen princesses.”
Mora stiffened, amber glinting over her shoulder as she looked back. A threat in that stare. “What did you say?” She turned to face them, upper lip curling, venom brewing on her tongue.
“We shouldn’t fight.” Jade slipped between them and pressed a hand against Mora’s chest, hazel eyes pleading. “You’re right, Mora, this is none of our business.”
“If you’re quiet about it,” Imani added, inching closer to Jade, casually pointing her dagger at Mora. “What was with the crying after, anyway?”
A sharp inhale sliced through Mora’s throat, a ringing ricocheting in her ears, the maddening sound so damned loud she wondered if it were real. If everyone had heard it.
People slowed on their way to the camp’s center, putting off breakfast and gathering between their tents in a failed attempt to hide their eavesdropping.
When Mora said nothing, Imani’s smirk grew. “I bet princesses don’t sleep around much. Was it your first time?”
Red overtook Mora’s vision. She snatched Jade’s wrist, shoving her so hard the water Elementalist landed in a heap on the ground, slush and muck spraying in the air.
Imani’s eyes widened, her dagger and what little remained of her apple falling from her grip, but before she could lift a finger and call to her power, Mora slammed into her chest and the two of them fell.
Someone screamed, boots hitting the ground as they ran.
Those who remained stood frozen, unwilling to use their magic against the woman they feared.
“You know nothing about me,” Mora spat, pressing her forearm against Imani’s throat. The Naturalist thrashed beneath Mora’s grip, choking and clawing at Mora’s arm, but she didn’t flinch. The sting barely registered, her body numb.
Roots pushed through half-frozen earth, rising like pythons, but they never lunged. Unwilling to touch the cursed princess.
There was shouting at her back, Jade frantically begging, but Mora didn’t listen—whatever the Elementalist said, whatever everyone watching thought of her, she didn’t care.
“You think you know me, Imani? You think you get it?” she hissed, smoke churning beneath her skin, begging for the release only a wish could offer.
Imani’s fist slammed into Mora’s cheek with a loud crack.
The skin split, blood spattering Imani’s face, yet all Mora did was laugh and lean closer, pressing harder on Imani’s throat. “Is that all you’ve got?”
A splash of cold whipped Mora’s center, soaking into the light blue cloak she’d borrowed from Castellan, and tearing her off Imani in one fell swoop. She went flying, her back slamming into an old birch before she hit the ground.
“Leave Imani alone,” Jade hissed, kneeling beside her love and cupping her face, frowning at the redness in her eyes. Blood smeared on Jade’s hands, streaks of crimson and gold staining her fingers.
Rolling onto her back, Mora clutched her aching side and laughed. “Good to see you’ve grown a backbone, Jade.”
“Fuck you, Princess,” Imani rasped, grunting while Jade helped her up.
Wet mud dripped from their cloaks, staining the fabric and soaking through to their clothing underneath.
Imani frowned down at the mess, leaning into Jade’s hold, her shaven head falling to the Elementalist’s shoulder.
She glowered at Mora, fingers flexing, but the birch merely ran a branch through Mora’s curly hair. “Why does that keep happening?”
“Guess you aren’t as powerful as you imagine,” Mora wheezed, sitting up, glancing sidelong at their audience before she looked to Jade. “Are you done?”
“Are you?” For the first time since they’d met, Mora saw genuine fury in Jade’s hazel glare, her bronze cheeks darkening. It looked nothing like the wild, fearful stare Mora had witnessed in Galdon’s Crossing—this wasn’t a fawn standing against a lion. This was a wolf locking eyes with her prey.
Too bad her intended quarry was a larger beast.
Mist curled in Mora’s fingers, bits of glittering onyx dripping into the final dregs of snow, and the last of the Halflings watching on scattered.
“You once asked what kind of Halfling I am,” she said with low menace, hiding her wince as she rose.
An ache pulsed in her ribs, her head spinning, so Mora leaned against the birch, papery bark crunching against her back.
Smoke bubbled beneath her skin, trickling through her pores and gathering in her hands—it was an effort not to come undone, the thought of falling apart and fleeing to her flask too tempting, but Mora held strong.
“This power was forced on me. Much like how the man who did it forced himself on me night after night, until I learned how to twist his curse into something sinister. Until I became the bigger monster.”
Jade pressed her hands to her lips, and Imani shook her head, unable to meet Mora’s eyes. “Fuck, I’m—”
Mora cut Imani off. “If you intend to say you’re sorry, save your words.
I’m not interested.” The glow in her amber eyes intensified, as if something else stared through that fiery gaze.
“With this power I can do nearly anything, but only if my Keeper wishes it so. I’ve learned, however, to bend those desires to my own whim.
It isn’t always simple, but I’ve become quite good at it...
and I must thank you. You’ve helped me realize something about Castellan’s wish. ”
Jade’s eyes widened. “Oh?”
“Castellan wished for me to help save the Halflings from the fighting across Berwick.” She smiled, gesturing around them while obsidian smoke weaved through her fingers. “It just so happens I’m a Halfling, and this is a fight on our island.”
Pushing away from the tree, Mora sauntered closer until her boot connected with Imani’s apple. It wobbled on the ground, dirt and snow clinging to the pulp.
Imani sighed, rubbing her neck. “Spit it out, Princess.”
“Next time you decide to berate me like this,” Mora warned, an edge to her voice she hardly recognized, “I will save myself from the annoyance and end you so quickly you won’t exist long enough to hear Jade scream.”
Crushing the apple under her boot, Mora didn’t wait to hear what they said.
She gave herself to the smoke, splashing onto the ground and rushing through the camp like a wave of endless darkness.
She wanted her flask. Needed the silence it offered.
The solace she found when she was away from everyone.
It wasn’t because the Halflings hated her, though most of them did; Mora understood their distaste for the Crown—how could she blame them for not trusting her when her grandparents were responsible for enacting the Laws in the first place?
Their fear, though... Mora couldn’t stomach it.
How much blood stained her hands in their names? The massacre in Galdon’s Crossing was only the beginning; they had Mora to thank for their safety, yet they stared at her like she was a demon. How could they vilify the woman who’d become the monster for them?
Mora could hardly stand it, their wide stares and muttering lips. If it weren’t for Castellan’s friendship, and... She swallowed, knowing she’d likely ruined things with Eris, though his presence meant the world. They reminded her she was human and worthy of something more.
Without them, Mora would be adrift. Alone.
Isolated and feared, even when she deigned to use her curse for good.
Even when she was surrounded by those she’d saved.
It was a life she couldn’t imagine. One she hoped to avoid by bearing the weight of the crown; at least she’d always have Castellan by her side.
Where had he gone? The flask’s call pulled her westward, careening through the woods, water splashing and chunks of ice bobbing beneath her when she rushed over a stream. Branches shook overhead, pine needles raining down when Mora burst through the tree line, onyx crashing onto carriage tracks.
In the distance, a man broke from the path and made for the trees, swathed in a charcoal gray cloak.
A halo of blond curls falling to his chin.
She snickered inwardly, spreading herself thin and crawling over bunches of decaying weeds and mud-slicked chunks of snow.
The morning sun clawed its way through naked branches and evergreen boughs, playing with the shadows on the forest floor.
Mora joined the darkness, gold glinting within her like light playing on drops of dew.
Slipping past the gallant knight, she turned abruptly, waiting for his steps to grow near.
Castellan’s gray eyes widened when Mora rose like a tidal wave and crashed over him, obsidian mist slipping over his shoulders and ruffling his clothes.
“Damn it, Mora,” he hissed, pushing his disheveled hair away from his face, but the smirk on his lips said he was anything but mad.
Mora circled him, arms crossed, glittering wisps of smoke coating her skin. The bruise somehow still throbbing pleasantly on her thigh, clinging in spite of her unweaving. “Am I not allowed to sneak up on you?”
“I’d prefer you didn’t.”
She pouted. “It’s only fair after you snuck up on me at the bonfire.”
He gave her a sidelong glance. “That’s different,” he said, carefully stepping over a fallen tree, branches snapping beneath his boot. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“Ah, so you believe your intention matters more than the outcome.” Mora matched his pace, taking her place by his side. She looked up at him, long curls tumbling over her shoulders. “I’m afraid I have bad news.”
His brows bunched. “Oh?”
“Pure intentions are gallant, but a favorable outcome is king.” Her smile faltered. “Remember that when you take the throne.”
A slight grin tugged on Castellan’s cheeks. “I’ll keep that in mind, Princess.”
All she offered in response was a single nod, her focus sliding over the trees until she thought she was looking northward, toward Castle Berwick. Home. What would it be like to return after everything that had happened behind its walls?
Castellan tipped his head to the side, those stormy eyes tracking every flicker of emotion on her face. “Are you—”
“You’re a long way from camp.” She spoke quickly, before he could finish his question. They knew the answer to whether she was okay was no, and Mora had no interest in discussing it.
His gasp was theatrical. “Truly? I had no idea.”
The flask hung from his belt, bouncing against his thigh with every step—Mora stared at it longingly, wishing she could crawl inside. Knowing Castellan wouldn’t allow it. “Were you in Esper?”
The guard dipped his hand in his cloak pocket and pulled out a small leather pouch with loose drawstrings hanging over its side. “I promised I’d find you chocolate, did I not?”
Before he could extend his hand in offering, Mora snatched the small sack from his grip, her woes all but forgotten.
The dull ache in her head a distant thing.
“You angel!” she squeed, tearing the bag open to find a handful of roughly cut pieces of chocolate topped with almonds and dried cranberries.
She plucked one from the pile, examining the uneven chunk. “What is this?”
Castellan chuckled. “I wondered if you’d ever tried chocolate bark. I hadn’t until I met Eris.”
At the mention of Eris’s name, Mora’s cheeks heated—did Castellan notice how they darkened or how she could no longer meet his gaze?
She shoved a piece of chocolate into her mouth, praying it stopped her from saying something foolish.
For the first time in ages, the Gods truly did smile down upon her.
“Dear gods,” she mumbled, eyes rolling back while a subtly sweet flavor enveloped her mouth. Almonds crunched between her teeth, joined by a delectable burst of tartness from the dried berries. “I might be in love.”
“See?” Castellan playfully bumped her with his elbow. “Good things happen when you indulge me.”
Mora paused, a second piece of chocolate inches from her lips. “And if I don’t?”
“I’m sure we’ll disagree from time to time, Princess,” Castellan said, tucking his hands in his pockets and jostling the flask. “What matters is we remain on the same team.”
She hummed in agreement. A united Crown was what Berwick needed, a lesson from her mother passed down through the Althenis line. Popping more chocolate in her mouth, Mora savored a rare hint of sweetness and walked with Castellan in comfortable silence.