AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What sense do these ones have,mo sholas?”
“Is now really the time for teaching?” Zohar asks, and his amused tone makes me giggle.
“The battlefield is the best time for teaching the darkness,” Ciar says, causing Ryes to snort. “Zoe?”
I let my magicae expand, feeling the people, searching for the link to one of Ciar’s senses. “Um… sight.” Oh, wow, they’re here for recon.
He gives three loud claps, and a slow nod of approval, as Etrix rolls his eyes.
“You really asked for his classes back?” Zohar asks, and I giggle once more.
“I’m a fucking amazing teacher,” Ryes says. “Ciar’s the reason we’ve got Necos Bellend overseeing everything since he’s so shit.”
Mael steals me from Zohar as Ryes and Ciar start to bicker, and the heat in his eyes as he rakes over my figure causes me to blush. We stand looking at each other in a moment of true harmony as the others fade from my peripherals just a little.
I don’t know how long we stand suspended in time, our shared bond humming in pleasure, but it helps me recenter myself.
“Okay, I’ve sent them off to do some recon,” Ciar says, and I blink in surprise. Etrix nods as the shadow men leave the vault. Unlike us, they can go through the walls, and it’s impressive.
“How do you feel?” Mael asks, lightly trailing his fingers up my spine. I shiver, the reaction coming from my core. Noticing my distraction, he drops his voice a notch, and asks again. “Ellie, how are you feeling?”
Powerful.
Scared.
Angry.
He nods, and drops a chaste kiss to my lips. I gape at him as he pulls away, but he doesn’t acknowledge my look, and instead directs his words to the others.
“Okay, we can’t bring the crown with us,” Mael says, and I’m worried my grimace betrays my feelings on the matter.
“What’s wrong, dragonfly?” Zohar asks.
“I don’t want to leave it behind,” I say, looking at myself once more in the mirror. I feel vain, but it’s not the look that’s causing me to keep it. It’s the confidence boost, the safety… the connection I feel to parents I never got to know.
Which is stupid because they never even wore this crown. It’s the only thing that’s tied me to the Royalprimordium,though, and that’s my link to them.
A small flash of gold to my left has tears welling in my eyes because there’s Margo, smiling at me with unshed tears of her own. Her expression mirrors mine, a combination of awe, shock and pride.
“You look beautiful,” she says. Etrix says something, but his words fade into the background as my grandma—whether she’s my blood relative or not, she’s always going to be my grandma—and I share this moment. She takes my hand, and squeezes it.
The feeling is weird, almost like a little bit of pressure, but there’s nothing. My mind knows I should’ve felt something, and it’s struggling to process the fact that I didn’t.
“Thank you,” I reply, and she grins at how awkward I sound.
“Who the fuck is she thanking?” Ryes mutters, his brows furrowing in confusion as he tilts his head.
“You forgot something of importance,” she says, and I sigh. “But that will come back withtime.” The emphasis on time has me narrowing my eyes.
“With Necos’s help?” I ask, and she nods before shaking her head.
“You’ll need more than Necos. Ryes. Eirik maybe,” she says. “But I can’t push you too fast, or your brain will short-circuit. A powerful spell was woven through you, sweetheart, and I can’t undo it.”
“We’ll figure it out,” I reply, and she nods.
“Your parents would be so proud of you right now,” she says, leading me over to the mirror. “This crown is fit for a monarch—a true monarch, and I hate that they don’t get to see you this way.”
I’m paralysed as a brief flash of something scary, something important, races through my vision. It’s a future of me, standing in front of my people, on a ledge at this castle. Or maybe a different one, that’s not very clear.
