AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I shrugged. “We have Arden, and we have the artifact. Maybe it is.”
A jumble of emotions spilled from Arden—so many at once that I couldn’t pick apart the individual threads.
“What’s wrong, Kitten?” Lex asked, resting his hand on the back of her neck and massaging it.
“I’m overwhelmed.” She smoothed her hands along the pages of the book. “First of all, what if my mother’s vision wasn’t entirely correct? Remember that vision I had about the Moon Oracle killing you all? That hasn’t happened. What if it wasn’t even about you three as Royals? It was like a dream with no context. Or maybe the actions we take could alter the path we’re on. What if the things we’re doing now are getting us closer to that horrible vision?”
I’d almost forgotten about that vision, mostly because the idea of the Moon Oracle killing three Royals had been absurd back then. I was still confident that we were very hard to kill, but Arden’s worry for us was so intense that it took over my thoughts.
“That can go either way.” Lex pressed his thumb into one of her muscles, making her shoulders relax. “Maybe it can change the path toward something better.”
“Good point.” She sighed through her nose. “I don’t know. I’m just anxious. It doesn’t feel like I should be a Royal.”
“Why the fuck not?” I asked with a snort. She was always so confident—seeing her doubt herself was painful. “Do you realize how special you are? You’re our mate. You’re a nymph shifter. You have power over the earth in ways no other fae does. You’re the only one who could be the fourth Royal.”
“And I’m the key to uniting all fae.” She looked away from us. “No pressure. I don’t think I’m worthy—”
“Little Flower.” I took her chin in my hand and made her look at me. Her green eyes were watery, all that spark I loved dimmer than usual. “I’m not going to tolerate you talking shit about yourself. Understand? You’re the key, and we’re going to make this happen.”
Arden sighed, her eyes closing. “I know it’s the right thing to do, but I’m scared.”
Flint took one of her hands in his, which surprised me. “Arden, we will never let anything happen to you. We will protect you.”
Arden nodded. “Thank you. I know we need to do this. I trust you. I trust all of you,” she said as she made eye contact with each one of us.
Flint smiled and then released her hand.
“Good.” I kissed her firmly. “Where are these books?”
The historian came with a stack of them in his arms and placed them down on the table. “These are the ones that I pulled for you when the artifact was stolen before. Everything you know should be in here. The pages you referred to before have a more intense glow.”
Each of us took a book. The covers were so old that only magic was holding them together. I skimmed through to the inch-wide section that glowed more than the rest. Most of the text was written in a dry, old-fashioned style that seemed convoluted on purpose.
“These fucking priests.” I shoved aside the first book I was given and grabbed another one. “Would it be so hard to just write what you mean to say?”
“The Mystic isn’t a straightforward force,” Lex said. “Here—here’s a section on the prophecy. I think it’s the one we referred to before.”
We crowded around Lex’s book and read over his shoulder.
The blessed artifact will reveal itself again and again, traveling between its rightful owners and those who wish to use its power for evil. The true owners, the ones who hold the artifact at the most auspicious alignment of power, will harken in a new age of unity. A paradigm both old and new.
“What does the ‘most auspicious alignment of power’ even mean?” Arden asked. “Is it referring to politics? The stars? Maybe the eclipse? That’s an alignment of the sun, moon, and earth.”
“It might mean the eclipse.” Flint flipped back a page. “But it could mean a lot of things—the most prosperous time, the most favorable time for peace. Our kingdom is relatively peaceful, but groups like the Forsaken Lunars still exist and want to take us down.”
“It’s like the Mystic wanted everyone to think that they were the chosen ones in the chosen era.” Lex scoffed.
“I’m pretty sure we’re in the most ‘auspicious alignment of power.’ Look at us.” I gestured to all of us. “We have a nymph shifter with power over all the earth as our mate, one who seems to be a part of an ancient family that was ejected because our ancestors couldn’t fathom the idea of a female being in power.”
Arden audibly swallowed. “That’s true. But it doesn’t tell us how to actually make the prophecy happen.”
Flint tapped on theNordin Family Journal. “The ritual. It’s our best bet.”
“Let’s do it.” I pushed back from the table. “We should have enough time to do the ritual before the sun comes up if we go to the vault right now. Assuming the dark sky means night. We can do it on the roof where we won’t be noticed.”
We went back to the underground vault, deep in the central palace. Only one of us Royals could break all the spells we’d added to protect the artifact, so we got to work, Arden waiting behind us.
I was rarely challenged by spells, so cracking open the vault was a nice change of pace. Lex, Flint, and I peeled back layer after layer of spells, opening physical doors and locks when necessary. Finally, we were in the deepest section of the vault. I removed the spells protecting the artifact and pulled it out, handing it to Arden.
