Page 84

fifty-eight

I was in such a fog of adrenaline and blood loss, I barely registered arriving at the castle.

As servants swarmed around us, ushering people to and fro, I saw Queen Ophelia, beaming brilliantly at me through the parted crowd.

She looked radiant as usual in a flowing teal gown. Her glow was also coming from… magic.

I pulled away from our hug to look at her through a new lens, one that knew of magic.

The tips of her ears were round, but every other feature was pure Fae.

She was waif-like with large, glittering eyes—and wrinkle-free, despite her silver hair.

She must’ve been old. Very old, indeed, to have so much silver.

We looked at each other with a new understanding, and yet I didn’t really know her at all.

“We have much to discuss,” she murmured. “Do you have the energy to come with me now?”

“Yes, but I need to let Rafael know—I’ll be right back.” She waited for me as I found him in the sea of people and pulled him aside. “I need to talk with my aunt in private. I’ll come find you later.”

He managed to show off a dimple with a tired crooked smile. “I have plenty to keep me busy here. I’ll see you soon.”

I exited the Great Hall with Ophelia and spotted my mother a moment later, following us discreetly.

Once we were safely tucked away in one of the Queen’s private parlors, she turned to us.

“The guards, the advisors… they know very little of what’s going on.

It seems that current events have become too large to simply put them back in Pandora’s box now.

We’ll have to tell them some truths, while still keeping our most precious secrets safe—secrets I’m sure you’re eager to hear, Marigold. ”

I stared at my mother, unable to look anywhere else. “I want to know everything. But I’m feeling quite overwhelmed, and I’ve lost a lot of blood…” They led me to a small floral-patterned love seat. I had endless questions, but didn’t have endless energy. I was slowly coming apart at the seams.

“How are you feeling, sweetie? Should we ring a doctor? Do you need some food?” My mother gave me a warm smile. I shook my head, feeling… shy around my own mother.

Ophelia cleared her throat. “I’m sorry we kept so much from you. I hope you know that our hands were tied. Your safety was our top priority. It has been, since before you were born. You’re part of a prophecy—”

“I know of the prophecies, but I refuse . I-I won’t blood-bond with Prince Galen, even if he's the chosen heir,” I said with a lump in my throat.

“Have something to drink.” My mother poured me a glass of water from a dew-covered pitcher and I took a slow sip.

“Perhaps it would be easier to show you what transpired one-hundred years after the blood curse. There was a meeting between the Chosen Six—we tried to reverse the curse, unfortunately not all of the pieces were in place. We’ve had to wait over two-hundred years for the stars to align again,” Ophelia said.

“Show me?” I asked, staring down at my blood-splattered dress. White was really not my color. I laughed out loud, feeling a bit hysterical.

They exchanged glances. “Yes. I’m a sphinx, Marigold.

I have the gift of mind manipulation. Not only can I read minds; I can alter the memories and thoughts of others.

I can show you my own memories, even someone else’s, if I’ve seen inside their mind.

I’d like to share one of mine with you.” She sat beside me.

“It won’t hurt. I just need to hold your hands and I’ll be able to bring you into a memory.

You won’t be able to interact with what unfolds around you, but you’ll be able to see it as clearly as I did. ”

“Alright…” I took one more sip of water and set down my glass. “I’m ready.”

As soon as Ophelia held my hands and I closed my eyes, I found myself at a table with four other people, my mother included. We appeared to be in a royal meeting room that I didn’t recognize, sitting at a round marble table. Everyone looked as restless as I—as Ophelia —felt.

This meeting had been postponed too many times.

Why was it so difficult to get six people together?

War was upon us—tensions had escalated to new levels as the effects of the blood-curse rooted itself deeper into Fae and human society.

Watching our people become blood-thirsty as vampires these last few months had disturbed me greatly.

It was a reminder that anyone was capable of great evil under the right circumstances.

We needed to act swiftly before war tore this entire world apart.

Five of us were here and ready to discuss the prophecy.

Where was Aides? He should’ve been the first one here with his shadow magic.

I rolled my eyes impatiently as I sat with my mother, my sister, Dario, and Nicos.

The Unicorn, The Phoenix, The Dragon, The Hydra, and The Sphinx, waiting on The Pooka, as usual.

The door opened and I expected to see Aides, but instead we were greeted with a messenger.

“Urgent news from Aurelius, Queen Astra,” the man said, handing my golden-haired mother a letter with a green wax seal.

I bit my tongue so hard that it bled, as I watched her scan the contents of the note.

Before she’d even finished reading it, I knew something was terribly wrong.

“Aides,” my mother said, staring at me. “He’s dead. So are Jorand and Persephone. A group of assassins murdered them in the middle of the night. They used jasper chains and killed the entire family in their sleep. Randall is the only one who escaped—he was just named King.”

“What?” I stood, my hands on the table. We all began talking over each other in an outburst of fear and anger.

Aides was my betrothed—we were the two heirs that were promised—the Chosen Heirs.

We were to be blood-bonded this very day…

I felt my world crashing around me. Pain seeped into every crevice.

We weren’t in love… yet, but he was to be my partner for eternity.

And now he was just… gone? Before I let fresh feelings befuddle my mind, I tucked them away.

This changed everything. The prophecy… had we gotten it wrong?

Or perhaps, we’d been too late. No, it must’ve not been meant for us after all.

“The curse can’t be broken until a new Pooka is born, until we can once again unite the Six.

There won’t be another born for a hundred years, with the rate the Fae have been breeding.

Humans won’t last another decade, let alone a century, if this war continues.

We must separate the Kingdoms. We must act quickly.

” I spoke with false bravado, like my entire purpose hadn’t just been pulled out from under me.

I was a sphinx… I was supposed to be the wisest one here.

They needed my guidance and we were running out of time.

“And how do you suggest we do that? Build a new Aurelius? The Fae don’t want to be in hiding anymore. They’re angry and out for blood,” Dario muttered, glowering. He looked as if he was about to burst into his dragon form at any moment.

“Keep it together, Dario,” Nico drawled. “We have a world walker amongst us. And she happens to be a Queen. We’ve been preparing for this, right Astra?” Nico looked to my mother.

“As a last resort,” she said curtly. “I don’t take the decision lightly—to send our own people to a new world with little to no magic in their veins—it may lead to the extinction of our race. I don’t want faerie blood on my hands.” She stared at Nico with an emotion I couldn’t quite read.

“With the rate we’re killing humans, there will be a mass extinction for both species if we don’t betray the faeries,” I said. We had to separate the two species until the blood-curse could be broken. If we didn’t fix this, no one would.

The gods gave faeries magic and power from their own blood, while they blessed humans with fertility and ingenuity.

Together, we coexisted in Erador for a millennium, but the gods knew the balance was off.

Faeries were too strong. The gods created the Chosen Six to right their wrongs.

We were strong and sworn to protect the humans, to whatever end.

“We can send them with humans—humans that are willing to go—who have relationships with faeries. They do exist, as rare as they are. And we know that blood-bonding with humans breaks the curse, as does breeding human with Fae. We can encourage this amongst the faeries, perhaps they’ll break the curse by uniting with humans on their own accord.

They may not have another choice,” Eliana, always the optimist, suggested.

My mother looked between Eliana and I, and sighed.

“Very well. I’ve already found the perfect world.

It’s beautiful—hospitable. Erador’s food will grow in the soil.

The water is potable. There is native flora and fauna that they can nurture and cultivate.

Perhaps this is the best course of action.

If it prevents blood shed, then I’ll do what must be done. ”

“They won’t go willingly,” Dario huffed.

“So we’ll trick them.” Nico gave a resolved twitch of the mouth. “For the greater good.”

“How?” breathed Eliana.

“We’ll tell them the blood curse will be lifted in the new world—that they are only bound to it on Erador. We’ll tell them that they can travel between worlds, then seal them out of Erador, until the curse is lifted,” I said impassively, hating myself.

Everyone grew contemplative. No one could think of a better idea. Poor Aides. He’d fought to keep the peace, encouraged his family to befriend humans and work with them. And he’d still been killed. In his sleep. Faerie retribution would be a blood bath. We needed to act fast.