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All in all, a decent morning in the ring.
* * *
“Where are your guards?” Parys asked without looking up.
He was comfortably ensconced on the floor, his back to the wall of windows and a sea of books around him as always. And, of course, a tray full of delicious food.
“They are by the doors, pretending they aren’t listening to every word we are saying.” I looked around the space, seeing no chairs, and resigned myself to sitting on the floor as well. “At least it will save me recounting this conversation to them later,” I said loudly over my shoulder.
Parys ignored me, pausing his reading to write something in the notebook balanced on his left knee, then picking his book up once again.
“Aren’t you supposed to be getting to know the terrestrial delegation so you can make inroads between the factions in my court?” I asked as I looked over his food to decide what I wanted to eat first.
“Aren’t you supposed to be training?”
“I was in the sparring ring for an hour this morning, but then Esa showed up with a list of demands, so I had to cut it short.”
“That isn’t the sort of training I was referring to.”
I shrugged, sliding the tray of food closer. “As I’ve told Arran, training my magic is unnecessary,” I said as I scraped soft cheese onto a slice of toasted baguette and drizzled it with honey.
“That is what you keep saying.”
“I didn’t have any magical powers before. That was a dangerous secret that could have destabilized Annwyn and led to my certain death. Now I do have powers and everyone in Baylaur and beyond knows it. Threat averted, Annwyn stable.” I punctuated my statements by taking a hefty bite.
“Then comes a queen, in the age of uncertainty, when shadows cast doubt upon the realm. Born under a double moon and marked by a radiant star, a faerie queen shall rise to command the depths of the voids of darkness,”Parys recited.“Twice blessed, the realm of shift and mist, when comes the awaited queen who shall possess ethereal might. With a touch, she will feel the heartbeat of her subjects, and she will unlock the secrets they guard within.”
I leaned forward to look at the book in his lap. It was about weather patterns in the Spine. He’d truly memorized not only the Void Prophecy, but the Ethereal Prophecy as well, which he claimed was really just one long prophecy parsed by time. Ancestors help me.
“Have you found any proof that I am marked by a radiant star?” I challenged.
He cut me a look sharp enough to draw blood. “Not yet.”
“I haven’t read any minds either.” I shrugged and reached for another slice of bread, planning on drenching this one with salted butter. “I don’t think we need to be worried about ‘the age of uncertainty’ or ‘shadows of doubt’ just yet.”
“‘Shadows cast doubt,’” Parys corrected, looking back down at the text. Giving up on me. Rightly so.
I didn’t believe in the Void Prophecy any more than I did the one made by Merlin about the Round Table. Though the words were still eerily clear in my mind.
A table of destiny. Five shall be with you at Mabon. One is not yet known, but the bravest of the five shall be his father. When he comes, you will know that the time for the grail is near. The last is the Siege Perilous. It is death to all but the one for which it is made—the best of them all—the one who shall come at the moment of direst need.
Merlin was conniving and power hungry. The witch had said it clearly enough—one of the few things that monster had been clear about. I didn’t intend to give Merlin’s supposed prophecies—or any others, for that matter—any power over my life.
I had precious little as it was.
“Fall through any more rifts lately?” Parys asked sarcastically.
“Nope, not a single one,” I said, licking butter off my fingers. “No soul ripping from my body, no glimpses of different realms. Just plain old Veyka.”
I could still feel that ember of magic inside of me, nestled safely near the mating bond. But it seemed satisfied to glow inside of me without throwing me headfirst through rifts. I wasn’t inclined to doanythingthat might wake it up.
Preparing myself another bite, I scooted back so I could lean against the bookcase behind me.
Wings flashed overhead. White, shimmering, then gone. I twisted, trying to track them, to see where they disappeared over the top of the tall bookcase. But there was nothing.
I forced the food down, my heart pounding in my throat. “Did you see that?”
Parys’ eyes remained fixed on the book in his lap. “See what?”
