“Tell me about Nova Ys,” I said.
“When we first built it, we flew the sigil of Meriadoc to honor your mother—the white horse rising from the water. Those flags remain. Its location is secret.”
“And you don’t think the fuath can get there with the World Key?” I asked.
“Not even my half-brothers know how to find Nova Ys. Their mothers didn’t live in the real Ys. So no, they won’t be able to find it, and I don’t think they’ll be able to use the World Key, either.”
I glanced at his crown, eyes narrowing. “Are you the king of Nova Ys?”
“I refused the title of king. I am their protector. My job is to make sure no one finds it.”
“And you really have no idea who would want to get to Nova Ys? Who might be controlling the fuath?”
He shook his head.
Wind rushed through the open windows, making me shiver. “You still haven’t told me why you hated my father so much.”
“My mother lived in Nova Ys. She was a lady of the court, and very well loved. She’d been blessed by the god of the sea, after all. The sea god had given her a son. That worried your father. What if they wanted me to rule in his place? I’m a demigod. I was a threat to him.”
My heart thumped in my chest. When I’d first met Lyr, I’d had no idea our worlds were so entwined.
Lyr continued. “King Gradlon invited my mother to dinner. He said he wanted to discuss marriage. How could she refuse such an invitation? The people of Ys loved her. They wanted this match—a great lady blessed by the sea, married to the king. But your father had no intention of marrying her.”
“What did he do?”
“He served her roasted quail laced with a sleeping ointment. When she fell asleep on the dining table, he stripped her naked. He impaled her on an oak tree with iron nails through her limbs, which tore her flesh and poisoned her body. He broke every fae law. He let the citizens of Ys know what happened when they loved someone too much.”
I stared at him, dread spreading through my veins. That was my dad. No wonder people thought I was poisoned with evil.
Lyr’s back was straight as a rod. “King Gradlon did not do terrible things to protect his own people. He served only his own interests.”
I could hardly breathe. “I never knew. No one ever mentioned it.”
“Her name and image were carved off every building. Her sigils were destroyed. The king took her home as well, and carved his own name into her stone walls.”
For a moment, silence reigned.
“It took her seventeen days to die,” he added. “The iron in her body stopped her from passing on peacefully, so her soul lingered in the sea hell. She stayed there until I became the Ankou to help her soul move on. And then, I did the same for others. And your mother,” he went on. “Queen Malgven—was the one who killed him. She ushered in the golden age of Ys. She was the greatest ruler the kingdom ever had.”
I wanted to be sick. I ran a finger over my lower lip, thinking about what he’d just told me. Seventeen days to die…
“I’m not really anything like my dad, you know,” I said. “Spoiled, yes. A long time ago. But I was never ruthless.”
He glanced at the dagger I was still clutching. “Do you plan to use that on me again?”
“If I have to.”
“You look cold. I’ll get you something else to wear. Then, you can see if you can sense the athame from here.”
“What will it sound like?” I asked. “I don’t know what I’m listening for.”
“It sounds like the music of your family—the House of Meriadoc. I’m not a Morgen. I can’t hear the music of magic like you can. But I know it was forged with Meriadoc blood and bones, and will sound like the Meriadoc song.”
He stood and crossed out of the room into the dark stairwell, leaving me alone to listen to the sound of the rain hammering the concrete walls. A chilly gust of wind rushed inside the room.
When Lyr left me in the dark, the silence felt oppressive. I wasn’t sure I’d felt this alone since the Nameless One had stolen my power.
I let out a long breath, still stunned by the revelation that Nova Ys existed. I wondered if they’d rebuilt the palace there.
I’d spent a century and a half trying not to think about that palace, but all this time—the kingdom had gone on without me. Memories of the old court flitted through my mind—the walls hung with gleaming cockle shells, black pearls, and gemstones from the sea. Cedar trees grew high in marble halls, gold dangling from their boughs. The strange bell song of the Ys spires filled the air. In those days, we threw parties in gardens that overlooked the sea, dressed in the finest silks.
And my true-born power bonded me to the sea.
I could control the waves. The sea was once part of my soul. I could part the waters to walk between the waves if I wanted, which I’d done once to impress a courtier. I could slip into the ocean and travel through it, fast as the speed of sound.
If I’d wanted, I could have drowned a city. A kingdom.
I hadn’t, mind you.
But the power of the sea once hummed beneath my skin, an electrifying magic that made me feel alive. Exhilarated.
Since the Nameless One had stolen my true power, I’d tried it, again and again. Every time the results had me cracking into a kind of hysterical laugh-cry. I’d call the ocean to me, luring it closer with the power I should command. And what did I get? Droplets. Mist. A fisherman irritably complaining about pea soup fog. No waves or storms. No parting of the seas.
At some point, I had to give up. I’d buried the memory. But now, my longing for it had awakened. It felt like a gaping cavern had ripped open in my chest.
My teeth chattered, and I looked at the empty stairwell. I’d been so shocked by what Lyr had just told me that I hadn’t really thought about where he’d be getting the clothes. A half-naked fae, strutting around a residential neighborhood in the night, looking for a shop.
I felt his power before I saw him cross into the room.
He wore a black sweatshirt that didn’t quite fit across his enormous chest, and it was partially unzipped, straining against him.
“They were clean, and dry. Under the cover of balconies.” He handed me a pair of tiny black shorts and a long-sleeved T-shirt. “Options were limited.”
He hadn’t given me any underwear again. I wasn’t sure if that was because he didn’t know about underwear, or if he’d correctly figured out that I’d be totally weirded out by wearing another person’s undercrackers. He turned away, giving me the chance to dress myself. I pulled on the T-shirt, which said Hot Skateboard Fun in silver letters. It wasn’t bad. If I’d had a pair of high heels, it wouldn’t look too far off what I normally wore.
I wasn’t sure if I was relieved or dismayed that he hadn’t picked out a bra for me as well. In any case, being in dry clothes felt good.
“You can turn around again,” I said.
Tiredness sapped my muscles. “You want me to try to just… hear the athame?” I heaved a sigh. If it were near, I was pretty sure I’d be able to hear its music already, but I’d humor him. “Let me give it a try.”
He crossed his arms, watching me expectantly.
I sat down against the cold concrete wall, and I closed my eyes. I rested my hands on my knees.