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In horror, she watched as River dug his nails into his father’s chest—and ripped out his heart.
He climbed back to the middle of the room, still holding the heart, blood dripping over his hands. “The law is on my side. I did to him what he tried to make me do.”
Naia felt dizzy and wanted to retch.
River still had that hard face. “I am your new king. Bow.”
Shaking, perhaps Naia would just collapse if she bent forward. She wasn’t supposed to bow to a king who wasn’t hers, but she didn’t know anything anymore and was consumed with fear. He set his eyes on her. “Not you. You’re my queen.”
Naia wanted to turn around and run, but her feet were stuck on the floor, and she didn’t even know if he was making her do it or if it was just her shock. Tears ran down her eyes. “No.”
“Silence,” he said.
If she wished to say any more words, they were stuck in her throat. Before this, she would have been furious if he forced her to be silent. Now, it was just one more thing on top of so much that was wrong.
He turned to the others. “Bow to your queen. No. Kneel.”
“River!” A deep voice echoed in the room and a white-haired fae entered. “What are you doing?”
“Appreciating our father’s heart.” River put his hands near his face, which got all smeared with blood. “Aren’t you happy you have a fair king and queen?”
Naia closed her eyes, wishing she could disappear.
The newcomer’s eyes flashed with fury, but then he kneeled all of a sudden, and said, “Yes. You’re perfect. The best brother.” He was trembling, as if fighting whatever River was doing to him. “The… best… king. I… accept you.”
Naia perhaps could stop this with her metal magic, perhaps she could hit River hard enough in the head that he would collapse. But then he and she would probably be killed. All she wanted was to run away, but then she felt something—a tendril of darkness.
She closed and opened her eyes, and then saw brilliant lines and circles. Without thinking, she walked to the brightest one and spent a long time there, not knowing how to move back to the real world. What if she was about to be trapped here? Eventually, she lay down, exhausted, and felt something soft beneath her.
It was straw underneath a soft fabric. This had to be the hut where she had lived with her brother for six months, when they had been surviving on their own. As she realized where she was, the darkness dissipated, and she lay down, letting her tears flow.
Who had she fallen in love with? Did she even know River? Had he been pretending all this time? He was good at pretending, and she knew that. Perhaps she had fallen for his looks and his charm, and then perhaps white fae were brutal and she didn’t understand them. Even with eyes closed, she couldn’t unsee the blood, the violence. She could still feel the lump in her throat when he had made her silent. This wasn’t someone she could love. Burying her feelings was like strangling her heart. Heart. That awful image was still in her mind, except that she felt as if he was holding hers.
Naia tried to look around at the hut. Her memories from this place were good. The food had been horrible, until she realized they could go to the village and barter for salt and herbs. Eventually Fel had planted herbs and vegetables in a little garden.
She walked outside and looked at that old garden. Weeds had taken over the place, but she could still see some rosemary and mint.
The biggest challenge had been food. Food and avoiding fighting when they were hungry. The arrangement hadn’t been truly realistic, as her father and some guards passing by, meaning that Naia and Fel were never truly isolated. She once suggested stealing from the royal manor, but Fel didn’t want to ruin the challenge. For him it was a matter of pride to do it without ever asking for help.
These memories eased some of the pain, but not enough. Naia took a deep breath. Perhaps this was for the best. What she had to do was plan how to challenge Ironhold, and use all the information she had. Perhaps she could even go to Wolfmark and plan something. She didn’t have to agree to marry King Sebastian, all she had to do was make him think he had a chance—regardless whether it was cruel or not. She didn’t like to remember River’s amusement when learning about the king’s proposal. Why did it hurt so much to remember normal River? She had to forget him and focus, focus, focus.
First, she’d need to go to the fort and use the communication mirror. That was a thirty-minute walk. Naia wasn’t afraid of the woods, and wasn’t afraid of most normal threats, but Ironhold had already sent ironbringers to try to kill Fel, and if they had some bizarre magic, she had no idea what exactly they could do. How had she even come here? Her memory was a blur. No, the worst parts were clear and sharp enough to cut her. What she didn’t remember was how she had gotten into the hollow and come here.
Naia had to go to the fort, had to continue to try to forge alliances, had to figure out what Queen Kara wanted, had to find a way to locate her father. Had, had, had. An infinity of impossible tasks. Perhaps she’d come here to remember a time when things had been much simpler, when all she had to do was get something to eat, when her brother had been with her, watching her back, as she had been watching his. Her dragon brother that she loved with all her heart and she hoped would come back soon.
Naia closed her eyes. This wasn’t the time to sleep and this house wasn’t safe. Still, a few minutes wouldn’t hurt her, a few minutes for her to close her eyes and forget everything going on. She could imagine she was a young teenager again, eager for challenge and adventure, blissfully unaware of how lovely her quiet peace was.
* * *
Fel waitedwith his cousin Siniari, while Leah got dressed with his other cousin, a girl named Jacine. While the house was big and had room for dragons, it had human-sized tables, chairs… The truth was that the dragons spent the largest part of their days in their human form—which only made Fel even more uncomfortable.
At least Siniari had a dragon-sized room, but even then, he was in human form, getting dressed for the celebration.
He turned to Fel. “You can sleep in my bed for now. I’ll ask for another one, then a room for you. You can live with us.”
Fel hated to squash his cousin’s excitement, but he had to be sincere. “I need to go back to Aluria.”
“Yes, that. But you don’t need to stay there. And we’ll need you.”
