Chapter 33

We entered a part of the Citadel I’d never seen before. I shivered in spite of the warmth radiating from the oversized stone fireplace taking up one section of an ivy-mantled wall. Soft sunlight fell through a series of skylights, casting long shadows across the wooden floorboards. Dust motes lingered in the glow, hanging in suspended animation — much like I was.

There was a simmering tension, and it wasn’t only the fact the King of Mythlandria was glaring at us as if we had just looted the castle’s treasury. At the far end of the room, next to a throne woven with branches, flowers, and leaves, stood several Elven council members, the Unseelie Faerie Queen of Air and Darkness — and Venus.

I took an uneasy breath as we approached, stopping a few feet from the base of the raised throne. Adrius gave a deep bow, and I quickly did the same.

“Rise,” a deep tenor voice resonated. King Etienne’s large hands clutched a book at least ten inches thick. It looked like it had been written a thousand years ago, judging by the tattered and stained fabric cover and faded gold markings.

“Father, you asked to see us.” Adrius spoke, carefully controlling the bite in his chilled tone.

My emotions still swirled. I hadn’t mastered the art of pretending things were fine when they weren’t. Fortunately, no one had even acknowledged my presence yet. Except Venus who offered me a wide grin… amping up my anxiety.

“Adrius. It has come to my attention you have been spending a great deal of time with the Faerie halfling.”

“Her name is Lorelei.” He bristled. “I should think you would remember that, considering she saved Mythlandria from an icy fate.”

“I am well aware of all the girl has accomplished.”

His gaze of indifference switched to me, and I fought the impulse to hide behind Adrius. Instead, I chewed my lower lip and held my ground.

“It has also come to my awareness that this fearless girl of the Seelie bloodline is not who we believed her to be.”

That caught my attention. Had they been wrong about me all along? I stole a glance at Adrius whose jaw was clenched shut, mimicking the fists clamped at his sides.

The king looked at me once more before opening the massive volume with Julien’s help.

“Do you know what this is?” he inquired, peering down at me through cold, ancient eyes.

I shook my head.

“It is the Book of Truth. It states your heritage is not that of Seelie Faerie and human. But of a Faerie King from the Shadow Court and a witch. Your bloodline is thick with black magic and dark arts… Thereby deeming you a dangerous enemy in the eyes of our court, an offense punishable by death.”

There was a collective gasp, and then dead silence. Tiny hairs at the back of my neck prickled. My mouth gaped open, hoping I’d misunderstood him. In order for what he said to be true, it would have to mean— Was he implying my mother was… not human?

“What is this?” Adrius demanded.

“The truth… brought to light at long last,” he rumbled, pointing a weathered staff in my direction. “She is the illicit product of a shadow faerie and his crimson witch… A union which flouts the laws of procreation.”

“It is insanity, that’s what it is. She saved us.” Adrius raised his voice. It was so strange to see him so close to losing his temper. He was always calm, reserved… in control. This out of character reaction only stressed me more.

“Yes. She did.” His father leaned back, narrowing his creased gaze. “And let us examine how a mere Faerie could possibly have completed this task, a task not even armies of hundreds could accomplish.”

I’d stopped listening, still wrestling with his allegation. A father I barely knew turning out to be a Faerie king. I could manage to swallow that one. But how could my own mother be something other than what I knew her to be? If she was actually a witch, then it meant Gran was as well. It seemed too impossible… yet witches, elves, and faeries had seemed equally impossible not so long ago.

My mind raced and for a moment I lost sight of the fact that this was the bad news I’d known was coming. Only Venus was focused on my reaction, watching my every expression. I’d pretty much come to terms with being part Faerie. But the idea I could be anything like her or her mother sickened me to my core.

“Lorelei is the Una Electa.” Adrius refused to back down. “She accomplished what she did using magic, as your prophecy predicted she would.” The vein in his forehead pulsed to some unheard frenetic rhythm.

“Have you dismissed the fact that the girl absorbed the prahna of the darkest witch of our days in doing so?” his father countered. His voice remained dispassionate and detached, even while his fingers tapped non-stop on his staff. “She cannot be trusted. Her power is unmatched, even among the high order of wizards.”

The hall had slowly filled with beings and habitants of Mythlandria. Dozens of eyes watched me, some with smug satisfaction, others with apprehension, and others still with worried looks of compassion.

I moved closer to Adrius, pressing against his side. My hand grazed his, and when his fingers curled around mine I exhaled the shaky breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding. The heat radiating from his touch was the only warmth in a room now gorged with judgment and disgust.

Etienne didn’t miss the subtle gesture and neither did Venus, whose garnet lips pinched into a scowl. The king sat back, folding armor-clad arms across his broad chest. “She is of the lineage of witches who killed your mother,” he scorned, directing his disapproval at Adrius who remained motionless at my side. “You would overlook that? Casually toss aside the memory of the woman who bore you into life? For this?” his hand gestured in my direction, though he still didn’t bother to look at me.

“Nothing in that volume speaks of who Lorelei is. She’s good. Her heart is pure. There isn’t a drop evil in her blood,” Adrius said.

“Perhaps not now, but you know the ways of darkness. It will grow, fester… become an all-consuming fixation. No one can possess the blood of both witch and shadow and retain any goodness within them. Her heart will blacken, all traces of humanness will fade, and she will slaughter us all in our sleep while we rest in blissful ignorance of what she has become… what she truly is ― a monster.”

His grip tightened on my hand, squeezing so hard my fingers were going numb. It was still more comforting than not having his touch at all. Eyes like hazel fire narrowed to mere slits.

“You are talking about the girl I love. You will not dare to speak of her like that again.”

“Love,” Etienne scoffed. “You are young and foolish. What do you know of love?”

“Far more than you ever will.”

“Your mother gave her life to protect yours for love. What kind of repayment do you offer by taking up with a relation of those one who murdered her?”

Adrius flinched. His hand relaxed, letting the blood circulate in my fingers again.

My stomach churned so violently I thought I might be sick. This was not only my lineage and my character they were debating, it was my life. But Adrius had suffered enough because of me. I couldn’t let his father continue to torture him.

With a deep breath, I unfolded my fingers from his and slipped my hand away from its warm protection. Stepping forward, I heard Adrius whisper, “No” a second too late.

The king aimed his infuriated glare at me. Two Elven warriors stepped forward, moving toward me. One of them grabbed my wrist in a vicious grip and clamped a wide silver bangle around it. There was a sharp sting as the clasp clicked shut.

Panic squeezed my chest with icy fingers. Beads of sweat trickled down my back. My clothes were too tight, cutting off my circulation. I can’t get enough air. Inhaling a staggered breath, I tugged furtively at the laces of my corset. Excruciating pain traveled up from my wrist, and I hugged my arms to my chest.

A low guttural growl sounded behind me, and only when Adrius’s fist smashed into one guard’s stomach, and his sword flamed in the direction of the other, did I let out an agonizing cry. He remained protectively at my side, muscles coiled ready to strike again. But the king gestured with his hand and the remaining guards backed off.

“Let her go. End this madness now. Or I will,” Adrius hissed.

“I don’t know what you want from me.” I exhaled in a voice too thin and raspy. “You’re ready to condemn me based on something written in a book? How can you possibly know any of it is true?”

“Because… I presented it to him.” Venus rose and strolled forward, her frosty gaze freezing the blood in my veins. “It’s my family’s Grimoire. And a witch’s Grimoire can only be written with truth. The ink of lies fades from sight and curses the writer. No witch would risk it.” She shrugged a pale shoulder.

I started to tell her loudly what I thought about a witch’s version of the truth, at the same time Adrius cursed and told her to burn in Hell, but Etienne raised his hand.

“Silence,” the king boomed. “I will listen to no more of this.”

A frightened hush descended.

“Our laws are clear and leave no room for interpretation. Any witch found to be of mixed bloodline with a Shadow Faerie must be destroyed. The punishment — death.”

Venus pasted on a satanic grin. Tilak poked his head out from behind a column but scurried back when she caught sight of him. Even the dwarves were afraid of her.

I caught Julien’s eye.

“Julien, you have to help me… tell them it’s not true.”

“I can’t do that, Princess,” he said, barely above a whisper. “I was there. I watched you drain her powers. No mere Faerie could pull off something like that. It’s unheard of.” He shook his head. “It must be true.”

Hawthrin cleared his throat, but remained stoically silent, blowing rings of lavender smoke into the air, his narrow, creased eyes fixed on the king.

Wild-eyed, I pleaded in silence with Adrius. The gold cord had reappeared around his ankle, the slithering links chaining him to Venus. He stood slumped over, his hands clenched at his temples, head bowed. Shades of crimson stained his skin, and purple veins bulged, ready to burst free. Whatever powerful forces were invading him, resisting them looked like it was killing him.

Two Elven guards closed in on me, each capturing an arm. I struggled to break free, but it was pointless. Another pinned Adrius’s arms behind him, his burly arm locking him in a choke hold.

I uttered a silent gasp watching his ashen skin draw taut and thin as he battled the power of his father’s will, against the curse binding him to obey. More than anything I wanted to run to him, to scream at his father to stop torturing him. But what good would that do? I had no idea if he even knew about the binding spell. If he didn’t, there was no way he’d believe me. And if he did… then that made him as evil as Octăhvia and her offspring.

King Etienne rose, descending the steps of his throne to tower over his son. He placed his hand under his son’s chin jerking his head upwards. “Adrius. You will see this done,” he said in a tone which clearly left no room for defiance.

Adrius groaned and to my horror, against his will, he nodded.

****

I was tossed on the stone floor of a cell, with the strange silver circlet still clamped around my wrist.

“It’s a Shaqwa torc. A device for restraining a witch’s magic.” Venus leaned against the wall of my prison of invisible bars.

I twisted my wrist to look at the device, which was as beautiful as it was painful. I felt weak and my arm weighed a ton. It only took a second before searing pain climbed up my arm. Wincing, I lowered it to my side.

“It’s lined with a row of needles,” she added in a sugary tone that made me cringe. “You may want to keep still.”

I sat down on the edge of a cracked stone bench. It was stained with rust-colored marks. My stomach lurched at the sight of them.

“Where’s Adrius?” It was a struggle to keep my voice steady.

“Does it matter? His reappearance means your death.” She shrugged. “But since you mentioned it, he should be arriving soon. Probably with some inane scheme to get you released. Not that it will help. The curse is binding.”

“He has no reason to hold me here.”

“You still don’t understand things, do you? It makes no difference what he wants. Here you’re judged not by your actions but by who you are.”

It was like high school all over again. And as usual I wasn’t in with the right crowd.

"You pose a potential a threat. That’s all they need. These are ancient wounds and rivalries we’re talking about.”

I looked up at Venus, her swaying red curls too vibrant for the dank space. “Why haven’t they captured you? You say you're Octăhvia’s daughter… doesn’t that make you as evil as they think I am?”

Her cold laugh ricocheted around the cavern. “My heritage is pure since both my mother and father were sorcerers. Though my great-great-great-grandmother shared the bloodline of an incubus demon.”

I tried not to let my jaw drop but failed.

“Yes, yes,” she said with a hint of impatience. “They’re real too.” She framed the word with dramatic air quotes. “And since you possess my mother’s powers, I can’t claim succession to her throne. Only you can do that.”

“I don’t want it,” I insisted.

She ignored me. “There isn’t a drop of Faerie blood in my veins, which makes me relatively harmless by comparison. But you… Your existence is an abomination. And you will never have my Adrius.”

“Is that what this is about?” I spat. “Because I’m leaving… he could be all yours again, some day.”

“That day will never come.” Adrius walked through the invisible barrier holding me in my cell, which was no more than a cave carved into the side of a boulder.

I ran to him and let myself fall into his open arms. His hand stroked my hair and he folded me into him for a blissful moment that was cut too short.

“Hate to interrupt, but there are more important matters to be taken care of,” Venus interrupted, licking her lips. “Like her execution.”

“I’m going to get you out of here. I promise.” His voice muffled in my hair.

Too worn out to speak, I nodded, forcing back burning tears.

“There is no way Lorelei could be a kin of your rancid bloodline,” he said in his usual velvety tone. "It was not dark Faerie magic that caused Octăhvia’s powers to be drained. She received training in the light of the Seelie Court and that awakening is as powerful as any dark magic."

Venus tapped a finger on her dimpled chin. “Perhaps… But certainly a witch-fey who’s been given the kiss of memory could conjure that kind of magic.”

“What are you saying?” he demanded. “And don’t lie to me Venus, because I won’t hesitate to cut out your tongue.”

She threw back her head and laughed, sending dark red curls everywhere, like Medusa.

“That’s what I love about you, Adrius. You’re so passionate. But you should ask your little Faerie Princess what I’m talking about. Or, you could go directly to Zanthiel himself.”

Adrius snarled, but when he felt my limbs go rigid, he stopped. Roughly he thrust me away from him. Taking hold of my shoulders, he turned me to face him.

I tried to look into his eyes, but what I saw frightened me, so I stared at the ground.

Lifting my chin, he searched my upturned face. “Lorelei. Is there any truth to what she’s saying?”

I didn’t know what to say. I was frozen in limbo, where all decisions and actions were impossible. So I didn’t say anything.

He shook my shoulders once. “Lorelei, please… Tell me the truth.”

Swallowing back the bile rising in my throat, I met his eyes. They churned like the sea on the cusp of a storm.

“Amaryllis’s methods weren’t working,” I said softly. “I had to do something. I couldn’t let Octăhvia kill everyone I cared about.”

I watched the golden light fade from his face.

He shook his head. “No. Tell me you didn’t,” he whispered in a strained voice.

For the first time in a long time, the uncomfortable probing sensation was there, as he searched my thoughts for his answer. I was too weary to block him, and with the Shaqwa Torc clamped to my wrist, controlling my magic, I was powerless to stop him anyway. Part of me didn’t want to stop him. It was better this way — put an end to all of the lies.

I reached out for him, but he pushed my hand away. “Why?” he said, the volume of his voice rising. “Just tell me why?”

“Adrius, please… It wasn’t… it didn’t… mean anything.”

The words sounded lame and pathetic, even to me. But it had been necessary, hadn’t it? There was no other way.

“It was a means to an end.” I choked back a sob.

His reproachful glare was unbearable. To know this time, once again, I was the one causing the pain contorting his beautiful face.

“Yes,” Venus chimed in. “It was a means to an end… Your end.”

“Not another word, Venus,” he snapped. “Release the Shaqwa Torc.” Every word was clipped.

Venus lifted her finely boned porcelain hand and flicked it. “Veneficus,” she said, and liquid waves of light flowed from her fingertips to my wrist. The manacle broke open and clamored to the floor, the metallic din echoing in the dank cave.

Dried blood caked over purple bruises circled my wrist. I massaged it lightly, marveling at the rapid healing already taking place.

Venus wore the smug look of victory. “I knew you’d make the right choice,” she said, and Adrius flinched slightly closing his eyes.

His hand wrapped around my upper arm so tightly his fingers dug into my flesh, and he tugged me toward the mouth of the cave. “Let’s go.”

Before I could protest, his fist slammed into the stone, as we exited. Vein-like cracks spread across the surface as a soft rain of powder fell to the ground, leaving Venus behind in a cloud of chalky dust as he towed me into the forest toward the Citadel.

We were alone.

“I’m so sorry, Adrius.” The words came out sounding wrong. My voice was too weak to convey everything I was feeling. And I couldn’t find what I wanted to say. I held my wrist briefly, forcing back the nauseating smell of dried blood that circled it like a crimson bracelet. My arm was throbbing. The puncture wounds from the Shaqwa had already healed, but I didn’t care about that now. I tried to touch his arm and he pushed me away. Waves of fury rolled off him, and his eyes flashed like a stormy sea.

“Lorelei? Do you have any idea what you’ve done? Do you?” His hands clenched into fists, the sinewy muscles of his arms stretched with tension. “You have just sentenced yourself to death.”