Page 2

Chapter Two

C inaed FionnLaoch:

T he sharp stab of pain didn’t just arrive, it invaded the marrow of my bones. This time, the attack occurred while I was outside, which gave me a clearer idea of its source. I could rule out the castle. Unfiltered by our ancestral home, there wasn’t a trace of phoenix magic in the warning.

And it was a warning. That much was finally clear.

In the face of such a clear danger, the instinctual urge to shift nearly took over.

Not since I was a teenager struggling to master my powers had I spontaneously burst into flames and ruined my clothes.

Losing control would have ruined one of my favorite shirts.

Roderick had bought it for me the last time we were in London together.

The accompanying vertigo was brief, but it left me unsteady. Thankfully, I’d been seated, or I’d have face-planted in Mother’s rose bed. She’d spent centuries cultivating these bushes, and I would never forgive myself if I crushed her hard work.

I pulled my cloak tightly around my body despite the warmth of the garden. Outside it was a frigid Scottish early December day, but inside these walls, Mother made sure the temperature never dropped below fifteen degrees or above twenty-five.

The feeling was more ominous than before.

It pummeled me with its insistence. I’d asked around the last time, but no one else had been affected.

Grandfather brushed it aside, but not without gifting me with a questioning glare.

I didn’t need to read his thoughts to know he suspected the mage world was behind the attack. One specific mage and his family.

He was wrong. The Hollens wouldn’t try to subvert Grandfather’s spell because Roderick promised me he wouldn’t without my permission. I’d never met a more honorable being than Rod. No matter how much he disagreed with me, he’d never tried to change my mind.

My fingers curled into the thick wool of my robe, forcing back the burning sensation that preceded my regeneration. Aside from destroying my clothes, I couldn’t afford to go to ash when my father was coming to talk about the negotiations.

The truth was I didn’t really care about politics. I was the youngest of my generation and so far from the throne, sometimes I couldn’t see it from my position. What mattered to me was when I would see Roderick again. His steady presence grounded me. Together we’d make sense of these warnings.

His absence, however, was all my fault. I’d been naive to believe I could convince Grandfather to change his mind. That mistake had cost us decades, and now we might never have the chance to complete our bond.

Father’s arrival stopped the self-recrimination building inside. His timing was fortuitous. It wasn’t good for my state of mind to dwell on such negative thoughts. I collected myself and stood to greet him. His smile faded as soon as we locked eyes.

“Another one?” His voice carried equal measures of concern and resignation.

I nodded weakly as we settled onto the bench. He put his arm around my shoulder, and it helped steady me as the last hints of the distress receded into a distant echo. Unlike my grandfather’s formal stiffness, Father had always been demonstrative with his affection.

“They’re getting worse,” I admitted. “Something’s coming, but I don’t understand what the magic is trying to tell me.”

“I assume Roderick told you his brother’s theory?” I nodded and he continued. “Your grandfather dismissed it as the mages trying to scare him into changing his mind.”

Hardly surprising given how strident he’d become.

“I partially agree with Grandfather. I don’t think this is the Earth telling him to change his mind or else.

If that were the case, he would feel the same thing as me.

I’m being singled out, but I’m not smart enough to understand what I’m being told. ”

“Roderick will be here tomorrow with his two brothers,” Father said. “Chancellor Hollen insisted we meet with all three.”

The frown on his face suggested this had been a heated conversation. “Grandfather didn’t want Roderick.”

It wasn’t a question, and it confirmed my connection to Roderick was known to the king. “The two argued for days over his inclusion. Wilhelm Hollen must care deeply for his son to have held up everything over such a small provision.”

Small? It was the most important condition of the agreement.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Father said. “I only meant Roderick and you could find a way to meet somewhere else. On its face, this is trivial, but it tells the king the importance the chancellor places on his son’s happiness.”

In that way, my father and Roderick’s were cut from the same cloth. “If he knows I’m the one, why isn’t it my choice?”

“Setting aside I’ll never let you sacrifice yourself, the king never recovered from Adelais’s death.”

Judging from how Father spoke of her, she must have been extraordinary. “How does condemning the world make his pain any less? Or lessen how much he’s hurting me?”

“He’s not thinking with his mind—this is his heart taking control. He’s doing this out of love.”

My grandfather and I had once been very close.

He nicknamed me his “little firebird.” Then something changed, and he turned into a bitter phoenix.

Father was the only one who could reason with him, and his influence was extremely limited.

“He’s not doing this out of love for me.

If love was truly his motive, he’d listen to the facts.

Something changed. Now he speaks like his pride was hurt.

First because he wasn’t consulted beforehand, and second when Adelais chose Katarina and the world over him.

I will find a way to break his spell, even if he banishes me for my action. ”

Father watched me in a way that suggested I’d crossed a line too far.

He raised his hand and put it on my leg.

“Never say that where he can hear you. The king’s magic is strong, and he’ll use it to bind you.

He’s already suspicious of this delegation.

He believes Otto is meant to distract him while Bartholomew finds a way to let you and Roderick bond. ”

Which meant Roderick and I needed to be extra careful. “Thank you for letting me know.”

“Of course.” He watched me like I was a fledgling phoenix again. “How certain is Bartholomew the new Great Ward can be created without you and Roderick sacrificing yourselves? Because in this, the King and I agree, we don’t want you to die to save the world.”

I’d heard my grandfather rant many times in recent decades about how a phoenix would never sacrifice themselves for the world again. He found humans and other shifters selfish and unworthy of what Adelais did for them. Now that anger blinded him so much he wouldn’t listen to facts.

“He’s wrong,” I said. “We won’t survive if the Ward fails. No one will. The mages and other beings took the brunt of the demon attacks. If they fail, we might not die, but we will wish we had. I’ll not be the pet or plaything of a demon prince.”

“None of us want that, least of all your grandfather.” Father picked up a rose petal and set it on the bench. He collected them whenever he walked in this garden and gave them to Mother. “Which is why I asked what proof does Roderick’s brother have you two won’t die creating the new Ward?”

“What proof does he need?” I struggled not to shout at my father.

He was an ally, but only to a point. “The spell to create the Ward is not complicated. What killed Adelais was forcing the demons back to their realm. We’ll only have to die if we don’t do this soon.

Once the Ward fails, demons will flood the world.

If that happens, we’ll need to use the second part, and that will kill us.

Why is he trying to kill me? Roderick and I will bond, and we will help create the new Great Ward.

He can’t stop us. The only question is will Grandfather force me to die to save everyone else. ”

Father searched the area because I’d failed to keep my voice down. “He’s doing this because he doesn’t want you to die.”

I might have misjudged my father’s loyalty.

Grandfather’s actions weren’t about saving me, not anymore.

This was about pride. His pride. “If you think that, then he’s fooled even you.

This is about him feeling slighted. The king wants the world to come begging for his help before he lifts his spell.

By that point, it will be too late. His stupid pride is going to kill me, and you’re going to help him. ”

I stood, but before I could walk away, he grabbed my hand. Snatching it away, I refused to look at him. No one cared if I died, so long as the phoenix achieved the lofty status of the other beings who anchored the Great Ward.

“Cinaed, stop!” Father rushed ahead of me and put his hands on my shoulders to keep me from fleeing.

I considered shifting and letting him chase after me, but eventually I’d have to continue this conversation. “What else is there to say? Do you want me to beg on my knees to lift the spell? I won’t give either of you that satisfaction. We’ll find a way to defeat his spell.”

We stared at each other, and I saw the tears pooling at the edges of his eyes.

He’d always been a parent first, even when it conflicted with the king’s will.

My accusation struck at the core of who he was, but this wasn’t about his heart.

Grandfather had manipulated him into thinking he was acting in my best interest.

“I’m sorry you think I wouldn’t die to protect you.” He swallowed loudly. “I don’t agree with the king’s method, but I know in his heart he thinks he’s protecting you.”