There was a discussion going on around me. My heartbeat pounded in my ears, making it hard to hear what they were saying. It sounded as if they were trying to decide what to do with me. Someone mentioned the dungeons while another suggested throwing me out of the castle. It didn’t matter to me anymore. I’d been left for dead and abandoned by my court. What was left?
Then there was nothing.
Chapter Eight
I had no sense of time.
Black emptiness surrounded me. It was peaceful. Painless. Comforting, like I was meant to be here. There was movement. Something shook the ground, and I was somewhere else. My eyes were barely open, but I could see I was on the back of a coarse-haired creature. A hound? The beast kept a rapid pace. My entire body ached from the movement. It was as if I was being torn apart all over again. If I had any energy left, I would’ve screamed.
The world melted away into blackness again, but this time, the pain remained. We must have entered a portal. There was a flash of light. The portal opened on a mountainside, and we climbed a steep trail. A brisk wind blew all around us in every direction. All of a sudden, we came to an abrupt stop. Panicked voices were all around me, rattling in my ears. I heard my name several times, and I wanted to answer, but I didn’t have the strength.
It took several of them to move me. I was brought inside and laid out on a tan, flat surface. I wasn’t sure where I was. Rows of beds and wooden cabinets lined the room. It resembled a trauma area in a mortal hospital. When I was able to open my eyes fully, I saw wheat-blond haired elementals coming in and out of the room. A pair of pale blue eyes shined a bright light in my face.
I was in the air court.
More than likely, I had been brought to their crystal castle. They had splayed me across one of the beds on my stomach. Blood trickled down the lemon-scented white sheets as air elementals hurried around, mixing herbs and collecting bandages. I’d never seen air elementals flustered. It was safe to assume that my injuries were worse than how I had imagined them. If they looked as bad as the pain I felt, I was in big trouble.
The commotion ceased. It was as if someone had pressed the pause button. One by one, they each bowed their head, acknowledging that a member of their royal family must have entered the room. One set of footsteps clicked on the floor. The sound got louder as they moved in my direction. My head was turned the opposite way, making it impossible to look. I tensed when a warm hand touched my shoulder.
“Rowan?” a male voice spoke to me. It was King Taron. “How did this happen?”
I didn’t answer.
A female elemental stepped forward. “We don’t know, Your Majesty. He came through the portal unconscious on the back of a gabriel hound. He hasn’t spoken since he arrived.”
It was Marcus. It had to be.
“Everyone leave us,” he demanded. The room emptied. “I don’t know who did this to you, but you will tell me when this is all over. For now, I need to tend to your wounds.”
The woodland elementals were the best healers among all the courts, but Taron had a unique ability only known within the royal family circles. Prisma never told me. I overheard her talking about it once when I was little. Taron could heal others without the need for herbs or other potions. It was magic only he and his kin could perform. I remember I had told Marcus about his special power. Smart thinking to have brought me here.
Taron brushed a finger around the edge of one of the gaping holes in my back where my wings had been. “Rowan, if you can hear me, you were brought here without your wings. There’s no way for me to create new ones for you. However, I can heal most of the wounds on your back.”
I couldn’t imagine life without my wings. To never again know the joy of flying. Freedom. I didn’t have time to mourn as a warm sensation radiated from my back. Muscles tightened as the skin pulled, closing together. It was unbearable. I needed to concentrate on something else, anything to not focus on what was happening. I thought of Kalin dancing around her room in her cupcake pajamas. The way she moved. The sound of her laugh echoed in my head.
Slowly, the pain faded as exhaustion overwhelmed me.
I didn’t fight it, letting the sensation overtake me.
I opened my eyes. When I took a look around, I realized I was in a different room. I was on my back in a reclined sitting position. My entire torso wrapped in white bandages. In the corner of the room, Taron sat silently on the edge of his seat as if waiting for me to say something. He had saved my life. He, along with Marcus, I assumed. No other hound would have risked their lives to bring me here.
“Thank you.” My voice was hoarse when I spoke. “Your Majesty.”
Taron got up, poured water into a glass, and tried to hand it to me. My arm shook from the weight. He held the rim of the cup to my lips, and I took several sips. “You lost a lot of blood.” When I finished, he set the glass on a nearby table. “I wasn’t sure if I could save you.”
I wasn’t a member of his court. If he wanted, he could have easily let me die. “I am forever thankful for everything you did.”
He leaned against the back of his chair. “The damage to your back is significant. Over the centuries, I’ve never seen anyone survive such an extreme attack. Your royal bloodline likely saved you.”
My royal bloodline was what got me into this mess.
“You will heal, but your scars will be severe. You were minutes away from death. There was only so much I could do.” He seemed somber as if he had failed me, somehow. “And your wings—”
“Gone, I know.” The ultimate punishment from Prisma. I would never fly again. I would never feel the clouds brushing against my face or the wind tingling through my feathers. For the first time in my life, I truly and completely hated her.
Taron crouched down at my bedside. “I need you to tell me everything.”
I swallowed hard.
Prisma had forced my best friend to nearly kill me while a crowd cheered in support. But I was still a fire elemental, and they were my kin. Pressure settled in the center of my chest. Should I tell him Prisma sent me to kill his daughter? Taron would never let this go unpunished. She had broken the decrees. I could start a war between our courts. Elementals who had nothing to do with this would die.
In a raspy tone, I said, “I disobeyed an order, and this was the punishment.”
“Prisma did this to you?” He stared at me in disbelief. “I don’t understand.”
Of course, he couldn’t understand. He would never punish his child or anyone in his court, so severely. I looked at the dried blood on my hands. “I don’t either.”
“There’s more to this story.” He put his hand on the side railing of the bed. “I know you’re hiding something from me.”
I was hiding something terrible and unforgivable. Prisma had ordered Kalin’s murder, and that was inexcusable. But I went to the mortal world planning to kill. I wasn’t innocent. Perhaps I deserved to lose my wings. Maybe this was my retribution. “I’m not sure what I can say.”
He crossed his arms. “You can start with the truth.”
My thoughts shifted to Kalin. There was a good chance Prisma would send someone else to finish the job. A royal could only be taken out by another royal, but because she was a halfling, it might be possible for someone outside of the family to kill her. A cold chill raced through my veins. Had Prisma assumed I would end up here? Would she have sent an assassin while they were busy tending to me?
My stomach sank.
I couldn’t let anything happen to Kalin.
Once I spoke the truth, I knew I could never return to the fire court. I wouldn’t be welcome there. Even after everything they did to me, the total shunning would hurt. But I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to Kalin and I didn’t do what I could to save her. “Your daughter may be in danger.”
He flinched. “What?”
“Prisma believes she’s the next akasha. She sent me to the mortal world to kill her, but I couldn’t do it.” With those words, I h
ad turned on Prisma and my court. I was a traitor. “I refused her command, and that’s why she punished me.” I pointed to the doorway. “You need to send knights to protect her. I’m afraid Prisma will send someone else to do what I wouldn’t.”
I inhaled a long breath then slowly exhaled, admitting what I had done relieved some of the tension.
His face turned as cold as stone. It was as if someone had flipped the switch from friend to king. “You made the right choice, Rowan. I will make sure you receive no further punishment.”
“What about Prisma?” As ridiculous as it sounds, I pitied her. She deserved whatever she got, but I couldn’t help it. No matter how awful she had been to me, I knew her punishment would be severe.
His face was absent of emotion. “The high council will decide her fate. How many others know about this?”
“Only my adopted siblings.” I left Marcus out of it. I had a bad feeling things were about to get rough, and I didn’t want him involved in anything else. Besides, he would never tell anyone what he knew. I trusted him completely.
He stood. “Very well.”
As far as I knew, nothing like this had ever happened in the history of the elementals. We had problems before the decrees, but no one had ever ordered the death of a royal child. Prisma had committed the highest level of treason, and Taron was within his rights to order her execution. “What are you going to do?”
Taron headed toward the door. Before he left, he glanced over his shoulder. “You need to focus on your recovery. I’ll take care of the rest.”
He left, and I knew things were about to get real around here. Taron controlled himself, but he was pissed. Who could blame him? Over the centuries, he had considered Prisma an ally and maybe even a friend.
A group of air elementals entered my room. They carried several ceramic bowls filled with herbs floating in a cream-colored liquid. As they diligently cleaned my ravaged skin, I tried not to complain about the pain. I hated feeling useless. I should be with Taron, helping to keep Kalin safe. I didn’t like not knowing what he planned to do.
I prayed he wasn’t too late to save her.
Chapter Nine
Physical therapy was going well. Thanks to the healing herbs, I was recovering at a faster pace than I expected. I walked without assistance and had full motion back in my arms and shoulders. I wanted to practice with my sword, but the healers wouldn’t allow me to leave my room. Guards stood outside the door at all times. They claimed it was for my protection, but they wanted to monitor me. No matter the circumstances, I was still the prince sent to kill their princess. And Prisma was likely a fugitive.
Days passed without a word from Taron. My mind swirled with questions. I needed to know what happened to Kalin. Did someone in my court attack her? What punishment had Prisma received from the council? Had anyone hurt Marcus after he saved me? I thought about it for hours and hours until I was sure I was going insane. I barely ate, spoke to no one, and slept only a few hours at a time. It was infuriating being locked in here, even if I deserved it.
Chatter started in the hallway. When the guards in front of my door moved to the side, I sat up. Taron stepped inside with a stern expression on his face. The dark circles under his eyes gave me the impression he hadn’t slept much. He wore yellow council robes with his wheat-blond hair tied back in a low ponytail. Even in his formal attire, he was intimidating. I didn’t say a word. It was best to wait for him to speak to me.
He sat perfectly straight in a chair directly across from me. With his shoulders back, he maintained his regal demeanor. “As you may have guessed, the last few days have been quite eventful.” His voice remained as cold as the last time we spoke.
My heart raced. I wanted to blast Taron with questions. “I figured as much.”
His eyes bored into mine with a seriousness that made me squirm. “Kalin wasn’t hurt. She remains in the mortal world, unaware of what has transpired. I have placed additional guards around her home to ensure her protection.”
Kalin would notice there were more guards. I’d bet she wouldn’t be happy about it. “You’re not going to tell her about any of this?”
“I don’t want her to fear that her life is in danger.” He clasped his hands in his lap. “I would prefer she enjoys what time she has left in the mortal world.”
I was surprised by Taron’s decision. Hiding the truth wouldn’t protect her. He was putting her life in danger by giving her a false sense of security. As much as I wanted to disagree with him, I couldn’t. I wasn’t in any position to question a king. “And Prisma?”
His jaw clenched. “She was taken into custody by the high council. The penalty for her treason will be execution.”
I flinched. Although I fully expected this decision from the council, some part of me thought she would find a way out of it—a loophole of some sort. It was possible. “When will the execution take place?”
“This evening at sundown.” He watched me curiously. “Immediately after, there will be a coronation ceremony.”
It was like someone splashed a bucket of cold water on my face. If the coronation took place right after the execution, I would be expected to be there. I had no interest in watching her die. Nor did I want to be crowned under these circumstances. When a prince ascends to the throne, it should be a celebration. “Don’t you think we should allow some time to pass before we have a coronation? There should be a mourning period.”
“The fire court cannot remain leaderless. You must take your throne to ensure there is peace between our courts. Above all, we must not endanger the balance of the four elements.”
I understood their decision. The leaders of our courts agreed upon the decrees for this very reason. If the elements unbalanced, they would cause uncontrollable natural disasters and ultimately destroy the world. As the protectors of nature, we had to ensure this never happened. The fire court must stabilize, and that cannot occur without a ruling house. “What about my adopted siblings?”
He crossed his arms. “Valac and Selene will not be punished as long as they remain silent.”
I was conflicted. They both loved Prisma, and I couldn’t imagine they were taking all of this well. I worried they might retaliate. But without proof, I didn’t feel comfortable saying anything contrary to Taron. If I did, he would have them executed along with her. I couldn’t justify taking their lives because of my fears.
I swung my legs around and stood. “If I may have one request, I’d like to see Prisma.”
As soon as I entered the castle basement, I wished I hadn’t come. The stained cement walls echoed with the sounds of dripping water, while the air stunk with a mix of sweat and dust. A place like this didn’t fit with their quiet, peaceful disposition. This dank dungeon gave me a whole new perspective.
One of the knights led me to an iron cell. I stood back as the knight used a key on his belt to open the door. Once I was inside, I blinked twice to make sure I had seen correctly. Prisma sat on a metal chair in the center of a tiny, square room in a torn red dress with her hair pulled back. Iron handcuffs with dried blood around the edges covered her wrists. Judging by her appearance, she had put up a fight.
I surveyed the area. No bathroom. No bed. No food. There was just Prisma, glaring at me with a look of total disgust. It wasn’t the first time I’d seen that expression. In my experience, the only time she ever smiled was when she was inflicting pain on someone else. Still, my heart ached to see her like this. How I still managed to care about her, I couldn’t understand. I doubted I ever would.
“Have you come here to brag?”
I didn’t respond.
“All hail the fire court king,” she announced, in a monotone voice. Her chains rattled as she lowered her head in a mock bow.
I thought long and hard about kicking her in the face. “Honestly, I’m not sure why I came. You certainly don’t deserve my sympathy.”
“Sympathy? You are the one who betrayed me. I should have killed you when I had the chance.” She lu
nged for me, but the iron chains around her wrists sizzled when she moved. It was the first time I’d ever heard her whimper.
The pain must have been intense because she calmed down. “You are here by your own doing, Prisma. You have no one to blame but yourself.”
She rolled her eyes. “I did what was best for my court. That’s what a ruler does. We make the hard choices others cannot.”
Anger boiled in my chest. “Like choosing to mutilate your son. Was that one of your hard choices?”
Her eyes narrowed. “You were weak.”
I clenched my fists so hard my fingernails dug half-moon crescents into my palms. “You wanted me to kill an innocent halfling.”
She stood, ignoring the iron as it burned her skin. “She is a danger to us all.”
I took several steps until our faces were only inches from one another. “Your accusations are baseless.”
“You’re a fool, Rowan.” She shook her head. “You will bring doom to our court, and I’m pleased I won’t be here to witness it.”
“After all you’ve done to me, I had hoped to come here and make peace with you. Maybe even get an apology for what you did to me.” Tears welled in my eyes, but I refused to let them go. “All I ever wanted was to make you proud. To be loved by my own mother. But that was the one thing the all-powerful queen of the fire court couldn’t do.” I turned away so she couldn’t see the hurt on my face. “You deserve what’s coming to you.”
She laughed. “Only the weak yearn for something as frivolous as love. You aren’t worthy of my approval. And certainly not my crown.”
Her hateful words stabbed into my chest. She never touched me, yet I was beaten and broken all over again. At that moment, I bundled up all the emotions I felt for her and locked them away. Never again would I let anyone get to me as she had. “And yet, here we are. You, about to be put to death, and me, about to sit on your throne.” I grabbed her face, pressing my lips hard against her cheek. “Goodbye, Prisma.”
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