Chapter 17
Chapter
Seventeen
NISSA
My feet hit the ground in Varethiel, and Cillian’s strong arms let me go as fast as possible.
Despite his tension when he wrapped an arm around me, my response to him was the same.
My body melted into him the instant we touched, and I’m over pretending it didn’t.
Something about our magic wants us together and it has not liked that he has been avoiding me for a week.
The instant the thought enters my mind, Cillian is striding away, and my magic withers back to that dormant place that it hides.
You’re betrothed to Caspien, I remind myself.
Which doesn’t really matter since I’m leaving.
And Cillian loves this kingdom—he loves all of Castara.
I knew it as a child, and he’s proved it over and over since I’ve been back.
He would never abandon the Fae, especially not when they’re in such a state of turmoil. So why am I even thinking about this?
I raise my eyes to help blink away the pressure building behind them. I’m sure it’s from the cold air of this kingdom or the mistwalking, not that my chest suddenly has an overwhelming weight of loneliness. Loneliness that will only increase once I run.
I’ll have to get used to this feeling. It would be too risky to stay in touch with Ophe. I would never put her at risk, and I can’t involve Cillian. That would be a selfish burden to put on him. Especially since nothing has actually happened between us.
Pivoting towards the door, I focus on Varethiel’s breathtaking castle.
The dark stone edifice towering above me is carved to mirror the castle I grew up visiting in Solevara, but this rock is almost black instead of pale limestone.
The dark hue stands out in stark contrast to the snow that covers the ground.
The burning lamps lighting the castle in the gloom, shine blue, instead of the red-orange of our kingdom.
A chill creeps up my arms, and I pull my fur-lined cape tighter around me. Varethiel is located in the northern region and has cool weather year-round, but this feeling is more than that.
My eyes roam the intricately carved frames of the diamond-paned windows.
White galanthus flowers fill window boxes in a hauntingly beautiful contrast to the dark stone.
Despite the beauty, this shadow castle fills me with an eerie unease.
Looking high above the entrance, my eyes are drawn to a small open window, where a silhouette of a female peers out.
I tilt my head, squinting, a line forming between my brows as she quickly disappears, leaving swaying curtains in her wake.
“Are you ready, Princess?” Niko says at my side. He follows my line of sight and then looks back to my face, motioning a hand towards the steps.
A frozen breeze that sweeps against my cheeks has me following his lead to the front doors.
Entering the large foyer, the heat licks around me but does little to send warmth through my bones.
The similarities and differences of the two palaces are jarring.
The entryway is structurally identical, but instead of artwork full of images of war, royal events, and past rulers, the art gracing these walls are of Fae living within the kingdom and the elemental lands. Peaceful images.
As we make our way down the hallway, four meticulously woven tapestries loom above us.
Each piece of art represents an individual elemental land of their kingdom.
I pause in front of Terrania as the others begin to file into what I assume is the council room.
The weaving of the masterpiece is so intricate that it appears like a window opening up to the elemental land itself.
The image is clearly from before the devastating destruction of our Goddess.
If Gaia’s wrath is a result of letting the “enemy’” into her world, weakening us against those enemies seems a funny way to express it.
I study the forest depicted in front of me.
Pops of color show through the snow from the winter aconite, hellebores, pasque flowers, forget-me-nots.
All plants that I’ve studied but haven’t actually encountered since I’ve never been outside the warm weather of Solevara until today.
A thin, worn path cuts through the flowers and snow, evidence of a time that Fae frequented their elemental lands.
The path leads to a dense forest of black spruce, subalpine firs, and paper birch.
I tilt my chin up to take in the snow-topped trees in their original majesty, standing tall and covering the forest floor with their thick foliage of moss and ferns.
I can see in my peripheral vision that, aside from Niko, I’m now alone in the vast hallway, but I can’t seem to pull my attention away from the tapestry.
I stare at the pinpoint of the walkway in its center. I step forwards, my hand reaching out unconsciously, drawn to the image.
“Stunning, wasn’t it?” A deep baritone voice right behind me echoes in the space, breaking my trance.
I jerk my hand back from the priceless piece. With a pounding heart, I do my best to save the image to memory.
Niko stares calmly past my shoulder, but his hand is firmly placed on the blade at his hip.
In anticipation of who I’m about to face, I am reminded of how close I am to my majority birthdate. Reminds me that I’m essentially defenseless until my magic is fully at my disposal.
Don’t be afraid, Nissa. You’re safe.
Turning, I find an undeniably handsome male about my age.
He has a squared jaw, with dark brown hair cut short up the sides, the longer top styled back.
Fragments of tattoos peek out of the collar and cuffs of a plain, long-sleeved black shirt.
His smoky gray eyes could freeze anyone in their tracks, and they are firmly locked in on me.
His gaze holds no warmth. The stranger takes me in from head to toe with a slow perusal that has Niko taking a step towards him.
But my magic doesn’t seem to sense the overwhelming threat that Niko does.
It’s there, humming again, but I feel no sense of warning tied to him.
In fact, something about this male—and the way he is assessing me—intrigues me.
His eyes return to my face, his expression inscrutable as a heavy arm falls across my shoulder.
Caspien smirks at the male in front of me. “Aiden, I see you’ve met my betrothed.”
A chill moves down my spine. My muscles lock into place as the name is assigned to my new acquaintance. Aiden still hasn’t taken his eyes off of me.
Niko takes a step away, apparently satisfied with Caspien as my guard. Then my fingertips tingle with stronger magic, and I sense Cillian filling the space Niko vacated.
“Is that who this is?” Aiden quirks a brow at me, letting on nothing, but his gaze still feels like it’s searching for… what exactly? He blatantly ignores all three of the heavily muscled males flanking all sides of me.
I do my best to remove the uncertainty from my voice and attempt to stand taller under Caspien’s heavy arm. “I’m Nissa.”
He gives a non-committal grunt before an older male steps out of the room we’re standing outside. “Aiden, why don’t we let the Daughter of Gaia come meet everyone at once so we can get this over with?”
There is a tense moment where no one moves. Aiden holds eye contact with me before he finally smirks and turns towards the room.
Shuffling inside, the older male makes his way to the head of the table, identifying himself as King Orin. I cut my eyes to Caspien when he quietly snorts at the title, but no one reacts.
Aiden makes his way to the chair to the right of the king, and I note the two individuals sitting across the aged wooden council table.
“Nissa, this is Enzo.” Aiden motions, and the other male stands.
I try not to stare as Enzo gives a slight bow in my direction, taking in a slow, deep breath through his nose. He is as tall as a Fae, but his skin is pale and his ears are rounded, not elongated and pointed.
When he gives me a slightly predatory smile, two sharp canines slip out. “I’m a vampire,” Enzo announces. “In case you haven’t met one of us before. And this is Hazel. She’s a witch.” He gestures to the delicate female seated in the chair next to him.
She is short with flawless dark skin. She exchanges a knowing look with Aiden that I can’t decipher, and then she turns a welcoming smile at me. If I hadn’t seen the look she gave the prince of this kingdom, I’d feel as if we were long lost friends, like she knows all my secrets and fears.
Instead, an unsettled feeling washes over me, like they have their own secrets.
We make our way to the empty seats at the council table.
Caspien takes up a position at the other end from King Orin, his father’s position as ruler since Kiel isn’t here.
I’m instructed to sit to Caspien’s right.
I expect Cillian to take the empty chair across from me, but he moves to the open chair at my side.
Unlike Caspien who seems as calm as ever, Cillian’s posture is rigid, his eyes narrowed on Aiden.
Aiden who hasn’t taken his eyes off of me except to share that look with the witch Hazel. She was more subtle about it, but they both look as if they’re trying to gaze into my soul and find the answer to some unasked question.
Enzo seems amused and keeps grinning at Aiden between glances at me and the others, waiting on someone to speak.
The king finally clears his throat, but before he can begin, Caspien addresses the room. “Orin.”
Aiden stiffens when Caspien doesn’t use his father’s title.
“It is important to me,” Caspien says slowly, “that you all meet and acknowledge Nissa, not only as my future bride but as the Goddess’s choice as queen.” He holds out a hand to me, the corner of his eyes crinkling as he looks at me with a benevolent smile.
The room goes deathly quiet.