“Holy hell,” Cai gaped. “They’re still out there?”
Frazer continued, sounding grim. “Yes. And because of my act of defiance, I heard the witch’s fury was something to behold. That it made her deaf to every treaty, every plea, and the negotiations fell apart.” He looked as sick as I felt. “My king was imprisoned, publicly humiliated, and finally, executed. The whole court followed him into the grave and my friend’s soul was obliterated. All because of what I’d done. Because I was so rutting sure that Morgan lied when she told King Linus that he could keep his court and his crown. But Morgan allied with the Riverlands not long after, and she’s kept her word to Diana—she’s never invaded.” His shoulders slumped. Utter defeat and years of guilt—this was what they did.
Gods. He could’ve worked for—been enslaved to—that demon witch. I shook my head clear of those thoughts and said, “You’re taking too much on.”
The look he gave me made my throat stick. As if I could never understand.
“Serena’s right,” Liora put in softly. “That burden isn’t yours alone to carry. There were a lot of people responsible for the fall.”
Cai made a noise of agreement. “Besides, the could’a, would’a, should’a helps no one. If you ask me, you showed mercy and saved a shit-ton of people the day you let those warriors go.”
Adrianna couldn’t look any of us in the eye; she was so quiet when she spoke. “And don’t make the mistake of thinking Morgan didn’t destroy the Riverlands. Our kingdom—what we once were—is ashes. Our court made the biggest mistake of all. And our Queen didn’t fight when the whole damned Solar Court begged us to. Instead, Diana forsook Queen Sefra and signed a beggar’s alliance with Morgan, giving into all her demands. By the seven seas, we may as well have gotten on our knees and sucked her tits.” Disgust infused her voice again.
Frazer frowned, nodding as if accepting she might have a point.
“But everyone knows Queen Diana hates Morgan.” Liora’s breathlessness made me stare at her.
Adrianna snorted. “Of course she does, but then who doesn’t? She’s a hellish bitch.”
Cai cut in. “Then there’s still hope, while the Riverlands is fighting—”
“Haven’t you been listening?” Adrianna asked, annoyed. “We’re not fighting. We’re beggared and broken by Morgan’s taxes.”
“What about the Riverland’s armies?” Liora sputtered.
Why in stars did she seem so panicked? It wasn’t just her, either. Cai was white-knuckling it, staring into the fire.
“What of them?” Adrianna asked, scowling.
“They answer to Diana. She’s been increasing recruit intakes for over a year, building her military.”
“Li …” Cai’s whisper rang with a warning.
Adrianna watched them both carefully. “So, that’s why you’re at Kasi?” she asked, her eyes narrowing. “I wondered why two witches would travel from the Crescent to become foot soldiers for the Riverlands.”
My eyes fixed on Liora. Her expression was riddled with grief and disbelief. “I thought you left because you were—”
Cai’s spell prevented me from speaking another word; it choked me off.
Liora’s features flickered with unease. She turned and whispered to her brother, “Undo it. Undo the spell. Serena’s more than earned our trust, and Frazer’s willing to share secrets that, in the wrong hands, could mean death. We should return the favor.”
I shared a look with Cai. There was a heartbeat of hesitancy that I hoped had everything to do with Liora’s safety and nothing to do with me. Then his lips moved, his eyes fluttered, and something loosened in my chest as the release of my oath to never speak of their secrets broke.
“Anyone want to tell me what that was all about?” Adrianna lifted a haughty eyebrow. She was fooling no one. Curiosity burned deep in her eyes.
She wasn’t the only one with questions; Frazer’s thoughts interrupted my own. Serena? Anything you’ve neglected to tell me?
Due to the tight grip of the spell, my friends’ secrets were the one thing I’d been unable to reveal, even in shared memories. But it wasn’t to him that I answered. My attention was solely for Liora.
“You said you were exiled from the Crescent because your father feared Morgan. Because she might come after you …” I tried not to sound too accusing.
“That’s right,” Cai answered for Liora. A little too defensive.
I bristled; my spine locked.
“Maybe that’s why you left, but it’s not why you came to Kasi, is it?” Adrianna pressed. “You believed the rumors those fools spread about Diana leading us against Morgan when the time is right.”
Adrianna didn’t look smug, just sad. Liora dropped all pretense at this point. Her voice grew louder, more insistent. “If Diana wasn’t planning anything, why recruit more soldiers? Why did she break her rule about training human slaves?”
Interesting.
Liora seemed so desperate that a smidgen of sympathy entered Adrianna’s voice. “Because Morgan persuaded our queen it was the right course of action.”
Liora deflated, shoulders caving inward. But Cai didn’t seem ready to give in. “How d’you know this?”
Adrianna met his challenging tone. “I have friends in the Riverlands Court.”
I could almost taste the argument brewing.
“The rumors must’ve started somehow—”
Adrianna cut him off. “There are some who believe Morgan started those rumors to flush out rebels. Besides, don’t you think that if you two heard those rumors on the other side of Aldar, that Morgan’s court wouldn’t know about them too? If there was ever a shred of truth to them, the fae bitch would’ve gathered her forces against Diana a long time ago.”
I couldn’t bear the weighted looks Cai and Liora shared. They reeked of despair. “Did you come here to join a rebellion?”
Liora was the first to nod. “I’m sorry we didn’t tell you. I wanted to.”
“It’s my fault. I told her not to,” Cai confessed. “I didn’t want you dragged into our problems—we’ve got enough on with the trials.”
I nodded. It was an effort not to seem hurt.
“We should’ve told you,” Liora muttered, staring up at the canopy with tears in her eyes. “You also deserve to know that my motives for wanting to be part of a rebellion aren’t selfless. I want Morgan gone, but it’s more than that. I need her gone. The binding’s starting to take its toll.”
Fear choked me. Breathing became difficult. “I thought you told me the side effects were manageable with exercise.”
“That’s what we were told,” Cai answered, as if all the emotion had drained from him. “But when it comes to Liora …” A pause and a sigh. “We think her power might be too raw, too wild to be contained forever.”
Liora’s tears had dried up. She was diminished, contained, staring into the flames at the center of our circle. “I’ve been getting weaker for a while now. The exercise calmed the beast, but lately … It looks like it’d rather die and take me with it than remain caged.”
“You speak as if it were a living thing,” Frazer breathed.
A nod. “It is, in the way all magic is alive,” said Liora
A pregnant pause. No one seemed to know what to say or do. Liora was dying; her magic was ripping her apart from the inside. That couldn’t happen. We had to free her. But what would become of her with Morgan ruling these lands? Captured to be a slave? A trophy?
No. That. Could. Not. Happen. “So, if the rebellion’s a dead end, how can we defeat Morgan?”
Adrianna exhaled a sharp laugh.
My fists became balls, and fire burned at my throat. My fire. Heat rippled through my nerves like lightning, setting my heart pounding. “I was being serious.”
Adrianna just shook her head, smiling. Liora and Cai looked at me with something resembling pity. Only Frazer became wary—tense. The droplet at my throat lit up, glowing. I looked down and that’s when I saw it: an ember encased in water. A spark that had, until now, remained hidden. I seemed to drift above my body and a stiff breeze was born, tickling the nape of my neck.