We’re inside a grand room with vaulted ceilings and tall stained glass windows. The design depicts a great sun. The first thing I realize is that we aren’t in Aquila, which is good news. The bad news is that I know exactly where we are, and I’m not sure why we were brought here.
“Where are we?” Adrian asks.
Before I can answer, the golden double doors open and Queen Merissa of the Vega Kingdom enters, wearing a light gossamer gown under a golden corset that replicates an armorchest plate. She’s accompanied by her entourage—six female knights wearing golden armor—who flank their queen.
“Hello, Vryenn. It’s good to see you again.”
“I remember you,” Adrian blurts out. “You helped rescue me from Queen Maewe.”
She nods. “That I did.”
Adrian gets back onto his feet and helps me stand. A sharp pain flares across my stomach, making me wince. I hold my belly, fearing that something is wrong with the baby. I have no idea if traveling through the portal was safe.
“You should sit down, my dear,” Queen Merissa says.
There are comfortable-looking couches in the room, but I don’t want to be in a vulnerable position in front of her. She’s my aunt, but that means nothing in Ellnesari.
“I’m fine. Why are we here?” I ask.
She approaches. “I’m sure my brother has shared his grand plan with you.”
“He wishes to strip my mother of her powers and give them to me.”
“Yes, but he needed a magical relic believed to be nothing but a myth.”
“The Magna Vis,” I say. “But it was lost.”
She tilts her head, her lips curling into a knowing smile. “You don’t need to play coy with me, Vryenn. The Magna Vis is right here in this room.”
I grind my teeth. “How can you be certain?”
She arches a brow. “Do you really believe Ruel was the mastermind behind using the Magna Vis to strip Maewe of her powers?”
My stomach coils tightly. I don’t like her implications. “Are you saying it wasyouridea?”
“Naturally.” She waves her hand dismissively. “Ruel doesn’t have the mind to think outside the box. He was too obsessedwith bringing the shadowbeasts back from extinction to see beyond that.”
“I don’t understand why you let him take the credit for the idea. You never played second fiddle to anyone.”
“You will soon learn that a ruler cannot lay all their cards on the table. My brother thought he was clever. He never intended to give you the power, Vryenn. He wanted it for himself.”
“Nightingales can’t straight-out lie. How is he deceiving us like that?”
“Because he wants to believe he’ll be able to step aside and let you rise, but I’ve seen the truth in his heart. Ruel has always resented that he was born in a kingdom where the power of the land transfers to the females.”
She looks at the stained glass window behind me. “So you see, it suited me to let him take charge, coerce your friends into finding the Magna Vis, and then let the relic slip through his fingers.”
“Did you know I had the Magna Vis all this time?” Adrian asks.
She smiles, and her blue eyes glimmer with mischief. “You didn’t have the Magna Vis, Adrian. Youarethe Magna Vis.”
“What?” we both say in unison.
“The Magna Vis was never an object. It’s pure energy, bouncing around from place to place since the beginning of time. When it ended up in the Valley of Lost Souls and you found it, it merged with your soul. Why do think you were able to survive for so long in that forsaken place and not go insane?”
“I… I don’t know.”
I look at Adrian, the necklace hanging around his neck. I thought the power I sensed came from that piece of jewelry, but now I see it’s coming from inside him.
