“She didn’t know at first when they wed, since the evil king has always been covered, but then it was too late. She’s continued to keep the peace until another way to defeat him presented itself.” Celestine’s face fell at this admission of truth. The poor queen.
“I can’t believe it. Ugh . . . yes, I really can.”
I wished I hadn’t knocked the tea over. It made me calmer and soothed my overthinking mind. My thoughts raced too fast to focus.
“Your time has run out, you know this, yes?” Celestine’s warm hands wrapped around mine.
I nodded. Whether I was ready or not, it was time to decide. Right here, right now. After I left this cave, there would be no going back.
“Save Tor. Go tonight and unlock the secrets in the onyx. Get her out of that tomb.” She shook my hands slightly with every word, driving her serious tone home with every movement.
“Can you tell me the downside to this? I know there is one. Life works in balances.” It was something I’d learned long ago. Without the bad, there was no good. Everything had an opposite.
“You will be exposing the Fae realm to the Dramens, and they will start a war with our kind. Saving them means a destiny of suffering and loss. However, you will gain so much more in the end . . . a better world for everyone, human and Fae alike. You listen to me, dear. Hear me good. You have the strength of all the creatures of this Earth. We are all with you, and you will never be alone in this fate.”
I knew her demand of saving Tor and the princess were too good to be true. To save them meant war, death, and pain. It all rested on my shoulders.
“I’m not ready for this.” I shook my head. I wished I knew someone else who could take my place and go work miracles with the fate of many people tied to them.
“You are. You already know you are. Stop fighting your destiny.” She willed me to see it, to feel what I knew.
“How would I even get to the Iron City? No doubt those Dramens are almost there with him.” I couldn’t believe I was really doing this, taking a leap of faith.
“I think a certain dragon would be happy to help you get there quickly.” The seer released my hand, while one of her pets landed on her shoulder with a purr.
“I must be going mad.”
“All the best people are a little mad. It’s what sets us apart from the crowd.” Celestine winked and walked around her fire and poured herself some tea.
Weeks ago, all I wanted was to be part of a crowd, a community where I was safe, and live out my days in peace. Instead I was some wannabe warrior who was about to ask a dragon to fly me to where the king and queen of the Dramens sat on their bone thrones. I’d have to face an army of feral humans to save Tor. By myself.
Then, if I survived, I’d be letting the rest of the human world know the Fae and mystical creatures were real. I had many theories about the onyx tomb, but that would have to wait until I came back. If I came back. There were more important matters right now.
“What should I do if I see the king?” Unpleasant chills ran down my spine at the thought of the royal Fae.
“He pretends, so you will pretend for now.” She shrugged.
“Does he know about me? What I’m supposed to do?”
“He knows now. Seeing Desmire connected everything he was suspicious about. You don’t have much time to get your plan ready, my dear. You need to go.”
“What about the rest of it. Is it true?”
I knew my suspicions about King Lachan were correct. It was so obvious now. The other things my nagging mind tried to reveal were too much to handle. I swallowed a thick lump in my throat as I took one step back toward the exit.
“You’ll figure it out soon enough.”
OK. For now, I had to somehow save Tor from the Dramen’s Iron City and get Nyx out of the onyx tomb.
And stay the hell away from King Verin, who strutted around the palace as their King Lachan.
Chapter Forty-Five
The guards alerted everyone I was back and alive. Dris and Emrys waited for me, as well as the queen and king.
I plastered a mask of relief on my face as I ran to embrace them, instead of concentrating on the internal recoil upon seeing the king’s golden gaze settle on me.
“Are you OK? Holy hell, we saw a werewolf carry you off into the woods.” Dris sobbed so hard, her shoulders shook as she hugged me. Emrys’s normally grinning face was serious and grim. His hair and clothes looked like he hadn’t been able to sleep. Guilt for not coming here first bloomed in my belly.
The queen wasn’t looking at me, and the king noticed his wife’s aloof behavior with suspicion.
“My wife is tired. Now that we see you are in good health, we will retreat to our beds. We are very happy to see you safe and sound, little gem.” The king placed his hand on the queen’s elbow and steered her off toward the inside of the palace.
The poor queen, married to her enemy, couldn’t fight back because she’d given everything she had to save her daughter.
“What happened?” Emrys questioned me softly, and I motioned for them to follow me to my small quarters.
They looked at each other and nodded, staying close to me as we walked to my room. The room was slightly cramped once we all piled in and had the door closed behind me, but it would have to do for now.
“Rune was the werewolf. I am fine. But I found out some heavy stuff and have a crazy plan to start working on.”
“I’m in,” Emrys announced, his hands going into his pockets.
“I haven’t even said anything yet.”
“Doesn’t matter. Whatever you’re up to, I’m in.” He shrugged.
“Sapphira. What did you find out?” she asked.
“King Lachan is Verin. That’s why there has been peace between the two kingdoms in the past twenty years. He has everything he wants. No need to fight when you are the ruler of both. I don’t know if he was always named Verin and changed it to Lachan or vice versa. I don’t know if he wanted me dead or a prisoner, but he had his men attack the party. He invited me and knew I’d be there. He knows that I’m trying to break the princess out of the onyx tomb. She could change what he unleashed in this world, and he wants her to stay there. Hence I need to go.”
Dris sat down on my bed, like her legs couldn’t hold the weight from my words. Emrys cursed and ran his hands over his face, having trouble dealing with the information.
“You mentioned a plan?” Dris spoke softly, accepting what I said and moving on to the next part of our little meeting.
I said with conviction, “I’m going to fly to the Iron City to save Tor, and then open that onyx tomb. I believe Tor has the final piece to this large puzzle, and he needs to be freed from those evil creatures. Verin will try to stop me from all of this so that’s why I’m leaving tonight.” I nodded to myself, believing my own words, and knowing I still had so much to do.
“Fly?” Emrys asked. The excited smile on his face indicated he was confused and wanted a confirmation of his thoughts.
I grinned with him as I spoke clearly. “I’m going to convince my dragon friend to take me. We’ll be there in a few hours and hopefully out of there in no time. One thing you must know before any of this goes further, Emrys. Doing this will be exposing the Fae realm to the humans, and there is no coming back. There will be war, eventually.” It was a large burden to carry, but Emrys didn’t even blink before agreeing he wanted to help with the plan.