“Born of stardust and blackest night. Veiled in blood and shrouded by the void. She will bring death to what the light creates.” Thea recited the eerie verse with surprising familiarity. It sounded exactly like what the fae women had said in my dream.
Suspiciously I looked at Thea. “How did you know that?” I said as I sat up slowly. Apprehension filled me as I awaited her response.
Thea took a sip of her drink and gave me an assessing look. “It’s an ancient prophecy from the peaceful days before the war. I’m interested to know what you think it means.”
“It sounds dark and ominous, especially the part about being veiled in blood and bringing death to what the light creates,” I replied matter-of-factly. “Why? What doyouthink it means?”
“Not everything that involves blood and death is dark,” Thea offered. “The gift of life comes veiled in blood, does it not? And who’s to say that what the light creates is inherently good? I believe it’s open to interpretation. It isn’t as black and white as you may think.”
I shook my head, unable to form a coherent thought that could provide anything of substance to the conversation. “I’ve had too many drinks to have a philosophical debate about a prophecy I heard in my dreams,” I admitted as I tried to get up from our cushion nest on the floor. I slipped as I placed an unsteady hand on a large cushion, falling backward.
Thea stood up with effortless ease, holding her hand out to help me up. Clearly, her tolerance for alcohol was better than mine. Ormaybe she hadn’t drunk as much. At this point, I couldn’t remember. With one strong pull, Thea yanked me up out of the cushion nest. She put her other hand on my hip as she steadied me. I felt dizzy as I tried to regain my footing. Thea placed my arm around her shoulders and wrapped her arm around my waist. Nocturna and Astra added their assistance, and they all herded me toward the bed.
“I guess I’m going to bed,” I said as giggles erupted from me.
Thea rolled her eyes and wrapped her arm through mine as she lowered me onto my bed. “Let’s get you tucked in. You’ve got a big day ahead of you tomorrow. You need to be at your very best so you can make Prince Sterling wildly jealous of all the attention you’re going to get from the fae court.”
I smiled at the thought of upsetting Sterling. I had sufficiently had my heart broken. It would be nice to make him suffer, if only just a bit.
Thea adjusted the blankets, lightly tucking them in around me. “Aurelia, I am so glad to have met you. Thank you for a wonderful girls’ evening.”
She kissed me lightly on the forehead, and I quickly fell into an inebriated slumber.
Chapter 31
The sun was shining brightly above us as we crossed the palace courtyard. A chilly breeze came off the ocean, and birds called overhead. Thea had her arm wrapped through mine as we made our way closer to the gates. Nocturna and Astra followed closely. On any other day, I might have enjoyed the beautiful scenery and the sounds of nature, but thanks to last night’s drinking, I was hungover and miserable.
Thea passed a moonstone flask to me. “Here, drink this. Maybe it will help remove that stinky look from your face.”
I took the flask from Thea and opened it. Seconds later my nose was assaulted by the most heinous smell, a combination that reminded me of rotten vegetables. My stomach instantly roiled, and it took everything in my power not to vomit all over the courtyard. Thea rolled her eyes at me, took the flask from my hand, and forced it into my mouth. The noxious-smelling substance made its way into my mouth, where it managed to taste even worse than it smelled.
Thea forcefully covered my mouth. “Swallow.”
It took all my available willpower, but I choked down the slimy concoction.
Thea removed her hand and smiled at me. “See? Now, that wasn’t so bad, was it?”
I choked on a laugh as I finished swallowing the putrid potion. “I thought I was going to die from that smell.”
She tsked at me as we approached the two guardians manning the gate. “Good morning! We would like to leave, please.”
The guardians stood still, assessing Thea and me.
“King Julian knows we are leaving. He’s approved of our little day trip. I can go grab him and bring him here to confirm, if you’d like.”
Both guardians’ stoic expressions faltered slightly at Thea’s mention of King Julian. “No need, Lady Thea. The celebrations start at moonrise. Please make sure you are back before then,” the one closest to us replied.
Thea nodded and flashed her brilliant smile as the guardian furthest from us opened the wicket gate.
Once we had a bit of distance between ourselves and the guardians, I turned to Thea. “All right, two questions. One, what was that stuff you had me drink? And two, ‘Lady Thea’?”
I could tell by the bemused expression on her face that she thought this was comical. “The drink is a tried-and-true hangover cure. It’s nasty for sure, but see how well it works? You don’t feel sick at all anymore, do you?”
Now that Thea mentioned it, I did feel surprisingly well. No more nausea, and my headache was almost gone. I raised my eyebrows at her. “And what about my second question?” I prodded at Thea with my finger.
“I am Lady Thea Silverlight of the Moonstone Court. My father is the high lord,” Thea replied matter-of-factly.
“I thought you were their arcana master. I didn’t know you were a member of their nobility.” For reasons I couldn’t explain, I felt embarrassed, like I was unworthy of being in the same space as Thea.
