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Only days before I couldn’t conjure more than the flame of a candlewick. But today I burned an entire forest and nearly destroyed the neighboring village. It was a miracle no one was hurt.
Alaric reached for me from where he sat near my feet, but I recoiled from his touch. I was a danger to them. Until I could control my Graces, I would be a danger to my entire court.
Tiernan regarded me with sadness in his eyes, “It isn’t your fault. You didn’t ask for this.”
But I got it. Whether or not I liked it, it was my burden to bear. The guilt of what I’d done weighed on me, mingling with the guilt of not being honest with my males. I promised myself I’d come clean to Alaric and tell him the truth about the Mad King and the Blessed Blade, but I’d been a coward. Selfish. I didn’t deserve them… but I wanted to. And I would make it right.
“I haven’t been honest with all of you,” I began, mentally kicking myself—forcing the words from my mouth.
They listened in silence, not once remarking or interrupting me until I was finished.
“You should have told me,”Alaric said. The hurt in his eyes cutting me deeply—wrapping a vise around my heart. He set his jaw, and turned, rising from the bed. “Don’t let her out of your sight,” he said to the others, his voice straining, and walked from the room.
Finn let out a long breath, “I should go to the archives. See what I can dig up about the blade.”
Kade nodded, “Go, we’ll stay with her.”
None of them were looking at me. They were all still processing the information, trying to work out a solution. The Mad King was supposed to be dead. The Blessed Blade was supposed to be a myth. It was a lot to take in.
Finn offered me a small nod as he stood, “We’ll figure this out. It’ll be alright.”
“Will it?” I challenged him, a dual meaning in my question. It wasn’t only my own life I worried about, it was theirs, and the fear they’d never trust me again.
He narrowed his eyes at me, tilting his head to one side, after a moment he said, “It will,” and left.
I was utterly drained, and all I really wanted was to be alone, but I knew now that would be impossible. There would be no more exploring the tunnels in the middle of the night or concealing my nightmares from them. They were duty bound to protect and serve, but it was more than that. The fear was plain on their faces. If the Mad King could corrupt my own handmaid, then there wasn’t a soul in the palace who we could trust.
I knew it. And now they knew it too.
Tiernan went out onto the terrace, the faraway look in his eyes telling me he was in deep thought, trying to work out the problem I’d presented him.
Kade moved from his seat in the far-off corner of the room, extending his hands with a half-hearted smirk on his face, “Come here.”
When I didn’t obey, he pulled me from the bed and into a heated embrace, trapping me against his still-bare chest. “You’re an idiot,” he stated, whispering the words against my hair.
I half laughed, and half cried, wrapping my arms around his middle. At least I couldn’t hurt Kade. He could withstand both my fire, and my ice. The immense relief calmed my racing heart, “But I’m your idiot.”
“Yes. You are.”
Chapter Six
Life had to go on as though nothing had happened. The Fae of my court couldn’t find out what we knew about the Mad King. And having burned an entire forest to cinders, it was more imperative than ever that my Graces remained a secret. So, when the council requested a feast in Valin’s honor, I couldn’t say no. I had to smile, and nod, and sayyes, of course. What a brilliant idea.And,yes, of course I’ll attend.
With Valin back on his feet, Alaric had been a ghost. He’d been questioning the thought-to-be-dead warrior and trying to get to the bottom of where he’d been the past several years since he vanished from court.
“It seems a little too convenient, doesn’t it?” Tiernan mused, getting that faraway look in his deep green eyes again. He paced the length of my bedroom with long purposeful strides, making me even more on-edge than I already was.
Kade and Finn were readying themselves for the feast, and Alaric was gods-knew-where. He was avoiding me again—though this time I didn’t blame him.
I fussed with my hair, unable to force it to conform to the shape I tried to put it in. Ireallyneeded to select a new handmaid. A sharp pain lanced through my chest at the thought, and I worked to expel the memory of Thana from my mind.
“Maybe he just needs more time to heal, then he’ll remember,” I said, “Besides, we have bigger problems, don’t you think?”
Finally, I was able to secure the pin in the right place to hold my long silver hair away from my face, and sighed, dropping my arms to my sides.
“About that,” Tiernan said, falling to one knee before me and taking my hand. “You said you got this from Morgana’s chamber, right?”
I pulled my hand away, spinning the ring on my finger and nodded. “It’s the missing stone from the Blessed Blade.”
