The Fate of Crowns: The Complete Trilogy: A YA Epic Fantasy Boxset

by Rebecca L. Garcia

  I hesitated. “I need to tell you something else. I’m sorry for not being honest before, but yes, he does have the sword. I know because I have seen it.”

  His eyes narrowed. “When did you see it?”

  I swallowed hard. “He used it to kill Jasper Bluelight.” I ran cold. I’d never said the words aloud before. The secret felt lighter after sharing it.

  He balled his fists, his eyes bigger than ever. “Do not fear, love. He will pay for that with his life.” He stood, then proceeded to pace in a circle. “I knew Jasper wouldn’t just leave. It didn’t sound right, but who was I to think otherwise? How could I have known Amos possessed an object that could kill us, especially when I have the other here.”

  I stood, then touched his arm. “I’m sorry.”

  He regarded me slowly, stopping in front of me. He ran his finger down my cheek to my lips. I leaned into him, breathing in his citrussy scent. I blinked twice, then looked up at his crown. His gaze trickled over me, neither of us wanting to look away. He exhaled slowly. “In all of this, you have been my haven.”

  I closed my eyes, taking pleasure in his touch. I didn’t want him to leave, and I felt he didn’t either. He closed the small gap between us, pulling me into him. He lightly kissed my forehead, then pulled away. “Thank you for trusting me. I will make sure I dismantle him for his crimes. For Jasper, for me, and, for you.”

  TWENTY-EIGHT

  “Thank you.” I sighed relief when he plopped the book onto the sheets. I was ready to get rid of the dark magic that had wound its way around me. It itched my soul every time I tried to use my staff.

  Blaise tapped his finger against his chin, then leaned against the wall. “I have a lot to say about that.” His gaze darted to the book, then back to me. “In the meantime, I should tell you my younger brothers are on their way back to court.”

  “Ah, yes. I met Niam.”

  “Good.” He fell silent. “He’s the nice one.”

  I tilted my head. “Lucien isn’t?”

  “Ah, he’s a lot like me.”

  I smirked. “Then no.”

  He shot me a lazy grin.

  I hadn’t heard much about either of the princes. All I knew was they had been sent away to a fae academy near the border and didn’t spend much time at court. They were princes in training and hadn’t grown to maturity yet, which according to Blaise was their early twenties.

  “Have you grown to maturity yet?”

  His eyebrows shot up. “I’m eighteen. So no, but I don’t imagine I’ll age fast from here. You don’t remember us both being kids when you came to court?”

  “I was five,” I replied. “I don’t remember much of my visit.”

  “Hmm.”

  “You said your mother didn’t die,” I stated, remembering an earlier conversation. “Where is she? Your father must’ve taken lovers after his queen died centuries ago, but they didn’t stick around?”

  Blaise reddened and itched the back of his neck. “Azrael chose a woman to give him children, for that reason only. She was sent away after Niam was born. I don’t remember her.”

  My jaw dropped. “You’ve not met your mother?”

  “Shouldn’t we get on with undoing this ridiculous binding spell?”

  My eyes widened. “How did you—”

  “You left it open on the page. I put two and two together after you told me what happened.”

  “I was going to tell you.” I thumbed my neck. “But—”

  He tousled his hair. “I’m only glad to know you care enough to risk your life for me. However, I am concerned you even tried such a spell. You can’t do that for me.”

  I gulped. “Risked my life?”

  His smile dropped. “You didn’t know?”

  I shook my head.

  “These spells can kill you. They don’t always work.”

  I gulped. “But I didn’t die.”

  “Yes, but next time, you may not be so lucky. I implore you to be smart.”

  My face reddened. “Remind me never to attempt to save your life again.”

  He growled under his breath. “You shouldn’t have tried in the first place. I don’t need saving.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with needing help, you know.”

  “Don’t be the hero, love. It doesn’t suit you.”

  My heart hardened. “I won’t try it again.”

  “Good.”

  We stood in silence. The smell of honeysuckle pinched the air. I wanted to revisit his mother, but the moment passed. I wished I’d known. Mother issues. It made sense why he was so callous.

  “I bound the spell with a kiss,” I whispered, and my cheeks heated. “We need to break it with one… or by using blood, but—”

  He extended his arm. “Where do you need me?”

  Ouch.

  “Here. Place your hand over mine. We just need a pin or something too… oh.”

  He dragged his nail across his finger, slitting the skin. Since we were bound, my skin also cut open. I hissed as the crimson liquid oozed from the cut. “Faery magic,” he said, answering my unasked question. Our blood pooled together, and as it did, I whispered the incantation under my breath.

  The spell broke, and we fell apart.

  I waited for the heavy weight to lift, but the dark magic stayed behind, like a stain on my soul. I waited for it to leave, but nothing happened.

  He cut his hand again, but this time nothing happened to me.

  “It worked.” He sighed. “Don’t do something so stupid again.”

  I swallowed hard, but it didn’t budge the lump from my throat. Why hadn’t the darkness left me?

  ***

  Night fell earlier that night. I stood in the gardens, alone with the icy winds. The dark forest lured me to the edges of the grounds. As I neared, I saw man. His white eyes regarded me from beyond the shadows, his icy lips curved into a cruel grin. “Winter Mortis.” His voice rumbled to the trees where I stood. “You are mine.”

  I gulped and stepped backward, stumbling into a pit. The residual magic in me tugged to the trees.

  “What are you doing out here?” I whipped my head around to see Blaise, then looked back at the dark area past the trees. I squinted, but no eyes were there. Whatever he was, his presence felt eerily familiar.

  “Love?”

  I put my hand up in the air to silence him as I peered into the darkness, desperate for an outline or a sound to prove my sanity. After thirty seconds, I let out the breath I had been holding in.

  “Can we talk now?” Blaise was staring at me, his lips pressed into a hard line. “Why the ominous behavior?”

  “I thought I saw something.”

  He looked over my shoulder, then shifted his gray eyes back to mine. “You’re tired. Your eyes are bloodshot. I bet you’ve been staying up late.”

  I inhaled deeply. He was right, I was probably hallucinating. I followed him back to the main path, and dread trickled through me as I felt someone watching me from the cover of night.

  “How did you find me?” I asked him.

  “Don’t think I don’t have people out watching you. You’re presumed dead, and I’d like to keep it that way for now. I have convinced those at the court, in my inner circles, to keep our secrets, but sooner or later, someone will spill. It’s only a matter of time. That is why we must act fast.”

  “Tell me what the plan is.”

  He pointed at my crownless head. “A true heir never loses sight of their duties to their kingdom, no matter the internal suffering.”

  “I presume by that you won’t tell me what your plan of attack is.”

  “You and I are cut from the same cloth.” He walked toward me, then splayed his hand against my chest. My heartbeat found his fingers and pounded in response. “No matter how much we care, we never let our hearts rule our heads.”

  “Why say care and not love?”

  His gaze faltered. “I’ll use it if it ever happens. Which is unlikely.”

  Silence befell
us. Ice crystallized on the bare branches.

  “You won’t beat them. My father is a force to be reckoned with. He will kill anyone who gets in his way. You’re not strong enough, Blaise.”

  His eyes flashed red. “Only if he has his staff. His weakness is his ties to his ancestral roots. We are strong because we won’t crumble if someone burns our beliefs at the root.”

  I gasped. He planned to burn down Ash Forest. My heart panged. It had worked. Assaulting his pride enraged the truth from him. I just needed to read between the lines. I remembered the vision from the forest nymph where Ash Forest turned deadly and burned. Licia had told me timelines could change, and this was my chance.

  “I’m not against you,” I said calmly. “I care about you too.” I grabbed his hand, feeling his fingers flex as I did.

  “I know.”

  “But I can’t let you hurt my people.”

  His fingers curled through mine, enveloping them. “I know that too.”

  “Then whose side am I on?”

  He squeezed gently. “Ours, Winter. Ours.”

  “Then don’t burn the forest.” My eyes welled. “In doing so, you would tear out my heart.”

  His lips parted, and his gaze focused on mine. The winds howled through the mountains in the distance, and snow fell from the trees.

  He paused for several moments, then sighed deeply. “I won’t burn your forest,” he said in promise.

  I sighed relief. “Thank you.” Tears fell down my cheeks. He wiped them with his thumb. The act of mercy pulled me closer to him.

  “Only for you, I will find another way.” His words sent tingles through my body, numbing my head.

  My heart was lost to his handsome face and vibrant soul, but I couldn’t tell him that, not to the boy who could not love or to the princess who promised herself she wouldn’t fall.

  “Don’t look at me like that.” He moved back.

  “Like what?”

  “Doe-eyed. It makes me…”

  “What?”

  “Just don’t. Okay?”

  “Tell me why.”

  “We can’t do this.” His features were sharpened under the moonlight. “When someone cares for you and you in return, you become vulnerable. You have the ability to hurt them unlike anyone else can. I can’t make those risks.”

  “I think having someone you care about gives you power. I am curious though, why can’t you fall in love? You keep telling everyone that, but no one knows why? Do you just choose not too?”

  “It’s difficult. I just don’t want to. I can’t feel it enough when I do.” The truth spilled out before he could catch it. He rubbed the side of his neck and cast his eyes downward. “I need to focus on winning against your father. I have to take care of my people. This is my crown, Winter. Finally, I have the chance to change things after watching Azrael destroy it all.” His eyes glossed over. “You’re a distraction, and although you are a beautiful one…” He paused. “We must break whatever this is now.”

  My expression turned slack. He was right, but how could I turn off my feelings? I must have missed that class in princess lessons. “We are just friends then,” I said slowly, meaning the words. There was nothing more we could be. “Allies.”

  He smiled softly. “I like friends. I always did.

  TWENTY-NINE

  I gasped, then closed the book in Blaise’s library. The heavy covers pounded the pages together. I shoved it back on the shelf and hurried out. I’d learned so much there. Too much, my mother would say.

  Candlelight flickered against the hard stone, illuminating slivers of gray as I ran the empty passageways. A thousand strands of information curled in my mind, each begging for my attention. Intuition bonded them, pushing me to reach out to the one person who had enough power to end it all.

  I entered Licia’s gambling rooms once again. The musky air hit my nostrils, making me sneeze.

  “Bless you.” A voice sounded.

  “Licia,” I replied, addressing the man with gold hair and two teeth to match. His gaze latched onto mine. “I’ve come for your help.”

  “Then I’ll presume you have something I want in return.” He gestured for me to take a seat on a bench running the length of the left side of the room. I plopped myself onto the plush velvet and shuffled when he pushed his weight onto it next to me.

  “You were collecting power. I’ve been doing some reading.”

  His eyes narrowed. “Well isn’t that nice.”

  “No one needs that much power, unless they were going to trade it for something.”

  “Ah, and there it is.”

  “What?”

  “I was wondering when you’d show your true skill.” He hinted a smile. “It is your sharp mind.”

  I put a finger up to stop him. “I know your wish.”

  He chuckled. “I can assure you you’re mistaken.”

  I shook my head. “No. You see, in my time reading everything I shouldn’t, and I’ve learned a thing or two. The only being known to trade power or souls for their services are necromancers.”

  His smile faltered. I had him.

  “So the question is, who are you trying to bring back from the dead?”

  “Not a soul alive has seen a necromancer in centuries.” He chose his words carefully.

  “Oh, you and I both know that’s not true. There are traces of them. There are relics everywhere. If one exists, you of all people would know where to find it, and it’s why you’re collecting power. As much of it as you can. You want to bring someone back from the dead.” I tilted my head. “Love is a powerful motivator, so I’ll presume a long-lost wife… or child?”

  He inhaled deeply, and his chest rattled when the air hit his lungs. “What is it you want?”

  “I’m willing to give you power, as many wishes as you want. All I ask for in exchange is your help.”

  “For?”

  I pressed my lips into a hard line. “Two things.”

  “You ask for a lot, but I’m intrigued, and I’m invested in you.”

  I arched an eyebrow. “Why?”

  He flurried his fingers, and magic danced around them. “Destiny reveals particular shreds of the future to me. Yours is especially interesting.”

  “Why? What happens to me?”

  “You’re the last person I’d tell. Knowledge of your future would change any timelines open to getting you there. All you need to know is you’re useful to me. For now,” he said. “Tell me, Winter Mortis. What is it you want from me?”

  Cold slivered down my spine, freezing my voice. Could I really ask such an evil? The foreign magic in my bones vibrated, forcing the words through my lips. “I need you to kill my father.”

  I choked on the request. Diabolism had taken over my body. I squeezed my staff that was secured to my belt. I could still reach the ancestral magic, which was all that mattered. I closed my eyes tightly, pushing the dark thoughts away. If I could kill him, then I would take the throne, and Blaise wouldn’t have to hurt any of my people.

  His eyes lit up like flames. “To kill another takes a lot of magical reserves. It would cost me more than I would receive. If you wish him dead, you must do it yourself.”

  My stomach knotted. His answer was what I was afraid of.

  “Fine, then can you protect others?” My head was pounding.

  “That I can.”

  He touched my arm, and his eyes bulged. “You have been touched by black magic.”

  I jerked away from his touch. “So? I’m sure lots of fae have used black magic to get what they want.”

  He shook his head slowly. The yellow in his irises caught the candlelight, sharpening them. “Faery nor sorcerer use black magic so carelessly. Once you’ve allowed it in, it latches on the inside, unwilling to die. Sacrificial and ritualistic magic is governed by a source none would cross.”

  I shuddered. “Get rid of it. Please.”

  “I can’t.”

  I stood and huffed. “What use are you? All powerful Lici
a, who can’t even remove a bit of black magic. All I did was a binding spell, for goodness’ sake! I shouldn’t be punished for it. I was trying to protect Blaise.”

  “Protect him from what?”

  I forgot only Blaise and I knew about King Amos’s plan.

  “That’s none of your concern. Just know it’s broken now. I know you can help me, so why won’t you?”

  He let out a long, low sigh. “Learn to embrace the magic, Winter. It’s all you can do. There is no ridding yourself of it unless the ancestors take it from you, but they won’t.”

  “I refuse to believe that’s true.”

  “Your strong will is enough to keep it at bay. Removing it entirely is too dangerous.”

  I ground my teeth and crossed my arms over my chest. “You’re no help then. At all!”

  “I can protect, as you asked, for a price of course.”

  I dropped my arms to my sides. “You can protect anyone in the world?”

  “Yes.”

  “Fine. I need two people, wait, no three. And myself for now.” I paused. “What’s your price?”

  “Let’s call it, you’ll owe me.”

  I didn’t like it. I preferred knowing up front what I was getting into, but my actions recently had me questioning my intelligence. I’d been far too reckless.

  “No. Tell me the price now.”

  He didn’t meet my eyes. Instead, he looked behind him, taking his time to respond.

  “What is your price?” I asked again.

  He flexed his fingers, then looked at me. “One day you are going to find yourself in possession of something powerful. I will want you to hand it over to me.”

  “Tell me what it is, then I’ll tell you if I will.”

  He adjusted his black collar. “I shouldn’t.”

  “Okay, then no deal. I’ll find another way to protect them.”

  “By using more black magic?”

  I shrugged. “You told me to embrace it.”

  “Don’t be brash.”

  I paced on the spot, stopping every few seconds to look at the empty gambling tables and benches in the large, stone-walled room. “Will I need the object?”