Page 13 of Kingdom of Briars and Roses (Cursed Fae Courts #1)

Chapter Thirteen

Aurelia

T wo hours later, I felt the magic in the air that marked the powerful wards encircling the castle. Stepping through, I shuddered as the magic clung to my skin, prodding at me until it determined I was welcome inside its boundaries. I exhaled, glancing behind me one last time to be sure Rydian hadn’t followed—but the way was clear. I was safe now, even if it meant spending yet another night in the tomb I called home.

The carcass of the rabbit I’d trapped was slung over my shoulder. My sword—wiped clean of Obsidian blood—and the dagger I’d taken from the Obsidian were both tucked away.

Hopefully, I looked none the worse for wear. With any luck, I could convince Sonoma I’d never even stumbled into one of the monsters. Or Rydian.

He was just as handsome as I remembered. And just as mean.

Gods, what had he been doing out there?

It couldn’t have been a coincidence. Was he tracking me? How could he have known I’d be there when I hadn’t ?

Then there was the dead healer.

Had Rydian killed her to keep her from talking to me? I’d come home empty-handed, and that stung. Well, not entirely empty. The Obsidian’s confession rang in my head, rattling me. An alliance with Callan that ensured Heliconia’s destruction. I had no idea how to feel about that.

No, that was a lie.

I’d considered it several times over the years and rejected it every time. Callan had been a coward that night. He’d tried to run rather than stand beside me like the brave general he claimed to be.

I wanted nothing to do with that arrogant bastard.

Hearing I’d need Callan’s help against Heliconia only made me hate him that much more. And if Rydian was on his side…

“What happened?”

I pulled up short. Sonoma stood in the doorway of the castle’s staff entrance, her eyes sharp and discerning.

I tried to smooth out my expression as I closed the distance. “How do you know something happened?”

“Your boots are stained, and I can smell the Obsidian blood from here.” She propped a hand on her slender hip. “Now, what happened?”

My shoulders sagged as I gave up my lie. “It was a dead end.”

“The healer was gone then?”

“Killed before I got there,” I said bleakly.

She said nothing to that. I knew we both wondered if it had all been a trap, though until Lesha returned, we wouldn’t know anything for sure.

If she returned at all.

I shoved that last thought away.

“And the Obsidian?” Sonoma asked.

I sighed. “The contact was unavoidable. ”

“Please tell me you at least used the opportunity to get intel.”

“I tried,” I said tightly.

“And?”

“My initial contact didn’t leave much room for lengthy conversation.”

Her expression didn’t alter an inch, but I could feel her disapproval from here. “I told you, Aurelia, self-restraint is harder than self-defense.”

“I know, all right?” I huffed, her tone making me feel like a kid all over again. “I tried to make it talk. The thing spoke in riddles.”

“What riddles?”

I dropped my voice low in a dramatic—and admittedly terrible—impression. “Heliconia sees what she fears most. You and the prince united—to her destruction.” I blinked and said in my own frustrated voice, “Even after seven years, the most I have to offer my kingdom is to become a bride?”

She frowned, looking pensive. “I don’t know.”

I waited, hoping she’d dismiss it as nonsense. When she didn’t, I looked away and fought the urge to let my thoughts wander to Rydian again. No way was I mentioning him to Sonoma. She’d only worry needlessly. We had the wards to protect us, so what did it matter, anyway?

“Anything from Lesha?” I prompted.

“No.”

“Didn’t she promise to send updates weekly?” I asked, knowing full well she had.

The Aine had a secret code for communication, and the three warriors I knew were fond of using ravens to do it. Amanti had sent a raven with a small scroll tied to its leg every two weeks. Her updates had stopped coming months ago, which was the only reason we knew something had gone wrong. Lesha, so far, had sent nothing .

“I’m sure she just lost track of time.”

The words were her way of softening things for my sake, but I could hear the worry beneath them. Still, I couldn’t let myself think the worst. Not yet.

Her attention shifted to the rabbit slung over my shoulder. A brow lifted. “Dinner?”

I shrugged. “Only the best for us.”

Her lips twitched, her frustration giving way to an easygoing nature few others had witnessed. “A princess deserves nothing less,” she teased. “Come on. I’ll help you dress it.”

I rolled my eyes and let her lead the way into the royal kitchens.

The space was vast with enough ovens and countertops to feed the entire royal court. Once upon a time, that was exactly what they’d done here. Lavish dinners and fancy balls catered by the best fae chefs in the realm. Pastries and spiced meats one would’ve sworn had been infused with magic itself. Then there was the wine... Fermented on these very grounds in greenhouses that were now planted with potatoes, lettuce greens, and other fresh foods we could harvest even when the weather tried to freeze everything to stone.

I hadn’t been born into a world where winter existed inside our borders, but ever since the curse, it grew colder and more brittle every year. Proof Summer’s magic was fading. And when it was gone, I wasn’t sure what would become of us.

Over dinner, Sonoma talked about the coming harvest, droning on about soil nutrients, but I only half-listened, distracted by the empty chair beside me. Lesha’s absence was a stark reminder of how precarious things were. How easily this could all end. If something happened to Sonoma, the wards around this castle would disappear. Seven years of determined effort gone, just like that, leaving the sleeping fae vulnerable to any threat.

I couldn’t let that happen.

We ate until we were stuffed, thanks to the rabbit along with potatoes from the garden. When we were finished, the sun had nearly set, plunging the room into shadows. The days had grown shorter already.

Candlelight flickered against our empty plates, casting a happy glow over the absolute mess we’d made. Teaching myself to cook had been one thing. Learning how to do it without turning the kitchen upside down was a work-in-progress.

“I should clean up,” I said, pushing to my feet. “Tomorrow, I’ll search again, farther west maybe. See if Lesha’s intel on the healer might’ve been off somehow?—”

“Aurelia, wait.”

Sonoma remained in her chair.

It wasn’t her words but the look she wore that had me sinking back into my seat. Dread crawled up my spine as she stared down at her hands, shoulders hunched. Sonoma never hunched. Willowy and straight-backed, her posture was that of a warrior imbued with the magic of the Fates themselves.

Or it had been—once.

Seven years of expending powerful magic to maintain the wards around this place had taken its toll. I could see it in the way her white-blonde hair had dulled and small lines crept in around the corners of her eyes. Even her faery wings—a gift given only to the Aine—were dim and sagging.

Sonoma was aging.

“What is it?” I asked, concern for her softening my tone.

She hesitated before meeting my eyes. “The wards are failing.”

I frowned. “They’re a bit frayed in places, but it’s nothing we can’t?—”

“I’m afraid it’s more than that.” She cleared her throat. “A month ago, two Aetherfox came through the northern border.”

My brows pinched as I recalled that day. “You said you called them through and trapped them—for making pelts.”

“And last week, a glimfang slipped through and nearly got one of the chickens,” she went on.

I frowned. “But?—”

“I killed it and buried it behind the greenhouse.” Her jaw hardened as if she were steeling herself. “Aurelia, I’m dying.”

I stared at her, lost and overcome. “But… you’re immortal.”

Sonoma was the leader of the Aine, the strongest of them all. A goddess in her own right. Even Lesha and Amanti were no match for her.

Sonoma shook her head. “I’m not. Longer-lived, maybe, but with the amount of power I’ve had to maintain, I’m afraid it’s drained me faster.” Her eyes were mournful now. In them, I saw regret. Sadness.

“But Aine magic works differently,” I said, willing her to be wrong about this. “The Fates themselves supply it, and they’re… It’s not possible.”

“Under normal circumstances, it wouldn’t be,” she agreed slowly. “If this kingdom were full of fae actively using magic, I could draw from them. Or from Menryth’s magic constantly being replenished by the exchange.”

She wasn’t wrong. Fae magic and earth magic were so intertwined, you couldn’t have one without the other. Fae magic fed the land which, in turn, fed the fae. I’d always considered it a beautiful cycle—until our kingdom’s magic disappeared and the land itself began to wither.

Even so, I hadn’t worried for her. Not when the Aine’s magic came from the Fates themselves. But now the Fates had vanished—apparently taking their unending source of power with them. And I hadn’t even realized it was happening .

“Now the only magic user here is me,” I realized. “Wait. Can you use me? Draw from me?”

“No.” Her tone was biting—and final. “I will not take your birthright, Aurelia. Don’t ask me again.”

My throat closed. “My birthright,” I repeated, a brittle laugh escaping. “All I have is a prophecy that’s never even come to pass. And a magic that feeds on darkness and death. My birthright is nothing but empty words.”

“It’s more than that,” she said quietly, but hearing her defend it only made me angrier.

“What good is it when everyone I love is about to be lost forever? This whole kingdom will die if you…” I couldn’t bring myself to say the words.

Sonoma ignored the implication. “The fact is, every time you go in and out or any time someone or something else tries to break through, I am forced to strengthen the barrier. Reinforcing it draws on my power faster than it can be replenished.”

I wanted to tell her to forget it then. To drop the wards and be done with it. Except those wards were the only thing protecting the others. Because if Heliconia learned what had happened here—that the Summer Court had only gone to sleep that night seven years ago… If she knew I was alive and unharmed… If that happened, the kingdom of Sevanwinds would truly be lost, not just forgotten.

“What if I use more magic,” I said, desperation leaking in. “To give you something to draw on. You wouldn’t be taking the magic inside me, only the magic I’ve spent.” Even as I said it, I drew my power to the surface, bringing a small black flame to life in my palm, but Sonoma shook her head.

“We’re past that point, I’m afraid.”

Sadness shone in her blue eyes, and I felt my own emotions welling, drenching me in fear, grief, despair. The flames winked out. “But… you ca n’t leave me.”

Some of her stoicism slipped, and she reached for my hand across the table. “Please don’t mourn for me, Aurelia. I’ve lived a long life. I’ve served my kingdom proudly, and I’ve watched you grow up into a strong, beautiful warrior. It’s exactly what I asked for.”

I gaped at her. At how she seemed to have already decided. “You can’t just give up.”

“Of course not,” she agreed. “I’m still here, still fighting.”

But I could see the truth in her shimmering eyes. She was nearly done fighting now. And that terrified me.

“You’re a warrior,” I told her as if she needed reminding.

“I am. But so are you. And soon, you will need to think about fighting for yourself.”

Her words cut at me, but I refused to give in to the pain. It felt too much like accepting the inevitable. “What can I do?” I choked out. “There has to be something.”

She shook her head as if to say “nothing,” but I gripped her hand tighter, unwilling to believe that.

“You stop using magic then,” I said. “We drop the wards.”

“The entire kingdom would be at risk?—”

“Maybe we can move them. There’s a network of caves by the river. We can bring everyone there, and when the Obsidians come to the castle, it’ll be empty. Then we bring everyone back again when it’s safe.”

“Aurelia.”

In that one word was a gentle rebuke. It was a stupid plan. Logistically impossible. There were far too many sleeping fae for the two of us to carry them without detection. But I couldn’t lose her. I wouldn’t.

“We have to do something,” I whispered as a single, traitorous tear slipped down my cheek.

“We don’t have to find the answers tonight,” she said, her voice heavy with exhaustion. “I have some time yet. ”

I let those words reassure me. “Lesha will know what to do when she returns,” I said with more confidence than I felt.

But Lesha was already late returning, and I had a feeling I knew what that meant. We were alone.

I was alone.

“Maybe,” she allowed. “In the meantime, venturing outside the wards is probably not a good idea. Each time you pass through, my magic drains.”

The reality hit me then, what she was asking. What she required.

“You’re saying I have to stay here. No more looking for a way to break the curse.”

“Unfortunately.”

I sat back, letting that sink in. If I couldn’t leave the wards, it meant being trapped inside the castle walls. No more missions or following leads, no more looking for a way to end this blasted curse. It meant accepting my fate and living my life as a prisoner to this wretched fucking spell. Because if I did leave, Sonoma would die. And as much as it pained me to accept my prison, I’d do anything to save the one giving her very life to protect me.

“In that case,” I said, forcing a smile onto my face, “I guess the dishes can wait after all. I’ve got all the time in the world to do them.”

According to the curse, I had forever.