I shifted my eyes back to the book. Another object of Kai was called the crown of discieti. According to legend, its power gave compulsion to the wearer. The third was the ring of immortalem. It gave mortals eternal life. I blinked twice. I could see the appeal. My life was over in a blink of an eye when compared to the fae or mer. I could still read the names of the fourth and fifth ones, the amulet of viribus and sword of impervius, but the text was so faded, it was no longer legible.
I turned the page, and a piece of paper fell out. I picked it up and turned it over in my hand. Writing was scrawled across it.
Crown of discieti, found by the mer?
Ring was last owned by the solis king centuries ago. Possibly in Ash Forest now
Sword, last seen in Magaelor
Amulet of viribus, hidden by fae in Berovia
I closed the book, putting it back in the middle of the shelf, squishing it between two books about necromancy. Nothing in here would be classified as light reading. These were books that would be banned at Ash Court.
TWENTY
“Morning.” Blaise smirked when I entered his library. Technically he was right, but it was almost noon and I hardly counted it as morning. I woke late after such a late night. Yet, he looked exuberant. His feet were propped up on a side table as he leaned back against the sofa cushions. On his lap, a book was open somewhere neat the middle. The fire crackled, coal simpered into ash as I breathed in the smoke-tinted air.
“Is it?” I yawned.
“You’ll get used to it as heir.”
“I’ve been heir for some time.”
He waved a hand lazily in the air. “You’ve not been living as one until now. You’ll be expected to act out your duties at court as a public presence after the wedding. You should have been doing that at home, but Amos just sent you away to an island as if you were nothing, just so he could be with his mistress. Fool.”
I was taken aback to hear anyone talk about my father like that. If he were in Magaelor, I’m pretty sure he’d have been locked away for it. “He was upset over my brother’s death.” I recited the lie I’d been told over and over by my mother.
He scoffed. “I can tell when you’re lying, you know.”
I bit the inside of my cheek. I needed to get better at that. “What are you reading anyway?”
“History.” He scowled, then shook his head slowly. “Here.” He passed the book to me, then sat upright.
My gaze trickled over the open pages, devouring the words that had made him so mad.
Faeries, known to be kind creatures inclined to heal and inspire growth, lived harmoniously for centuries until the fae war. When groups of fae grew dark, wanting to indulge their pleasures more than allowed, and gave into sin and selfishness. Many went rogue, wanting to be free of the fae courts nestled amongst blossom trees and high mountains, to the east in the beautiful land of Berovia.
The more darkly inclined faeries moved to a colder land, one called Magaelor. There, they divulged their darker nature more until many went feral, their instincts only to harm. Although there is no difference in the magic, as all fae harness natural magic from within, the newly known dark fae would use their magic more toward a more sinful nature; instead of healing, they would host grand parties and drink until dawn.
“Oh.”
He rolled his eyes. “Many of us simply embraced both sides of ourselves, the light and the dark, but forever we will be branded the dark fae, the bad guys.”
“You’re upset.” I ventured.
“I don’t care what they think, but history books are forever in text and it’s so predictable, so biased.”
“Then rewrite it.” I said simply.
He half-laughed, then propped his chin onto his palms, and his elbows pressed against his knees. “You know, that’s no terrible advice. It’s shame no one will read it.”
“The dark fae will.”
He arched an eyebrow.
“I mean the fae here in Niferum.”
He laughed. “I don’t care about the name; it’s only the so-called light fae in Berovia who think they’re better than us and it’s incorrect.”
I thought about Cedric. “I think they’re nice.”
“Met many have you?”
“One. Besides, I thought you didn’t care what they think.”
“I don’t.” He pushed his hand through his jet-black hair. His eyes glittered with cunning when he looked at me. It made my stomach swirl. His stare was intimidating, as if I he was looking into my soul. “Much like this conversation, I’ve grown bored of this topic.”
“Then you should leave.” I gestured to the door. “So I can read.”
He got to his feet, then placed the book back. “What would be the fun in that?” He closed the distance between us. His scent was intoxicating, and I leaned closer. It was as if had been made for my senses; winterberry and snow. I closed my eyes, then snapped myself out of it. He ran his finger over the top of my dress. “You can wear something nicer than this… dress do you call it?”
My eyebrows pulled downward. “It was picked out by the top designer in Magaelor.”
“Then he has no taste. I think you should loosen up.” His eyes were alight. “The clothes they have here,” he whistled, “they’re much more suited to someone of your beauty.”
I had always loved the fashion of the fae here, but I wasn’t about to give him the satisfaction. “I’m not going to play your games, you know. I’ve heard what you’re like. Everyone has.” I coked my head to one side. “I’ll be your wife, but I will not be treated like your other whores.”
He choked on air, then laughed. “Whores? I wouldn’t call anyone that. There is nothing wrong with indulging your senses.”
“Of course you would say that.”
He straightened his navy-blue tunic with silver buttons. “Try having some fun while you’re here. Naturally, you’re marrying me, so don’t have too much fun.” He winked. “But explore. Have a drink. Make some friends.”
My heart pounded. “You’re not going to stay with me?” I was confused. Surely with the wedding coming up, even if it wasn’t going to happen, which he didn’t have to know, I was shocked he wouldn’t want to be using this opportunity to get to know me better.
“I have things to attend, but I will see you when I get the time.” He said nonchalantly enough to know I wasn’t at the top of his personal priorities. Only his political ones. “I’ll leave you alone to read. If you need anything, ask one of the maids. I’ve asked them to give you anything you require.”
“Thanks.” I mumbled as he walked out the door.
***
I spent the day flipping through books until the early hours of the evening, enjoying lying in front of the crackling fire, on a rug, devouring words I’d had to hide back in Morgana’s tower room.
Forbidden spells revealed themselves. Old rituals and truths about the world led me down a spiral of thirst for more. There was so much I hadn’t known. The Objects of Kai kept popping up in different centuries, then lost to the next. There were entire volumes filled with properties of mer venom, and pages of royal family trees from the solises, light and dark fae, and lunas.
Knowing as much as possible about the kingdom I would rule was imperative to my success as queen. Father would be impressed if I continued to show the same strength and resilience that I had in Berovia and here, and to do that, I had to make sure I wouldn’t get caught tripping over the lie I’d stumbled upon. All it would take is one wrong question, and his work would come undone.
While guilt tugged me one way, the weight of my father’s crown pulled me the other direction. Sometimes leaders had to do what needed to be done, and from time to time, there was collateral damage. I figured it was a burden that needed learning, accepting. It didn’t feel natural to me, betrayal and war, but it would with time, I was sure. Someone had to carry the weight of a kingdom and make the decisions no one else would. As a ruler, I must accept the blame for actions that would mean the
best for our people, even if sometimes those people hated me for it like they did my father. So many wanted the crown, but few were willing to do the dirty work to keep it.
I inhaled deeply, then left the library. I’d spent so much time in that room, I needed a change of scenery. I made my way to the one place where I could win the very thing I needed. The lie Blaise had caught me in earlier that day−where I told him my father had sent us away simply because he was hurt over Andrés death−weighed heavily on my mind. If he could sense a small lie like that, then I could easily be caught in a bigger one, one where the fate of Magaelor hung in the words which dripped from my mouth like poison.
The wedding was only planned to invade Niferum. I couldn’t reveal the truth without ensuring a war. Azrael was known to be unforgiving, and it seemed Blaise had the same fiery streak. They couldn’t find out what my father was planning.
Gray crevices narrowed as I walked the dark tunnels toward the gambling rooms. My heels clicked against the stone, echoing. Reaching the archway, I hurried through with a smile on my face.
A faery with yellow eyes spotted me from behind a velvet-lined table. I placed seven gold pieces onto the purple tablecloth. The faery smirked, then shifted his eyes to mine. He turned to the blonde woman behind him, the only other person in the room aside from us, and chuckled.
“She thinks we play for coin.” He pushed the pieces back toward me. Black flashed in the corners of his irises, which looked like the sun. “I don’t deal with something as common as gold.”
I flushed red, took my gold, and shoved the pieces into my deep pocket. “Then what do you want?”
His thin lips crooked up. “Wishes.”
I didn’t know what he meant by wishes, but from the way he sounded, I didn’t want to give them away. His gaze narrowed. Even if I wasn’t taken seriously, Blaise was, and for all they knew, I was going to be their queen. I leaned forward. “What would you give me for the wish of the future queen?”
His eyes gleamed. “Those stakes would be high indeed.”
A chill hung in the air. I hugged myself, feeling my icy fingertips against my upper arms. “How would I trade a wish?”
He grinned, and two gold teeth shone among the white. He flurried his fingers, and his magic sparkled up into a spiral as he did. “Wishes are the soul’s truth. If you allow it, a simple spell will pull out your heart’s greatest desire. With it, I would have the power to control it, to use it whenever I will. Power like this has great charge and energy.”
“I’ve never heard of them.”
“That’s because you’ve never met me. Not many collect wishes. It’s an acquired taste.” He tilted his head. His hair looked like it had been woven from gold threads, and his eyes were feline-like. He looked no older than forty, which meant he must’ve been hundreds of years old.
“What do you want with that much power?”
He thrusted his chest out, and a sly smile spread across his face. “We all have our secrets.”
“I understand that.”
He cackled. “Oh, I know you do.”
“How do I know what my soul’s desire is, a wish, whatever?”
“It’s your purpose.”
I couldn’t risk it. My desires were the same as my father’s, and those would be dangerous in the hands of a faery. “No.”
He arched an eyebrow. “No?”
“I refuse to play.”
“Perhaps I can change your mind.” His words carried into the next. “My full name is Liciatoriumus. You may call me Licia, and I am a spell master. There are not many of my kind left. I can grant you what you want. Hand over any spell.” He waved his hands in the air. “It is a gift I was born with.” He leaned forward aggressively. “Magic is power, and I happen to have a lot of it. So, what is it you want?”
He waved a hand at me, dismissing the notion. “I’m not interested in crowns.” Something sad lurked behind his eyes. As I saw it, he pulled away. “It’s up to you. You ventured into my part of the castle. There must be something you want.”
My heart thudded. “I can’t.”
“I don’t care for hierarchies. Whatever your secret, it is far too valuable for me to cross you.”
I bit my tongue. “Could you make me a master at evading the truth, like other fae?”
He spread his fingers over his chest. “I could.”
I rolled my eyes up to the ceiling, thinking of anything else I wanted. Maybe I could protect Blaise from harm. “Could you save someone’s life?”
He lifted both eyebrows. “No one has power over that, besides…” He twiddled his fingers, and fairy dust swarmed, showing threads of white weaving through the air. “I do not play with timelines that are meant to happen. Unchanging ones. Some destinies are set in stone.”
“Timelines?”
“Oh, yes. There are events, big ones, that are meant to happen. Destiny is not a force to be messed with, but to grant your desire for dancing your way around the truth, that I could give you. Although, I do wonder what you’re hiding.”
“You’re not that powerful if you can’t grant any desire.”
“Do you want it or not?”
I looked up at the winter-casted ceiling. White icicles pointed down at us. I was afraid to give him access to my heart, but he wasn’t interested in crowns and wouldn’t meddle with major events. I needed to keep my father’s plans secret from Blaise and the other royals, and only a faery’s ability to get around the truth would do that. They could sense a lie like an anumi could smell blood. I had no choice. I had been sent into the snake’s pit with deadly truths on my tongue.
“You have yourself a deal. If I win, you make me a master of eluding the truth.”
His eyes beamed. “And if I win, you give me your wish.”
I exhaled shakily. “Deal. What game are we going to play?”
The blonde approached us, holding a pair of six-sided dice, but these were no ordinary dice. There were pictures in place of numbers. “What are they?” I peered closer as she placed them carefully on the velvet cloth.
“Your beauty is outstanding.” His eyes grew bigger. “Pure, untouched. I would like to take it.”
I lightly brushed my fingers against my lips. “My beauty?”
“It’s like a game of chance,” he explained, “but the consequences are real. Instead of coin, we play for your fairness.” He smiled down at the dice. Each side had a drawing of a flower. One was roses, the second a pink tulip, third a black root, fourth was lily, fifth a corpse flower, which was native to the forest that bordered their land. It had been given its name because of its vile stench. The last was a weeping orna. I breathed slowly; my chest felt tight as I looked at the dice.
“Do not try to dupe me,” I warned, grabbing my staff from where I leaned it against the table’s leg. “You may be powerful, but when it comes to brute force, I win.”
He eyed my staff, then shifted his eyes toward mine. “I understand.”
“Good.”
I reached out and took one. Licia took the other, and we began. He rolled first. It landed on the lily.
“Your turn, Princess.”
Nervously, I shook it in my hand, feeling the smooth edges against my palm, then let it go. It scurried away from me and landed on the black root. I closed my eyes. I felt a part of my fairness being pulled away from me, then I saw it. Gold dust left through my skin, dancing its way over to Licia. He opened a small chest I hadn’t noticed until then, unless he had conjured it, and the dust settled inside.
“Why not keep it for yourself?”
He didn’t answer; instead, he rolled again. It landed on the roses. I looked at my dice with poison in my eyes. I let it roll away from me, then cursed when it landed on the corpse flower.
I had the worst luck, or…
“This is rigged.”
He rolled again, but this time it landed on the weeping orna. I whooped out loud, then covered my mouth. I hadn’t expected that.
He lifted an eyebrow. �
�You haven’t won yet.”
“How do we know who won?”
“Whoever loses all their beauty first.”
My gaze trickled over his features, then it dawned on me. He had never lost a game.
His stare was invasive, and I averted my eyes. Everything around me was beautiful; the fae were masters at illusion, and Licia had done a great job at turning the old dungeons into gambling rooms where everything sparkled. I licked my dry lips, then rolled my eyes up toward the glistening spotlights. When I looked away from something, it fuzzed in the corner of my eye, then slipped away.
An illusion. A glamour.
The gears clicked into place. Fae could make ash look like fruit if they wished it. I had to act fast. I was being hoodwinked. I was sure of it. He only rolled wrong when I’d questioned the game. He was making me see what I wanted to see, but how could I prove it? They used eye-trickery to achieve it. It was the most precarious form of their magic. I needed a shred of something real, a fringe of reality to cling to so the rest would fall away. I focused on him. His smile faltered, then I saw it. A mole, no bigger than an ant, sat below his lip. It was something I would have missed had I not been looking for it. I blurred my surroundings, taking in only the ugly, and when I looked around again, it had all melted into gray and blacks.
“You told me you wouldn’t dupe me. How did you lie?”
He tugged at his collar, then ran his hands down the front of his white- and gold-embroidered waistcoat. “I said I understood that your power was more than mine. I did not lie. I never answered.”
I cursed the fae’s sneaking of honesty, then grabbed my staff. When I gripped my fingers against the ancient wood, magic cracked through it and erupted from the top. Purple light flooded the room as lightning hit Licia square in the chest. He flew backward, crumpling against the blonde behind him. They both toppled to the stone ground.
Looking down, I shook my head. The dice were blank. I lifted my chin up, then cast my stare down at them.
“Coward,” I hissed. “Blaise will hear of this.”
The Fate of Crowns: The Complete Trilogy: A YA Epic Fantasy Boxset Page 16
