Chapter Forty-Nine
Avari
Spending the evening surrounded by a menagerie of shadow animals, with fur made of mist and eyes like starlight, I couldn’t believe how many Alec owned.
There were tens of canines, felines, birds, and reptiles.
Even my ever-composed snake swirled around me, fascinated by the shelter.
Though he never left my side, I started to suspect he never would, and, to my surprise, I found the thought comforting.
I didn’t want to sour the mood; the world finally slowed down, and I wasn’t ready to shatter it with talk of what came next.
I needed my dragon.
The silence without her gnawed at me, and I refused to wait for shadows that wouldn’t obey.
Sitting on the floor and throwing balls for eternal puppies, a series of pings on Alec’s phone disrupted our peace. Getting so many, one after another, was never a good sign.
‘What is it?’ I demanded, seeing his agitation.
‘We need to go back. Dad says it’s an emergency,’ he declared before throwing the last ball and engulfing us in his storm.
As we landed in the foyer, a heated conversation between Miriam and our father was loud enough to carry through the estate.
‘How irresponsible are you? That’s precisely why they’re kept in the libraries!’ my grey-haired sister was losing her temper at the troubled-looking Lord of Shadows.
‘You think I don’t know that? It’s been there for years. We’re on the Isles, for God’s sake. How was I supposed to predict that bitch would come to steal it?’ he shouted back, rubbing his stubble.
‘What are you two arguing about now?’ Alec raised his voice loud enough to gather their attention.
Miriam sneered. ‘I’ll let him tell you.’
Father shot her a dirty look before taking a seat at the table and gesturing for everyone to join. ‘It seems you weren’t the only reason the queen came that night,’ he said, his voice flat. ‘The family grimoire is gone.’
Alec paled before shrieking, ‘What the hell are you talking about?’
Before he could respond, I intercepted the conversation. ‘Aren’t grimoires for witches?’
It was Miriam who shook her head and explained, ‘Usually, but shadows can be used in so many ways; our wielders have grimoires too. It details exactly how a shadow-wielder can shape darkness to their will.’
That was new and so similar to witchcraft.
‘I kept it in my office to study certain bits. I honestly forgot it was even there.’
‘Then how do you know it was her who stole it?’ I asked, not doubting for a second that my mother would, though I hoped for a different explanation.
Father pulled out a piece of paper annotated with handwriting I’d recognise anywhere.
It was just wasting away here.
– H
Judging by their reactions, there was something I didn’t know. ‘What exactly is so special about this book?’
And again, it was Miriam who clarified, ‘It was kept in our family for generations. It contains secrets and ways to use shadows that somebody like her cannot know.’
‘Especially since she has yours, as we’ve all witnessed.
The amount of shadows she drained from you, she could perform a lot of weaves from the grimoire,’ father warned.
A faint smile tugged at his lips, oddly improper.
‘Though you should take it as a compliment and assurance that you are a shadow person. You just need to recuperate from the draining. How is training going anyway?’
Miriam’s peculiar eyes turned blood-red as she glared at the lord. ‘Excuse me? No! This is not a father-daughter bonding moment. This is a huge problem that we need to solve!’
‘Oh, Miriam, you and your books,’ he joked. Nobody laughed. With a frustrated sigh, he declared, ‘Okay, okay. I will go to Ortensia and take it back.’
I winced as I remembered. ‘Shadows don’t work in Ortensia.’
‘My point exactly. We’re screwed.' Miriam exhaled the breath she’d been keeping in for a long time. Cheeks reddening, I could see the girl was stressed.
Making use of the recent changes, I knew I couldn’t sit on the sidelines while the rest fought for what was right. ‘I’ve got my fire powers now. I’ll go with you. I know the castle too.’
‘No. You haven’t completed your training,’ father said, cutting me off so sharply it stung.
It took a lot of perseverance not to be offended by his blatant disregard. I might not have wielded darkness, but I was useful in many ways. Not to mention my fire powers had grown so much I was pretty sure I was a match for Willow now, though I still needed training on how to use them in battle.
‘I won’t for a long time, that much is obvious,’ I replied, tired of his excuses. ‘But my other powers have grown over the past weeks. I have a raging inferno that’s begging for release every time I as much as think of my mother.’
Looking sympathetic, father continued, alleging, ‘It’s too dangerous, Ava.’
I found that a lot of their stubbornness had begun testing my patience recently. ‘It’s dangerous for you too. At least with me, you have a chance. I’ve spent years going unnoticed in that castle. I know my way around it.’
They looked at me in a mix of deference and sorrow.
‘I’m going too,’ Alec and Miriam declared at the same time.
I continued making my point. ‘Besides, you’ll be safer with me since I have a sneaking suspicion she wants me alive. She’s got too used to my power to kill me before it recuperates.’
Miriam nodded before saying, ‘I agree. I don’t think she would kill you. The way she looked at you… she wants you back for some twisted reason. I wish I could send nightmares her way.’
‘How do we get there? We can’t exactly portal to Ortensia,’ Alec voiced his concern, scratching his head for ideas.
There was a way. ‘Wait, my portal might still be open.’
‘What?’
‘I don’t think they ever closed it since I arrived for my second session in Fogoya, and they captured me too,’ I mused, starting to find humour in my affairs.
‘But we would need to—’
I nodded. ‘Go through his portal, yes. It’s only open to the Fogoyan castle.’
Alec chuckled sarcastically. ‘Great. Back to Fogoya,’ he muttered. ‘Let’s just drop straight into their portal room.’
And I knew it was my moment. ‘Not so fast.’