Chapter 21
Imanaged to get cleaned up and dressed in what was a record time for me.
With several minutes to spare, Everett and I made our way down to the throne room.
Every inch of my body was reacting to the looming meeting with the king and queen.
My skin was on fire, and my stomach was barely holding on to lunch.
I hated the unknown. It made me anxious, and when I became anxious, my mind would wander in all sorts of directions.
“Are they going to have me imprisoned?” I asked Everett as we neared the throne room entrance.
“No. I don’t think they’re going to go that far just because you splashed around in the fountain.”
I looked up at him. “How do you know? You said it yourself: I’m the first human to stay here in the palace. What if the punishment for embarrassing them is to be locked away?”
Everett stopped and held my hand. “I’ll be honest. They probably aren’t going to be very nice to you. Your actions have essentially confirmed some of the awful things the elite fae have said about humans for thousands of years.”
“And what is that, exactly?”
“That you are all ‘animals who lack self-control.’”
“Excuse me?”
“Their words. Not mine. This was what I was going to talk to you about later.”
We had finally arrived at the doors of the throne room. I stared ahead at the translucent white crystal. My fate lay waiting on the other side.
“Go in there and hold your head up high, Aurelia. I’ll be right here with you.” Everett pushed on the throne room doors and escorted me inside.
Sitting on the dais in the centre was King Julian.
To his left was Queen Oriana, and on his right was Forrest, although he didn’t look like himself.
His demeanour had changed. His eyes were dark and despondent.
The usual hint of mischief on his face had been replaced by a cold nothingness.
I knew the man I had loved was no longer there.
Who I was looking at was Prince Sterling.
I tried making eye contact with him as we walked into the throne room, but he stared straight ahead, refusing to acknowledge my existence.
“Aurelia, thank you for taking the time to join us,” King Julian announced, as if I’d had any choice in the matter. “I hear you had quite the day today. Did you enjoy yourself in the gardens?”
My cheeks flushed as an overwhelming amount of shame swept over me. “My apologies, Your Majesty. I acted improperly today. It will never happen again.”
“It should never have happened in the first place,” Queen Oriana chided. “There is a certain level of decorum we expect our guests to observe when staying here. But I suppose we can only expect so much from someone like you.”
“From someone like me?”
“Yes. A human.” Disdain dripped from the last word Queen Oriana spoke.
Anger and frustration grew within me at the queen’s words. I made a huge mistake today, letting my emotions get the better of me; I couldn’t let them slip now and make matters worse. “I understand” was all I could muster in response.
“Yes. As disappointing as that display was, that is not why we have asked you here today,” King Julian continued. “We wanted to discuss your future in this realm.”
I swallowed the small lump forming in my throat. It was the moment of truth.
“As I’m sure you’re aware, Prince Sterling was seen by our royal healers and had his memories restored successfully.
Unfortunately, the prince could not identify who was responsible for this heinous act against our family.
Whoever is responsible would have to be quite advanced in their use of arcana and have equally intimate knowledge of the forbidden dark arcana.
” King Julian paused, looking at me like he was waiting for something to happen.
After a few moments of silence, he continued.
“During our previous discussion, you admitted to having used ‘magic’ and that you used those powers to heal the people of your village. For someone supposedly so adept at healing, I do have one nagging question—why were you unable to heal the prince’s amnesia?
Our healers were able to reverse the effects quite easily.
It makes one wonder if you tried at all. ”
If he intended to wound me with his words, they hit their mark.
My grip on my emotions loosened. “How dare you? I practise the art of healing at significant personal risk. It is an act punishable by death where I come from. Despite that, my door has always been open to those who seek my help. I found your son beaten and left at death’s door.
I took him into my home and gave him the best care I could provide.
I have magic, but I use it for healing humans.
I am not familiar with fae healing, or arcana.
It may have been a simple fix for your healers, who are trained on how to heal fae, but I did the best I could with what I know.
Because of that limited knowledge, your son is now able to sit next to you, drawing breath. ”
I turned to Sterling, my anger roiling like a raging storm.
“And you! You couldn’t muster the decency to come see me and let me know that you were all right?
After everything we’ve been through together, all the weeks I spent caring for you, you’re just going to sit there and let them speak to me this way?
Is that the thank you I deserve?” My fists were balled up at my sides as I waited for Sterling to look me in the eye and acknowledge me.
Sterling tilted his head slightly to the side, his eyes finally making their way to me, roaming slowly up my body and back down. A chill ran down my spine as he assessed me. It felt akin to a predator sizing up its prey.
“My apologies, Aurelia,” he purred. “It was rude of me not to have thanked you earlier for your attempt at healing me. Given your limited knowledge, it is impressive how much you were able to accomplish. Although not as impressive as you are in bed.” A gut-curdling smile spread across his lips as he winked at me.
The sliminess of shame oozed over me as he brought up our extracurricular activities in front of his parents.
Queen Oriana huffed. “How do we know she didn’t purposely avoid healing his amnesia so she could keep him locked away as her sex slave? Her disgusting smell was all over Prince Sterling. It was almost impossible to wash away.”
Sterling laughed. “Mother, calm down. It was completely consensual. Right, Aurelia?” he asked as he winked at me again.
Humiliated, I averted my gaze to my feet. Why was he behaving this way?
King Julian raised his hand before either one of us had a chance to speak again.
“That’s enough. I am over this perverse conversation.
” He looked at me and continued. “Quite frankly, I don’t trust you.
I don’t believe you are being honest with us about who you are or your ‘magical’ abilities.
I believe that your abilities may be more powerful than you are either aware of or willing to admit.
I would prefer to have you removed from my court immediately. ”
The king paused for a moment, and my heart sank. I straightened my stance, accepting my fate like the grown woman I was.
“For all I know, you are part of the group I believe kidnapped our son. That suspicion alone is enough to have you dealt with, permanently.”
No. There was no way he could think that I had anything to do with Sterling’s kidnapping. Not after everything we had gone through to get here. If I were working with whoever was responsible for this, why would I be standing here, enduring this humiliation?
The king continued speaking, interrupting my thoughts.
“My son, on the other hand, disagrees with me, as he has personally spoken for you and your character. He is quite adamant that you do not possess the ability to harm another being. As such, I have decided against my better judgment to let you stay, provided one condition is met. You will have your abilities tested by our arcana master to determine the extent of your power and identify the areas of arcana in which you are most proficient. The results of those trials will provide me with a better understanding of who you are. I recommend giving your full effort to them, as your existence in this realm quite literally depends on them.”
The outright threat settled over me and rattled me to my core.
The king abruptly stood and turned to walk away, Queen Oriana following.
Sterling remained seated lazily in his throne, staring at me with an unsettling gaze.
I crossed my arms, as if to hide my heart from him.
Something significant had changed within him, and it was disconcerting.
He was no longer the man I had saved from the forest clearing; he was now something foreign and uncertain.
The king stopped and turned around to come back to the dais. “Oh, one last thing, Aurelia. Make yourself available tomorrow morning. There is something important I’d like you to see.” He smiled, sending shivers down my spine.
He took his leave immediately afterward, leaving me with the unshakable feeling that I was not going to enjoy what he wanted to show me.
Everett stepped up beside me, clearing his throat. “Aurelia, come. I’ll escort you back to your room.”
I turned to Everett and nodded, and we began our exit from the throne room.
As we walked away from the dais, I fought off the urge to look back to see what Sterling was doing.
When we made it past the throne room doors, my curiosity won out.
I peeked over my shoulder to find Sterling still seated, his bright, dazzling azure eyes locked on me, as if he were stalking my every move.
He playfully waved to me and called out “Bye, Aurelia!” as he stood up and walked behind the dais.
Unease settled deep within me.
“What a prick,” Everett muttered under his breath.
“Please get me out of here,” I said.
Everett nodded while offering his arm for me to hold on to as we made our way down the grand hallway and back toward my suite.
*