Page 6

Keltania

Valen’s fury clouds the link, and it’s a struggle to not give in to it.

Calm down. Please.

He frowns, deflating. With a deep breath, the tension melts away and he’s back in control.

Celpin stares for a moment, confused by Valen’s sudden change, but ultimately ignores it and says, “I stand by what I said last night. The best way to deal with her is to launch a full-scale attack. Rally the entirety of our forces and take her down.”

His suggestion doesn’t surprise me. Celpin is always looking for an excuse to fight with someone .

Delkin keeps his expression impassive. He knows what will happen if Valen goes back on his deal, but he gives nothing away. “And as Valen pointed out,” he counters, “we have no idea where she’s hiding.”

“Or how powerful she is.” Guria clasps her hands together. “The last thing we should do is send our Fae off to die. Aphelian was able to help Liani enslave Orbik—even with drastically reduced druid magic. That should give us pause, correct?”

“Agreed.” Delkin sighs.

“Are we sure there’s no way to reason with her?” Guria, always eager to take the pacifist route, offers a hopeful smile. “Perhaps strike a deal?”

A deal is what got us into this mess—but Valen can’t exactly tell them that.

“Reason? With someone like Aphelian?” Celpin snorts. “You cannot reason with someone as untethered as she.”

Maybe it’s something we should consider?

Valen stares at me. “Seriously, you want to try talking our way out of this?”

We had a connection. She raised me. There’s a chance trying to reason with her will work. The loss of my old mentor still cuts deep. Logically, I know that’s not Aphelian. Levina, the name I knew her as, was a fabricated persona Aphelian used to manipulate me. But I miss the connection we had—fake or not.

A rush of sympathy trickles down the link, and I know he means well, but it’s irritating.

“I want to believe it wasn’t all an act, Tania, that she cared for you—in her own way—but how likely is it really, at this point, that she’ll listen? It’s too big a risk.”

He’s right. I know he is. Still… No riskier than attacking her outright.

“Which we’re not going to do.”

Well, we have to do something!

Valen runs a hand through his hair. He squares his shoulders and glances around the room. “We need to proceed with caution. Even the smallest misstep could prove fatal for the people of the Winter Lands. Even if we knew where she was, going in prematurely would cause a loss of life I’m not willing to live with.”

Well said.

“Am I hearing things? Did you just give me a compliment?”

Don’t get used to it , I tease.

There’s been a change in him since we’ve been back. It’s subtle but unmistakable. He’s still Valen—selfish and childish. But he’s also taken his role to heart. He’s trying. He might not have wanted to be a ruler, but the fact that he cares for his people, for his home, tells me he was born for this—whether he admits it or not.

There’s a soft chorus of agreement and a look of pride in Delkin’s eyes. “A head-on confrontation isn’t ideal, and I’m not sure reasoning with Aphelian would do us much good, but there is a third possible option.”

A rush of hope washes through our connection.

“For some time now, there have been rumors of a settlement to the south,” Delkin says. “The area was far beyond the borders of Vey Brill, so I never really paid it much attention. We kept to ourselves. But maybe it’s worth exploring now…”

“With all due respect, Delkin,” Celpin says, “how do settlement rumors help us?”

“This supposed settlement was in Autumn Court territory.”

Guria gasps. “Surely you’re not suggesting the—the other courts are still out there?”

“I’m not suggesting anything,” Delkin says. “I’m simply offering a possibility. An additional option.”

“If there’s even a small chance the others are out there—even if only a few—then that’s worth exploring,” Valen says. “It could give us an edge.”

“If it’s true, then why have we never seen anyone?” I ask. The idea that there are other Fae out there is slim, but is it impossible? In all this time, wouldn’t we have come across one of them? The most we’ve seen is a Depleted or two. Then again, before finding Vey Brill, we thought the druids were the only humans left in Derriga…

“Think about it. The war enveloped all four courts. The things we all did to one another…” Delkin shudders. “Ultimately, the Winter Lands emerged victorious only because of the power Servis stole. If you were them, rebuilding and trying to coax your people back from the brink, wouldn’t you keep it a secret? It’s what I did with Vey Brill.”

Servis essentially closed off the Winter borders, and the monarchs that followed continued to do the same. According to Valen, Orbik made it illegal to go beyond Hiffen. As far as I know, he and I are the only ones who have ventured past there in decades—probably centuries. So…maybe it is possible for the other courts to be out there, rebuilding in secret.

Celpin isn’t convinced. “Even if it were true, even if there were parts of the other courts still left intact, the bad blood between us would ensure they wouldn’t help us. Our relationship with the others would be a problem. The damage we did is irreparable.”

“Yes, the damage was extensive, but this isn’t about just us.” My hand rests on the hilt of my sword. It’s a comforting and familiar habit, one Valen teases me about all the time. “Do you really think Aphelian will stop with the Winter Court? She might be out for revenge, but once she gets a taste for power, she won’t stop. All Fae will be in danger. If they’re out there, don’t they deserve to be warned?”

“Tania’s right.” Guria nods. “If there are others out there, they deserve to know what’s really going on. They deserve a chance to ready themselves for a fight.”

“Any thoughts on how we sway them?” I’m not sure they’re out there, but if they are , they’re not going to offer their help easily. If they’ve been hiding for a thousand years, chances are the bad blood is still lingering.

“Provided we’re able to find them?” Delkin says. “We appeal to their sense of survival. If there really are any left in the other courts, then they’ll know what it means to struggle. They’ll want to fight.”

“Of course they’ll want to fight. They’ll want to fight us !” Celpin roars. One stern look from Valen, and he composes himself. “We’d have to give them reason not to.”

Delkin glances around the room. “Celpin is right. They won’t agree without getting something in return. And the harsh truth is, appealing to their good nature and desire for survival won’t be enough to erase the conflict between us.”

Guria steps back to her side of the room. “Payment, you mean?”

“Something like that.” Delkin frowns. “But I imagine they have little use for money in isolation.”

“Okay.” Valen nods. “So what do we have that they would want? Resources? Aid?”

“ Magic ,” Zana says. “We give them magic.”

Every head in the room turns in her direction.

“I don’t understand.” There’s a note of suspicion in Delkin’s voice. “How could we possibly do that?”

Zana hesitates. “There might be a way to gift some of Valen’s magic to the other courts.”

Delkin, usually so calm and stoic, growls and leans toward Zana. His knuckles go white as he grips the edge of the table. “You will not suggest my son be subjected to panashere again. He—”

“Of course not!” Zana’s skin pales for a moment before her cheeks flame an angry red. She narrows her eyes. “I would never condone such a thing. You know better, Delkin. Or you should.”

“It’s impossible,” Celpin says, raising his voice over them. “And even if it were an option, we’d be fools to give our enemies tools to fight us.”

“They wouldn’t be our enemies if we gave them a reason to be our allies,” I say. Dealing with the head of the guard is often tiring, but today it’s downright exhausting. To Zana, I say, “And is it? Actually possible, I mean?”

“There might be a way.” She levels a steely glare at Delkin. “One that would be permanent—unlike panashere .”

Still, it feels risky. “How would that affect Valen?”

“I don’t believe it would,” Zana says. “Not in the long term, anyway. Obviously, it would weaken him for a bit immediately after…” She pauses, thinking. “I would have to do more research to get the specifics, but I’m confident I can make it happen.”

“Why would the other courts want the power to manipulate ice, though?” Guria wrings her hands and looks around the room.

“They wouldn’t.” Delkin’s expression is stormy.

Delkin knows Liani used panashere on his son. It’s the same process the ancient Fae exploited to punish those who used their magic to step out of line. It was horrific, brutal, and Valen still has nightmares about it. I know, because I’m haunted by the ghost of them.

“Royal magic manifests differently for each genetic line,” Delkin says. “If Zana can pull this off, the power would bloom in each individual based on their family history.”

Guria wrings her hands again, and Celpin scowls. Zana and Delkin are relaxed now and seem to have gotten over their misunderstanding.

Then there’s Valen.

What are you thinking?

For the first time since Aphelian tricked me into linking us, it’s hard to get a clear read on him. Valen normally operates on one extreme or the other. Happy or angry. Excitable or exhausted.

Now? There’s an odd sense of calm, and his posture is relaxed. Despite the others in the room, he looks directly at me.

“I’m thinking things need to change.”

He squares his shoulders, and, addressing everyone at the table, he says, “I’ve heard all I need to hear. I’ve made my decision. If the other courts are out there, we’re going to find them.”