30 AELIA

Upon returning to the Alder Townhome, I tucked Baylis into bed before heading to the parlor to instruct the servants on what to pack for our trip back to the Woodlands.

Finneas was waiting with Amolie when I arrived, his goat-like face twisted with concern.

“What?” I asked, handing my coat to another servant.

“The mermaid was here again.”

My eyes widened and my stomach twisted.

“Here? What did she say?”

Finneas held out a folded piece of parchment.

“She told me to give this to you.”

Cautiously, I took the note and unfolded it. Ursula’s swooping script read: She will not stop until you are dead. You have been marked.

I swallowed the fear bubbling in my stomach.

“What does it say?” Amolie asked, tilting the paper in my hand to get a better look. “Oh no.”

Fear threatened to drown me.

“Say something, Aelia.”

“The Court of the Alder King will not be intimidated by the queen of the Undersea. If she wants me so badly, she can come to the surface and get me.” I ripped the parchment in two and tossed it into the fire.

“Aelia,” Amolie touched my elbow. “I know you are tough, but you are not immortal.”

My mouth flattened into a straight line.

“I control an army that does not need to eat, sleep, or breathe. Let her come.”

Amolie’s expression softened.

“You don’t have to be so tough all the time. It’s okay to be scared. I’m scared. I’m scared every day.”

“I have bigger things to worry about than Calliope and Ursula.” Pulling the Scepter from the box where it lay, I gripped it tightly. “Morrigan, we need you.”

A white smoke poured through the mouth of the bird, and the goddess took shape. “Hello, ladies,” she said, stretching her long arms high into the air. Her golden hair fell in soft waves over her signature plated armor.

“Morrigan, we need to know if Crom is still in the world beyond the veil.”

She shifted her weight to one hip. “You think I wouldn’t alert you if he’d found a way back into this world?”

I shot her an incredulous look.

“Well, you come back and forth.”

“Crom has wards around his grave that keep his soul bound to the other side. It would take the Trinity themselves to revive him.”

“That’s what we’re trying to avoid, Morrigan.”

“I think you’d know if a Well had been found,” she said. “Everyone on this continent is desperate for power in one form or another. If Erissa and Gideon had found a Well, you’d know. Their allies would be lining up to get their hands on that kind of magic. Wars would break out over the Wells. That’s why the Trinity hid them.”

“I thought you said they were a myth?”

She scowled at me.

“Look, I don’t know where the Trinity Wells are. And those goddesses never trusted anyone. Not even their own Fates. So they wouldn’t have told me. But if I were them, I’d put the Wells in places no human or magus would find hospitable.”

“Like a bog?” I arched a brow at her.

“Yes.”

“And a desert?”

“Possibly.” She shifted her weight to her other hip.

“The Great White North?”

She huffed. “Are you just going to quiz me on all the awful places on this continent?”

“Go back to the underworld, Morrigan. See if your men know if Crom is still there.”

“What’s this all about?” She raked her blue eyes over me. “What do you know that you’re not telling me?”

I sighed, taking out my cigarettes from my pocket.

“Decuma saw a vision of a man in black being worshiped like a god in the desert.”

“No, it can’t be.”

I took a drag. “She thought it was, but I’m not convinced. That’s why we need your help.”

“I’ll send word to my scouts.” Her face was awash with worry.

“Thank you,” I said, blowing smoke into the air. “I don’t think it’s him, but better to know for sure than to assume.”

She nodded before disappearing into a cloud of smoke.

I sank into the plush velvet couch. “I can’t wait to get back to the Woodlands.” My heart skipped a beat thinking about seeing Tharan again.

“Me too,” Amolie said, wiping her hands on her skirt. “Roderick sent word… they have news.”

I arched a brow. “Do you think they found something?”

“I hope so.”

I didn’t dare to hope we’d all found something useful. Life didn’t work out that way for me.

“I want to give Baylis one more day to rest. We’ll leave in the morning. Amolie, are you coming with us or going to Vantris first?”

“I had planned to go with you.”

“Great. Did your research turn up anything useful on necromancy?”

“Yes. It seems there was a sect of witches who used sacrifices to bring someone back. Blood for blood, they called it. But you had to sacrifice someone of equal or greater power to the person you were bringing back.”

“Hmmm,” I scrunched my nose at her.

“There’s more,” she said. “Apparently, the elven mages found a way to replace the soul of one with another.”

“Like possession?”

“Perhaps. The book was a thousand years old, and the mage order no longer exists.”

“Blink of an eye for an elf. Maybe they went into hiding.”

“Or maybe Arendir killed them as he was known to do to orders who displeased him.”

I grimaced. “The elves are brutal.”

“It is easy to become numb to mortality when you will never have to face it.”

“I don’t want to think about that. Let’s focus on what we can do. Once we’re all back together, it will be easier to plan.”

Amolie sipped her tea.

“You’re right.”

I gazed out the window. The sun disappeared over the horizon and swathes of pink and orange mixed with the dark of night. Days were so short in winter, but that was fine with me. I preferred the darkness. I was safe in the darkness. It is the light I feared. True evil revels in the light.

With my sister slumbering upstairs, the Hunt guarding the door, and Amolie entrenched in a book, my eyes became heavy, and my body relaxed. Sleep claimed me.

The slamming of a door woke me. “Lady Baylis!” Finneas’s frantic voice echoed through the empty townhome. How long had I been asleep? Someone placed a blanket over me, and the fire turned to embers. Trying to orient myself, I looked out the window where a full moon cast the city in a silver light. It must have been well past midnight.

Throwing off my blanket, I moved to the foyer, where a worried Finneas paced back and forth. His goat eyes widened when he saw me. “Lady Aelia, I was doing my night checks, and when I went to check on Baylis, her bed was empty.” His brows knitted with concern. “I don’t know how she could have gotten out. There are guards posted at every door.”

The fog of sleep still clouded my mind. What was Baylis up to? An inkling in the back of mind warned me it wasn’t good. Either she had been taken or she was up to something, and my gut told me it was the latter.

“I’ll go after her.” Grabbing my cloak, I headed out into the night. The chill of dread crept down my spine. Clotho’s words echoed through my head. “ Someone close to you will betray you .” But was this a betrayal, or was this some kind of retribution from the queen of the Undersea? A sister for a sister. That would make sense. The sylph loved to enact revenge they saw as “fair.” Killing my sister would be fitting.

Bile rose in the back of my throat. What if she had Baylis? What if she was going to behead her just like I did to Calypso?

Two of the Hunt followed me. Their armor nearly silent as we moved cautiously through the city.

“Where did Baylis go the other day when she left?” I asked one of the soldiers.

“To the temple of Ammena, my Lady. To pray.”

“Did she speak to anyone?” The sounds of our boots on the cobblestones echoed through the silent night.

“Just one of the priestesses and one of the other parishioners.”

“What did they look like, the parishioner?”

“It looked to be a Barbarian. He was sobbing to himself in the last pew. Baylis chatted with him briefly before one of the priestesses came to help him.

“Hmm… how tall was he?”

“Very tall. I’d sworn he was a giant if not for the signature tattoos of his clan.”

Could it have been Gideon in a glamour? No. Even the best glamours couldn’t change a man’s size, and Gideon was lean. I bit the inside of my cheek nervously. Was Baylis a traitor?

Fuck. I should have kept a closer eye on her. I should have known. But her memories… they were all so fragmented I couldn’t make sense of them.

We approached the deserted temple. It was customary for them to stay open all night for those seeking the goddess’s guidance and for those down on their luck to take refuge. But something was off. The hair on the back of my arms pricked, and my senses heightened.

The two soldiers must have sensed it, too. They silently drew their swords from their sheaths.

“Do not hurt Baylis,” I said, touching the door. “And be careful.”

Both the soldiers nodded.

Holding my breath, I pushed open the door, preparing to strike, but only darkness met my gaze. In the center of the room stood a giant statue of Ammena holding the apple she used to make the humans, bathed in moonlight. My eyes raked over the curvaceous goddess from her long braids down to her feet, where my eyes beheld a sleeping figure.

“Baylis,” I gasped, a little louder than I intended.

Weapons clanged in the distance, and the sound of racing footsteps followed.

“Go, see what that’s about. I’ll get my sister.”

The Hunt headed off toward the sound of footsteps.

Slowly, I approached Baylis so as not to frighten her. She looked so fragile, crumpled at the feet of a goddess who had never once answered her prayers.

“Baylis,” I whispered. “What are you doing here?”

“Waiting for you,” a deep voice echoed through the darkness, but still my sister slumbered.

“Who’s there?” I grabbed my sword, preparing to strike.

From the shadows, a hulking man emerged. His dark curls tied back, revealing the sloped ears of an elf. The rune tattoo on his earlobe marked him as a Barbarian, but from which clan I did not know. He must have been a half-breed. Even through his thick wool tunic, I could make out the markings of a body honed by heavy weightlifting. Was this one of the sea queen’s mercenaries or… My mind spun with possibilities.

“They call me Alwin.” A devilish smile cut his scarred face in two.

“What do you want?” I asked, gripping my sword tightly.

“You.” A hand clasped around my mouth from behind while the tip of a knife—cold-pressed iron—seared into my lower back. I sucked in a breath as the assailant buried the knife deeper.

Using what power I had; I launched into the captor’s mind. A patchwork of shoddy traps awaited me—each one old and rusted. This man had been trained to keep telepaths out but never used any of what he’d learned. I kicked over a beartrap covered in cobwebs. His mind was an old storeroom with a cot in the corner and a little stove burning hot. Upon a tiny shelf were paintings—cherished memories. Some of him as a child, hugging his mother. His first kiss. It was a shame I’d have to wipe all of these.

One by one I lit the pictures on fire.

Lots of mercs liked the comfort of places like this—hidden away where no one could find them. The man with a hefty frame and wide-set eyes sat trembling in the corner.

“Pl… please… miss… don’t hurt me. They said you could break minds, and I didn’t believe them.”

Rage rattled my bones. This fucker stabbed an iron knife into my back and now he wanted mercy?

I leaned down in front of him, so our eyes met.

“You know I was a merc like you once?”

He nodded.

I ran a hand down his wide jaw.

“I know the struggles mercs face. Never truly able to call any place home. I would never hurt one of my own.”

His beady eyes brightened.

I was playing with him now. He didn’t get to threaten me and live. Whatever was happening on the outside, they wouldn’t dare risk killing him by attacking me.

“Don’t worry, I won’t make one of my own suffer.”

“Oh, thank you, miss.”

A clever smile tugged at the corner of my lips.

I snapped my fingers and the fire in the stove tipped over, consuming the room.

The merc scrambled to his feet.

“Wha—”

I snapped my fingers and the man froze. In the real world he would easily overpower me, but I was the master of this domain and could control every muscle in his body. Of course, I gave him the ability to turn his head and open his mouth, but that’s as much mercy as he would get from me. Blowing out a breath, I fanned the flames before leaving his mind.

The sound of shrieking pounded in my ears. When I opened my eyes the merc lay in a crumpled pile on the floor. The horrible sound was coming from the other, larger, man.

“Shut up, you blathering idiot,” Baylis said, standing tall, arrow nocked at me.

The pieces of the puzzle slid into place.

My heart sank.

Clotho had been right. Baylis was working with Gideon. This was no scheme of Calliope’s. My sister had engineered this very moment from the day she woke in the Woodlands; even before that. A bitter taste filled my mouth.

“Why, Baylis? Why are you doing this?”

She pulled her bow string tighter.

“You thought he loved you, but he never did. He told me. You were nothing to him. Just a means to get the Midlands. You couldn’t even produce an heir.”

“Baylis… listen to yourself. I’m your sister.” My words stuck in my throat. “We are close. We’ve walked through hell together. Don’t let this monster come between us.”

She pulled the bow string tighter.

“You’re the monster.”

I sighed.

“You’re right, I am.” I launched into her mind. Running for the library of her thoughts as fast as I could. She wanted to eject me, but she couldn’t, she wasn’t fast enough. The walls closed in on me, tighter and tighter until I could barely move, barely breathe. My hand touched the brass knob of the library. With my last ounce of strength, I pulled the door open, using it as a shield. The big cat pounced but hit the closing corridor and knocked himself unconscious. I ran into the library, shutting the door behind me.

Baylis appeared in a cornflower blue silk dress. She clapped her elegant hands together slowly.

“Very clever, sister. I didn’t think you had it in you.”

Rage boiled in my blood. My own sister had betrayed me. Had this been her plan all along? How could she love Gideon after everything he’d done to me? How could he be good to her when he wasn’t good to me? Was I so undeserving of love?

Chest heaving, I tried to still my breath and organize my thoughts.

“You… you did this?” I pointed to the library, which was now intact, every book where it should be.

She gazed up at the shelves of books then back to where the feline had lingered.

“I had help, of course… but yes, this was my idea.” A wicked smile crossed her delicate face. The ghost of the girl I used to know stared back at me. This was not my sister. This was one of Erissa’s creations. A monster posing as a lamb.

“Why? He destroyed our home…” My voice cracked just like my heart.

“ You destroyed our home,” she snapped at me.

“You can’t possibly believe that.” Tears streamed down my cheeks. I truly had no one left. Everyone I loved was gone. Caiden was a stranger, my mother was locked in a tower, and my sister hated me. My knees buckled beneath me. I was alone—a ghost with no past.

Her eyes narrowed at me.

“You were the one who told him where the weaknesses were. You were the one who told him to attack. He showed me.” She tapped her temple.

Ice ran through my veins. He’d changed the memory. His own memory to suit his needs—to get Baylis to hate me. Bile lapped at the back of my throat. She’d never trust me again.

“That’s not what happened. You have to believe me.”

“I have all the proof I need.” The room filled with smoke, clogging my lungs. I coughed, and she pushed me out of her mind.

The same smoke filled the temple. Choking, I reached for my sister, but the smoke didn’t affect her.

“See, I can play games too,” she said.

The world went dark.