Her words sent my mind reeling. How could Mareleau use magic? Mareleau? She was nothing like Cora or the Forest People I’d heard so much about. Yet, if Cora thought she saw her use magic, I had to believe it was true. “You’ve said your own powers are made stronger when you use them to protect yourself.”
We began to walk again as Cora considered my words. “My powers grow stronger when I protect myself because that is part of my challenge. As an empath, I naturally try to protect others, to absorb their pain and thoughts. When I use the Arts to protect myself, I conquer my challenge.”
“Why would the Arts appear to make Mareleau stronger when she used them with Liam?”
“She was protecting him, saving his life. That act must have overcome her own challenge.”
“But what about the prophecy itself? There’s no doubt it had been about you.”
“Are you sure about that?” Cora glanced up at me.
I ran the words of the prophecy through my head. “Beauty of Satsara. Emylia channeled that Satsara had dark hair—”
“The prophecy never stated the Mother looked like Satsara, only that she held her beauty. It was Desmond who concluded that the two must look alike. Satsara was considered a great beauty amongst the Elvan people, much like Mareleau is considered beautiful amongst ours.” Her voice held a hint of bitterness.
“If you say so,” I said with a shrug. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her lips curl into a satisfied smile.
“Now that I’ve seen her use the Arts, I know she fulfills the line about right by magic and blood.”
“What about the unicorn will signify her awakening? That couldn’t be about anyone but you.”
Her brows furrowed, eyes unfocused. “She was the one who created the Quest, demanding three unicorns as the goal. Foreigners will flood the land. The poetry contest brought princes from near and far to Lela. The heart of El’Ara will unite as one. That could be about the Tri-Kingdom Peace Pact, or it could be…Liam. Making him our heir unites all of Lela as one.”
I felt the blood leave my face. “Her son was born here. The house of the black mountain.”
“Morkai came to the wrong conclusions,” Cora said. “He assumed the Mother of Prophecy would give birth to the Blood of Ailan in her own kingdom. He assumed she would look like Satsara. He assumed making me barren would keep the prophecy from coming true.” Her lips pressed into a tight line.
We came to the end of the hall, and our eyes flashed to the staircase looming at our right—the stairs to the high tower. Even though we’d finished ridding it of Morkai’s things months ago, my skin still crawled whenever we came near it. No amount of cleaning could dissolve the memories of what had happened there—the death of Cora’s chambermaid, the crystal, my possession. We exchanged a glance before we began to walk the other way.
“If Mareleau is the Mother of Prophecy, if Liam is the Blood of Ailan, what does that mean?” I asked.
Cora shook her head. “I don’t know. I’ve been so wrapped in guilt over not being able to fulfill my role as Mother of Prophecy, I hadn’t considered what I would do if I were able to fulfill it.”
“Is there anything we can do?”
She looked down the hall toward Mareleau’s room. “For now, let’s keep this to ourselves. I’ll talk to Mareleau tonight.”
* * *
Mareleau
I stared down at the sleeping face in my arms, unable to blink as I took in Liam’s pink, puffy cheeks, his tiny eyelids, his long, golden eyelashes, and his round head covered in soft, golden down. It was almost eighth bell, but no matter how overcome with exhaustion I was, I found it impossible to bring myself to set him in his bassinet so I could sleep.
Larylis, on the other hand, had been celebrating Liam’s birth with endless goblets of wine amongst the court in the great hall all day and had already retired to sleep in Teryn’s old room.
Mother walked over to me, a tearful smile on her face. “I remember what my first night with you was like. I couldn’t part with you, either.”
I returned my mother’s smile, feeling a warmth between us that had been steadily growing since I’d made my confession. “I never knew a child could be such an amazing thing.”
“He looks just like you as a baby.” She sat next to me on the bed and brought her head close to mine to get a closer look. After a few moments, she faced me. “As much as I understand what you are feeling right now, I know you need sleep. Life with a newborn is a beautiful thing, but you will soon learn how precious sleep can be.”
My face fell. “It hurts my heart to think of him sleeping away from me. I want to watch his every breath.”
“I know you do, my sweet.” There was laughter in her voice. “How about I stay with you tonight. I’ll hold him while he sleeps, and you can sleep as well. When he wakes, I’ll rouse you, and then I’ll sleep.”
The tenderness in her tone brought tears to my eyes. For so many years there had been nothing but sharp words and secrets between us, keeping each other at arm’s length. Would things have been different if I’d told her the truth long ago? If I’d told her about my feelings for Larylis, and how Father’s pressure to marry a crown prince had made me feel? What would it have been like if I’d told her the truth about my false pregnancy from the start? Would she have supported me? Or was it the bond of motherhood that finally brought us together?
I sighed, accepting that I’d never know. “Thank you, Mother. I’d like that.”
She kissed me on the forehead and reached for Liam. My heart sank as his comforting weight left my arms to fill hers. I nearly begged her to return him to me when a quiet knock sounded on the door. Mother opened it to reveal the tentative face of Cora.
“Am I interrupting anything?” she asked.
I took one last wistful look at my son, then turned toward my friend. “No, come in.”
Her eyes passed over the room, lighting upon my sleeping ladies sprawled over the furniture, then resting on my mother. “Would you mind if I spoke to Queen Mareleau alone for a few moments?”
“Not at all, Your Majesty.” Mother turned to me. “I’ll walk with Liam for a bit so you can talk. But make sure you get some rest as well.”
Cora smiled at my mother. “I promise I won’t keep her long.”
I watched Mother and Liam leave the room, feeling as if all the warmth had left with them. My eyes met Cora’s as she approached the bed. “Thank you again for staying with me through the birth.”
“Of course. I was happy to be there.” Her tone didn’t match her words, sending a ripple of suspicion through me.
“Why are you here?” I asked, trying to keep the irritation from my voice. Now that Liam was gone, I could feel the weight of my exhaustion.
Cora sat at the edge of the bed. “What happened this morning when you first held Liam? When you found he wasn’t breathing?”
The terror of the moment struck me with a sharp pain to my chest as I recalled his blue-tinted skin, his open mouth that produced no air. I shuddered, trying to shake the vision from my mind as I reminded myself he was alive and healthy. “Why would you even mention that? It was the most terrifying moment of my life.”
Cora seemed unaffected by the bite in my words. “You didn’t act that way. You remained calm and collected, as if you knew exactly what to do. When you held him close, he started breathing. How did that happen?”
“How should I know?” I said with a shrug, yet her words brought to mind the calm that had accompanied my terror, overriding it. “It was…like an instinct. I just felt I had to hold him, to pour all my love into him.”
“What did that feel like?”
I raised an eyebrow, wondering why I felt like I was on trial. With a sigh, I closed my eyes and tried to summon an explanation. “It felt…warm. Tingling. At first, I felt like all my blood, breath, and energy were pouring out of me. The only thing I could think was that I’d give anything—my life, even—to give him breath.”
“And after that?”
<
br /> A smile tugged my lips. “He started breathing, and my body felt more awake than it had ever been. It was the greatest sense of relief I’ve ever felt.”
“You’ve never felt that way before?”
I opened my eyes. “Never.”
Cora chewed her bottom lip, frowning at the wall. “Can I ask you something else?”
“Something tells me you will ask no matter what I say.”
She ignored my sass, making me wonder what had her in such a somber mood. “Have you ever been able to do anything that was hard to explain? Have you ever been able to make surprising things happen?”
I pondered her words, finding no significance in what she was asking. “I’ve always had a knack for getting my way.”
She studied my face for a moment. “Tell me about that. How have you gotten your way in the past? Have you ever done anything that shocked others?” At a raised brow from me, she continued. “I’m not talking about the choices you’ve made or the things you’ve said. I’m talking about things that had no reasonable explanation.”
A sinking hit my gut, mostly from guilt, but also from a deep sense of foreboding. I had a feeling I was about to reveal something I shouldn’t. “I was able to end numerous engagements before the Quest. My mother and father were at their wit’s end trying to figure out how it had happened over and over. They blamed me, but since it was always my betrothed who’d ended things, they never could figure out how I’d been responsible.”
“How did you do it?”
I thought back to every man I’d been forced to entertain, forced to allow to court me. I remembered their false promises, their lustful expressions when they assessed their prize, the lies they spoke in an attempt to woo me. I clenched my teeth, hands balling into fists as a burning fury roared inside me. My voice came out cool and empty. “I found ways to convince them it would be in their best interest to seek another bride. Sometimes I used clever words. Other times I would repel them.”
“How did you repel them?”
Again, the memories of those engagements flooded my mind, keeping the molten center of anger boiling within. “It was easy for me to know what repelled them. Each man judged me by my beauty and reputation, then shaped some ideal version of me with their minds. They could never see the real me, only whom they wanted or expected me to be. Once I saw what they saw, I could easily make them see the opposite. If one man wanted a calm, detached wife who spoke little and always obeyed, I would whine and cling. If one man wanted a beautiful bride to wear on his arm, I made him see me as ugly.”
Cora’s eyes went wide. “You actually made them see you as ugly?”
“It isn’t hard. You just think about being ugly, about being repulsive, and you sink into that, let it pull at your features.”
“You realize not everyone can do that, right?”
I shrugged. “I’d always figured anyone could do it if they’d tried.”
She cast a glance at my sleeping ladies, then scooted closer to me on the bed and lowered her voice. “What you are talking about is called a glamour. It’s a form of the Arts.”
My heart raced at her words. “What are you saying?”
Her face paled, flashing between terror and awe. “Mareleau, you have magic. You’re the Mother of Prophecy.”
5
GLAMOUR
Larylis
I swung my sword at Teryn. His eyes widened as he dodged the dull blade by a hair’s breadth, then he lunged toward my ribs.
“Do you seriously do this every day?” Teryn asked, his words coming out between labored breaths.
“Without fail.” Our training swords clashed as I blinked a bead of sweat from my lashes. Despite the layer of frost covering the courtyard and the icy morning air, I was sweating profusely. “However, I don’t always drink so much the night before.”
Teryn came in for an attack. “I thought the benefit of being king is no longer having to train all the time.”
I parried his blow. “Yeah, if you’re a lazy king.”
“Are you calling me lazy?”
“You’re the one panting like a dog,” I said with a teasing sneer, “when I’m the one who drank my weight in ale last night.”
Teryn laughed and knocked my sword to the side. “You’re right. I need a break already.”
“If you insist.” I kept my voice nonchalant, yet the churning in my stomach was much relieved at the thought of rest. We exchanged our training swords for skins of water and sat on a bench at the edge of the courtyard.
“Why do you do it?” Teryn asked.
“Do what?”
“Train every day. You were always more invested in your training than I was, but I never knew you were this determined.”
I leaned forward, forearms resting on my thighs as sweat dripped from my brow to the ground below. “When we were younger, I always had to use my speed as an asset when training, since the other boys were usually bigger and stronger than I was. Training with the Black Force, using my speed, made me feel like I had a worthy skill. Even during the Battle at Centerpointe Rock, it was enough to keep me alive. But after last summer…”
Teryn put a hand on my shoulder. “I know.”
My eyes met Teryn’s, and I could almost see the dark cloud of memory settle between us. “When I saw Mareleau tied up, cut, and nearly sacrificed by Morkai, I hated myself for not being stronger. I hated myself for not being able to overtake the guards he’d sent after us when we discovered who he was. I hated myself for not being able to do what you’d asked me to do—what Cora had done without hesitation. And I hated myself most of all because I nearly did. I had the dagger in my hand. I almost killed you.”
Teryn paled. “Even if you had, I wouldn’t blame you.”
“You wouldn’t be alive to blame me,” I said.
“If there’s one thing I’ve learned from all of this, it’s that there aren’t easy answers to what’s right and what’s wrong. Had I been in your position, I don’t know what I would have done. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned from Cora, it’s that the past has no place in our present. We can’t let it eat us alive.”
I let out a heavy sigh. “You’re right. Yet, that won’t stop me from trying to do what I can to protect my future. To protect Mareleau and baby Liam.” My heart felt warm at the mention of my son, and I couldn’t keep the grin off my lips.
“I know what you mean. I’d do anything to protect Cora, even though she’s usually the one saving me.”
I laughed. “She’s a fierce one. I’m glad the two of you found each other.”
“So am I.” Our eyes locked in a moment of awkward silence—a moment where I could feel a hug was near.
I stood up. “Should we go again?”
Teryn shook his head. “You inspire me, brother, but I’ve had my share of training for the day. Besides, I’ve got plans to entertain an old friend over breakfast. You’re welcome to join us, but I assume you’ll be spending your morning with your wife and child.”
My shoulders fell as I looked toward the great keep. “I wish. Helena nearly took my head off the first time I tried to see my son, remember? She says it isn’t proper.”
“Forget proper,” Teryn said with a mischievous grin. “I’m King of Kero, Lord of Ridine Castle, and I order you to visit your wife.”
A corner of my mouth pulled up as I recalled a similar order I’d once given him. “Thank you, brother.”
* * *
Mareleau
Magic. You have magic. You’re the Mother of Prophecy. The words had echoed through my mind all night while I slept, while I dreamed. They were laced into Liam’s cries and pitched into my mother’s tone when she spoke.
I tried to clear my head as I nursed Liam, tried to enjoy the rush of tenderness that flooded my body as he quietly suckled. But no matter what I did, what I thought about, the words were there, haunting me.
What does it mean? Can it be true?
A knock sounded on the door, and Mother stood from the loung
e. Her steps were slow and uneven as she made her way across the room, eyes rimmed with red from her wakeful night. Even taking turns sleeping had only given us an hour or two at a time. Oddly enough, the lack of sleep didn’t bother me as much as I’d thought it would.
Mother opened the door a crack and whispered furiously at whoever was on the other side.
“King Teryn has ordered me to visit my wife.” I leaned forward at the sound of Larylis’ voice.
“Lare! Mother, let him in.”
“You’re still in recovery.” Mother put her hands on her hips, seeming much more like her usual self.
I rolled my eyes. “I don’t care about these old rules. Let him in!”
With a grumbling huff, she opened the door, revealing the smiling face of my husband. He came to my side and pressed his lips against my forehead. I closed my eyes at the calming warmth that filled my heart. As he pulled away, I reached my free hand to his cheek and guided his face back to mine, bringing our lips to meet. “I missed you.”
“And I missed the two of you.” His eyes fell on Liam, his face nearly glowing from his smile. “How has he been doing?”
“He’s perfect. He seems to nurse well, but I can’t say the same for how he sleeps at night.”
“I’m sorry I haven’t been here to help you.”
My eyes flashed over Larylis’ shoulder and met my mother’s gaze. “I doubt you’d have been allowed to do much,” I said under my breath.
“Well, I’m here now. Tell me anything you want from me, and I will give it to you.”
I thought about what Cora had said and bit my lip. I needed to tell him—to tell someone. Liam’s suckling slowed to a stop, his breathing even against my breast. “Would you like to hold him?”
Larylis’ eyes glazed as he nodded. “Please.”
I gently pulled Liam away from me and set him in his father’s arms. Larylis trembled as he accepted the sleeping bundle. I adjusted the top of my nursing gown and looked at my mother. “Will you give us some privacy, Mother?”
Shades of Prophecy Page 3
