Chapter 30
CHAPTER THIRTY
BEFORE
Krysta dragged her sister down the stairwell, practically running as she searched for Adriel. Their scattering footsteps on the stones interrupted the nighttime quiet. They turned another corner and heard Adriel’s voice, serious and somber, along with their father’s.
The king wasn’t supposed to be here. It was supposed to be at least another two days before he returned.
Helaina and Krysta crouched down by the entrance to listen.
“Are you certain they have no idea what did this?” Why did her brother sound so distraught?
“No . . . no, this is different from the other attacks. There was a body this time. They found her sliced to pieces.”
Helaina covered her mouth in horror at the words. She peeked around, getting a view of the two men.
Her father braced his elbows on the dining table, cupping his face in his hands.
“This was a message. She was mutilated in her own bed a hundred different ways. There was barely any blood. It’s like someone drained it from her. The fae queen . . . whatever they are, they got to the fae queen, for fuck’s sake.”
Helaina gulped down the frog in her dry throat. She heard her sister do the same.
“They say Matthias has been in a blind fury, interrogating and butchering anyone he believes played a hand in this, anyone he suspects to be a betrayer.”
Her brother’s voice rang out strong in his next words.
“It has been decades of us tolerating these attacks. We have enough soldiers now. Let’s march tonight toward Ash Cliff and make a stand.
It can’t be that many, Father. They’ve never made a single attempt out in the open.
They hide like vermin and strike us one at a time.
We can fight them.” He sounded so confident, so sure they could win.
“We have been over this time after time, year after year. You expect all the neighboring kings to agree to send their best men to that forgotten place? Completely blind?” Their father shook his head gravely.
“We’ve lost too many scouts to count. No one ever makes it back.
Without knowledge of the terrain, of what is waiting for us on the other side, we are sending our men to slaughter. ”
Her brother paced back and forth with his hands clasped behind his back. “Their fate is the same if we continue to do nothing, Father.”
She tried to make her breathing as silent as possible as the king replied.
“The injuries they described . . . how her body was found . . . this was a warning.” King Oren paused, considering his next words carefully. “They know Matthias helped us all those years ago. They may not know where she is, but they know she exists.”
Helaina’s sister squeezed her hand, meeting her fearful stare. Tears rolled down Krysta’s cheeks. She placed a finger to her lips, begging Helaina to stay quiet and listen.
“Then let her go!” Adriel pounded his fists on the table.
“Quiet! You’ll wake the whole damned castle!”
“I don’t care! Let her learn what she is. Let her fight. She is capable of more than you think. We can’t cage her forever.” His eyes blazed with conviction as he spoke. “Stop keeping her here, utterly defenseless and so close to the threat.”
“I will not give up on my own daughter. She stays. And you will not tell her a damn thing.”
Adriel turned his back to their father to leave. “From the looks of things, you gave up a long time ago.” He was walking toward them now.
Helaina was too stunned to move.
“Adriel,” the king called after him.
Her brother’s footsteps halted.
“There are so many things I wish I understood better about our world. Most of all, I wish I knew a better way to protect it, to protect her . . . But I am just a man, and this is the only way . . . the only solution I have. She’s safe here.
This was always the plan, the way we’ve always done things.
” Her father’s words were firm, yet there was a clear melancholy to them.
The tensing in her brother’s body showed he didn’t want to hear anymore.
He walked through the doorway and only blinked when he found his sisters pressed against the wall.
He peered down at Helaina for an instant, then turned back to address their father.
He revealed no hint of discovery in his expression.
“Perhaps it is time for a change.”