Chapter 14
Summoning my magic was impossible the next morning. Lioran’s gaze lingered on me, long after we parted. My heart thundered—my chest tightened with it.
“Focus. Open yourself up to your magic.” Cora glared at me.
A surge pulsed through me, but stilled before it ever met my fingertips.
“I am,” I snapped back at her.
“Don’t lie to me.” Cora’s crossed her arms over her chest. “You’re distracted. You could at least tell me why.”
Heat rose in my cheeks before spiraling into my chest. “You chastising me isn’t helping anything.” I sprang to my feet, stepping toward Cora.
“Fine then. We’re done for today.” Cora pulled her amber hair from her face and tied it back with a thin leather strip.
“Can you two at least wait until I’m not present to argue?” Fyn’s humming faded as he walked closer to us.
“I would be happy to, but it seems she has other plans,” Cora murmured under her breath.
“You and Lioran…you don’t just share magic? You’re in the same mood, too.” Fyn rubbed his temples.
“What are you talking about, Fyn?” Cora raised an eyebrow at him.
“His glares rival hers. Had to leave the castle to get a break from him. He’s just snapping over every little comment I make.” His shoulders shrugged. “Normally everyone likes my commentary.”
“Do they, Fyn?” I cast an icy glare at him.
“Well…most do.” He leaned back into a nearby tree, rolling a twig between his fingers. “Thought you two would be up for a little humor and fun, but seems I’m wrong as usual.”
“Everything is a joke to you, isn’t it?” My tone was sharper than I intended.
Fyn dropped the twig.
“I’m sorry. There’s a lot on my mind,” I said.
“Thinking about your new horse?” He smirked.
My glare held as his lips pursed.
“He gave you a horse?” Cora looked intrigued.
“A pretty lavish gift if you ask me…but no one asked me,” Fyn said.
I reached past Fyn, my hand running over the trunk of the tree he leaned against. The jagged bark snagged at my skin. The usual hum wasn’t there. I couldn’t feel its energy at all. Beneath his feet, brown tinged blades of grass encircled its twisted roots.
“Again?” Fyn placed his hands on the trunk. “Just fix it like the last time.”
“I didn’t cause it.” My inhale caught in my chest. “I need to tell Lioran.”
Fyn crouched beside me, his fingers trailing the lifeless grass. “This is not really an ideal time to bring it up. I wasn’t joking about the state he’s in. Did something happen yesterday?”
“I was gifted a horse…but you already know that,” I retorted.
“He needs to know,” Cora said.
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” Fyn groaned as he combed his hair back.
“Consider me warned. I will tell you all about it later.” My fingers caught on the end of my braid.
“I wouldn’t miss this. I’m coming with.” Fyn chuckled. “It’s bound to be amusing.”
An amber candlelit glow illuminated the halls. Cora and Fyn led the way to Lioran’s study. As we turned the corner, I heard a regal voice, deeper than Lioran’s.
“You’re late again. Your shipments were due weeks ago. We had a deal.” The voice growled.
“The land is decaying faster than I can control. I have an entire territory that I need to feed.” Lioran’s voice boomed.
“Figure something out. Your people are farmers by trade. Kybar has deals riding on your missing crops, our market shelves are barren—fae won’t just be hungry here. Soon it’ll be everywhere. Will the future king let the other territories suffer while he only cares for his own?”
“Your territory makes the deals. Figure out how to leverage what I give you. Manage Kybar and I will manage Lythira. I have other more pressing matters to attend to,” Lioran responded.
Tension rolled through me, locking my muscles.
“Maybe if you weren’t so distracted with your special guest, you could focus on solving the problem.”
“What are you talking about?” Lioran’s voice faltered as he spoke, each word slower than the next.
“The Princess of Bailoc,” the voice said. “The one that crossed into your territory recently.”
“We should go.” Fyn leaned in close, whispering in my ear, but I couldn’t stop listening to their conversation—especially when it was about me.
“What makes you think she’s here?” Lioran’s voice fell flat.
“I don’t think she’s here—I know.”
The voice trailed off for a moment. Fyn tugged on the flowing sleeve of my lilac gown.
“We’re going…” Cora’s hushed warning trailed to me. “Aelira…” I shook my head. “Fine, I’m going then.” She began walking down the hall.
“Who are you dealing with, Pyrran?” Lioran’s voice was a guttural growl.
Pyrran scoffed. “Judging by the look on your face—you already know. I hear she’s extremely beautiful. Must be hard for you to resist her, brother.” I tried to turn, but my muscles refused—and still, their voices echoed. “Have you told them yet, or were you just waiting for me to tell them?”
“She may help Lythira—help this entire realm.” His words were cold and calculating.
My heart pumped frantically.
Was that all I was to him?
All this time I wondered what he felt for me—hoped to be something greater to him.
I wasn’t.
I was just a solution.
A tear rolled down my cheek. I wiped it away, my sleeve tugging at my skin. Fury swelled within me as his words repeated in my mind. I exhaled, desperate to calm the storm, before I couldn’t any longer.
Fyn’s fingers curled around my wrist, pressing deeply. As I turned to leave, footsteps echoed behind us.
“Looks like you have company, brother.” The voice echoed through the corridor and the hairs stood on my arms. Cora stopped at the end of hall. Fyn and I slowly pivoted towards them. “Aren’t you going to introduce me?”
I recoiled under Lioran’s glare—the air escaped my lungs. His brother pushed his longer, flowing raven locks over his shoulder, as his brow furrowed.
“I am Princess Aelira of Bailoc. It is a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness.” The words tumbled off my lips effortlessly, as if I was standing in the grand hall at Bailoc.
“You’re just as beautiful as I was told.” Pyrran took my hand in his. His lips pressed against my knuckles—I inhaled, unable to exhale.
Lioran’s jaw locked.
“Thank you, Your Highness.” My formality vanished the moment I crossed the divide into Lythira, but I hadn’t forgotten how to act like a princess.
“Lady Cora, it is a pleasure to see you again. I’m surprised to see them both here.” A controlled smirk spread across Pyrran’s lips.
My eyebrow raised.
“It’s so hard to keep track of all of Lioran’s love interests. The two of you are still together, right?” Pyrran asked Cora.
Silence fell in the corridor. I clutched the flowing fabric of my gown and twisted it.
They were together—no one told me. I glanced at Fyn. His lips were pressed firmly together. Fyn was never silent, until now.
“Oh…I hope I didn’t say too much. It seems I’ve made the princess uncomfortable.” Pyrran chuckled.
I smoothed my expression—my face would betray my every thought.
“Prince Pyrran, will you be staying with us?” Cora held her head elegantly high.
Anger flooded me. He averted his gaze from mine.
“I believe my visit will be brief this time. Lioran and I have business to attend to before I head to the High Court.” Pyrran leaned in, towering over me.
“Prince Lioran. There is a matter I wish to speak with you about when you have a moment.” My voice quaked.
“Certainly, let’s discuss it.” He nodded at me, before returning his attention to his brother. “I’ve had a room arranged for you. We will feast tonight and continue our conversation then. Lady Cora can show you the way.”
Cora flinched at the mention of her name.
“I imagine you know your way around here well, Cora.” Pyrran placed his hand out for Cora. She looked back at me as she placed her hand in his, before they disappeared from view.
“Fyn, keep an eye on them,” Lioran commanded.
“Yes, Your Highness,” Fyn murmured as he started after them.
The smell of oak and moss hovered inside his study. Candles flickered in the windowsills where ivy sprawled. Bookshelves curved with the edges of the room and rose all the way to the ceiling. Lioran gestured for me to sit. His nostrils were still flaring.
“I didn’t know your brother was here.” I gripped the back of the leather armchair, still seething at their words.
“It was an unwelcome surprise for us all.” He braced his hand on the edge of a bookshelf. “What did you want to tell me?”
My fingers dug further into the stiff leather.
“I think the blight has reached the Heart. When we were in Othryl, the trees were lifeless.” I traced my hands on the leather-bound books, inspecting them.
Some written in another language and some in ours.
“I usually sense something from trees when I touch them, almost like a hum, but when I touched one earlier, I felt nothing from it. I think the blight is here, too.”
He drummed his fingers on his biceps as his chest heaved. The candlelight flickered highlighting the deep circles beneath his eyes.
“You’re not surprised,” I said.
“No.” He lifted a glass of deep brown liquid from his desk and took a single sip. “I’ve felt it for some time. It’s slowly shifting through the lands.”
“You feel it, too?”
“I sense every bit of change in these lands that happens…like it’s a part of me.”
I had to touch something to fully sense it. But he just felt it.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“The blight is my problem to deal with.”
“You brought me here to fix it?”
“What could possibly make you think that?” he snapped as he set the glass back on his desk.
My breath caught. “I heard you tell Pyrran it’s why I’m here.”
“Eavesdropping?”
“It concerned me.”
He scoffed. My heart stilled for a moment as the room fell silent.
“Politics and roles of royals here are not like yours. My brothers and I were assigned our territories—they are ours to manage. Lythira’s responsible for agriculture—we provide food for the kingdom.
Each year, the blight worsens, and I have less to give.
” He reached over for his drink again and took a sip, thrusting it harshly back down on the table.
“If my territory fails… if I fail…then entire kingdom of Nythrel fails.”
“Once you saw my magic you knew. You brought me here to save Lythira?” My voice strained.
Air held in my chest—I hoped he would tell me what I heard was wrong.
I thought he brought me here because he cared about me, but it was only for political convenience—for his kingdom’s survival.
It was foolish to ever hope I’d mean more.
“Aelira…” Something in his eyes was pleading. “You and I both have magic that can restore the land. Maybe together we can save it.” My eyes watered as he spoke the words I didn’t want to hear.
He ran his fingers over a rolled-up map.
I wanted him to tell me he cared about me beyond my magic.
His silence was answer enough. I couldn’t let it go.
My boots echoed in the circular study until I was standing before him. “I’ve been a political pawn long enough. I refuse to be yours. Take me back to the divide.”
His head tilted as his breath grew hot on my skin as he stepped closer to me. My hand slid to his chest, pushing him back. I couldn’t let him get closer.
His hand slid over mine, holding it in place on his chest “If you wish it, Your Highness.” He gripped my hand tighter. “I will take you there. You were never my pawn to wield.”
“We both know I will never belong here.” My voice was so low it barely carried over the crackling fire.
He released my hand, but his touch still lingered.
“Why didn’t you tell me that you and Cora were together?” I still couldn’t believe I didn’t know.
“We’re not. Cora and I were once together, a long time ago. Pyrran mentions it every chance he gets.” He sighed loudly. “Why do you even care?” His hand slid over his lips.
It should have made me feel better hearing they weren’t together, but it didn’t.
“I don’t need an explanation,” I said.
“You don’t need an explanation…but you pry until you get one. When I ask you about it, you don’t even answer me. How am I supposed to know what you’re thinking?” Lioran inched closer again, removing the lingering space between us. “What do you want, Aelira?”
He wouldn’t give me what I wanted.
“I want nothing…from you,” I said through gritted teeth.
He shook his head. “Then leave.”
He lingered beside me a moment longer, before returning to his desk.
“All of this was only ever about my magic. I thought you brought me here because you cared about me.” I choked on my words. They were barely a whisper. I wasn’t even sure he heard me.
It didn’t matter anymore. I needed it not to matter.
If I stopped to think about it, I wasn’t sure I would ever be able to come back from the pain that settled deep within me.
The chill of the metal handle grazed my palm as I opened the door.
He remained standing at his desk flipping through his papers. He wouldn’t look up at me at all.
I welcomed the stir of noise that came through the hall.