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Mavlyn blinked, caught off guard by the statement. “I’m not a hero,” she blurted.
“No, you’re not,” Nox purred. “You could have become one though, if you'd succeeded in your pathetic attempts to thwart me.” She tossed a skein of dark green hair over her shoulder, a slow smile spreading over her face. “The villagers of that little backwoods town you grew up in would have sang your praises when you returned home, and spent the rest of their days telling their children and grandchildren about how you helped Adara, daughter of dragons and fae, child of ice and fire and prophecy, vanquish the Shadow and bring peace back to Ediria again. The historians would have written about you, memorialized your name in the annals of their records. Perhaps you would have even appeared in song and legend.”
Nox unfurled herself from the couch, her movements sinuous and graceful and utterly alien. Mavlyn tried to take a step back as the Shadow approached, but the guards held her fast as Nox closed the distance, stopping inches away.
“But you’re not going to be a hero,” the Mother of Shadows said, her frigid breath ghosting against Mavlyn’s face. “I’ve squashed your little rebellion, and without Adara and her icefire, there is no power in Ediria that will save you from my wrath.”
Mavlyn opened her mouth, but whatever she was about to say died on her tongue as Nox pressed an icy finger to the center of her forehead. Her mind went blank as darkness descended around her, and her vision tunneled until all she could see was the yawning abyss of Nox’s eyes.
“Now,” the Shadow said, her voice reverberating through Mavlyn’s head. “Tell me everything that’s happened since you and your friends escaped me in Kaipei.”
Mavlyn’s mouth opened, and to her horror, the entire story spilled out. She told Nox everything—about the secret tunnel they’d used, about how they’d been separated when the water fae had taken Adara and Einar, about how she and Leap had traveled to the Gaoth Aire to rescue Quye instead. She told Nox about what had happened in the Bala Oighr—Adara’s failed attempt at the ritual, the battle between her and Dune where both Tamil and the priestess had been killed, and her journey to the Deadlands so she could access the portal and find the dragons. About the mission Quye had assigned to her and Leap, to encourage their fellow fae to rebel against the war effort so Nox couldn't gather the dark power she needed to summon the rest of her cohort. And, worst of all, the names of all the students who had helped her with the military camp raid.
“Interesting,” Nox said when Mavlyn finished. She was sitting on the couch again, but even though she was no longer touching Mavlyn, her hold on Mavlyn’s mind remained steadfast. Mavlyn tried to open her mouth to speak, to curse the Shadow for mind-raping her, but she couldn’t even produce a small whimper. She was a prisoner in her own body. “So that’s why the Bala Oighr refused to aid the water fae, even though by all rights they should have sought vengeance against General Slaugh. Perhaps this is even why the water fae have been slow to act. Kiryan is more wily than I’ve given him credit for.”
Mavlyn struggled to speak, and Nox gave an annoyed sigh. “Say what is on your mind, child.”
Mavlyn’s tongue popped free from the roof of her mouth. “What do you mean about Kiryan?” she asked. What was the Radiant up to? She’d half-expected him to show up and break her out himself, like he’d done when they were at Kaipei Castle, but there’d been no sign of him.
Nox waved her hand. “According to my reports, he’s been running around Lochanlee, spreading anti-war propaganda much like you have here. He won’t be coming for you,” she added, a taunting smile on her face as she read Mavlyn’s thoughts perfectly. “Perhaps he would risk it if you were Adara, but I’m far stronger than Kiryan. I would crush him like a bug the moment I sensed him here, and he knows it.”
A pit of despair opened within Mavlyn, and she would have sank to her knees if the guards hadn’t been holding her up. “That’s right,” Nox crooned. A pink flush suffused her cheeks, as if she was experiencing physical pleasure from Mavlyn’s misery. “There’s no one coming for you, little Mavlyn. The sooner you accept that, the sooner this will all be over.”
She turned away then, a clear dismissal, and the guards dragged her away. Mavlyn’s body moved on autopilot as they escorted her back to her room—her mind was completely detached, separated from reality by a curtain of darkness. Was this what had happened to Cascada and the other hostages? Adara had told Mavlyn about how Cascada had tried to murder her twice, before they’d discovered Nox had implanted a piece of herself into Cascada’s shadow, allowing her to influence the water fae’s mind. But according to Adara, Cascada had still been able to speak and act of her own volition. Perhaps Mavlyn would be able to also, when Nox turned her attention away.
The guards returned her to her cell, and Mavlyn laid on her cot for a long time, struggling with her body. Eventually she was able to rise from her cot and pace around, but she still couldn’t speak. She also didn’t seem to be able to inflict any kind of self-harm—Nox clearly didn’t want her killing herself, in case she had more questions. Nausea rose in Mavlyn’s throat, and she had to sit down again. She’d never felt so violated in her life, or so helpless.
Desperate to escape the new, horrible reality she found herself in, Mavlyn laid down on her cot and tried to sleep. But when sleep did finally come, it brought visions of death and destruction, of a Fenwood filled with dark, monstrous fae twisted by shadow magic. Of her parents bearing down on her, their eyes wild with madness, smiles bright with sharp fangs and claws black with blood.
She thought she glimpsed Quye’s horrified face in the midst of it all, and cried out to her friend for help. But there was no one who could save her from this darkness, no one except Adara.
And Mavlyn knew in her heart she wouldn’t live long enough to see that happen.
31
Adara
“Are you ready, Adara?”
I nodded, not looking at Ylena as I took in the landscape sprawled out before us. In the absence of Mount Furian, we’d hiked to the highest point of the island—a dormant volcano that lay still and silent beneath our feet.
It had been a week since Ylena had agreed to help me perform the Umnar, and we’d spent the last seven days on a strict schedule of fasting, meditation, and study. I’d expected to be nervous now that the day of the ritual had finally arrived, but instead, a strange sense of melancholy came over me as I looked out at the island and its inhabitants. I spotted a small group of dragons chasing each other as they flew over the waves, their colorful scales glittering in the sunlight. A few others were down by the docks setting crab traps, and more roamed around the island, socializing, doing chores, or just enjoying the beautiful slice of paradise they’d made their home.
There was no place like this in Ediria, or at least not one I’d ever been to. And there were no dragons back home either, save Einar. This was the only time I would get to experience what it was like to live amongst a dragon clan, and once I completed the ritual, our time would come to an end.
“Are you sure?” Ylena asked. I turned to see her watching me with raised eyebrows, and my cheeks heated as I realized my thoughts must have been written all over my face. “You seem to be elsewhere.”
I shook my head, pulling my mind back to the present. “I just realized that I’m going to miss this place, that’s all.”
“I would suggest you stay, if I didn’t know that keeping you here would break Einar’s heart.” To my surprise, her full lips curved into a crooked smile. “You’ve proven to be an asset to the island, and the others have taken quite a liking to you.”
“And you?” I asked, only half-joking.
Ylena’s expression softened. “You are Daryan’s daughter through and through. I’m proud to call you kin.”
Tears stung at my eyes, and I blinked them away rapidly. “Thanks, Auntie.”
She snorted. “I’m still not sure I want to be called Auntie. It makes me feel old.”
