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“Oh, Hazel…we’re not alone here.”
“What does that mean?” Zita breathed hard and fast, and she looked like she was ready for battle, but there was nothing to fight.
Whatever had just happened, it had been a vision, a message, and nothing palpable.
“Why aren’t we alone, Mom?”
“The Conjurites aren’t just removed from the light.” Mom grabbed my hands and squeezed so hard, it hurt. “They’re not just lost, wandering souls. They’ve been taken captive by another goddess. She owns them, and by giving up their light, they pledge their allegiance toher.”
“Who?” I asked.
“The Goddess Cyrene,” Mom exhaled. “She’s dark and terrible and…” Her voice caught in her throat, and she swallowed hard. “Lavinia must have served her, too.”
I shook my head. All this time, we’d thought that being a Conjurite meant the Fae were cut off from the light. We’d never considered that they might belong to someone else.
“She’s furious that we’re helping them,” Mom continued, and she lifted her hand to her forehead with trembling fingers. She touched her temple once before she rubbed her nose, worried her lower lip with her fingers, and then crossed her hands in her lap. “If we keep doing this… I don’t know what will happen, but it won’t be good. This isn’t just about helping people after the war.” She looked at me with large eyes. “This is a whole new war that we knew nothing about.”
Zita and I stared at her before we glanced at each other, shocked.
“I don’t understand,” I finally said. “I thought that this was the end of it all. I thought…”
“I know,” Mom said. “It looks like we thought wrong. This is just the beginning.”
6
EROL
The days were long and exhausting. Being the Regent of Palgia had been a blessing because it meant I was no longer part of Falx’s rule of terror, but taking on the role of a king had come with new challenges, and I wasn’t used to it just yet. It had been a while since the war had ended, but being kind was a never-ending job.
When I finally dropped myself in bed at night, I was out like a light in no time at all, and I had deep, dreamless sleeps.
Maybe it was because I knew that the threat to my life was finally over.
I’d done horrible things for a long, long time. I’d slept poorly for centuries, and I’d always had nightmares that rattled me awake in the middle of the night with the kind of fear that not even a Conjurite warrior like me had been able to shake.
The moment Falx had been killed and I’d been released from his rule, the nightmares had vanished, and I’d slept like the dead ever since. It was as if Cyrene had wanted me to think that I was free, that things would finally change. I felt cheated, betrayed, and it was exactly what she’d wanted me to feel.
I let out a groan. I’d spent a lot of time training before dawn. I was still a warrior at heart, and now that I acted as king, I didn’t want to let my skill and prowess as a fighter slide. I needed to be ready for battle now, more than ever.
I’d seen how Rainier had fought alongside his men in the war against Palgia. I had seen how he’d moved, how he’d laid down his life for his people.
I intended to do the same. These people didn’t belong to me yet, but I was determined to find my way back to the light and become king. When I did that, I needed to be able to stand up for them, to defend them, to do the right thing.
As soon as my eyes fluttered closed, Hazel flashed before me. She was somewhere within these walls—in her quarters by now, probably, fast asleep in the giant bed I’d ordered to make her room comfortable. I hadn’t seen her since we’d arrived. I’d barely touched ground, always running after the next thing that needed to be taken care of.
A pang of longing shot into my chest. I wanted to see her, to be close to her. She was so young, and yet she was so strong. Not only as a Fae, but emotionally. She’d survived what Falx had done to her—what I had done to her.
Go to her. Take what you want. Such a young, slight thing. You could easily overpower her.
I forced my dark thoughts away. I couldn’t do that to her. Taking Hazel, taking what I wanted, would be to ruin her, to ruin her beauty and her goodness. It was what I liked about her.
It was what Ihatedabout her.
I wanted to crush the beauty, to erase her purity, and make her more like me so I could stop thinking about her and move on.
“Stop it!” I shouted at myself. “You’re a monster!”
And you’re so good at being a monster. It took centuries to cultivate, and now you’re pushing it away? Your kindness at times, your generosity…it’spathetic.You’ve become everything you despise.
