Chapter 34

I couldn’t think.

I couldn’t move.

I couldn't breathe.

I was alone, back in Oberon’s tower, and all I could do was sit on the ice-cold floor, knees pulled to my chest, frozen. One thought after another, ripping through my memories, tearing holes in me too deep to ever repair. I lowered my head, my cheek pressed to my knees, and I sobbed.

When I finally peeled my face from my knees to stare at the ice fire dancing in the hearth, day had merged with night, and the black sun had set, streaking the sky with luminous shades of charcoal and violet.

I wiped away my tears and drew myself upright. How did it come to this? Me, alone, scarred, and mutilated. My flesh seared with the markings of witch hunters. My family in shreds, and with it my life. I was exhausted, achy, and famished. Yet, I couldn’t stand the thought of eating. Not now, with so much hanging in limbo, so much at stake.

Oberon had taken me back without a word. He hadn’t bothered to reattach a Shaqua band to suppress my magic, and I hadn’t bothered to fry any of his guards where they stood. Call it a truce, of sorts.

To my knowledge, he hadn’t taken Zanthiel's life. Clearly, he had no plan on taking mine either. "The lives of those whose lives would shape the course of many others must be spared," he'd said upon my return. Or, that’s what I’d been told he’d said, because to my face, he’d refused to speak to me at all.

My father, for all of his wrath and fury, had spared those who’d betrayed him. We were alive to see another day, and yet there was little comfort in that. He had been unwilling to end our lives, but for all I knew he would be equally unwilling to help us. To fight back.

Moonlight bathed the floor as it poured in the window, illuminating the room with a ghostly glow.

I dragged myself to the table. Dinner had been delivered. Curls of steam rose from the platters, fogging in the bitterly cold room. I stared at the offering. Fresh bread. Soup. Greens. No sweets. Why would there be? I was a prisoner once more.

I stared at it as several seconds ticked by like hours. Then I picked up a glass and hurled it at the fireplace. It shattered, spraying fragmented glass and liquid into the turquoise flames.

There was no time for this. I couldn't just sit here while the MBD and the Shades plotted who-knows-what against the unsuspecting beings in their world and in mine. Something had to be done, and there'd been no indication that Oberon intended to do anything.

The door swung open, and Oberon strolled in. Speak of the devil, did he always come when called? He was completely unarmed. No guards flanked his sides. Only him.

His cold eyes bored into mine. "And here we are once more. Back where we began."

I shook my head; this wasn’t our beginning. It was our end. I wanted nothing to do with the man who'd abandoned me and locked me up. Vivienne might have been powerless to fight back against the Fey who separated our family…separated an infant from her mother, and a husband from his wife. But Oberon, my father, he was a Faerie King. He had resources. Armies, power, influence. He'd used none of it to help me then. I'd no reason to believe he'd use it to help me now.

My hand still ached as I flexed and unflexed my fingers, staring at the hideous markings engraved across the once flawless skin. I wanted to sleep, close my eyes, and pretend none of it mattered. I wanted to fight, tear into the nearest human, and rip out their heart. And I wanted to go back. To find out for myself if Vivienne and Abby were truly safe. Instead I sat, resisting the urge to lash out at the man standing over me.

Oberon kept his eyes on me as he walked to the table. “Please, shall we sit?”

I nodded because I didn’t trust my voice. Didn’t trust that I wouldn’t tell him every vile and evil thought I had with regard to him being my father.

He pulled out a chair for me, which I sank into while he seated himself across from me.

We really are back where we began. On the eve of my trip into the human world. And just like the first time, I was filled with only anger and frustration at the man who’d given me life.

“I do not know what you think of me,” Oberon began, then he chuckled lightly. “In truth, I know exactly what you must think.” He placed an elbow on the table. “However, there are not enough words, nor hours to explain how it has all come to this.”

I glared at him, my eyes narrowing. “By this you mean me, here, under lock and key? Again. Incarcerated by a father who until recently denied my very existence, but who suddenly won't let me out of his sight.”

His expression darkened. “Nor shall I ever again,” he nodded. “And with good reason.”

I scoffed and turned away. His hand cupped my chin and drew my face back to his. "Whatever you may think of me, I care what becomes of you."

I twisted in his grasp, recoiling at his touch. “Is that why you had me brought back to life? Why you forced Zanthiel to use the Necromancers' magic on me? Let me believe he'd done it out of unrequited, undying love for me, when really he was just obeying Daddy's orders?” I spat the words at him.

He seemed surprised that I knew the truth yet covered it up with a tight-lipped smile. “Fault me if you must, but we all do what needs to be done, Venus. Even you.”

He’s calling me Venus. Perhaps Isobel is truly as dead to him as he is to me.

“I lost you once, and yes, I allowed it to happen. But I would never let your life go to ruin so needlessly.”

I folded my arms and looked away, still soured at being so misled. "Then you failed miserably because that is exactly where my life landed. In ruins."

Don’t be so stupid. None of that is important now.

I clenched my fists so tightly they hurt, unable to let it go.

Then why does it feel so important?

He chuckled softly. “You sound more like your mother with each spoken word. She was equally as strong willed, determined, and sharp-tongued.”

At first, my muscles stiffened. I should have wanted to strike him. To order him out of my room and out of my life. But something in his words found a soft, warm space to curl up inside me. My hands relaxed on my lap.

“She still is,” I murmured. I hope she still is.

Again, I was reminded of how imperative it was for us to act. Breathing a heavy sigh, I lifted my chin. "You can’t hold me here forever,” I warned. “One way or another, I’m going to get out.” I balanced my elbows on my knees and leaned forward. “I'm ready to fight, Oberon. I just need to know whether or not you are."

My father studied me, with a vaguely distant expression on his face. For a moment he still seemed lost in the past. A past I'd only briefly glimpsed through Vivienne's eyes, until now. And for a moment, just the tiniest moment, I let down my barrier, and felt something closely related to compassion.

Then he came back into himself, his jaw tense and resolute. “These hunters, they cannot get away with what they have done to you.” He rose to his feet abruptly. “We will fight. And we will win. And you, my darling daughter, are a princess. A future queen. To this I vow…I shall see you and Lorelei united as true sisters. And you shall be made whole once more.”

He stepped back and headed for the door. “I trust that after your last encounter, you will no longer choose to flirt with death.”

A frown tightened my forehead. “And if I do,” I called out, “want to flirt with death? What do you intend to do about it?”

He turned his head, just long enough for me to see he was wearing a small smile. Then he left, barring the door behind him.

Oberon was gone, and I was alone. Again.

I paced a thin line across the floor, still limping slightly. Whole. What does that even mean—make me whole? He wasn’t a wizard, and he wasn’t a loving, devoted father. This man was many things, but first and foremost he was Fey. They couldn’t be trusted. Lorelei and I reunited in sisterly love. Really. Was that a condition of his assistance? Did he expect me to forgive and forget that she was the cause of so much of this chaos? I’d been burned by faerie bargains before. Had I once again struck a deal with the devil?

I had so many questions, yet two things I knew for sure. One…we would win this fight. And two…Lorelei and I would never be sisters. Regardless of what Oberon did or didn’t want. He couldn’t fix what wasn’t broken any more than he could fix what was irreparable.

I'd done all I could do in the human world, but it wasn't enough. It was nowhere near enough. If I was to be queen, where did that leave Lorelei? Were we expected to share even this? Not happening. I, and I alone, would rule, and I had no intention of sharing anything else with her. She’s already taken enough.

Eventually my powers would be fully restored and once they were, I’d do whatever was necessary to make sure the humans I cared for were safe. Even if this fight took a very, very long time to win. With the Shades involved, there was the possibility it could take forever. But we would win. Because forever was more than enough time to set things right.

The door to my room clicked, and with a soft, icy breeze it blew open. I froze still. There was a moment of silence, like the air was withholding its breath. Waiting.

I paused, expecting someone to enter. No one did. When I peeked out the door, the halls were empty and still. Whether by chance or by choice, I’d been released. Does it matter which? I had no idea how it happened, nor did I care. I didn’t even stop to grab a cloak. The cold didn’t bother me; I was made of it.

Guards might come searching for me, or perhaps even Oberon himself. He’d spoken of trust between us, but it was too late for that. I was already making my way out of the tower, weaving through the darkest parts of the castle.

Freedom. It was finally within my grasp. I thought of my mother, and Abby, Luc, and the small girl…wishing that they, too, would have it.

I may not be the hero of this story, but I was no longer just the villain. I’d been given a new life and a new name. I’d been reborn once, and I could be reborn again. This journey had shown me many things. Everyone was damaged. It was impossible to escape this life, or any other, completely unscathed. Yet, as easily as we damage each other, we also mend each other. No, I wasn’t the villain anymore, but sometimes it took taking a step backwards to move forward.

With every step through the Shadow Court, I felt my magic strengthen, filling my soul with a power so formidable it made me tremble. As if the hallowed halls of my father’s kingdom were fueling me with Faerie magic, amplifying my own.

I slunk through the corridors, feeling relief beyond words at the sudden change of fate. My walk had a confident sway, with no trace of the limp I’d left behind. I felt... unstoppable. A guard stepped in my path; I pointed in his direction, and he solidified into a statue. Anyone who got in my way, I turned to stone with no more than the flash of my hand. And in my wake, I left behind a path of blackened footsteps past bleeding statues. Just like Octăhvia. Just like home. Noctria.

That was my destination. Adrius and Zanthiel had their own agendas, as did Oberon. A girl could only count on herself. I’d had my fill of the glittering courts of Faerie. It was time for me to find more allies and end this war, and my surrogate mother’s army was a start. All of a sudden, I realized that the freedom I’d so desired back in the human world was truly mine.

The winds tore my hair as I exited my father’s castle of black ice. With a shiver of excitement, I hurried out into the shadow of night, determined to have what even a reformed villain must eventually have—

Vengeance.

****

But what if encountering the snake was the best thing that ever could have happened to Eve?

THE END