Shades of Prophecy

by Tessonja Odette

  Gerta closed the door halfway, then paused. “You may scream if you wish, but no one will attend you until King Darius orders it.” With that, she closed the door.

  Again, the darkness pressed around me, robbing me of breath. The pain in my arm had lessened, but nausea continued to churn my stomach, my head pounding harder and harder.

  “I have to get out of here.” My voice was strangled, sounding so unlike my own.

  This is your voice. The darkness said, coming from within.

  “Get me out of here!” I shouted.

  This is you.

  I tried to steady my breathing, focusing on thoughts of Salinda. “I need you,” I called out. “Salinda, please!” Her face formed in my mind’s eye, and I nearly sobbed with relief. But the image lasted only a moment before it morphed into a reflection of my face, features twisted in a hateful scowl. Again, I tried to think of Salinda, but all I found was me.

  You can’t escape me. You can’t escape you.

  “That’s not me.”

  This is you. Look at me. Look at me!

  Finally, I relented and let myself look. I saw my face looking back at me, shrouded in darkness. My eyes were full of rage. A row of cages appeared behind the figure that was me, filled with corpses of unicorns. My shadow self shouted in anger at what had been done to them. I remembered that moment, when I first discovered what was being done to the unicorns by Morkai’s hunters.

  The image shifted, and I saw myself crying at Linette’s bedside as the life left her eyes. I watched as I fell to my knees in the hall outside her room, saw my face turn to a scowl as Morkai approached, heard my voice as I shouted hateful things at my brother.

  The image shifted again, and I watched my face as Morkai told me what he’d done to prevent me from creating any heirs. I saw the rage burn in my eyes, followed by a hollow brokenness. A new setting replaced it, and I saw a vial in my hand bearing my name. I watched the pain rip across my face.

  I saw myself watching Mareleau with Liam, my expression dark with resentment. I watched as Mareleau passed Liam for me to hold, and saw the heartache pull at the corners of my lips. It was real. It had happened.

  Anger. Hurt. Rage. Resentment. I’d experienced all of that, no matter how I’d tried to deny it. It was me.

  The calm of certainty fell over me, and my breathing grew deep and easy.

  “I am angry.”

  Truth.

  “I am bitter over what was done to me.”

  Truth.

  “I wish it had been her.”

  Truth.

  Darkness continued to press down on me, but this time, I didn’t turn away from it. Look at it. Look at all of it. Face it. Unpack it. Embrace it.

  And so I did.

  27

  EDELL-MORKARA’ELLE

  Teryn

  I paced in front of my desk, heart racing as I soaked in Lily’s information. “This could work. This could really work.”

  “It could,” Jonston said, although I could hear the caution in his voice. “We still need more of a plan. How do we get the weapons to the rebels? We’d never be able to sneak weapons into each city. Besides, that could take far too long.”

  I ran a hand through my hair, uncaring as strands fell this way and that in disarray. “The resistance is strongest in the south,” I muttered to myself. “The capital of Norun is in the north. Surely we can use that in our favor.”

  “We wouldn’t need to distribute the weapons to each city,” Lily said. “We would just need to get them to the resistance leaders, then they can distribute them.”

  “How would we even get weapons into any part of Norun?”

  I stopped pacing and faced Lex. “Tomas borders the southern part of Norun, right?”

  Lex eyed me with suspicion. “Yes.”

  “And our scouts have reported the army is still in the northern part of Norun, slowly making their way south.” I rounded my desk and unrolled one of the maps I had scattered there, flattening it before me. “This is perfect. Lex, what if we distributed the weapons from Tomas?”

  Lex frowned. “We have a wall—”

  “We could meet the rebels at the wall.”

  “I don’t know if my father will agree to that.” Lex grimaced. “He’s always tried not to gain the attention of Norun.”

  I leaned forward, hands flat on the desk. “Lex, if this works, he wouldn’t need to worry about Norun ever again.”

  “Still,” Lex said, “Father’s not one to risk such a thing.”

  Larylis turned to Lex, scowling. “Your father allied with us against Morkai. How is this any different?”

  Lex raised his hands with a shrug. “Don’t get me wrong, if I had my way, we’d do this. But my father won’t see it that way. He allied with you at Centerpointe Rock because what Morkai did was a direct threat to me, and I convinced Father it was the right thing to do. Even that was difficult! And he’s been paranoid of a Norun backlash ever since.”

  “There has to be a way to convince him,” I said. “He wouldn’t have to provide a thing, just allow passage through the wall.”

  Lex nodded. “I’ll try to convince him. But—”

  “Is there anything we can give him to guarantee his agreement?” Larylis asked. “Can we give him a stronger alliance? Promise him land in Norun if we succeed?”

  Lex considered but didn’t look convinced.

  “A wife?” My heart sank as the words left my mouth. “Your father is a widower, correct?”

  Lex nodded.

  I hated myself for what I was about to say. “What if I sent my mother to be his bride?”

  “Teryn!” Larylis shouted. “You can’t!”

  I ignored him. “She’s queen mother of two kings with a sizable fortune. If she married your father, we’d be more than allies. We’d be family.”

  Lex wrinkled his nose in distaste. “He has been seeking a new wife,” he mumbled.

  Mother, please forgive me. “Then it will be done.”

  Larylis opened his mouth to argue, but another voice drowned his.

  “It most certainly will not,” Helena said, rising to her feet. She strolled toward me, chin held high. “Your mother doesn’t have the constitution to marry again, and you know it.”

  “But—”

  “You’ll send me instead.”

  My eyes widened. “You?”

  “Yes.” She whirled around to face Lex. “I may not be queen mother to two kings, but I am the mother of a queen, and my fortune is far greater than Bethaeny’s.”

  Lex shrank beneath her intense stare. “That…sounds great.”

  “Then it is done,” Helena said. “You go on ahead to Tomas, and I’ll follow behind with a caravan of my belongings.” She faced me. “I’ll need to borrow much from Ridine, as we don’t have time to wait for my actual belongings to arrive from Verlot.”

  “We can send for them later,” I said. “I’m sure King Carrington will provide all the comfort you require.”

  “No. We need my household caravan,” Helena said, “because that is how we will mask the weapons we are bringing. No one will question the travels of a noble woman meeting her new husband. No suspicion will be raised over the number of guards I travel with, no rumors will be spread to alert our enemies.”

  My mouth hung open. It was brilliant. This is going to work. I looked to Lord Jonston. “Will the council accept this plan?”

  He pondered for a moment, rubbing his chin. “There’s still more to discuss. If we are to attack in secret, we’ll need to get our forces into Tomas without detection. Also, we need more strategy for the actual attack. It will need to be synchronized alongside the rebellion.” He met my eyes and grinned. “But, yes, I think the council will support this.”

  His words flooded me with relief. “Then let’s proceed.”

  With that, everyone stood. As we began to file out of the study, I realized Helena had remained behind. She stood at the window, back facing me. I waited until the footsteps of our companions c
ould no longer be heard in the hall before I approached her.

  “Thank you,” I said. “For what you did for my mother. You were right. A marriage would have crushed her.”

  Helena said nothing as she continued to stare out the window, eyes glazed. Gone was the confidence she’d shown just moments before.

  I placed a hand on her shoulder. “Will you be all right?”

  She lifted her chin and turned toward me. Tears welled in her eyes, but she forced a smile. “Like my daughter, I was made to be queen.”

  * * *

  Mareleau

  I stared out the golden-framed window in my beautiful room, looking out at endless summer skies as blue as the sea, emerald trees tipped with flecks of gold, and shimmering flashes of light where birds soared over the perfect landscape.

  I hated all of it.

  It was too perfect, too calm, too elegant. It contrasted too much with the tempest of pain roaring within me.

  I squinted toward the horizon, searching for a hint of that dead gray I knew was out there. Had Cora made it home yet? Had she given Larylis my letter? She’d only left that morning, yet she’d warned me time moved differently here. There was no way of knowing how much time was passing in the human world. It could have been days, weeks. Anything could have happened there while I watched the sun rise here.

  The thought made me shudder.

  I turned away from the window and rested my eyes on Liam, sleeping in a bassinet made of some opalescent material that reminded me of a seashell. The sight of him helped lift some of the weight that hung over my chest. This is all for you, my sweet one.

  A knock sounded at the door, making me sit straighter. An Elvan figure—a youthful female—entered carrying a tray of food. She didn’t so much as look at me as she set it on the table in the middle of the room.

  I stood, forcing her eyes to flash my way. With a smile, I breathed deeply and walked toward her, taking one slow step after the other, focusing on an image I wished her to see, feelings I wished her to feel. My power wrapped around me, and I felt myself become that image. Respect me. Honor me.

  “Edell-Morkara’Elle,” said the Elvan girl with a nod of her head.

  It took me a moment to interpret her words, but I knew she was referring to me as Liam’s mother—mother of the Morkara’s heir. Like a queen mother. “Thank you for bringing my food.”

  The girl nodded again, then paused, studying me with a bemused expression.

  Perhaps I overdid the glamour. Too late now. “You may leave.”

  The girl swept out of the room, and I immediately moved to the long mirror that stood on the wall. I turned my head this way and that, trying to see if I could catch a glimpse of the glamour I’d created. With nothing much to do inside my beautiful prison, it had become a way for me to pass my time. Create a glamour, study its effects on the Elvan I used it on, and look for evidence of what I created. So far, it seemed to work best when I focused on a glamour that improved my standing amongst the Elvan people. Beauty. Respect. Trust.

  Seeing no obvious sign of my glamour, I let my eyes grow unfocused, detaching from my need to see it. There, out of the corner of my eye, I saw it. I was taller, like the Elvan. My eyes slightly more slanted, my skin with a hint of opalescence. That was likely what gave the Elvan girl pause. Perhaps my glamour should focus more on the feelings I want to create in them and less about them seeing me as one of them. I made some mental notes about what to try next time, then turned away from the mirror.

  I jumped, finding Ailan in the doorway, lips pulled into a half smile. “What were you doing just now?”

  My face flushed, and I considered creating a glamour to hide my embarrassment. Then again, what did I have to hide? All she saw was me looking in the mirror. Right? “I wanted to see whether this Elvan robe flattered my figure.”

  Ailan stepped into the room, her dark hair loose and flowing like a midnight river, an Elvan gown of deep gold illuminating her golden-brown skin. She walked with confidence. Like she was queen. “My child, I’ve been with the Forest People long enough to recognize the use of the Arts.”

  My blush grew deeper, and I couldn’t bring myself to meet her eyes. Why was I so ashamed at being caught using the Arts? I was using them to test my abilities to glamour the Elvan people…but what was the harm in that? “I was practicing. Salinda taught me some about my powers, but I need to practice if I am ever to use them to protect myself and my son.”

  “Good. You should practice.”

  I looked up, surprised at her quick acceptance. “I’ve been practicing on your kind,” I admitted.

  She nodded. “Darius is half Elvan. I think it is wise to learn how to use your Art with human and Elvan alike.”

  I sat taller at that. “You must know much about the Arts yourself. Is human magic any different from what you do as a weaver?”

  She looked lost in thought for a moment, considering. “Human magic has always been viewed by the Elvan as something invasive. Elvan kind have rarely encountered humans, and most knowledge of the human world comes to El’Ara from truthweavers, the Elvan who have a talent for receiving information. You could compare an Elvan truthweaver to a human channel. However, the difference lies in Elvan perception.

  “The Elvan see a human channel as someone who seeks information through invasion, infiltrating hidden mysteries, finding knowledge in sacred places. On the other hand, a truthweaver creates a vessel for willing knowledge to be received. Other forms of the Arts are seen the same way. A pathweaver like Garot moves through time and space on existing paths, while a worldwalker invades any place at will, private or not. A mindweaver communicates through directed thought to and from another willing source, while an empath invades the thoughts and feelings without permission.”

  “That’s insulting,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest. “Without Cora’s invasive powers, we wouldn’t have found the tear in the veil as easily as we did. If we’d followed your plan, we’d probably still be looking for it.”

  Ailan let out a light laugh. “I didn’t say I agreed with this point of view, Mareleau. I was merely reporting the pervasive perception of my people.”

  I uncrossed my arms, feeling the flush of anger dissipate. “Well, what do you think?”

  “I think human magic and Elvan magic are different, that’s all. Even Faeran magic is different from both. Weaving is a way of Elvan life. We pride ourselves on creating beauty, ease, protection, and quality of living. However, if you pored over our ways with a fine-toothed comb, I’m sure you’d find flaws.”

  I don’t need to look nearly that deep to find the flaws, I thought.

  Ailan continued. “Human magic has its own path. From what I saw during my time in the human world, the Arts are in their infancy, discovered only by a select few. The magic is there, swirling through everything, yet hardly anyone knows it. Hardly anyone is willing to admit it’s there, much less touch it and use it. It’s different. It isn’t obvious and all-encompassing like it is in El’Ara. It’s a mystery still to be discovered.”

  I cocked my head. “Do you mean all humans have access to the Arts?”

  “I’m not sure,” Ailan said. “I felt it there, all around. The Forest People felt it too, and with ease. I never understood why others could not. Like I said, human magic has its own path. I’m not sure what place the Arts have in that world, but I know it has a place, and it is growing.” Her lips turned down at the corners. “I loved my time in the human world. Part of me wishes I could watch it all unfold, see what becomes of the Arts, the people, the future. But my place is here now.”

  My expression mirrored hers. Mine too.

  With a shake of her head, Ailan seemed to regain her composure. “We should get you out of this room. Would you like to take a walk? There’s someone I think you should get to know.”

  28

  CLARITY

  Cora

  When Darius next came, I was calm.

  “I’ve been told you stopped screaming days ag
o.” Again, he brought a lantern, the open door revealing night had fallen in the room beyond. “Did you lose your voice, or did you decide your time was best spent on other endeavors?”

  “My voice is fine.” My words were smooth like honey, with not even a hint of a tremor.

  Darius paused, head tilted, before he reached for my shoulder and inspected the fresh bandages. “Hmm. I take it you’ve had some time to think about the things we discussed?”

  “I have.”

  “And?”

  “And I know what you’re trying to do,” I said, my tone neutral. “You think pitting me against Mareleau will bring me to your side.”

  He stepped back, folding his hands before him. “I simply saw a truth that needed to be unearthed. I was right, wasn’t I?”

  His arrogance made me bristle. But… “Yes, you were right.”

  “Did Gerta treat you well?”

  “Well enough.” She’d returned daily to feed me and help me relieve myself. The latter were certainly my more humiliating moments. She refused to tell me anything about Darius’ whereabouts, but I assumed his absence meant he was busy in Norun. “She seems keen on proving her merit.”

  Darius smirked as he stepped back. “I’m sure that surprised you. Who would have thought the honorable Queen Coralaine could lose such a dedicated subject to a tyrant like me?”

  I kept my voice level, my tone curious. “What is it she thinks she’s getting from your approval?”

  “It’s not what she thinks,” Darius said. “It’s what she knows. This is how things work in Syrus, and she’s seen it for herself. I’ve told you, in my new world, power will be the deciding factor. It begins here in Syrus, and it continues in El’Ara. It ends with the rest of the human world.”

  I furrowed my brow. “In a world run by power, what of the powerless? What power does a hearth maid have that makes her think she will rise in your favor?”

  Darius shook his head. “You fail to understand my meaning of power. Yes, there are the powerful ones such as you or me, those with magic. But there are also other forms of power that deserve recognition. Intellect is power. Cunning is power. Talent is power. Physical strength is power. Emotional fortitude is power. Capability is power. Those who can prove their merit will rise in my empire, regardless of birth, education, or gender.”