by Allison Rose
Yes, but I couldn’t stand being there a second longer. I wanted to be with you. And you do not look like you want me here.
“Am I welcome back home?” Sevelle’s soft forlorn voice broke into her thoughts. “Or is this her way of saying I have failed?”
Jae sighed. “If I were you, I would not go back.”
Tears formed in Sevelle’s eyes, and her lower lip quivered.
If only there was something else I could say.
Lex leaned down to put a hand on Jae’s arm and tilted his head toward the door. Jae bristled a little at the curt dismissal, but then relief took over as he helped her up and led her out. Warmth spread through her from where his hand touched her arm.
It will be better when I can explain to him alone. He will forgive me.
“I’m sorry,” she said in a low voice as soon as they got out into the deserted hall. She placed a hand on his shoulder. “I did not mean for any of this to happen.”
“Sevelle is also my potential,” he rushed out in an equally low voice.
Jae froze.
No. It can’t be true.
Why would he tell me that? Unless he is considering her…
Her eyes searched his, but he focused on something behind her. She felt him tense. Frowning, she turned.
Morlan leaned against the wall halfway down the hall.
No. He didn’t.
Fear colored her voice as she said, “Morlan, why are you here?”
I should’ve known he wouldn’t be fooled that easily. That he would be watching.
Her eyes widened.
Did he follow me the entire way? Spying without saying anything?
Then an even more terrifying thought hit her. She took a step toward Morlan, remaining in front of Lex, as if she could shield him. “Did you tell The Glorious I left?”
Morlan nodded, eyes on Jae as if Lex wasn’t there. “I did.” His gaze bored into her, making her feel as if she had done something incredibly wrong and she should know it.
Jae swallowed and forced her next question out. “Is she here?”
Wordlessly, Morlan looked to his right through an open door, where voices drifted out. Jae’s blood ran cold as she recognized The Glorious’s. The other was unfamiliar and male.
“No,” Lex muttered as he rushed past them and through the door before Jae could react.
She stared after him, thoughts taking a moment to catch up.
His father? In the name of the sun, how did this happen so quickly?! I never had the chance to fix any of this!
“When this ends in tears, I will blame you,” she told Morlan with a glare before rushing after Lex.
Chapter 31
Sevelle collapsed on the bed as soon as Jae and Lex were out of sight. Tears streamed down her cheeks.
My parents…are not my real parents. Did they even mean for me to be heir? Did they plan this all along? Who are my real parents?
What is even real anymore?
This is so much worse than I thought. I cannot go back to the Day Court.
What will I do now?
She looked up sharply as the door suddenly swung open. Taria swept in, and Sevelle sat hastily, wiping at her eyes.
“You must come with me.” Taria wasted no time in grabbing her arm and pulling her from the room.
Being dragged along so urgently by such a regal faerie she had only seen in stiff, courtly situations broke Sevelle out of her anguish for the moment.
“Uh, where—”
Putting one finger to her lips in a sign for quiet, Taria opened a door and led her into a bedroom. Sevelle barely had time to notice the more lived-in look and larger bed of this room before Taria rushed to a set of wooden double doors set into the stone of one corner.
With careful fingers, Taria cracked open one side, and Sevelle suddenly heard voices. One she recognized.
Moth—The Glorious! What is she doing here?
Dread became a pit in her stomach as she rushed over to Taria’s side. Peeking through the slat, she saw a small balcony much like the one that overlooked the garden at the court, only this one looked out onto the room they had met Taria in when they arrived in Muren. Plants nearly covered it, allowing a slim view of the room below.
Below, next to the long table, stood The Glorious. Her feet were planted hips’ width apart, wings open, arms crossed. Her blue hair was tied up tightly. Not an inch of her regal wrapped garment looked out of place.
Hurt, anger, and betrayal swirled within Sevelle at the sight of the faerie who had pretended to be her mother all her life.
She took everything from me. Sevelle squeezed her eyes shut against tears.
A gentle hand on her arm startled her into opening them again. Taria’s gaze was kind, though she said nothing.
A flash of color out of the corner of her eye drew her gaze again to the scene below as Lex rushed in from the hall.
Maybe not everything.
Keeping a wary eye on The Glorious, Lex urgently stepped up to an unfamiliar faerie Sevelle hadn’t noticed before. The faerie had light gray skin and sickly pale blue wings that were jagged around the edges. His clothing hung off his gaunt figure in places. Lex stood next to him, a picture of health compared to the shriveled faerie, though Sevelle could see the resemblance in the way they stood, the slope of their shoulders.
Lore, leader of the rebels, Sevelle thought with a sinking feeling. The one who I was supposed to speak with to end the blight, to seek peace, to keep my place as heir.
Lex appeared to be arguing with his father, though their voices were too low to hear.
Then Jae rushed into the room, coming to stand an equal way between the two opposing faeries, expression pained and desperate. Morlan’s dark form followed, and he grasped his spear and brought it out from over his shoulder, then took a position on the wall to one side of The Glorious, who watched on silently. Her face was turned away, but Sevelle could imagine the look of cruel curiosity.
Sevelle noticed Morlan stood tall, looking strong, able, healthy—the opposite of Jae’s drained expression and drooping shoulders.
The blight must not have affected him. Or The Glorious.
She looked back to Lore and Lex.
They don’t stand a chance.
When Lex and Lore paid her no mind, Jae’s shoulders stiffened and she stepped back. Though she drifted slightly toward Lex and away from The Glorious.
Sevelle practically vibrated with anxiety.
How do I stop this? They can’t—
“I will free the Day of her stain,” the leader of the rebels spoke in a surprisingly deep voice.
“No. That is exactly what I will do to you,” The Glorious answered. Sevelle could hear the cunning smile in her voice. She shuddered.
Taria suddenly snapped the doors closed again, nearing catching Sevelle’s nose in the process, and the voices stopped abruptly.
“Why did you come here?” she asked Sevelle quietly.
“What?” Sevelle asked, her mind thoughts still distracted by the scene below.
I have to get Lex out of that room somehow. Or convince The Glorious to spare him punishment. What could I possibly offer her—
“You remind me of Analare.”
The words snapped Sevelle out of her panicked thoughts. She looked at Taria, who earnestly gazed back.
“Really?” Hope snuck into Sevelle’s voice.
“I see the same light in you as I did in her.”
Sevelle sighed. Taria was a spirit-user. Of course she would see the same power in her as Analare. “The power of the sun,” she said dully.
“No,” Taria said. “Goodness. She did what she could to keep her position, but she used it for good. What is it you want to do with yours?”
Despair crashed through Sevelle. “I am no longer heir. I cannot do anything.”
“You are in a position of power simply because of your affinity. The power of the sun is the power of life itself, all energy connected to it, and all bonds between the energy wi
thin us and the land. You can use that power however you wish. You alone can rival The Glorious. Now, I’ll ask you again, how do you want to use it?”
Sevelle desperately wanted her words to be true. “But I hardly know how to use my power.”
Taria raised her brows. “Others won’t know that.”
“All of the court knows—not that I have a place there anymore.”
“You’ve been traveling with rebels for days. Only a few know what happened during that time,” Taria pointed out. “And you can make your own place in this land.”
Sevelle turned Taria’s words over in her head, all the while urging her mind to catch up. Her fingers itched to crack open the doors again. The situation below could be dire by now.
“I do not know what would make her stop.”
Sevelle’s heart jumped into her throat as a loud pounding sounded at the door to the hall.
“Hush,” Taria urged as she went to pull open the door. She stood aside with an exasperated sigh as Couren and Verity rushed in.
“My apologies, mistress,” Couren apologized in a low voice.
“Do you see what is going on down there?” Verity demanded of no one in particular.
Sevelle winced, frustrated tears welling up again. “I do not know what to do,” she almost whispered.
“You are the only one that can do anything, Sevelle,” Verity pleaded. “Jae looks terrible as well. You have to save them.”
Couren stepped forward and put a hand on Sevelle’s shoulder. He addressed her in a gentler tone, “Save Lore first. Do whatever you did to Lex in the Whisper Wood.”
“I don’t think I can.”
“Maybe that’s your problem,” he said. “Don’t think. Just do it.”
I was thinking when I saved Lex. I was thinking I didn’t want to lose him.
Sevelle felt immense pressure build within.
I don’t know what to do, but I came here to help, to save my kind.
In desperation, she turned back to the doors and cracked them open again, hoping she would have her answer in the moment.
What she saw made her gasp. Lore was filled with darkness to the point it was swirling over his skin like mist. Lex had backed away toward the wall, looking at his father in horror. Jae stood next to him wearing a similar expression. The Glorious hadn’t moved, watching with arms crossed.
She is waiting for him to destroy himself.
Sevelle recalled Lex’s admission to her. He wanted me to save his father.
But she hesitated at the sheer amount of power rolling off Lore, much worse than Lex’s had been. And she was still weak from the power she expended in the Whisper Wood.
But I have to try.
Sevelle focused on Lore and threw out her power, willing it to cover the darkness and snuff it out.
The last thing she saw was darkness becoming light once more.
Chapter 32
Jae stared, transfixed, at Lore’s expression of surprise and horror as he fell. Then his eyes went blank, and as his body hit the floor, it dissolved into a silver puddle.
The magic…destroyed him from within? Jae eyed Lore’s remains suspiciously before her attention turned to Lex.
He was frozen, devastation written all over his face as he stared at the silver puddle.
Jae opened her mouth, wanting to say something, to comfort him in some way, then promptly shut it.
Words cannot fix this. I cannot fix this.
The horror-filled silence stretched on.
Then the Glorious turned toward Jae with a satisfied smile. “Well done, Sanjae.”
What?! Jae whipped her head around.
“If you hadn’t thought to come this early, we might’ve missed seeing the leader of the rebels destroying himself,” The Glorious explained.
Jae’s stomach rolled, and it was an effort not to crumple into a ball on the floor.
“A choice lies before you,” The Glorious went on. She swept her gaze to Lex. “A rebel still stands here.”
Jae swallowed and said nothing, frantically searching her thoughts for some way to save Lex. The Glorious’s spirit power flickered into her mind.
Don’t panic. Say something true.
“They have no leader,” Jae said. “It is likely the rebels will disband.”
The Glorious’s calculating eyes narrowed. “Perhaps. It is better not to take chances. And what became of dear Sevelle?”
Morlan saved Jae from answering. “I have found no trace of her here, Glorious.”
Jae turned to him in surprise.
He met her gaze steadily.
“Hm,” The Glorious said dismissively. Then she gestured to Lex, who was still rooted to the spot. “Well, what will you do with this one?” she asked Jae.
Lex jerked, as if coming to the realization they were speaking about him. He looked up from his father’s remains, and Jae caught his gaze. His expression held a mixture of sorrow and torture, but mostly shock.
I am sorry. She tried to convey the emotion with her eyes.
He merely stared back.
“He can come back with us to the court,” Jae spoke the only solution she could think of, hating every word.
The Glorious’s eyebrows lifted. “And how will that be a punishment?”
“The court is everything the rebels hate,” Jae responded.
He will forgive me eventually. This will save his life. I am the heir. At the court, I will be able to keep him from her wrath, she chanted to herself.
“Ah, yes. There were more of them. Morlan, find the others,” The Glorious ordered.
No. Then they will all resent me.
Jae turned to Morlan as he stepped forward from his position by the wall. Her eyes pleaded with him to stop, to stall, anything other than what The Glorious had just ordered.
A tendril of wind teased her face before rushing off.
Chapter 33
Sevelle awoke with a snap, dazed and confused. The tight grip on her arms nearly sent her into a panic.
“We need you, Sevelle,” Verity said as she stared down at her, urgency in her gaze.
Sevelle blinked, trying to clear her mind and remember what happened. It came back to her in flashes. The Glorious facing Lore. Her conversation with Taria. Couren and Verity urging her to do something. Sending her magic at Lore—
“Lex’s father! What happened?” Sevelle sat bolt upright, realizing she was on the floor. Her head swam, and she put a hand to her temple.
Verity and Couren exchanged uncomfortable looks.
“He’s dead,” Taria said from her right.
Sevelle turned to look up at her with a gasp. “No! I—I killed him? I didn’t mean to—”
Taria held up a hand, eyes gentle. “We know you didn’t mean it, Sevelle. The dark magic Lore summoned from who knows where had nearly consumed him. There wasn’t much of him left to save. It was his own doing.”
Sevelle glanced at Couren and Verity, breathing in relief when she detected no animosity in their expressions.
“But Lex and Jae still need saving,” Verity urged.
Panic shot through Sevelle as she struggled to her feet. Couren held out a hand to help her up. She was beyond tired now, and her knees shook slightly as she cracked open the doors again with careful fingers. Verity and Couren crowded on either side of her in an effort to hear better.
Sevelle nearly gagged as she beheld the silvery puddle of Lore’s remains.
Will Lex ever forgive me?
The corners of her vision blurred, and she bit her lip to keep the sorrow at bay.
Then Jae’s voice cut through the room.
“He can come back with us to the court.”
Sevelle put a hand over her mouth to keep from gasping.
Why? Why would she do that?
Then it hit her.
She is trying to save them, but that is not the way.
Verity’s hand tightened on Sevelle’s shoulder. Then The Glorious ordered Morlan to find the others.
Wi
thout thinking, Sevelle pushed open the doors, causing Verity and Couren to scramble back out of sight. “They are under my protection,” she proclaimed.
All eyes turned upward. Even The Glorious stared up at her in shock.
What have I done? Sevelle’s resolve wavered for a moment, until she caught Lex’s gaze.
His expression held so much hope, as if she was the answer to all his problems. Her core warmed in response.
I can save him. I will save him.
Purpose filling her again, she forced herself to look directly at The Glorious, her pretend mother.
“And how do you expect to protect them without any power?” The Glorious humored her with a smile.
The familiar doubt threatened to swallow Sevelle, but she caught herself, squaring her shoulders and pushing it aside.
I have power now.
“I have power over life and death,” she said, trying to imitate The Glorious’s calm manner. She gestured to the silvery puddle on the floor. “As you can see.”
There was a beat of silence. Sevelle didn’t dare look at Lex and Jae.
Then The Glorious’s power slammed into her. She gave a surprised inhale, then forced herself to remain still and keep eye contact.
I speak the truth. And you cannot hurt me now.
After a few long moments, the power retreated. A concerned frown crossed The Glorious’s face.
“You cannot claim subjects without a court,” The Glorious said sourly, switching topics. “Do you wish to claim your own court, Sevelle?” Her tone turned mocking.
Sevelle blinked in shock. Her eyes involuntarily flicked to Lex.
He is essentially their leader now, but what will he think of me? Is this just as bad as what Jae had suggested?
Despite the sorrow in Lex’s gaze, he blinked, then gave her the smallest of nods.
Purpose filled her.
“Yes,” Sevelle said as she looked back at The Glorious. “I am claiming my own court.”
Disbelief flashed across The Glorious’s face, then her expression tightened in anger. She opened her mouth to respond, then shut it again.
Jae glanced from Sevelle to Lex to The Glorious, looking lost.
Sevelle held her breath, heart beating frantically.
