Page 5 of A Traitor Sister (Remnants of the Fallen Kingdom #2)

5

ASTRA

O tavio left me alone in this bedroom, right when I wanted to pester him and ask a thousand questions about who I am. Sure, he doesn’t want to discuss these details here, but I could ask some general questions that wouldn’t look suspicious.

Does he know who my family was? And what does he think about darksouls’ evil nature? Is our magic truly doomed to be evil? I try to swallow these questions, but they taste so bitter…

Perhaps he left me on purpose, to avoid any questions.

But what’s strangling my heart is Marlak. Is he safe? Alive? He needs to be alive. How else am I going to yell at him?

I open my window and look down at the surface of the castle. It’s not like our tower and seems much smoother. From here, I can’t see an outer wall or guards down below, but then, who knows what kind of magic keeps this castle safe? And where am I even going to go if I escape?

A river.

The thought comes to me suddenly. The nymphs have helped me before. If they help me find Nelsin and Ferer, we’ll have a chance of freeing Marlak. All I need to do is figure out a way to escape.

My stomach feels hollow and heavy at the same time. If I escape this castle, I might throw away my only chance of learning who I am, where I come from. I might squander my only chance to understand Otavio’s plan.

Stupid thought. It’s not like he’s telling me anything now. I spent my entire life being raised by Otavio, and what have I learned?

To be gullible, it seems.

No, I have to escape and figure out another way to get my answers—once Marlak is safe. Just thinking about him chills my tangled, knotted heart, bathing it in anger and fear.

Why did he have to be such an idiot? Idiot, idiot, idiot, and it all started by giving away his Shadow Ring. Of course a powerful artifact like that would fall into nefarious hands. What was he thinking? Now here I am, wanting to strangle and hold him and kiss him, desperate to find him—while confined in this castle.

The door opens and Otavio walks in, that strange, satisfied smile back on his face.

“It’s time, Astra.”

“To learn about my past?” I pretend to be hopeful and foolish, wondering if this version of me could crack his armor.

He shakes his head. “Even better. The king has granted you an audience. You’ll have lunch with him.” He approaches me, his steps slow, and places his hands on my shoulders. “Keep in mind all that you learned.”

I’m starting to think that the only gullible person here is Otavio, so sure that I’ll do anything he asks. I could just nod and smile, but if I do too much of that, he’ll eventually think Marlak addled my brain.

“Why?” I ask. As expected, his smile fades. My goal is not to challenge him, though, so I add, “I want to understand why I need to?—”

His hands squeeze my shoulder in a gesture that’s more threatening than friendly. “Being powerless is the worst thing in the world.” He eyes the door. “The Crystal Court is the seat of power in these lands, and its king, the key for it.” He frowns. “Would you rather be a fugitive? Would you rather be persecuted and killed for what you are?”

I confess I’m puzzled. “Is this… meant to protect me?”

“Not only you,” he whispers.

“My kind,” I whisper back.

For a second, I think I understand him. If I become the Crystal Court queen, I could perhaps grant other Tiurians safe haven here. I could maybe change their view of us. I almost tell him that we could do that with Marlak, who’s the true king, that there’s no need of all of this pretense. For a second, I almost ask Otavio to help me escape and find my husband.

And then I recall a lifetime of secrets.

There’s no need to go even that far. I recall our recent conversation when he refused to discuss the Amethyst Palace. I can’t trust Otavio—which is a pity. If his goal is to protect Tiurians, I’d love to help him—but I don’t know if he’s telling the truth.

Still, I cling to that moment of understanding, that moment when I thought I could trust him, and let that feeling take over my face as I nod. “We’ll secure the Crystal Court.”

His arms then wrap around me, and to my surprise, he pulls me in for a hug, the hug I had been craving for years.

“I knew I could trust you,” he says, his voice cracking with emotion. “From the moment I saw you, I knew you were our hope.”

I have a thousand questions about the day he found me, but his tone shifts in a second and he steps away, his usual formality back in place. “Let’s go. You don’t want to keep the fae king waiting.”

Technically, being too obliging is not a great seduction strategy, but there’s no point arguing, especially when I have absolutely no intention of seducing my husband’s treacherous brother. If everything goes well, I’ll be far from this castle by nightfall, and then none of this will matter.

Outside the room, a guard gestures for me to follow him down the corridor. It looks like a human palace, except that the walls are white, instead of having visible stones like in the castle I grew up. I glance beside me, hoping to see Otavio, and realize he stayed back, staring at me with that odd hope in his eyes.

They can’t be the eyes of someone evil, can they? But then, people don’t need to be evil to do great harm, and don’t even need to do any harm to be someone who doesn’t belong in our lives.

I guess a part of me is hurting, the part used to a lifetime of having him as a father figure. Now that same part is trying to vilify him, so as not to feel guilty for escaping, for defying him. But I need to do what I need to do. Right now, it means finding out where Marlak is. At least I’m about to meet the person who can give me that information. The issue is how to get it.

The guard leads me to a room with large windows and a long, rectangular table where Renel is already sitting. He stands up when he sees me, and the door closes behind me, leaving us alone. It’s odd to see a member of royalty unattended like that, unprotected. By instinct, I reach for my daggers, then realize that this dress has no pockets. Would I dare murder Renel? I would need to plan this properly and make sure I can escape after the deed.

I approach him slowly, taking in his appearance. He does look like Marlak—same eyes—except that his frame is slenderer, his face narrower, and his hair longer. He also has pointy ears—and no scars.

No scars at all.

Highly suspicious, considering he was present when his sister, mother, and stepfather were killed, and when his brother had half his body burned.

What happened that day?

This is not the time to figure it out, though. I take in more of his appearance. The way a person dresses can tell so much about themselves.

His wavy black hair is partly pulled back with a delicate silver comb on one side. Is he trying to look like his brother, who doesn’t have hair on that side of his head? Weird.

On his ears, he has hoops near the tip of his left, pointy ear, and star earrings adorning his lobes. His black shirt has only two buttons, so that the neckline is rather a chest line in a deep v down until his belly, showing many thin necklaces, which remind me of the queen of the Misty Court. At least in this case, there are no nipples in sight, not that male nipples would be that much of an issue, but I’d still rather not face my brother-in-law’s tits right in our first encounter.

On his wrists, he has several thin bracelets, but no rings on his fingers, not even the Shadow Ring. Fae can be so flamboyant that I have no idea if he’s trying to impress me or if this is how he gets dressed in the morning. I have no idea why he wanted to meet me so soon. He got the Shadow Ring and imprisoned his brother. That should be it, right? But then he knows I’m Tiurian, so he must want something from me.

But what?

He gets up from his chair. “Welcome, Astra.” His voice is different from what I heard in the sanctuary, with none of that arrogance. If anything, he sounds scared. Odd.

“I’m glad to be here.” It’s so good to be human—or Tiurian—and be able to spew blatant lies. I pass by the table and approach the window. We’re on the other side of the castle, and I want to see what’s below. “The view is so beautiful,” I say. There are no hills on this side, just treetops and what looks like a small village. No rivers either, at least none that I can see. That’s a problem.

Renel approaches the window and stands beside me. I hope he doesn’t realize I’m trying to check our surroundings, so I try to look excited and add, “I never thought I’d ever visit fae territories, let alone step into this legendary castle.”

His chuckle sounds strange. “Legendary. Yes.”

“How do you decide where the castle goes? Can you use it to travel?”

Renel rubs his hands and chuckles. “As you saw, we have carriages for travel. Much more practical.”

“But the castle still moves, right? So you can take your whole court to another city when you want.”

He leans a finger on his face, and his posture shifts. “There’s more to the trajectory of the castle than my selfish wishes.” His voice is confident, I’m assuming because he’s so used to answering the same silly questions about the castle that he has this sentence memorized. That said, his words answer nothing.

Still, I smile. “It’s incredible.”

His lips tremble and he extends his hand. That’s not a fae gesture. Is he thinking we’ll shake hands? Hoping to kiss my hand? I have no desire to touch him, but I don’t want to be rude, so I decide to go for a handshake.

I expected to feel disgust at his touch, obviously.

Instead, my entire arm hurts as if it were immersed in ice, even though there is no change in temperature.

Then there’s fire—and screams. Screams and more screams, while flames consume this room. Outside, no sunlight, only fire. And so much horror.

And then I’m back in this dining room, on a quiet morning—or lunchtime. I gasp, horrified, pull my hand, and step back. What in all the kingdoms was that? The screams still echo in my ear, and I can’t shake the horror I felt.

He stares at me, his brows furrowed. “Are you all right?”

Of course I’m not fine. I’m horrified, puzzled and yet I have to come up with a reply. “Uh. Tired.” I manage a smile, even though I can feel my lips trembling.

What was that fire? It can’t have been a memory, like Marlak’s, if I saw this room, if I saw everything burning.

He puts his hands behind his back. “Yes. Yes. I… ordered a human meal for you.” He snaps a finger, and two servants come in carrying trays from the same door from where I entered.

Of course he isn’t unattended, if they can come in so quickly.

I need to figure out what I saw. And see if I could kill him.

Renel walks to the table and gestures to a chair. “Come. Sit.”

True. I was standing here like an idiot, lost in my own thoughts, still stunned by that vision. I shake off those images and take a seat.

A servant uncovers the tray in front of me, revealing a roasted chicken. He gives Renel a tray with some vegetables and grains, then fills our cups with water. At least I hope it’s just water.

When I take my cup for a sip, no liquid reaches my lips. The water has frozen. And this is when I realize that somehow I have some trace of Marlak’s magic—in all its hectic, uncontrollable glory. I can still feel him with me, feel his warmth. Perhaps blood isn’t the only way I can acquire some of his magic, and it was only this morning that we…

I can’t even think about us together, as the thought hurts so much.

I place my cup behind the tray cover and keep my hand around it, hoping it will thaw the water.

Renel is staring at me. “Do you like it?”

For a moment, I don’t even know what he’s asking, when I realize he means the food. At least it’s what I think. I need to act normal. Now.

“I… haven’t tried it yet.”

The servants are gone, and I look around for a plate, but there’s none. “Is there a plate? A knife to cut the chicken?”

Renel blinks and points to the tray. “That’s a plate, isn’t it?”

Right. A tray with an entire chicken on it. “I’m not going to eat it all, so I need to cut it.”

He frowns, but snaps his fingers again. A servant comes in, and Renel whispers something.

The servant takes the tray away, and now I place both hands around my cup.

Renel stares at his food, then at me. “I thought… humans ate more. Not that you’re… You know.” He puts a finger over his lips, his bracelets jingling with the gesture.

“Not a whole chicken at once.” I smile. Then I feel that the water in the cup is no longer cold. It feels warm, but must be an impression, and I remove my hands from around it.

He smiles. “I have much to learn.”

Indeed. He should learn not to capture his own brother. Still, I return the smile. “Don’t we all?”

He leans forward and rests his elbow on the table and his chin on his hand. “What would you like to learn, Astra?”

I sure hope he isn’t trying to be seductive, or else I’ll want to puke. I shake away those thoughts and try to sound enthusiastic. “Everything. Anything. About your kingdom, your magic, this castle. It’s amazing to be here.”

Renel’s eyes widen. “Amazing, yes. Amazing.”

He’s definitely weird, or maybe it’s just that he’s incapable of making any conversation.

The servant then walks in with the tray again. That was fast. There’s a tiny chicken leg and some leaves from a vegetable I don’t recognize on the tray. Just one leg? One tiny leg? Perhaps I should have clarified that even though I don’t eat a whole chicken at once, I can eat half of it.

Renel points to the tray. “I hope the meal is to your taste.”

“I’m sure it is.”

I take a piece of the chicken and some leaves. Ugh. It’s the blandest food I’ve ever had.

Renel stares at me with an odd smile. “I asked them to cook it in human style; just salt.”

What an idiot.

Our food is not that bland—but I don’t want to make him feel like a fool, not when I still need to get information from him, so I decide not to mention it.

I chew fast, then say, “I wouldn’t mind tasting some fae specialties. And your seasoning. I’m sure the food in your castle is amazing.”

I don’t even know him and yet I can see the disappointment spelled on his face. “I can ask them to?—”

“It’s fine. I mean next time.”

He nods. “You’ll have your fae meal.”

At least he starts eating, which gives me time to think. As if I could think. This lunch reminds me of my time in the island house, reminds me of all my moments with Marlak, when we sat together in that kitchen. I don’t know if I’ll ever have those moments again, and the fear tears me apart.

Why is the memory of those moments so sweet, if we weren’t even a real couple then? Why do I think I was happy, if I hadn’t even kissed my husband?

The answer shocks me: because I was happy.

I was happy—and madly in love—before I ever dared to admit my feelings. I was happy before I ever dared to kiss him. I was happy—before we ever felt each other’s touch.

All the more reason to try to do something now. I need to think.

If I really have some of Marlak’s magic, I can use it. Perhaps I could kill Renel, then jump out of the window and use air weaving to escape.

Ugh. The memory of us falling from the Misty Palace hits me like the ground almost did that day.

Too dangerous.

And I need to learn where Marlak is.

Wait. I can do it.

I remember my husband telling me that he needed to touch someone with the intention of seeing a thought. Can I try it? Well, I saw that weird fiery vision, whatever it was, when I touched Renel’s hand. But I need to bring up the thought.

“I appreciate being here.” I smile. “And being rescued.”

Renel nods. “No trouble.”

“And Marlak’s imprisoned, right?”

His hand clutches his fork tight. “Yes.”

“Is it safe where he is?”

Renel frowns, as if puzzled. “He won’t be killed or harmed there, no.”

Weird answer. “I mean if he can escape,” I clarify.

He tilts his head and bites his lip, and I reach out and touch his hand. Yes, it’s weird, but what am I going to do?

Several images invade my mind at once. A dark tower, a raven, a bridge, a gate, a lake with an island in it, a plaque with the drawing of a heart, an eye, and a teardrop.

“Are you afraid of him?” Renel asks.

He’s staring at my hand, his eyes wide, and I pull it back.

“Just curious,” I reply.

I’m shaking and need time to think about what I just saw, figure out what it can be, make sure to commit these images to my memory.

I get up. “Can I take my leave? I’m feeling indisposed.”

He gets up too. “Of course, Astra.” He sounds relieved, if anything. “You have a guard at your disposal. Let him know if you need anything.”

“Appreciated.” I bow, then turn around and walk out of the room.

I know where Marlak is!

Technically, I have no idea what I just saw. But I saw it, I saw where he is.

And now I need to concoct a plan to rescue him.