Midnight's Blossom

by Corinn Heathers

  “I offer no apologies,” Michael said.

  “Did the Ministry of Magic put you up to this?”

  “No. I act on behalf of the Cabal.”

  Rose let out a derisive snort. “Afraid of losing your most promising student, are you?”

  “Yes,” the Cabal master responded, ignoring the unsubtle insult in the question. “It would be a tremendous loss to the world if someone of Lady Alcyone's ability was lost to the Empire's bizarre, nonsensical prejudices.”

  I took a step toward Rose and glared at the Cabal master. “You'll forgive me if my priorities are not the same as yours.”

  Michael's expression was unreadable. “You are free to do as you wish, of course. I will advise you to be wary of your emotions… and how the relic can pull at them. To be willfully ignorant of your true feelings is to put yourself in danger.”

  “Trust me,” I snapped, trying hard to keep my words from being choked off, “I damn well know what I want, Master. I'm grateful to the Cabal's masters, and to Adept Aoki for training me, but I am the one who makes decisions for myself.”

  Rose draped an arm over my shoulders and nodded her agreement. “If you say anything to Dad about this, I'm going to come back in here and kick your ass.”

  “Lord Merope must be informed,” Michael insisted. His brows angled down in a sharp V. “This is beyond you and Lady Alcyone. The lives of millions of People could hang in the balance.”

  “Oh, please, give me some credit. I'll tell him. Directly.” She sighed and turned her gaze back to me. “Come on, Lily. Let's get out of here and go get something to eat.”

  *

  “I'm sorry you had to deal with that.”

  I shrugged at Rose from across the table. We'd stopped at a small, somewhat run-down restaurant serving greasy Fiallan comfort food. The fragrant scents of pungent spices and fiery chilies were already starting to calm us both down, and I felt as if I hadn't eaten in a week.

  Pausing in my goal to shovel as much of the pork curry into my mouth as possible, I set my spoon down on the table and took a deep swallow from my glass of water. “The master's goals are selfish, but what he said was sensible. Until I can learn how to really control Eiri's legacy, I have to be… careful.”

  “For what it's worth, I can't blame you. You have good reason to want to kill him.”

  Rose knew, of course. She always knew, and she was versed in enough arcane lore to know that the desire was my own, not something created by the spirit blade. I wanted to save Mother, but I also wanted to…

  I never liked Lord Cyrus growing up, even before I knew his was the hand that killed my miinari parent. His hatred for Mother extended to her child, and I'd learned only recently that my great-uncle had sought to legally force my mother to abort her pregnancy. This information gave justification for the animosity I'd felt toward Cyrus my entire life. He made no pretense that he considered me to be an abomination, a tainted soul borne from the union of a traitor to her people and a being he considered a monster.

  Understanding my desires brought little peace, however. With Lord Cyrus as the new Head, I had little doubt that he would eventually attempt to petition the Imperial Court to strip me of the Alcyone name. That he chose not to do so yet did not make me feel any better. As long as I was in Fialla, I was a more useful tool as a member of the family. It made sense that Cyrus believed I would defect in order to flee his dominion. It would quickly become public knowledge that the “degenerate” Juno Alcyone's half-fey daughter was greeted with open arms by Fialla. He would use that to bring more members of the family into the pro-crusade camp, and both Mother and I would be portrayed as traitors and heretics.

  “Lily, don't overthink this. I know you're overthinking it, so stop.”

  I blinked, brought out of my thoughts by Rose's voice and the warmth of her hand placed upon mine. “What am I supposed to do, though? I can't see a way out of this… this trap. I might as well be in prison with Mother. I don't—I don't know what to do, Rose.”

  “Shh. Calm down, little red lily.”

  “How? How can you be so calm, too?”

  “Because you're not going about this the right way,” she replied, her lips twisting into a sinister little smile. I regarded her warily, for she was plotting something. “You keep thinking of this as a binary choice between either running away and being used to further his goals, or being forced to return home and fight an unwinnable legal battle. You know it's not winnable; you know damn well he'll petition to have you disowned the moment you submit a claim for redress.”

  I flinched from the blunt observation. Rose was right, and more than that, she was definitely plotting something.

  “There's another option, though,” Rose murmured slyly as she sipped at her ale. “I'm sure you remember our trip through Crone's Cane Pass.”

  I stared at her in astonishment. Was I hearing her clearly? Did she truly intend for us to approach the Antilight and somehow convince them to free Mother from IPSB custody?

  “What? It's an option, and one that has a hell of a lot more chance of working than the others. If you want to save her and deal with him, we don't have much of a choice but to work with those people.”

  “What—why would they even agree to such a thing?” I demanded.

  “If we asked her, she'd make it happen. Probably.”

  “How can you possibly know that?”

  Rose laughed. “I don't know it, but it's still our best shot. Are you afraid of them?”

  “N-no,” I murmured, feeling my cheeks warm in mild embarrassment. “I wouldn't say 'afraid,' exactly. More like… wary. Of what they'll ask of us in return.”

  “Oh, I'm sure I can make certain they'll be happy to help.”

  I wasn't so sure about that. I didn't doubt that Rose could and would offer the Antilight extended support from the Merope coffers, but I suspected they would want more than mere money or matériel. Willow Corvus's words still rang through my mind, and I suspected that were I to come to her with this request, she would require I lend my magic to their cause.

  “What will your father do if he discovered this plan of yours?” I asked.

  “Not if, but when. He always manages to find out, somehow. I gave up trying to hide things from him years ago.” Rose shrugged as if it didn't matter. “He'll try to talk me out of it, of course, but I can be rather persuasive when I want to be.” Her worrisome grin reappeared, wider this time, and a soft gasp was pulled from my lips as I felt fingertips trace the line of my jaw.

  “I'm… well aware of your powers of persuasion,” I murmured, nearly losing myself in the delicious warmth that curled around my insides.

  Chapter 22

  Fair Winds, Fair Waters

  I awoke the next morning to the sound of two voices shouting. I blinked, trying to clear my vision enough to figure out what in the Yawning Hells was going on, but as I came more into wakefulness, I recognized both voices.

  Rose's father was here, and he was angry. So was Rose.

  I couldn't tell exactly what they were saying to each other through the closed bedroom door; I knew Rose must have done that, because we'd left it open the night before. Half-stumbling, half-sliding out of the decidedly not fairy-sized bed, I frantically searched around the floor of Rose's bedroom, seeking my clothing. We hadn't had much “couple time” with how hard the Cabal had been working me, and our garments ended up flung in random directions in our haste to undress.

  I was able to find the thin dress I wore on the rare chance Rose and I lazed around her apartment, but I had no idea where my pants and shirt from yesterday had gone. My partner's room certainly qualified as “messy,” and she must have buried my clothes in the scattered mound of her own discarded articles.

  It was good enough, though I did feel a little self-conscious about having Cassius see me in what amounted to little more than a nightgown. That became rather less important to me as the sharpness of Rose's tone increased. I threw open the bedroom door and stalked into the common
room.

  “—what you're doing here, Rose. You have no idea how bad it can get,” Cassius was saying, his voice having softened somewhat and adopting a more reasonable, but still angry, tone. “This is war we're talking about! It isn't a game, and you're still a child.”

  “I'm twenty-two, Dad,” Rose snapped. “The age of majority in Fialla is sixteen. I've been an adult for six years!”

  Cassius snorted loudly. “That doesn't mean you're mature enough to make this decision—”

  “Dad. How old would you say the average—”

  “Stop, don't, I already know what you're going to say.” The Merope patriarch began to pace around the common area, and still neither of them had acknowledged my presence. “You know I've always argued that the Defense Force's minimum age is far too young. Wars should not be fought period, and especially not by children! Seven Holy Stars, Rose. The both of you are so young to be risking throwing away decades—and in Lily's case, centuries—on such a reckless course! This is ridiculous.”

  “You were younger when you enlisted!” Rose accused, jabbing a fingertip at his chest. “And Lily's age is irrelevant. She's one of the most mature, level-headed people I've ever met.

  “Not to mention my heritage has little to do with such things,” I put in.

  Both Rose and Cassius started at the sound of my voice. They looked down to see me standing before them in the common area, no doubt noting the extremely annoyed expression I was currently wearing.

  “But I thought—”

  “A lot of humans think that,” I said, waving my hand to dismiss his objection. “Just because I'll see centuries come and go doesn't mean I matured more slowly than a human. I'm not any less of an adult than Rose.” I shrugged and adjusted my loose shoulder strap. “I'm guessing you found out that my mother was arrested by IPSB.”

  Cassius's expression was sour. “Hard to not hear it. It's reached the ear of every spy from damn near every other nation by now. House Alcyone is putting on a show of contrition for the former Head's dishonor. Every conservative, traditionalist and reactionary in the Empire seems thrilled to have caught the Antilight's most prominent agent inside the Imperial Court—”

  My eyes went wide and round as saucers.

  “That's what she's been detained for?”

  “Didn't you know? Rose told me the both of you were informed by one of the Cabal masters.”

  I shook my head several times. “No, no, he said he didn't know why she was arrested. I thought that it was just Lord Cyrus trumping up charges to complete his takeover of the House. The charges themselves didn't seem… important, at the time, but now? I don't know.”

  Rose gawked at me. “Wait, you think the accusations might be true?”

  “I don't know, but… it isn't outside the realm of possibility.” I went into the kitchen to retrieve a glass of water. My mouth had gone completely dry. I filled a glass from the pitcher sitting on the counter and took a long swallow before turning back to Rose. “It's possible that Lord Cyrus fabricated evidence to make it look as if Mother was a spy for the rebels, but I don't see how that would benefit him.”

  “Would it not raise him in the estimation of the other high Houses if his efforts led to the capture of an Antilight agent?” Cassius queried.

  “Yes, but also no. It's possible he's masterminded a false scandal against Mother, but that would place House Alcyone as a whole under suspicion. A brand-new Head of House, no matter where they fell upon the political spectrum, is already vulnerable to begin with. Accusing Mother of espionage and treason doesn't make House Alcyone look any better.”

  “So… he's telling the truth, then?” Rose scowled as she regarded me. “Your mom really is a spy for the Antilight?”

  I drained the rest of my glass and set it back upon the wooden countertop with a thunk. “He would try to hide it if he could. More likely some other House is blackmailing him, placing him in a position where he can't very well deny it without appearing to be complicit, or at least dangerously negligent. No doubt he's trying to make the best use of the crisis he can.”

  Neither Rose nor Cassius said anything for a long stretch. I was feeling exhausted already, despite having just awoken from an afterglow-induced slumber that should have been eminently restful. The silence itself seemed to sink into me, deepening my emotional fatigue.

  “Not to mention a lot of things would… make a lot of sense, if she was of the Antilight.”

  “That doesn't necessarily mean it's true, though,” Rose pointed out.

  “How did Willow Corvus know where to find us in Crone's Cane Pass?” I stared hard into her eyes, trying not to sound accusatory but knowing I was probably failing. “Mother set us on that route when we left.”

  Rose frowned. “She claimed it was our ambush and diversion of the House Guard that alerted her cell to our presence.”

  “And she helped us reach Naara without my family's knowledge, and directed me to receive training in necromancy from the Cabal. All without asking for anything of us in return.” My tone was growing much more rapid-fire and heated, but I didn't care. “There's far too much unstable aetherium ore in the Crone's Cane for any kind of accurate reading. Willow Corvus knew we were coming because she was told, and the only person who could have done so was Mother. No one else knew the route we would take.”

  “It is plausible,” Cassius agreed.

  “Not you, too, Dad.” Rose angrily blew an errant lock of white hair from her face. She crossed her arms over her chest and gave him an exasperated look. “You're not really helping your case here if you start agreeing with Lily, you know.”

  “If Lily is right, it only helps my argument.” Cassius sighed and turned to regard me, his dark eyes shadowed and grim. “All the pieces do fit into place rather nicely. Juno Alcyone leaned on her contacts within the Antilight organization to ensure you would receive training, would be safe in Fialla while House Alcyone was turned upside-down in the aftermath of her abdication.”

  That icy sensation clenching my gut returned and redoubled. “You mean… she intended for me to stay in Fialla? But… but that's absurd! If I defected, it would play right into the hands of the crusader faction! They would gain even more popular support in favor of war!”

  “Maybe your mom doesn't care,” Rose murmured.

  I blinked and stared at her.

  “Maybe she knows the war is inevitable. Or maybe she cares more about you than the war, than the Empire, than House Alcyone.” Rose paused for a long moment, biting her lower lip, as if she needed to say something but desperately wished she did not. “It seems to me that your mother is sacrificing herself to save her child.”

  The tears came now and there was little I could do to stop them.

  “Oh, little red lily,” Rose murmured in broken tones. “Don't worry. We're going to save her, no matter what.”

  A choking sob escaped my lips and I nodded. I felt a huge and strong but infinitely gentle hand rest upon my shoulder, and the grinding sigh that escaped Cassius's lips told me that he couldn't argue with us any longer.

  “I'm going to regret this.”

  Rose shook her head at her father. “Dad, you know how it was. I may have been young, but I saw how you felt when Mom died. It hurt me, too. I want to spare Lily that terrible pain we had no choice but to endure. If Juno Alcyone is a spy for the rebels, the Empire will execute her.”

  Cassius drew his hand away from me and clasped them behind his back as he turned away from the both of us. “You know it's because I'm afraid you won't come back—”

  “I know I'm all you have left in the world, Dad.”

  “No, Rose,” Cassius corrected. “I have both of you.”

  I blinked through my tears and stared up at the elder Merope. I opened my mouth to inquire, to object, to wonder aloud, and he cut me off before I could begin to formulate a response. I was stunned when he knelt down before me so that I could look at him without looking up at him.

  “Ever since you came into Rose's li
fe, my daughter has been happier than I've seen her in over a decade. I feel blessed by the gods that you've given her your heart. Lailah died when Rose was young. It tore us apart inside.” He stopped, clearing his throat self-consciously, and I could tell he, too, was fighting back tears. “When you fell in love with my daughter and she with you, you became part of the family.”

  “As far as I'm concerned, you're just as much a Merope as I am,” Rose added with a brave smile that made my heart feel lighter. She winked at me. “Seems like Dad feels the same.”

  *

  “That was not what I expected.”

  Rose shrugged and let out an affirmative hum. “I have to hand it to you, Lily. Your tears managed to convince my legendarily-stubborn father to aid us in our risky and foolhardy quest, and in record time to boot.”

  I scowled at her. “I wasn't trying to—”

  “I know, I'm sorry for teasing you at a time like this.” She sighed heavily and leaned her head against her left hand, propped up on the interior of the driver's side door. Though it appeared she was paying scant attention to the road, Rose drove as she usually did when I was in the car with her: with the utmost care. She made a disgusted noise and glared at the slowing traffic. “It would have been so much easier if we could have just gotten away without telling him at all.”

  “There wasn't anything we could have done about that,” I reminded her. “Master Michael made it sound like Mother had been quietly detained. We didn't think anyone else knew, that her arrest was just another step in my great-uncle's takeover of the House.”

  “So what do we do, then? How are we supposed to break into the Panopticon, the most feared detention facility in the Empire, and rescue an incredibly high-profile political prisoner right from the condemnation chamber?” Rose let out a sharp burst of unamused laughter. “It's a bit of a tall order for two not-quite mages, don't you think?”

  I winced inwardly but didn't respond right away. The question of exactly how we were going to rescue Mother was so daunting my mind attempted to slide away from it at every opportunity. There really was only one answer, of course—we needed the rebels, which meant we had to convince them that it would work in their advantage to strike now, rather than waiting until Solaria's holy crusaders descended upon Fialla.