“It turns out that you’re a little too late. You thought you’d find me lonely and afraid still, but you were wrong. You see—I don’t feel so alone anymore. You’re right about one thing though. The Midnight Sovereignhasweakened. But the women before me persevered nonetheless. And that…that takes strength too. Not knowing and still doing their best. They persevered. Dedicated their bodies, their time, and their magic to the position. The line is unbroken. And the Midnight Sovereign does not bow to royalty.”
King Filvendor let out another disappointed sigh at my words. “This really isn’t how I wanted things to go. All our preparations—wasted.No matter. I could make you bow, you know.” The threat hung in the air between us, but I knew,I knewthere would be consequences if he broke his vow not to hurt me.
I turned and started to walk out of the room.
His voice was deadly calm. “Not so fast.”
I whirled back around, accusation in my voice. “You promised. Swore a binding oath. That I could leave of my own free will.”
“Yes, but—what if that will belongs to me?” And then he continued speaking, his words infused with magic.
“Elvu Veera Minuvae.Your secret Fae name. Spoken to you at birth by your mother on Solaris soil, though you do not remember. The orphanage named youElvira Hallwell.The kids there called youGrasshopperon account of your green eyes.Patronless,feared by the citizens of Dewwick Village.Apprenticeto Kaylin Blackburn. The latestMidnight Sovereign.An office known by several names. Let me list them now—Mistress of Midnight,Moonstone Maiden…”
My knees started to bend. And a terrible realization filled me—I made a mistake coming here.
Nix had been right, and I should have listened to his advice.
King Filvendor’s hold on me tightened with each name he uttered. Panicking, I tried to think of a different name.Anythingthat he might not know. That his spies would have been unable to ferret out. I was an orphan, and that was a liability. My secret Fae name lost to me. Not yet old enough to remember my mother’s voice, whispering it in my ear. And it was tragically easy to learn all the names of someone who had such few connections in the world. So few relationships. It made me vulnerable. A vulnerability King Filvendor was now exploiting.
But now was not the time to curse old Fae magics. I needed tothink.
What had Kaylin called me when she grabbed me from the orphanage? Hersunshine.The magic was unfazed, continuing its slow constriction. It had never really beenmyname had it? She called her daughter the same—had transferred her hopes and dreams for a family to Adriel when she was born. Another tear ran down my face. I needed to think of a name that belonged unquestionably to me. One that the king could not possibly know before he controlled me completely.
Consort of the Moon.Fiere’s melodic voice echoed in my mind. A title spoken to me in thoughts. Never uttered out loud. The magic lessened ever so slightly, but I could feel my knees shaking from opposing the magic’s desire to make me bow.
Nix. He called meLittle Moon.The first nickname ever given to me by a friend. Not the most flattering. A reminder of my ineptitude as much as a sign of affection. But it was something. I held the name in my mind. The magic slowed, but it did not stop.
Another name rose to the forefront of my mind.Moonflower.Corvin’s hand, gently brushing my hair, as he placed a moonflower into my braid. A name that had a piece of my heart, even if I didn’t yet know what that meant. And most importantly—something new—that King Filvendor could not possiblyhave learned. Spoken on my island, wrapped in protective enchantments, safe from his spies.
Moonflower—blossoming under the light of the moon. A beautiful beacon in the night. What I was becoming. Who I wanted to be. I called to my powers, silvery rays of moonlight streaming in through the throne room’s windows. The moonlight was subdued, the waning moon harder to reach, to call upon. But it was there. It was on this name that I staked my claim, pushing back against King Filvendor’s magic with all my might, trying to break his hold on me.
But…what about my other titles? Did I really intend for him to have them? He was threatening my very autonomy, but perhaps…perhaps he was also providing me an opportunity. To claim the names that belonged to me. To refuse to let anyone or anything take them away from me again.
Nix’s voice rang through my head:Names are powerful; reclaim them while you still can.Then, another voice. My own. Rising up to say—youhavereclaimed them. Tears cried. Pain endured. Bones broken. Blood spilled. Time dedicated. Sacrifices made.I’ve reclaimed them.You cannot have them, King Filvendor. THEY DO NOT BELONG TO YOU.
He was mistaken if he thought I would give them up without a fight. If he thought I had no claim to them myself. That he could find out all the names bestowed upon me and take them for his own. Use it to control me. Bind me. NO. I would not let him. For every ounce of care I’d poured into the island. For risking my life in service to another after a moonstone bargain. For those actions, and more, I claimed the title of Midnight Sovereign. Would it be enough to break his spell in time? Indeed, he seemed to be wrapping up, the last name on his tongue.
Before he could speak it, I resisted his magic with everything I had. Looking him directly in the face, I spoke with conviction.“Didn’t anybody ever tell you—midnight ismydomain.” Moonlight swirled all around me, a pearly sheen coating my skin. “Do you stay up each night until the bell tolls midnight? Have you felt the motivations of someone in need, flowing through your very being? Risked your life in service to another? NO. Because those names are not yours to claim. THEY. ARE. MINE. They are the names of the women before me. They are the names uttered in quiet on my island as hope dwindles. Iamthe Midnight Sovereign. You cannot have my name; and you have not earned my office. I will not give them up to you. They belong tome.I discard my birthright to Solaris in favor of who I have become.Elvu Veera Minuvaedied with my mother, and I lay the name to rest in honor of her memory. You may be sun-kissed, but I am the only one here who knows what it’s like to commune with the moon. It comes down to this King Filvendor—”
“You don’t know everything that I have been.” I pushed against the magic now with all of my willpower, felt his hold on me shatter, as the spell faltered in the face of my resistance—the power of those names I still claimed, all my own. I unbent my knees, standing as straight as possible. “And youcertainlydon’t get to tell me what I have the power to become.”
When I turned and left the room—it was of my own free will.
CHAPTER THIRTY
Water.I just needed to make it to the water—thank goodness for Nix insisting on a backup plan. I held my head up high for the entire walk out of the throne room. As soon as the doors shut behind me, however, I broke out into an undignified run, sprinting in a panic for the nearest exit out of the palace. The hippocampus flute was still in my pack. Hopefully, the shepherd who gifted a past Midnight Sovereign the flute was less duplicitous than King Filvendor had just proven himself to be.
No guards pursued me.Thus far.My heart pounded. I believed Filvendor was bound by his promise not to harm me. That promise, at least, had been straightforward enough. But I could no longer trust that it hadn’t contained some hidden meaning, some intentional ambiguity, cleverly disguised within a seemingly innocuous turn of phrase, in order to be used against me at a later point in time. Leaving as soon as possible was the safest option. The only option.
I didn’t attempt to flee the palace grounds. There were too many guards stationed outside who I feared might detain me. Rather, I headed toward the gardens, winding and snaking my way through the labyrinth of hedges and rosebushes that stood between me and its center—where the river flowed. While my tour of the gardens during daylight hours had been peaceful, I couldn’t say the same this late at night. The topiaries became menacing enemies, casting shadows all around me in the dark,further distorted by the sense of dread growing within me, reminding me I was still within King Filvendor’s clutches.
Finally, I reached my destination. I knelt down by the river, withdrawing the flute from my pack with shaky hands. I shook it once, then twice for good measure.Great, no spiders.Although I had to admit, spiders were the very least of my concerns right now.
I brought the flute to my lips, all too aware that my time was running short, that I had few other ideas on how to escape the Summer Palace if the hippocampus chose not to come. I blew into the mouthpiece, and a musical tone filled the air—sharp and melodic. I played a few more notes, drawing upon a natural musicality which I did not possess, wishing I had some actual training to fall back upon instead.
Waiting at the river, not knowing if the flute worked or not, was almost physically painful. Each heartbeat a small torture. Each rustle in the dark a fresh scare. It was hard to say for certain how long I waited as time stretched sluggishly past.
Just as I began to give up hope, the water rippled, and a half-horse, half-dolphin creature broke the river’s surface. It shook its equine head, water droplets dripping from a silvery mane. Its entire body, from its flippers to its long torso, was a stunning silver-blue coloration, which shimmered ethereally under the moonlight. The hippocampus floated in place, watching me. When I failed to move, it tossed its head and whinnied—an invitation to climb aboard. I inched closer to the river, tentatively swinging a leg up and over the creature. Still a bit off-kilter, I tried to balance astride its back.
