Page 151 of Tale of the Heart Queen

“We might need your magic to help destroy it.”

I say the words tentatively.

“I’m not using my magic until the low fae are permitted to do so as well,” he says, and I sigh because I knew he would say that.

“Erevan—”

He cuts me off. “You know, the day he told me the Mirror had chosen me, I saw my entire life go up in flames. It was the death of every freedom I’d ever had. It meant I could no longer fight for what I believed in.”

“But why does it have to be that way?” I ask. “If you were king, you could make all the changes you’ve been fighting to win for so long. Why are you hesitating?”

“I won’t, though,” Erevan says. “If I’m king, then I’ll always have to find a middle ground. I’ll have to make decisions that appease the council enough to keep them from attempting to undermine me while I do what I can to ensure the populace stays happy.”

He takes a long breath.

“Being the ruler of Aphelion means compromising on my principles just enough that it will seem like I’m doing something when, in truth, I’m doing nothing at all. The council won’t support all of my ideas. So I’ll make some lukewarm promises they’ll pat themselves on the back for, and nothing important will actually change.”

“So what’s the answer?” I ask. “Tyr can’t keep doing this much longer, Erevan. I thought he might come back to us someday, but I don’t think he even wants that anymore. I think he’s ready to go, and I don’t know how much longer he can keep hanging on. If you don’t ascend and take your place, then what happens? Aphelion is left without a ruler, and . . .”

I trail off. I don’t know what will happen. Anarchy. Chaos.

My gaze wanders in the other direction to the dark haze of smoke hanging in the sky. We’re already wallowing in the pits of chaos. The low fae and their supporters continue looting and rioting, and the longer this continues, the further we slide into a place from which we can never return.

“Erevan,” I say. “They’re tearing the city apart. How much longer until we can no longer recover?”

He shakes his head, his gaze following the same direction as mine.

“I don’t know, Gabe,” he says. “We made this bed. We allowed all of this to happen. We lived in luxury while we forced living, breathing beings to suffer for one man’s sins. All of us are responsible for that.”

He looks at me, and I see the conviction in his eyes.

“Maybe the answer is to let it all fucking burn.”

Then he glances at Tyr before he pins me with a dark look, turns around, and walks away.

CHAPTER 53

LOR

We arrive in The Aurora under the cover of night. Snow blankets the forest, and the wind whips through our clothing. Compared to just a few short weeks ago, the temperature has changed drastically as we’ve moved into winter. It contrasts vividly with the heat and humidity in Aphelion.

The lights ripple overhead, blue and green and scarlet, and I stare up at them, grateful they’re here. I remember how the Empyrium told me The Aurora lost them at the end of the First Age. As many terrible memories as this place holds, the sight will always be beautiful to me.

Nadir wraps his arms around me, and I lean into him, realizing that I’m making new memories in their place. I look up at him and smile. We have everything working against us, and the odds of surviving are almost nothing, but I have him. No matter what happens, we’ll have had this and each other, and I’m fighting for him and everyone I love, and that has to be enough. If I die, then at least I’ll know I did that.

“Come on,” he says, “you must be cold.”

He uses his magic to envelop me, taking away the worst bite of the chill as we weave through the trees. The lights of the manor peek through the dense brush, and while my first visit to this place was anything but ideal, it, too, creates the sum of these moments. Those days in the manor when Nadir and I reached a tentative agreement to search for the Crown led us all to this spot.

Willow, Tristan, Bronte, Cedar, Cyan, and Linden follow behind us. After Etienne dropped us off, he returned to Heart to ferry Anemone back to Alluvion so she could retrieve the Book of Night.

Once D’Arcy destroyed her ark, she returned to her home in Celestria. I’m trying not to hold it against her—she did help us, and we were all nearly killed for it—but it’ll be tough not to harbor a grudge.

As I note everyone’s scant clothing, I realize they must be freezing.

Nadir uses some of his magic, which seems to help, but we better get them all inside.

When we enter the manor on a gust of wind, Brea is there to greet us.