Chapter 21
My eyes burned as they opened, taking in the first morning light. The last tear was shed, but the pain lingered.
Cora knew. She tried to warn us.
They had been together, maybe even just like that. I tried to blink the thought of them together from my mind.
Maybe he could never control himself—not like he believed he could.
The bed still cradled me in my flowing gown. The ribbons were still loose enough for me to slide out of it, but I clung to it even as I slipped into the darkness.
I lay there as the sun steadied its place in the sky. Juniper came and went, leaving breakfast. It was left untouched. I’d never forget the way he looked at me when I told him to leave.
I left the book on my nightstand. There was no advice it could offer.
A rustling sound wove through the wind’s whistle. Green ivy trickled in through the windows, glowing and growing into my chambers. I stiffened my grip on the jet-black fabric. It dragged behind me as I crept across the floor. Magic spiraled in my veins, buzzing through me.
The ivy crept inward again. My fingers cautiously trailed it. With my touch, it grew faster, creeping up the walls. I hadn’t called it, but still it reached for me.
A leaf shifted over my hand and rested firmly in place.
With the leaf’s embrace, I pulled my hand back slowly, but the ivy only crept further. It pulsated over me; each gentle vibration lulled me—the squall inside me diminishing with it until only tranquility embraced me.
The veins of the leaves illuminated as the sun peeked further past the clouds. The onyx fluttered against my chest in a way it never had before.
A knock sounded at the door, but I remained at the windowsill still clutching the leaf.
“Aelira… please.” Lioran’s voice was desperate on the other end as my silence greeted him. “I need to know you’re okay. If you won’t let me in, I’m sending Cora to check on you.”
“Come in.” I didn’t look up at him when he entered.
The dancing ivy cascaded over the walls—the solemn stone walls transformed into a rippling sea of green.
“It just appeared.” I was still clutching the leaf.
“You didn’t call it with your magic?” He poked at a leaf beside me, and the vine recoiled. His finger trailed another, and it shriveled.
He shook his head.
“No. It just came to me. When I touch it, it calms the fire inside of me.” I couldn’t let the leaf go—its soothing movement grounded me. My other hand still clenched the black fabric of the gown, the weight tugged in the other direction.
“It’s like it wanted to find me.” It sounded absurd, even to me, but he remained beside me.
“I’ve never seen anything like it.” He reached for the vine, but his hand wavered.
The dress ripped from my grip, but I caught it again. Tears brimmed to the surface of my eyes. I pressed the gown against me.
“You’re still in your dress.” He stumbled over his words.
“I didn’t want to take it off.”
Heavy rings hung under his eyes. “I know. I’m so sorry.”
“Can you give me a moment? I want to change.” For a moment, I fixated on the vines. Their energy lingered on my skin even as I pulled back, but I was desperate to feel it again.
“Of course. I’ll be right here.” He settled his back into the stone wall of the corridor as I shut the door. The black fabric fell to my hips as I finally released it. I reached for a simple navy dress to replace it.
Once I fastened the top, I called to him again. “You can come back in now.” The door creaked and his boots echoed into the chamber.
“You haven’t eaten anything.” The plate clanged as he shifted it on the table.
“I’m not hungry.” I never was when I was upset.
He stood in front of me, desperation etched in the wrinkles around his eyes. “I’m sorry.”
“We should have listened to Cora.” Her name caught in my throat. She only wanted to protect me—I knew that, but it didn’t soften the sting of this morning’s realization.
“Please...My heart is breaking.” He extended a hand toward me, but I didn’t accept.
“Last night…”
“I hurt you…could have truly hurt you.”
“I wasn’t ready. You weren’t you.” He flinched at my words. “I wasn’t me.”
“I knew that once the magic settled, but in the moment, I didn’t. I’m so sorry, I thought I had a handle on it. I always did until you came along.”
“You never came back.”
“I couldn’t trust myself around you,” he said.
My body sank into the armchair. I sobbed.
“I wanted you…I still do. When you are ready.” He knelt beside me. His hand grazed my cheek. “The celestial energy awoke something within me, until I could barely control my own desires. I should never have put you in that position.”
My throat squeezed tightly. “I wanted to be with you, but not like that. It couldn’t be like that.”
A breathy sound rose from my throat, but words didn’t immediately follow.
He wiped my tears. “What can I do? I will do anything.” His head hung heavy.
“Just hold me.”
His hands slid around me, and as he pulled me in, his heart echoed. We were still for a moment—only birdsong sounded in my chambers.
“If you choose me, if we choose to be together in that way—it will only be when you are ready.”
Something shifted within him, like a deeply rooted pain had taken hold. He meant every word he said. I knew how hard it was to fight the celestial magic. I would have caved myself if it weren’t for the fire breaking my trance.
I reached for him. “Can you stay with me for a while?”
“There is nowhere else I’d rather be, my love.” He lifted my hand to his lips.
He sat with me until he couldn’t anymore—emergency council was summoned. His eyes darted from Fyn to me when Fyn arrived with news, almost as if duty couldn’t pull him away.
“Everyone will meet shortly.” Fyn studied us both. My hand trailed Lioran’s. “Aelira, you should come, too.” Fyn’s solemn voice shook. “We have news from the other side of the divide.”
My stomach sank further. “How? Where did the news come from?”
“Elric.” Fyn hesitated. “He claims he has ties to someone across the divide.”
“Thalen.” I choked on his name. Lioran’s fingers twitched beneath mine. “Everything he’s said to me…What he put us through. Thalen was behind it all.” My lungs clenched in my chest, the pain intensifying with each passing second.
“We don’t have the proof of that yet. You’re only assuming…” Fyn thumbed the buttons on his tunic.
“It’s not a far-fetched assumption,” Lioran grumbled.
“I changed my mind, Lioran. You can do what you want with him now,” I said.
A hint of a smirk tugged at the corner of Lioran’s lips.
“You know I’m normally up for whatever, but I don’t think we need to attract that type of attention right now.” Fyn gestured toward the door.
I wrapped a leather band around my hair, pulling my locks slightly loose to cover my ears. Council would have enough to discuss without discovering the half-human in their presence.
The three of us began walking down the lengthy corridor. Lioran rested his hand on my shoulder. “It’s okay if you want to stay here. We can let you know what is shared after.”
I wasn’t sure if I’d be allowed in such a space—if I had earned the right to stand beside them. Bailoc was still my home, even despite everything that happened there—and I deserved to hear the news myself, if he allowed it.
“I want to come with, if I can,” I said.
“You are welcome to be there. I just don’t know what will be shared. No matter what Elric says you need to remain composed. No one can know the truth about who you are there.” Lioran’s voice lowered as Fyn stopped ahead.
“What do you fear if they know the truth? Pyrran already does.”
“Pyrran may. Elric may know it too, but we don’t know who they’ve told yet. Once they know who you truly are—the strength of the magic you possess…the threat may become greater than Pyrran and Elric.”
I had wondered how many prying eyes may have seen me practicing with Cora. In a single glance all they would know was that I made flowers bloom, or a tree branch grow. The depths of my magic, the way I felt the land’s energy shift through my fingertips remained concealed.
Fyn walked back over toward us—his hand settled on my shoulder. “Maybe you two should not enter together. Everyone has been wondering where you’ve been all morning. Lioran, go ahead. I’ll bring her with me.”
“Don’t let Elric near her,” Lioran said to Fyn before he strode ahead.
“Oh, I most certainly will not.” Fyn’s smirk stilled. His hand hadn’t lifted from my shoulder. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” I didn’t even believe my own words.
“I know you see me as Lioran’s friend, but I’m yours, too. And if anyone ever hurts you…I don’t care who it is. I want to know.” He towered over me.
“Thank you, Fyn. I am honored to have you as a friend.” I hugged him and he stumbled back for a moment. “Sorry. Should I not have done that?”
“Humans are strange creatures, but I guess that’s perfectly fine.” He chuckled as we walked down the hall.
Sunlight beamed into the grand council room from windows high above. The gathering was unlike any I had seen in Bailoc—females were present. They stood intermixed in the space—not as if they were watching, but as if they were a part of it.
Ready to be heard.
Expecting to be seen.
They glowed with confidence.
It was a place where anyone could be heard—I could be heard.
Lady Aura stood with her arms linked with a fae lord. A soft smile spread on her lips as she caught me staring.
Cora stopped beside me. She placed her hand on mine.
“Who called this emergency council meeting?” Lioran stood at the center. There was no throne. No crown upon his head. He was dressed just as he had been in my chambers.
“I did, Your Highness,” Elric said.
“What news do you bring?” Lioran asked.
“The blight is spreading. Our supplies are growing thinner.” Elric paced the open space before Lioran.
“This is not news. Surely you did not call us all here for this,” Fyn chimed in. “We have regular outgoing shipments of supplies to support Othryl, Symra, and Weston.”
“It is as we’ve predicted. Despite the threat, we continue to look into where else we can seek resources.” Lioran drummed his fingers on his arms.
“We are researching solutions. My team of scholars will share whatever they find,” Lady Aura’s husband spoke up as he left her side and stood beside Lioran. He settled his hands on his hips.
“Lord Orion, we are grateful for your leadership in these efforts.” Lioran nodded to him.
“What about your grounding magic, Your Highness?” Lady Aura asked.
“What could his grounding magic do? If His Highness could reverse the blight, I’m sure he would,” another fae lord spoke. I could barely see him over those who stood next to me.
“It’s not enough to erase the blight,” Elric said.
A fae lady stepped forward. “What hope is there then? We continue to research, to gather, to spread ourselves so thin we may never recover.” Her golden hair was perfectly folded into three elegant braids.
“I will continue to see what progress can be made with grounding magic. As of now, it isn’t enough. The blight is thriving still.” Lioran’s exhale cascaded through the space, echoing off the stone walls. “I can’t promise an easy answer. We are all doing whatever we can.”
“At what point will we stop sending aid?” A low voice spoke behind Lord Orion. “We can’t carry the weight of these outlier villages indefinitely.”
“Lord Mavik, you can’t honestly suggest just cutting them off to fend for themselves,” Lady Aura protested. “Where is your honor?”
“We will never leave any of our people to starve.” Lioran’s voice boomed. “I don’t care what it costs us. We will stand by each other.”
“For now, there is still enough to go around.” Fyn clasped his hands together. “We will reassess as needed.”
“Is it true the human realm suffers?” the woman with golden braid asked.
“Yes.” Elric's sharp glare fixated on me. “The blight spreads through Bailoc at a rapid rate.”
My fingernails scraped my palm at the mention of Bailoc.
“And what are they doing about it?” Lioran interjected.
“King Ardyn seeks resources from outside of his kingdom, still. There are murmurs of a rebellion as their blight intensifies—the kingdom won’t sustain.”
Whispers sifted through the room.
The sun’s glow shifted until the room dimmed.
I knew I shouldn’t say a word, but still my lips parted. Lioran shot a warning glance in my direction. I held his gaze only for a second before it returned to Elric. My family, my people, would suffer if a rebellion took hold.
“A rebellion?” My voice grew louder than I intended. Lioran took in a sharp inhale.
“Yes, whispers of overthrowing the monarchy. Nothing has come of it yet, but since Bailoc has rejected outside efforts, I imagine it’s only a matter of time.” Elric’s eyebrows raised.
“Why would they reject outside efforts?” Lord Mavik asked.
“An opportunity arose for a most prosperous alliance through a marriage between the king’s eldest daughter and an ally that could offer relief to Bailoc. It did not come to fruition.”
“Why not?” A lady’s voice piped in from the back of the room.
“Their princess refused to participate.”
“And they allowed it?” Lady Aura asked.
“I can’t speak for her. Surely only she could explain her logic,” Elric scoffed.
Cora assessed me.
“How have you heard news from the human realm?” Lord Orion’s voice boomed between us.
“The High Court is in communication with a fae lord that lives on the other side of the wall.” Elric watched me, waiting for my response.
My knees began to buckle beneath me, but I held onto Cora.
“And how does this fae lord know? I wasn’t aware there were fae who chose to live on the other side of the wall.” Lord Orion folded his deeply sun-kissed arms over his chest. His eyes were midnight blue, almost as dark as the onyx I wore around my neck.
“He is in regular communication with Bailoc. I assure you, he is a trusted source,” Elric said.
“A fae that allied himself with our enemy?” Lord Mavik asked.
“Bailoc can solve their situation, and we will work to solve ours.” Lioran’s voice roared above the murmurs. “We will aid our people with whatever resources remain. We will not stop searching for a solution.” Lioran stepped in front of Elric.
“Lord Orion and I plan to review inventory from the surrounding villages to assess how to streamline our shipments.” Fyn tilted his head to Lord Orion. “We will gather what information we can from other territories too.”
“We needn’t seek out support from Kybar yet,” Lioran interjected.
“Your Highness… soon, we may not have a choice,” Lord Orion protested.
Elric hesitated before his lips parted. “Prince Pyrran would want to help.”
“When the time comes, I’m sure he will be glad to,” Fyn spoke quickly, before Lioran could respond.
“We will exhaust every resource,” Lioran said.
“Oh, I certainly hope you will, Your Highness.” Elric’s glare cut to me again, lingering too long.