Page 47

Chapter 47

Saelyn

My mother, my strong, beautiful mother, did not let go of my hands as she told me the story of my birth.

She spoke of the pain, the trauma she and others had endured, and the lives lost that night.

She spoke of my father.

For the first time in my seventeen years, she spoke of his love, of his kindness, of his sacrifice so that I may live a life in peace, never looking over my shoulder for the Blightress to descend.

She spoke of the months after and how she wouldn’t let anyone near me. She had carried me everywhere, even in the meetings where she would project herself from Felgren to the Queen , the Lady , and the Madame to discuss building an army of channelers and conduits trained in warfare against the Blightress . She spoke of how she conjured her shield through the depths of the roots of Felgren , keeping the Blightress and her monsters out of the forest for all seventeen years of my life.

She spoke of how she manipulated the seasons with her line of fae magic, forcing them to begin or end, syncing as well as she could with the time that passed outside of the forest to ensure that my seventeen years were approximately the same years my father spent in the Blightress’s lands.

She spoke of how she lied, just like my father had asked her to, telling everyone on the isle that Baron Revich was killed by the Blightress on the night of my birth. Everyone had believed her, though there were four who knew the truth.

She spoke of the hardest days, glimpsing his face in mine, hearing his laughter and his humor in mine. She spoke of the woman she used to be, the woman I did not know.

“ When we find him, we will return to Felgren and all will be as it should have been,” she promised through her tears, squeezing my hands as we knelt on the floor of her room in the Spire .

“ How do we find him, Mama ?” I cried. “ How do you know he is truly still alive?”

She tapped her chest. “ Here . Our companion bond remains, and I feel him here.”

Taking my hand, she pressed it to where her heart beat.

“ How —” I thought for a moment, wording my next question carefully. “ How could he be alive in the cavern of her heart for so long? How could he survive such a thing?”

“ I do not know. I … I tried to leave once.” She lowered her eyes from mine. “ In a moment of weakness, I convinced myself I could leave you just for a moment. Just long enough to return him to Felgren without the Blightress knowing I was not there to continue the shield. I attempted a portal into that cave. You were three years old.”

“ And ?” I urged.

She lifted her head, meeting my eyes once more. “ He kept me out. I cannot portal there. He uses his own Baron power to fuel a shield around the cave. Neither the Blightress nor I can break it.”

“ Then what do we do?” I persisted. “ How do we save my father and stop her?”

“ That’s the Dimming , Saelyn . It will take hundreds of magic wielders and those who carry swords to break through the Blight Line and put her to sleep.”

I shook my head and huffed. “ To sleep? You’re going to save the isle by making her fall asleep?”

“ We cannot kill her without killing all channelers and conduits on the isle. She is connected to everything. So , yes, we will force her into a deep sleep, and the power of Baron will be used to subdue her in a room underneath the Fortress . The Baron power will pass on eventually, but she will continue to slumber.”

I thought for a moment, a sweep of exhaustion settling in. Finally , I nodded, resolute to do what I must in this war and reunite my parents. “ I see now why she wants me, but I would never be hers. I would never love her, so why does she still try?”

My mother brushed my hair with her hand. “ She sees you as her granddaughter. As the only family left who could possibly love her. You are young and she is ancient. She believes that with time, you could love her and shape the isle to her creation. She has gone mad after centuries alone in this world. It has nothing to do with who you are, Saelyn .”

I nodded at that, rubbing at my eyes and smearing the kohl swept across them.

“ Come .” She rose and pulled me up with her. “ Let’s get some rest. There’s much more to discuss tomorrow.”

She folded down the yellow quilt across her bed, and I fell into it, overtaken by the day and night’s events. Slipping in beside me, she bent and kissed my cheek as she’d done on the good nights when I was a child.

I closed my eyes, plagued by the sorrow of my father’s last words to her that night.

I’ll never forgive myself.