Page 88 of Fate of the Sun King

“The Staff?” Cedar asks.

Nadir and I exchange a look. Does Cedar’s generosity extend to his most precious relic? Does he trust me enough to let me near it?

“I want to hold it,” I say, biting the inside of my lip. Should I reveal the truth about how they talk to me? Nadir is still confused about this phenomenon, and I wonder if this is another secret I must keep.

Cedar looks me up and down, saying nothing for a moment, before nodding.

“Very well.”

My shoulders drop in relief when he doesn’t seem intent on forcing out the reasons for my request.

“Come with me.”

We all rise from the table and slowly proceed through the Fort until we come to a large archway twisted from greenery and decorated with flowers. After we pass underneath, we wind through more verdant pathways until we come to a clearing. A dome fabricated from vines and leaves arches over our heads, filtering in sunlight on a crisp breeze.

Ahead of us sit two wooden thrones bound in more vines and flowers.

My breath catches at the sight.

This also could have been my home.

This is our other half.

I take a moment to study our surroundings. The air smells sweet and fresh—flowers mixing with pine—and the grass is so green and lush that it looks like velvet. My brother stops next to me, and I reach out, his hand finding mine before we squeeze each other’s fingers.

“I’ve wondered,” Cedar says, approaching on my other side. “Do either of you have the blood of your grandfather in your veins? Can you channel the magic of The Woodlands?”

Tristan and I exchange a look. This is his truth to share.

“I do,” Tristan says, the words rushing out of him like he’s been clinging to them with his life. Every eye in the room falls on him.

“Do you?” Cedar asks, rubbing his chin with a shrewd, narrow-eyed look that lingers on my brother before he finally addresses me.

“And you?”

I shake my head. “Only Tristan has it.”

“When you’re ready, I’d love to discuss it,” he says to Tristan. “Perhaps help you learn how to use it and control it. I suspect you haven’t had much opportunity to do so.”

Tristan nods as several vivid emotions cross his face. “I would like that,” he says. “Very much.”

“I’m glad to hear. My brother would have wanted that… as do I.”

Cedar smiles and gestures to the Woodlands thrones, where the Staff sits propped at an angle on the left seat.

About the same height I am, it resembles a sturdy tree branch, knotted and slightly bent. Its design is simple when compared to the Mirror’s, or the Crown’s, or even the Torch’s, but it’s been polished to a glassy shine, and there’s a quiet beauty in its simplicity.

“What do you plan to do?” Cedar asks as we both approach.

“Do you mind if I pick it up?” I don’t know the proper etiquette for handling these precious Artefacts. I can only assume one doesn’t just walk in and grab one without permission from its ruler.

“No. Please go ahead,” Cedar says, with his dark eyebrows drawn. He’s obviously not sure what’s happening, but I appreciate his willingness to place his trust in me. “But can I ask why?”

My lips roll together before I decide to answer. “They talk to me.”

“I don’t understand.”

“The Mirror. The Torch. They both spoke to me and told me things, and I’m hoping the Staff will do the same.”