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H er mind emptied.

Queen of Lela .

She…she didn’t want that.

Did she?

“El’Ara needs its heart before it can be whole again,” Darius said. “The mora seeping into this world must hold terrible consequences for the fae realm. Before the Veil, the mora traveled through the veins of magic that wove through the land and met at the heart of the world, at the Morkara’s palace in the Elvyn city of Le’Lana. The Morkara would direct the flow of mora from there to wherever they sought to send it. But the Veil must have compromised that.

“First, there was no Morkara in either world to direct the magic, thanks to Ailan’s idiotic plan to pass on her legacy to an unnamed heir.” His tone took on a sardonic quality. “Yes, I remember all of that now that I have my memories again. But now the Veil has torn, which, according to Desmond’s report, means we have a Morkara again. Goody. Yet still, the mora cannot flow like it could before, for the Veil blocks its return. Not even the tear can allow enough magic to bring the mora back into balance. No, there are only two solutions: either the Veil must come down completely, or it must be completed to incorporate Lela. The Elvyn will obviously choose the latter, for who knows what repercussions could arise should the Veil be fully erased while the fae and human realms are connected through Lela. Our worlds could collide. Yet as a result of completing the Veil, Lela will return to El’Ara and every human on this land will cease to have a home.”

She hated that he was voicing her greatest fear—that everything she was preparing to fight for would result in her people’s exile. Ailan had all but confirmed it.

He continued. “The Elvyn will never agree to let humans live in El’Ara. Even if they did, the humans would be considered low-value members of society due to their blood. Because—as I’ve already stated—the Elvyn cling to principles that only benefit themselves. Yet there is another option that will require neither exile nor subjugation. The answer is written in the prophecy. And that is where you come in.”

Impatience tightened her chest. Or was it curiosity? Excitement, even? Whatever the case, she needed to know what the hell he was getting at. It took no small effort to maintain an air of nonchalance. “You mean as Queen of Lela?”

“Exactly. My son abandoned his mission to find El’Ara for me and sought to become Morkaius of the human world instead. I never would have approved, for his success would have meant the end of the fae realm. Drawing on that much magic—claiming it, using it in the human world—would have drained El’Ara. As much as I resent the Elvyn for their closed-minded ways, I treasure the fae realm. So believe me when I say I don’t condone anything my son did in his efforts to control fae magic for his own selfish aims.”

“And that matters to me why?”

He smirked. “It matters because it will allow you to give me the benefit of the doubt when I say this next part. You will take on a role similar to the Morkaius of Lela. No, hear me out. Your husband remains in the line of succession for Vera, and should he inherit the kingdom, the two of you could reforge Lela and rule the land as a whole.”

Cora’s pulse kicked up, but she hoped he was too busy talking to notice. It was true that Teryn remained in the line of succession for Vera. As Larylis’ brother, Teryn had a claim to the throne. A weaker one compared to Noah, but a claim nonetheless. But Darius hadn’t mentioned Noah. Or Mareleau, for that matter. Had he not learned their significance? He knew the Morkara had been born, but had he not figured out who that was?

Hope sparked inside her. They’d kept Noah’s birth a secret and had spread the rumor that Mareleau had returned home before Cora’s wedding. In truth, Darius, Mareleau, and Noah had all been under the same roof for a handful of days. Did he not know?

Of course he didn’t.

If he’d known, her friend would be dead, and her newborn son too.

Unless…

Unless Darius wasn’t the monster he’d been painted as.

A heavy weight settled over her chest—a clairsentient warning not to give in to that line of reasoning just yet.

Darius spoke again. “You will fulfill every condition to become the Morkaius, the very conditions my son had tried to fulfill. You’ll rule over Lela, a crown given not taken. As monarch of El’Ara’s heart, the mora will flow to you. Should you want, you could harness it.”

She barked a cold laugh. “Are you trying to get me killed? I know what the prophecy said about becoming Morkaius of this world. He who harnesses the magic will be destroyed by it .”

His face split with a wide smile, too maniacal to be comforting. “Yes, but you won’t harness the mora . You are going to push it back into El’Ara. And I, as Morkaius of El’Ara, will tear down the Veil, but only after you’ve returned the mora to El’Ara. Without the forced connection between our worlds caused by the mora and the Veil, our worlds will separate once more. Do you see? It isn’t the land itself that is El’Ara’s heart; it’s the mora . The convergence of those magic veins. Once inside the Veil, they will collide once more and forge a new heart.”

She tried to imagine it, tried to picture what he was explaining. If the true Heart of El’Ara was the magic and not simply the land, the fae realm would have a new heart should the lines of mora be forced to recede behind the Veil.

And yet…

“I don’t understand,” she said. “If I don’t harness the mora , then how will I have the ability to push it back?”

“Like I said, it’s written in the prophecy itself. By becoming Lela’s monarch, you become Morkai , King of Magic. You will have access to the mora , and it will flow to you. Yet you aren’t going to keep it or harness it or do anything that will make you the Morkaius.”

Was he correct?

She fought to recall everything Emylia had channeled. Everything Teryn had learned from her.

To gain the power of the Morkaius, one must first become King of Magic, a crown given, not taken, and reign over El’Ara’s abandoned heart .

To become Morkaius of El’Ara’s heart, harness the magic that seeps from its center .

Mother Goddess, it really was hidden in the lines of the prophecy. One didn’t become Morkaius unless they tried to harness the magic. The prophecy didn’t say what one could do with the mora simply by being King of Magic—or Queen of Lela, in her case—but what he was saying might be possible.

“You see?” His voice quavered with fervor. “We’ll work together, and we’ll both get what we want. You’ll protect your people and keep the land that has become their home. I’ll rule El’Ara and make it a better place.”

A better place…by his standards.

Cora hated how prejudiced the Elvyn were toward humans, but did that give Darius the right to change them? Just because he decided their morals were wrong? Did anyone have the right to override another society’s values, just because they thought they knew better? To conquer them, change them, all for that people’s supposed own good ? It was a question that had plagued humanity for centuries. Those who answered yes often used such convictions to justify the subjugation of people under the banner of civilization . She’d seen hints of it in her own kingdom when her former council members had wanted to hunt down the Forest People and force them to integrate with society.

She couldn’t condone that.

She could never condone that.

Darius stepped closer. “What I’ve created in Syrus—a fair kingdom that values one’s merit, not their bloodline—can happen in El’Ara too.”

“And what of Syrus?” she asked. “Will you just abandon it for El’Ara?”

“Of course not. After I tear down the Veil, I will once again be able to walk between worlds. The human and fae realms will no longer be conjoined, but that doesn’t mean we can’t continue to benefit one another. Just think what the future could hold. What advancements we could see on both sides. Humans and fae have so much they can learn from one another.”

She breathed deeply, sensing his energy. It radiated with hope, with joy, with excitement, almost too potent for her to bear. He truly believed in what he was saying. Even she could see the potential he imagined. The possibilities of sharing resources with another realm.

Yet there remained that steady sinking in her gut. One that told her this wasn’t quite right. Just because someone believed in their own principles didn’t mean they weren’t flawed.

“You want an alliance with me,” Cora said, keeping her tone neutral so as not to reveal that she’d already made up her mind, “and you’ve shown me how we can help each other once you’ve conquered El’Ara. Yet what would you have me do before you’ve won? How do you expect me to aid you during your campaign?”

He sobered from his excitement, adopting as level a tone as hers. “I will ask only what is fair. Soldiers, access to your lands, and the location of the tear.”

Her pulse jumped, and from his nod, she knew he’d heard it.

“Yes, you know where it is, but I won’t try to get the information from you now. I will demonstrate my trustworthiness and allow you to consider your options. Alliance, surrender, or war. Either way, this can only end in my success. I will find the tear with or without you, and I will find my sister too. I won’t ask you to take any lives for me. Ailan, Mareleau, and Noah will die by my hand only.”

Cora couldn’t keep her reaction at bay, couldn’t hold in her gasp as she heard him speak Mareleau and Noah’s names.

“I know about them too,” he said, “though I regret that I learned about them too late. If I can claim one flaw, it’s that I didn’t value the prophecy Desmond was so invested in, aside from what it said about El’Ara. I used logic to test my son’s conclusion about you and found it flawed. Since I knew you weren’t the prophesied mother, I deduced she simply hadn’t been born yet, and so long as she didn’t exist, I didn’t care about her.

“Before my memories returned, I had no interest in the mother, only reaching the Veil and finding a way inside. Then it tore while I was imprisoned. My mind was befuddled for days as I struggled to process all these new memories, comparing them to the assumptions I’d made, some of which had been incorrect. By the time my mind cleared and I realized the full truth of what had happened—that Ailan’s heir had been born under the black mountain , in the very castle I’d been imprisoned in—it was too late. Queen Mareleau was gone. As were you.”

The pointed look he gave her chilled her to the bone. Did he suspect she and Mareleau had left Ridine together? Even more chilling was the realization of just how close Darius had been to getting his way. For three days, he’d been imprisoned at Ridine while Mareleau and Noah were just floors overhead.

Thank the Mother Goddess his mind hadn’t cleared a moment too soon.

“My promises aren’t empty,” Darius said, “but neither are my threats. My soldiers are in Vinias. Reinforcements from Norun are already on their way from the capital. Only I can stop them. If you’re ready to forge an alliance with me, I can end the conflict between Khero and Norun. All they want is Prince Helios’ body. I can convince them I’ve retrieved it. I can halt Norun’s progress and stop them from setting foot on your kingdom’s soil. Otherwise, they will come for blood and you will be outnumbered.”

Breathe in. Breathe out. Don’t react .

He didn’t know about the rebels. He had no clue that between now and the meeting at the border, his promised reinforcements would get caught in the rebellion. Without them, Darius only had five thousand men. With Khero’s forces allied with soldiers from Vera and El’Ara, they could face him with better odds.

“I need more time,” she said. “I can’t take this alliance lightly. If you want me to trust you, I need more proof. Give me the full three weeks to determine if you’re worth my trust and I will meet you at the border as planned with my answer.”

His eyes narrowed to a squint. Did he see through her ruse? Did he suspect what she kept hidden? The tic deepened in his jaw and his fingers curled tightly at his sides. Then he whirled back toward the balustrade and propped his elbows upon the rail. His energy flared with frustration.

“Is it the other queen?” he asked, voice low. “Is she the reason you hesitate?”

“You seek to end her life.” Emotion crept into her voice, but she didn’t bother masking it. “What kind of person would I be if I didn’t hesitate?”

“She and her son are two people. Two . In exchange for their deaths, thousands of lives could be saved. Are those two lives more valuable than those that would be lost during war? Is it not your duty to put the lives of your people first?” Slamming his fist on the balustrade, he faced her again. “You should hate her.”

She sucked in a sharp breath.

“My son mistook you for her.” He took a forbidding step closer, temples pulsing. “He cursed you to die childless. Destroyed your brother’s mind. Tried to start a war in your kingdom’s name. You were banished from your own castle, forced to flee, all because you were the wrong girl.”

Memories of flames flashed in her mind’s eye, the terror of her nightmare echoing in the beat of her heart.

“You’ve borne the brunt of torment that had been meant for her all along. Does that make you feel noble? Do you fancy yourself a hero, Queen Aveline?” He closed in another step.

She launched back, her knees quavering.

Should it have been her? asked the taunting voice from her nightmare.

Darius continued, tone edged with malice. “Do you take pride in the protection you’ve provided? Do you enjoy watching her with her newborn baby, flaunting the joy of motherhood that you’ll never have? Are you glad you gave up your youth so that she could be coddled? Have you never wondered what your life would have been like had Desmond targeted her instead of you? Have you never wished for it?”

Darkness flared inside her, a dangerous pulse. She tried to smother it down, but it begged her to look at it. Begged to swarm around her. But she couldn’t. No, she couldn’t. That wasn’t her. That darkness didn’t belong to her.

He stepped closer once more, towering over her. “Do you deserve the punishment you’ve been given? Do you delight in the sacrifices you made? Or…do you wish the burden had been given to the one who’d deserved it all along?”

“Stop,” she bit out, shoulders trembling. The flames of memory grew brighter. The darkness in her chest grew tighter. It screamed at her, clawed at her, fought to emerge from the prison that was her heart.

Darius lowered his voice to a whispered hiss. “Should that curse truly have been placed upon you, an innocent child? Born in the wrong place at the wrong time? Or should it have been her? Do you wish it had been her ?”

“Yes!”

Silence echoed in the wake of that word.

She’d meant to stay stop .

Meant to refuse.

Meant to say anything but that horrible, condemning word.

Her body shuddered with a sob. Something wet splashed on her collarbone, soaking the neck of her robe. Only then did she realize tears were streaming from her cheeks.

Her chest squeezed…

Then released.

The sob turned into a breath of relief.

And the darkness inside her left its cage.