by Skye Horn
Her voice was a plea, but it got Kieran’s attention. He spun around and went to grab her hands in the same way Haven had. However, he never pulled away. Thea could see that touching her was hurting him, but he never let go.
“Focus, Thea,” he commanded, a soldier’s mask shadowing his face. He captivated her gaze as the trembling spread from her arms to the ground beneath them.
“It’s getting worse,” Declan muttered, staring at Thea with terrified eyes.
“Have her channel darkness, Kieran. It’s our only chance! If she keeps using elemental magic, Ainé will know what we are doing. We will lose our chance at surprise, if we haven’t already.” Amara was standing beside Kieran, staring at Thea with a wide, horrified gaze that made her want to curl up into a ball. She knew she must look terrifying if she was scaring even Amara, but she’d completely lost control. Her body felt like a fire was blazing through it, and the quaking ground was causing her to lose her balance. If it weren’t for Kieran’s grip on her, she was sure she’d have fallen to her knees by now.
Tears blurred Thea’s vision as she dug her nails into the soft skin of his wrists, trying to hold on to whatever sanity he offered.
“Thea, tell me what happened to Marcus,” Kieran said, green eyes blazing. Thea’s own eyes widened at the painful memory. A flash of his body twisted in agony—blood pooling out of Marcus’ neck into the snow—scorched through her brain. She saw Amara’s smiling face in that memory, and a raven cawing with laughter as it soared through the skies above them. “Tell me how he died.”
“She murdered him,” Thea cast a venomous look at Amara and saw her stumble back a couple of steps. However, she no longer felt any guilt. Only rage. “She slit his throat in front of me.”
Someone in the room took a sharp breath.
“And tell me who killed your mother,” Kieran continued without falter.
“Malachi,” Thea spat the name.
“Who killed Cora?”
“Malachi.” Thea’s voice was guttural now. It made her throat ache even to speak as the darkness blurred her vision.
“You were too weak to save them all,” Kieran said. “You could have saved Marcus, but you couldn’t control your magic, remember? Your mother died to save you, and what did you do to repay her? You came back to Faerie!”
“Kieran… stop…” Thea saw Haven take a step forward, but Kieran growled at her to back off, gripping Thea tighter, even as the flames scorched his skin.
“My mother died, and it was your fault. That’s the actual reason I left you. I couldn’t stand the sight of you. Seeing you was a constant reminder of the people I’ve lost.”
The words slammed into her—an invisible force shattering her piece by piece as she rocked back onto her heels. She felt all control fade into the darkness and hatred she’d buried deep within herself.
My fault, she repeated the words she’d told herself for months. She heard them loud and clear. Her mother had died for nothing, because she’d come back and set the Goddess of Death free. Kieran’s mother had died for nothing, because he’d brought her back, which had made Morrigan’s return possible. People all around her kept dying, and there was nothing she could do about it, because she wasn’t strong enough to protect them.
But she could be.
She’d felt the power to save them before. She’d nearly killed Amara using it, and she could do it again.
The darkness tasted sweet on her tongue, like cherries and chocolate, tempting her toward the power she craved. The power she deserved.
Her eyelids shuttered closed, and she heard Declan’s panicked protests, but all she could feel was the hatred in her soul as she thrust Kieran back hard against the bookcase-lined walls. She heard the crash as her eyelids flew open to see him surrounded in inky shadows. The rusted taste of metal dripped down her throat as she stepped toward him, ignoring the panicked glances from Haven and Declan.
Thea had seen these shadows before and felt their razor-sharp cut as they lashed out against her. They had attacked her multiple times, but now they were under her control. The biting chill of their touch no longer haunted her skin. Instead, she welcomed that icy tingle of power creeping up her spine as she stared at the man who’d hurt her. The man who’d broken her soul. He’d pretended to love her because Ainé had forced him to. She could see that now. He’d pretended to care, but that had all been part of a game. Deep down, she wanted him dead. She wanted him to suffer the way he’d made her suffer over these past six months.
“Thea,” a voice pulled her attention away from Kieran’s writhing body. He looked close to losing consciousness, but she wasn’t ready for his suffering to end. Long gone was the girl who cared for him. All she felt now was searing hatred.
“Thea,” Amara snapped again, grabbing Thea’s arms to pull her to meet her eyes. To Thea’s surprise, the flames no longer lingered on her skin. There were only tentacles of shadows now, stretching out from her fingertips. Black veins pulsed against her pale wrists, climbing up her forearms.
“You,” Thea growled. An image of Marcus’ lifeless body atop a pyre flashed across her memory, and her hand shot out, grabbing Amara by the throat. “Do you remember when you let your henchmen choke me? Do you know what it felt like to have my ribs broken as they tossed me aside like a rag doll?”
A wicked smile pulled at Thea’s lips as she tossed Amara as if she were as light as a feather to smack with a crack into the opposite wall. She slumped to the floor, unconscious.
“No—” Declan stepped forward, clearly finding his courage as he faced Thea. “This isn’t you, Thea.”
“How do you know me?” Thea cooed as she placed a finger beneath Declan’s chin, breathing in the sweet scent of his breath. Now that her pain over Kieran had faded, she could see the appeal of Declan. He was attractive.
“Remember whom you’re really angry with, Thea,” Kieran said. He was trying to push himself up, but at the sound of his voice Thea spun and placed a foot against his chest, pushing him back to the ground with a low growl.
“Tell me, then,” she said. She lowered her voice, kneeling on top of him with a wicked smirk, “with whom am I angry?”
“Ainé.”
The one word sent a wave of clarity through the haze of darkness that overwhelmed Thea’s brain. She removed her foot from Kieran, stumbling backward, and tilted her head. She had been angry at Ainé, but why? She couldn’t remember at all now. All she could remember was what she felt toward Kieran and Amara, and Malachi and Morrigan.
“She’s using you,” Haven said as she approached Thea from the side slowly. “Don’t let the darkness overwhelm you, Thea. You are the Princess of Ivandor—use that rage and darkness to fuel yourself, but call out to Morrigan.”
Thea remembered why she needed to speak to Morrigan and frowned. Everything inside her wanted to lash out, but something about Haven’s words calmed her just long enough to clear the haze of magic.
“Morrigan.” Thea closed her eyes, focusing. “Morrigan, I need you.”
And just like that, Thea sent a shot of magic into the darkness and faded into unconsciousness, sinking into Kieran’s waiting arms.
Chapter 22
“What an interesting turn of events,” a musical voice murmured as Thea’s eyelids fluttered open. Her body ached, but nothing seemed broken as she pulled herself up off the floor into a sitting position. A pair of bare feet stood in front of her, and as Thea’s head tilted up, she met the gaze of the Goddess of Death.
Thea was no longer on Declan’s bedroom floor. Now, she found herself at Lake Wysteria under the moonlight—the same way she’d seen herself the night she and Kieran had sparred.
For a moment, her mind blurred back to what she’d done to Kieran and her eyes widened. She hadn’t meant to hurt him, but her anger had been unfathomable. She hoped she had done him no lasting damage as she curled her fingers into the muddied shore of the lake.
Although Thea knew she wasn’t actually at Lake Wysteria, it was still
hard to shake the way everything felt real in these visions.
“Morrigan,” Thea breathed, pushing herself to her feet to meet the Goddess’ depthless eyes. They sparkled beneath the starlight with curiosity.
“I’m impressed, Princess.” Morrigan smirked. “I didn’t think you had it in you to summon me.”
Thea’s head throbbed at her temples, but her thoughts were becoming clearer. She’d been so transfixed with her anger just moments earlier, but now she found herself able to rationalize those thoughts without the accompanying loss of control. With that returned her impatience, though. For all Thea knew, she could snap out of this vision at any moment. She needed to ask her questions before that happened, not be deterred with small talk and congratulations from the Goddess.
“I need answers,” she said. “You told me I was lied to.”
“Indeed. I did, but you didn’t believe my warning, did you?” Morrigan condescended. “So, you thought I’d give you all the answers you seek now?” She laughed, and the melody made Thea’s head spin. She often forgot she was dealing with deities, but moments like this in her presence were obvious reminders. Fighting to keep control of her thoughts, Thea lifted her chin a little higher in defiance. “All right, I’m intrigued but answer me this first—
“Why Lake Wysteria?”
“You didn’t bring me here?” Thea asked in surprise.
“No, you summoned me. Therefore, the location was your own choice.” The Goddess’ lips pulled up into a curious smile, revealing the row of pointed teeth hiding beneath her pink lips. Her ebony hair made her porcelain face appear nearly translucent, but Thea tried not to show the fear that bubbled up within her.
“I suppose this is where it all began,” Thea said, not really knowing if this was why she’d chosen the lake. “Your feud with your sister started here thousands of years ago.”
Morrigan tapped her fingers against her legs, nodding her head. “Poetic, isn’t it? We played here as children, but this was also where she betrayed me, and where I slaughtered Gabriel.”
Her laugh was as dark as the magic that had fueled Thea’s anger toward Kieran, but Thea didn’t press the story any further. She assumed Gabriel had been Ainé’s soulmate whom Morrigan had murdered. She didn’t need answers to that story. She needed answers to her own.
“Why did your sister give me access to all four elements?” Thea asked, catching the momentary look of surprise on Morrigan’s face before her mask returned.
“That is the question, isn’t it?” Morrigan murmured, looking away from Thea and out past the lake. Last time Thea had seen Morrigan, she had felt powerless. However, now that Thea had summoned the Goddess, it appeared she had a little more control over the situation. She was thankful for this, letting her fear subside just a tad. “I wondered that myself until I saw the way you defended your lover.”
Thea arched an eyebrow at Morrigan, although she’d no longer meet her gaze, and stepped forward to stand beside her at the edge of the lake.
“What does my access to the elements have to do with Kieran?”
“You’re asking the wrong questions.”
“Then what are the right questions?” Thea asked, frustration rising. “Why are you playing games with me?”
“I’m not, but my sister enjoys her toys, doesn’t she?”
“Toys…” Thea’s head spun, and a frown formed on her lips. “Please just tell me what is going on… please.”
Thea didn’t know why she’d begged, but it seemed like the best option at the moment. Morrigan liked to feel in control, and if that meant Thea got down on her knees to beg, maybe she’d just have to do that. However, Morrigan turned to look at her before she could bring herself to that shame.
“What do I get if I tell you the actual story?” she asked.
“What do you mean, the actual story?” Thea felt like she was losing control over herself again, but she fought it. Morrigan didn’t answer. “What do you want, Morrigan?”
“I want you to succumb to the darkness when I ask you to,” she said in the most matter-of-fact voice Thea had ever heard. “Once you do that, I’m sure you will see things my way.”
Thea frowned. Hadn’t she just done that to summon Morrigan here?
“Come to the dark side? That’s your offer?”
They’d already had this discussion, and Thea had thought she’d made it clear she didn’t intend to join Morrigan. Why did the Goddess suddenly think that would change?
“I’ll never force you to join me, Thea. I am not my sister—I actually believe in free will, which is why I haven’t hunted your traitor of a sister down.” She crossed her arms over her chest, looking more human than ever as she stared at Thea. “However, my patience wears thin. You’ll discover that dark and light need a balance. Nature teaches us that, but my sister would have you and your people think differently. I may be a monster now, but my sister is the one who made me this way.”
Thea recalled a conversation she’d had with Ainé about something very similar as Morrigan looked away again. She felt herself caring, just a little, about the story that lurked behind the surface of Morrigan’s shadows. She hated herself for it, but how could she just ignore her curiosity? Not asking the right questions had been what had gotten her into this mess.
“If I allow myself to use dark magic, I’ll hurt someone,” Thea said, recalling the way she’d nearly killed Kieran.
“Not with balance,” was all Morrigan said in reply.
“Tell me the story.”
“Give me your word.” Morrigan glanced at Thea, her dark eyelashes casting shadows across her pale cheeks. “Tell me that when the time comes, you will allow the darkness to guide you as much as you have allowed the light.”
“Why does this matter so much?” Thea begged again, but was met with nothing but silence. She knew she had a choice to make. She could either agree to Morrigan’s terms and hear the truth, or she could tell her to go to hell and go back to having no plan at all. Neither option seemed like a pleasant one. “Fine, I give you my word.”
For a moment, Morrigan just stared, but Thea knew from the second she said the words that she could not go back. She’d made a promise to the Goddess of Death. That was not the type of promise one could break.
“You know the story of Ainé and Gabriel, I assume,” Morrigan said, satisfied with their agreement. She watched Thea out of the corner of her eye.
“Yes, Ainé’s soulmate whom you murdered because he was human,” Thea recited, but Morrigan only surprised her by laughing.
“It amazes me the tales my sister would weave to make herself the victim. Poor, mistreated Ainé whose sister ruined her life.”
“So, what? You didn’t kill Gabriel and you don’t hate all humans and Fae?” Thea asked in disbelief.
“No, I killed Gabriel—after he betrayed me.” Her face darkened, raising the hairs on the back of Thea’s arms and neck. “Ainé wasn’t the one who crossed the Threshold, Thea. I was.”
“What?”
“That’s right. I was the curious sister who ventured into the other world and fell in love with the people and the culture. I was the one who brought back the man I loved, Gabriel.”
“If you loved him, then why did you kill him?” Thea’s mind was whirling. She didn’t know what to believe. The legends said nothing about this version of the story, but if Ainé had written the legends, then why would they? And after all the other things Thea was discovering Ainé had lied to her about, how could she know this wasn’t true now?
“Because my sister deceived me. You’ve seen the way she plays with love, haven’t you?”
Thea thought of her relationship with Kieran with a pang of hurt, but that was not the only way Ainé had played with her love life. She’d also made Declan kiss her, which had introduced a brand-new wave of confusion and frustration into her life.
“So, what really happened then?” Thea asked, watching Morrigan’s reactions.
“I came to my sister with my con
fession of love, but she grew jealous. She claimed that love would only deceive and hurt me, while she would always stand by my side. Then she told me she would prove it.
“I found her with Gabriel that night, locked in an embrace I could never wipe from my mind. He explained to me they were soulmates and that he had never meant to hurt me, but my magic became unstable. I killed him out of anger, only to find out later that my sister had used magic to influence him. She had created the soul bond to punish me for bringing humans into our lands.”
“But the Fae…” Thea breathed. “The legend says that the Fae are children of Ainé and her human lover.”
“Oh, that part is true,” Morrigan said grimly. “But they often leave out my part in it all.”
Thea remembered what Declan had said about the original King of Blackmire possibly being a direct descendent of Morrigan’s and said, “Because you were with child… Gabriel’s child?”
This caught Morrigan by surprise.
“You’ve been doing your research,” she said with a note of amusement. “Yes, I was with child when my sister betrayed me. I exiled myself to the outskirts of Faerie, what we now know as Blackmire. There, I raised my son until he was old enough for us to return to my sister. When we did, we discovered she’d already given birth to many children by different men. And so the Fae were born.”
“Why did she lie, though?” Thea asked, disbelieving. “If she warned you about humans, why keep having children with them?”
“Because if there is one thing my sister has always loved, it is adoration. Without me there to adore her, she sought attention elsewhere. You’ve seen the way they speak about her compared to how they speak about me. She never forgave me for opening up our lands to others, but she used it to her advantage. She turned them all against me—even my son, by binding his soul to that wretched daughter of hers.”
