Vlari groans against my chest. "Mother."
"Daughter," Ciera echoes, smirking. “You came back to us.”
The queen looks close to tears. I pray that she spares me the hugs, at least.
I gesture for the wide-eyed guards to take their leave, in order to give them a moment of privacy.
“I did. And now we’re without protection.”
I can’t believe she dares sound put out about the fact that she returned to us. To me.
There never was a day as joyous as this, as far as I’m concerned.
“You’re not returning to eversleep.” I think I growl. Actually, I know I do. “Not for all the shields and weapons wielded by the gods themselves.”
We’ll manage without her sacrificing herself.
To my relief, she nods in agreement. I exhale, my shoulders sagging when the tension leaves my muscles. She’s not leaving us. I can bear everything else.
“I had enough energy to create the shield and maintain it after sucking it from the immortals and Violet. I wouldn’t risk it now.” Vlari seems to be under the impression she needs to explain why she isn’t returning right back to her comatose state. I don’t think her mother or I would let her if she tried. “But Whitecroft is compromised.”
She looks to the high queen, who nods in agreement. “Your father and I were visiting each court hall when we saw the dome shatter. Nero remained behind to reassure the people. I rushed here. I thought…”
She doesn’t spell it out. I’m grateful. What she thought almost came to pass, and I’m not ready to dwell on it.
Vlari almost died. My Vlari.
I don’t want to remember the way my heart and soul threatened to break. I’m willing to ignore the memory of the physical pain, and the deeper wound inflicted on my mind.
I caress her arm, and to my wonder, she doesn’t push me away, doesn’t say a word against my touch, accepting it.
“We have to act to avoid mass panic, and to protect this place as well as we can now.” Vlari gets to her feet, dusting off her light blue gown.
Part of me wants to tell her how little I care for the folk's opinion. I almost lost her. I need her all to myself, if only for another moment. I wish I were that selfish, but I can also imagine the hysteria. A real threat looms in the distance without our barrier.
I reluctantly rise too.
“Could the air folk forge a golden dome? So we have an illusion of our shield. I’m sure the enemy spies will have seen it collapse, but if it comes right back, they may believe it just flickered on and off. They may hesitate to attack. It'll buy us some time."
Ciera nods without questioning the suggestion. Nor should she—we need to act immediately, if only with a temporary solution, and this idea is as good as any other.
“I’ll give the command. You need to show the folk you're alive and well. Seeing you safe will rekindle hope. Then, join us in the war room. With Rystan, naturally.” The queen grins wickedly. "You children can play later."
I've always assumed Ciera Bane, daughter of Morgana Lilwreath, child of the blood of Nyx, would have a thing or two to say against my sniffing around her daughter.
I've always assumed Vlari wouldn't ever be interested in the son of pucks.
Yet here we are, in the palace that serves as the royal court of Tenebris, and the high queen is telling me I canplaywith her daughter—just as soon as she’s done planning a war. With me. I am welcome in the war room, along with princes and generals.
Everything I thought I knew is wrong now. Our kingdom irrevocably changed the moment Queen Morgana and her antediluvian ways drew their last breath.
Vlari returns to the corpse next to the fireplace, and bends down to retrieve the dead fae’s dagger.
She inspects it for a moment. "Human made, I think. Iron." She grimaces in distaste.
“How could he get in here?” the queen asks. “Before the shield went down.”
Vlari purses her lips. “He may have been here all along, waiting for orders to act. But his clothes are wet. It’s possible he swam deep under my shield, in the river. My power never quite reached the Sea Lands. I don’t think an irrelevant assassin with nameless blades would have known to do that by himself, however. You’ve been speaking about reaching the Sea Lands in council?” The queen nods. “Did you mention you hoped to be able to see merfolks because my shields should be weaker around water?”
