Page 48 of Between These Broken Hearts (Cursed Stars #2)
“She didn’t,” Sol says. She pours herself a cup of tea from the porcelain pot and takes a sip. “The queen who ruled Elora before the Seven came to power wasn’t the one the oracle named. Her king didn’t even wear the crown of the Chosen.”
“How could that happen?” Remme asks.
“The queen and king of that time were called Cora and Fazal, and they schemed their way into power. They knew the male who
wore the crown was in love with someone else, knew he was hiding his crown in hopes of staying with her. He didn’t want a
life with a mortal wife, not when his heart beat for someone else. And the Chosen queen? She was just a scared mortal girl
who had seen her sister captured and abused by a faerie. She was terrified of our kind and certainly didn’t want to be married
to one. Cora and Fazal made them a deal: They would stand in as the Chosen if the true Chosen rulers signed a magical contract
promising secrecy.”
“The Chosen couple was willing to risk all of Elora for their personal romances?” Remme asks.
I bow my head, thinking of the conversation I had with Hale before he left for Elora. Maybe that makes me selfish. Maybe it makes me unworthy of this crown. He carries so much guilt but even that doesn’t outweigh his love.
“Cora and Fazal seemed like they would be ideal leaders. They told the true king and queen about all the ways they wanted
to change the realm for the better. Apparently they were quite convincing.”
Misha gives a sad smile. “And it’s easier to believe something when you want to so badly.”
“Yes.” Sol sighs. “When everything in Elora turned for the worse during their rule, the true Chosen couple was bound by the magic and couldn’t tell anyone the truth about the two on the throne. When they eventually tried to defy the contract and get the truth out, the magic punished them for it.”
“They died,” I say, my heart sinking.
Misha narrows his eyes. “If they couldn’t share, then how do you know?”
Sadness fills Sol’s eyes. “Only through the truth magic of the Chronicles did I learn my grandmother’s past and that she was
the one the Chosen king loved.”
“I am so sorry,” I say.
She lifts her chin. “She and her friends made our plan to overthrow the king and queen and close the gates between the realms
to protect the humans.”
“The original Seven,” Remme says, clearly softening to the story.
“Yes,” Sol confirms. “But by then the fae had done so much damage they knew the humans would never accept them as fae. The decision to pose as mages seemed harmless. But the power changed some of the original Seven, and they became greedy for more—more power, more wealth, more everything. Corruption is sneaky because it infects in small, seemingly inconsequential ways at first, but suddenly it becomes too big to ignore and it expands from there exponentially.” She closes her eyes, lost in her thoughts.
“My grandmother confessed in her diaries that she wasn’t immune to the siren call of power.
She justified many decisions that she regretted in retrospect.
Destroying the true history of Elora, for example, seemed like the only way to keep what had happened with Cora and Fazal from happening again. ”
“That’s idiotic,” Remme mutters.
“Had her regret been enough to undo the mistakes of the past,” Sol says, “we wouldn’t be here right now.”
“So what are you asking of us?” Misha says.
“Erith is power hungry. We’ve been unable to change anything about the Seven’s rule with him overseeing us—especially since
two of my counterparts are devoted to him. And the only way he’ll give up his power while he’s alive is if he’s stepping into
a more powerful role.” She holds Misha’s gaze. “Which, I imagine, is why you’re interested in forming this alliance. You have
as much to lose as the rest of us.”
I look back and forth between them, confused. Does she mean because what affects one court affects all of Faerie?
“Felicity has already agreed to help us take out Erith,” Konner says.
Remme snaps his head in my direction.
I meet his eyes. “When the time is right. Only once I’ve met with Hale, and we’ve taken precautions to prevent any potential
casualties.”
You didn’t tell me that , Misha says into my mind. What’s changed?
My niece. I can make efforts to protect Hale from Erith, but I’ll never be able to fully protect her so long as my father
lives.
“You want us to ally with you and help you take out the other two,” Abriella says.
“That’s right,” Sol says. “In return we will help your realm fight what Mordeus has planned.”
“How can you do that?” Brie asks.
“I can offer you the assistance of the Eloran Palace infantry,” Konner says. “They’ve been notified to be ready and can be
deployed to the shadow court at a moment’s notice.”
“Don’t they answer to Erith?” Remme asks.
Konner shrugs. “On paper, perhaps that’s how it works, but I’ve trained with these soldiers since I was a boy. I was raised
to lead them, and they respect me for that.”
Sol takes another sip from her tea. “You also need to understand that the humans aren’t the only ones who’ve been hurt. Many
of Konner’s fighters have lost relatives who were living in hiding in Elora. When Erith discovered them, he used them to get
more powerful.”
Brie shakes her head. “How could he use Eloran fae to increase his own power?”
“Where do you think Mordeus learned about blood magic?” Sol asks. “Erith has no boundaries, and there is no limit to his hunger
for power.”
“It will take time to move the infantry to the shadow court,” Konner says, “but if we move now, we can get there before the
attack.”
“Attack?” Brie meets Misha’s eyes for a beat before looking back to Konner. “You’re speaking of a specific attack and not
just of a vague threat.”
Konner holds her gaze. “If Mordeus is successful in taking over your sister’s body, he still won’t be able to take the throne,
not so long as you live. His forces will come for you.”
The mix of emotions flashing across the shadow queen’s face make me dizzy. She goes from denial to fear to rage to cool calculation in a beat.
She doesn’t want to make plans for what happens if Mordeus is successful , I tell Misha through his mind.
I know. But I also know she will. She takes her duty to her kingdom as seriously as I do mine.
“We will accept the help,” Abriella says, scooting her chair back and rising. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to return to
my court.”
Remme stands too and opens the door for her. He gives me one last searching look before heading out and my stomach sinks.
I don’t want to risk Hale any more than he does, but we’re running out of options.
“Excuse me. I need to speak with the queen,” Misha says, standing to follow Abriella from the room.
When the door shuts behind him, Sol looks at me and her face softens. “I know we’re asking you to do something scary, but—”
“I need to speak with my brother first. To make a plan to ensure he’s safe while I take out Erith. But I can’t ask him to
worry about that while he’s in the middle of fighting for the love of his life. Erith will have to wait until after the princess’s
birthday.”
She holds my gaze quietly for a long time before nodding. “You met our Leia?”
“I did,” I say with a wobbly nod.
“So you know what we’re fighting for. You know what’s at risk if you don’t help us get rid of him.”
“I do,” I say. “My niece. And all of Elora.”