Page 84 of A Kingdom of Magic and Rain

“Rise and shine,” came Lady May’s husky voice as she spun around from the balcony doors. She must have just opened the curtains, plunging the room into late morning radiance.

“Lady May? What are you doing in my room?”

“Preventing you from sleeping the day away by the looks of it.”

“How did you get in? I thought that no one could glimmer inside.” I sat up in bed and rubbed my eyes.

“I am the one who spelled these chambers. I can get through my own wards. Get up and get dressed. We are going to train.”

“Train?”

“Yes, you still need to work on your magic.”

“I do? But Emeraldia is no longer in danger.”

“You need to grow stronger for your own benefit.”

“I’ve tried that, remember? My powers remained weak.”

“Yes, but now there is a way around that.”

“There is?”

Her gray eyes narrowed, and instead of replying, she strode to me and snatched my arm, studying the golden patterns. “Did you siphon Silberium from Adrian?”

“I did, last night.” Stay with me. Adrian’s plea flashed through my mind. “I’m going to ask Thea to take me to Emeraldia this morning, so I can release the ancient magic into the land.”

“I will take you, and this time, you will not transfer it all into the land but keep some for yourself.”

“I can do that?”

“You can do anything you set your mind to.” She dropped my arm and stepped away. “Now get ready.”

With a grunt, I crawled out of bed and headed to the bathing chamber. After a few minutes there, I went to the dressing room and picked out an outfit, settling on a long-sleeve yellow dress and brown leggings since I was going to Emeraldia, where the weather was still cool.

When I walked back into the bedroom, Lady May stood by my nightstand, leafing through the journal she had given me.

“I haven’t finished reading it yet,” I said on my way to the vanity.

“I would prefer not to be parted with it for too long lest it fall into the wrong hands.” She closed the journal and stepped closer to me.

“Isn’t it spelled so only I can read it?”

“It is, but where there is a spell, there is usually a counter-spell to reverse it.”

“In that case, why didn’t you reverse the spell you performed on Oberon to bind him to all of the Fae realm?”

She stopped not far from me, and her gaze turned hazy for a second as if she was lost in a memory. “Because some spells—grand spells—that remold the structure of the world itself are irreversible. The only way to sever the link of the Argent family to all of Aubrielle is to erase their bloodline, but then there would be an outpouring of Silberium into the land, which would be catastrophic.” I didn’t say anything as I faced the vanity mirror. Pondering what Lady May had revealed, I picked up the brush and ran it through my hair. “What is that?”

Her question drew my attention to my reflection, to the auburn strand peeking through the blonde. “Nothing.” I mixed it in with the rest of my tresses and set the brush down.

When I faced the Sorceress, she was watching me through narrowed eyes. “You are a queen now, Emelin. Do you know what that means?”

“That I will be miserable for the rest of my life?” I snapped, throwing the crown sitting on top of the vanity a scathing look.

“It means that you cannot trust anyone.”

“No one? Because that would mean that I can’t trust you.” My words were meant to highlight the hypocrisy of her statement, but they only made her chuckle.