Chapter 25
The road to the High Court was long, winding through forests and quaint villages. It would take days to reach the palace.
Birdsong woke me. I stared up through the canopy of leaves overhead. As I gently lifted Lioran’s arm off me, he shifted. A soft groan escaped his lips.
I studied him, memorizing the freckle by his eye, so soft and faint it was barely visible.
We had only one day left until we reached the High Court.
My few important possessions lay packed beside me. I would not go back to Lythira. Juniper emptied my room before we left. She prepared the chambers for his wife while I bathed. Everything was brought in fresh.
I asked her to.
They didn’t wait for me to leave—I told her not to.
The preparations were done in silence. Lioran wasn’t told. He would never let it happen if he knew.
I needed to watch. I needed for it to break me.
So I’d remember—he wasn’t mine to keep.
Blades of grass crackled beneath my boots with each careful step I took toward Gaia. I was desperate to feel her warmth—for her to ground me. She settled in my touch as my fingers slid down the bridge of her nose. I loosened the rope that held her still.
In my mind I told her to go to the pond, she trotted ahead without another command.
Veylar’s breath blew, its stark cadence startling me. He pawed the dirt. As I released him from the long lead, a chill gushed through me—it wasn’t mine, it wasn’t Gaia’s. This was new.
His nostrils flared and then I knew who I sensed—it was Veylar. He paced, watching me. Maybe he was wishing Lioran was by his side instead.
“Let’s get you some water,” I whispered. Veylar stepped back. The feeling lingered, it wrapped around me. “Everything will be okay,” I crooned as our foreheads met, my tears releasing onto the stallion.
Lioran shifted on his mat, turning toward me. Even though I didn’t utter a single word, Veylar followed me to the pond. When we reached the water’s edge, he lowered his head to drink. Lioran’s eyes met mine and he nodded back at me.
The sea of green parted until the golden tips of the palace towers glinted in the distance. It towered higher than my home in Bailoc. Sunlight painted the silver walls, like starlight through crystal.
This was his home—it was the very last place I’d ever see him again.
My grip on Gaia’s reins tightened, but she did not falter. Even as we slowed to a steady trot.
Golden gates drew back at the sight of the future king. Each metal rod was topped with a golden arrow that pointed up to the sky.
Lioran’s chin angled upward as he climbed from the saddle. Dozens of guards lined the path, bowing to the heir to the throne.
My twitching fingers slid into a guard’s cold, clammy palm. I longed to feel Lioran’s hands around my waist, wishing he would be the one to lift me from the saddle.
But he proceeded without a glance in my direction. A sharp chill trailed my spine.
Each guard held his head high as we walked past.
“Your Highness,” a fae knight greeted Lioran.
“It is good to see you, Sir Roman.” Lioran extended an arm out to the lord, who greeted him the same.
“You must be Princess Aelira.” Sir Roman towered over both Lioran and I, but his smile was tender and bright. “Welcome to the High Court, Your Highness.”
“Thank you, Sir Roman.” I bowed my head to him.
“No, Your Highness…a Princess does not bow,” Sir Roman said.
My title felt foreign. Everything had changed since I crossed the divide—Aelira was the only part of me that remained.
I looked to Lioran; afraid I would falter again. His eyes softened, but he quickly dropped his gaze.
“Prince Lioran, Prince Calyth would like to speak with you. He says it’s a matter of urgent importance.”
“Send him to my chambers,” Lioran commanded, his tone formal and cold.
“You haven’t much time. You’ll be expected in the throne room within the hour,” Sir Roman said.
Lioran warned they would waste little time when we arrived. Even still, I hadn’t expected to stand before them immediately.
“I would like to change.” The grime of the road had settled on my skin. I was desperate to wash it way.
“Certainly. We will have a lady’s maid show you and Lady Cora to your chambers,” Sir Roman said.
Our chambers. A place for Cora and I to remain, but Lioran wouldn’t enter. The air released from my lungs and threatened to live outside of me only.
I forced an inhale so that I could speak again. “Thank you, Sir Roman.”
“Your Highness, my lady. I will show you both to your room. Your things will be brought up shortly. You must prepare to meet the king and queen,” an older fae woman greeted us, silver streaks peeked through her jet-black hair.
She smoothed a plain, gray gown. I glanced over my shoulder at Lioran as we stepped forward into the palace.
One last look at my heart as it left my body.
Crystal doors walled off the palace from the outside world, but the outside glow trailed inside. Cora offered her arm to me. I was grateful for her steady presence.
The winding halls of the palace were etched with golden filagree. Paintings full of muted hues spanned the length of the walls. Chill air held stagnant as if the entire wing of the palace were rarely ever used.
Cora walked beside me, her focus set on our guide. She had known Lioran since she was a child. Maybe she had walked these halls before.
An arched ceiling hung overhead framing the center of our room. A large bed lay in the middle, ivory fabric hanging from its wooden frame. A quaint smaller bed lay along the side wall.
Cora and I had never existed in such a formal space—in Lythira we were friends, we were equal. She showed no resistance to the space, but bowed her head politely as I stilled mine.
“You will have staff at your service whenever you need it, Your Highness. Shall we draw up a bath for you and your lady?” the lady’s maid asked.
“Our journey was long. I would very much like to freshen up.” The words slipped from my lips as if I had never left Bailoc.
Lady's maids stripped me of my dirt drenched gown. Warm rose bathwater greeted my skin. I reached for the soap and the lady’s maid gripped it before I had the chance.
“Your Highness, it is our job to assist you.”
“Thank you,” I said.
Cora was left on her own to bathe and dress.
“I have my own gowns,” I said as they began to open a wardrobe.
“I’ve seen them Your Highness,” the lady’s maid replied. “We’ve been instructed to fit you with gowns that suit your station. Nothing you’ve brought with you is suitable for your audience with their majesties.”
I wasn’t sure they’d find me suitable either.
Layers of tulle, an underskirt, and a corset were fastened in place. Inky-black fabric layered with delicate gold floral embroidery draped from a fitted bodice.
I rubbed the onyx between my fingers, but only the chill of the chain could be felt around my neck. The boning pressed into an under corset, my lungs compressing beneath it all.
Lioran’s touch still lingered, even though it had been hours since I last felt it.
I savored the feeling, knowing that someday I would forget the way he felt.
“You look beautiful, Your Highness.” Cora bowed to me. Her dress was a dazzling cascade of pink fabric that flowed freely over her hips.
“As do you.” I clutched my corset. “I would like a moment alone with Lady Cora.” My stark voice filled the space.
“There isn’t much time before your audience with the king and queen, so please make it brief.” The head lady’s maid bowed her head before they all took their leave.
“Cora…” I gasped as the weight of the dress constricted around me.
“You will find your way.”
“What makes you so sure?”
“All we ever have is the faith we give ourselves. You must believe you will rise above this.”
“And what if I have no faith? No strength left to give myself?” I asked.
“You do—you are just afraid.”
“He will never be mine again. Never.” My voice cracked. “None of this is my choice.”
I had resigned myself to the fate that lay ahead. Lioran was to marry. I was to be dealt with. None of it was new—none of it was a surprise.
But as I stood there, looking at myself in the mirror, the ache took hold. There was no turning back. His wife’s room had been reset. The plans had been made for his future—maybe a bride had already been chosen.
I thought I was ready to give him up, but now that we were here, I knew I never would be.
She gripped my shaking hands in hers. “You are the Princess of Bailoc. They will never admit it, but your words have weight here. Choose them carefully.”
“I value his future. Everything he must be.”
“You can value his future, but you must also value yours. One is not more important than the other.” She hesitated for a second, her eyes fixated on the window as if it somehow revealed how much time remained. “Don’t get so caught up in what can’t be that you can’t see what already is.”
“I can’t go on without him.” I knew I never would.
Cora lay my dark waves over my gown. “One day, you will look back on all of this. When you do, you need to know you did everything you could to honor yourself. This is your life…your future.” Her voice trailed off as her weight shifted.
“Even if it breaks me…” I whispered.
“You will only get one chance.”
Choice was not something I had been granted in Bailoc, and if they ruled like King Ardyn did, I wouldn’t have the ability to choose here, either.
Footsteps echoed, and the door creaked back open.
It was time to meet the king and queen.