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I stepped forward unconsciously, only for Roya to jerk me back from the river’s clifflike edge. Shadows followed, straining to wrap around my foot.
“You need to go back, you shouldn’t be here.”
“That’s my kingdom Roya, I know it. I have to see what it says, maybe it has the cure to their curse.”
“Go back the way we came and I’ll do what I can.”
I followed her instructions, quickly fleeing the darkness of his mind to open my own eyes and take a step back to view Mara’s screen of shadow. I clenched my fist twice to let her know I was safe.
She hesitated before backing up, taking a running leap before opening the memory of my people, still asleep.
There hidden in that memory. It showed his plans to punish Mara by convincing the humans to turn on her, only to discover a baby that smelled faintly of Jasmine.What a better way to punish her than to see her mate cursed by her own power. If anything might make her hesitate, join him, it was that.
He wasn’t expecting Mara to escape before he could use the bait, not wanting her to have time to break the curse he kept it secret, tying the curse to the land to save his strength, after all it had worked before. But perhaps the land could only power so much, because a pitiful human woke of her on own accord. So he needed to improvise. Perhaps she would be the only person with enough hate to kill Mara.
Roya pounced on the mention of his previous use of the land to anchor a curse.
Inspired by the fifth court, he had brewed something with the help of his bonded.
There, several centuries ago was a faceless human king. One pleading for Drago’s help to repulse the Wood that continued to devour his property.
“You’re a fire fae, just burn it down. Enough to keep it from advancing at least.”
“I cannot, I am bound by the treaty, but… there is another way.” We all watched in horror as four cloaked fae convinced the king to agree to a bargain that would make him and his people unbeatable. Stronger than the fae. And as they all put a drop of their blood on his lips his eyes turned red.
Roya backed up to the edge of the hallway to jump back over the river. As she began to run I clenched the thread tighter in concern, she needed to make it. She needed to teach me about my magic, and all the druid stories. The breath knocked out of me as she fell on her chest on the following bank. She scrambled up the edge, only to show a tendril of shadow wrapped around her leg, pulling her in. Mara went to reach a hand in, to pull her out but she shook her head. Her dreadling form returned as the shadows melded with her. The string in my hand snapped and she jumped willingly into the river, sinking into the darkness.
“Roya!” Mara screamed.
Where she had fallen, the river began to bubble. We leaned forward as one, wondering if she could survive whatever the waters held. A blast of red light carried one final hidden memory from the depths.
Gather all four deceivers
beneath The Dreadwood’s limbs.
When roots are drenched in vengeance,
the cursed will freely live.
The red light faded into a flutter of maple leaves, followed by the faintest whisper from Roya. “Save our family, and live.”
I clutched the bit of thread left in my grasp, but it was no use. She was gone.
Ravensford draped his arms around Mara as she dismissed her shadows with a sob.
Roya had saved us. Had she not fallen to find that memory we would have taken our vengeance and been damned, spilling Drago’s blood too soon only to lock the curses in place. And the cure? It would be the same for us all. Vampirism, the wood, and my kingdom… and I would never have the chance to thank her. Never have the chance to ask if she knew the druid I’d descended from. I looked at the Villain we could not yet kill, his eyes once more the startling cold blue and I wondered how we could keep him from escaping long enough to find the others.
My thoughts were interrupted by the murmuring of a crowd behind us. I dropped into a fighting stance only for them to look at Mara with clear gazes and bow. She let her horns and wings unfurl behind her.
I looked at Ravensford in shock to which he whispered, “Potatoes injected with blackthorn for the humans, Dreadwood fire with herbs for the vampires to muddle his blood’s effects until more blackthorn could be brewed.”
Mara wiped the remaining tears from her face before summoning a crown of star speckled shadow. Her fae magic was returned with the defeat of the usurper.
“We have a long road ahead of us, but I swear by the crown of the Keepers of Avalon, I will not rest until justice is done. The Wood, the humans, and the fae must be restored.”
The crowd rose and cheered. Most of them looked at Drago with pure loathing.
“Looks like you’ll have time to beg for forgiveness after all.” I smile, letting my vines pull tighter. “Who should we start with first?”
