Reon clears his throat, shifting in his seat. “Apologies, friend. My words weren’t well chosen.”
But I cannot unhear them. My pulse pounds in my throat. “There was another Awakened? You… you knew her?”
Daed’s storm-gray eyes meet mine. “Yes. But she wasn’t human. She was Fae.”
My chest tightens. “And she was killed? For being Awakened?”
Zyphoro answers before he can. “It is considered unnatural,” she says, her voice lilting. “Strange, isn’t it? That something so natural could be called unnatural? But the Fae believe that no one among them should possess power greater than a king or queen.” Her gaze flickers to Daed. “Or even a prince. For all his cursed gifts, Daedalus can only void-walk. Even he cannot open a portal, or see through magic, or unravel the secrets of time and fate. The Fae fear what they cannot control.” Her smirk fades, and her voice lowers. “And so they destroy it. As a human, you should know this better than anyone.”
“I think you know it as well as I do, Zyphoro,” I say, meeting her gaze.
Something shifts in her expression. “I suppose I do.”
“The tests,” Daed presses. “What were they?”
I draw a breath, steadying myself. It all feels like a nightmare now, but speaking of it brings it back. The panic, the pain, the suffocating dread. But I must endure. I always must endure.
“There was one where I had to mend a shattered mirror with only my mind. Another where I had to choose the correct door from many.” My throat tightens. I try to steady the tremble in my voice. “They all had penalties if I wasn’t fast enough.”
Daed drags my chair closer with a sharp scrape. His hand cups my face, his touch warm despite the fire in his eyes. “Penalties?”
“Pain,” I whisper.
The sound of Daed’s fist slamming into the table is deafening. Wood cracks beneath his rage, splintering under his knuckles.
“And you passed the tests?” Zyphoro asks. When I nod, she exhales sharply, as if in disbelief. “The cost to open a portal is blood. Lots and lots of blood. You know that?”
“I didn’t at first,” I murmur. “Not until Ronin told me.”
Zyphoro frowns. “Who is Ronin?”
“The Golden Son,” Daed growls, the title heavy with disdain.
Solena shifts in Orios’ lap. “So The Golden Son betrayed Anethesis to save you?”
I exhale. “I sort of saved him in the end.”
Daed growls again, even lower, his teeth grinding so hard I expect them to chip.
Solena’s brows knit together. “But why? Why would he do that?”
A silence stretches between us until Zyphoro lets out a wicked, knowing laugh.
“Oh, dear. Did someone get sweet on you?”
“Enough, Zyphoro,” Daed snaps.
She only smirks. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
Daed ignores her, turning his attention back to me. “Where is Anethesis now?”
I let a slow smile creep across my lips. “I left most of him in Ashen’s cage.”
Reon’s brow lifts. “Most of him?”
“Well, his hands are in Ashen’s belly.”
That earns me a round of approving grins. Fae humor is what it is.
