She nodded, wincing as Cera gently she palpated her chest.
“It doesn’t seem like a complete fracture, but I think you’re right about it being cracked. I can heal it for you.”
“Thank the gods.” Ursula exhaled.
Cera reached into her sweater pocket and pulled out a purple crystal. It shimmered in the darkness.
Ursula took a step back as an icy wave of shadow magic washed over her skin. “What are you doing?”
“This is a lunam crystal. I keep it with me at all times in case I need to perform a spell. I can control the shadow magic within it. Even without knowing Angelic.”
“You’ve never learned Angelic?”
“The oneiroi are not allowed. I’m not one of Nyxobas’s brethren.”
Ursula leaned closer, studying the crystal. It looked exactly like the ones she’d seen on the ceiling in Bael’s cave. Shadow magic swirled from the violet rock, buzzing over her skin.
With a faint smile, Cera said, “The lord gave it to me. It’s from the druse that grows in his cavern. It contains some of Nyxobas’s magic.”
She gripped it between her fingers, closing her eyes. Ursula stared as powerful shadow magic wafted from the crystal, curling around her ribs. The magic caressed her body, soothing her and exiting her at the same time. And most importantly, it leached the pain from her body, drawing it out as her bones fused together.
Ursula took a deep breath, sighing as the magic curled back into the crystal.
“Did it work?” asked Cera.
“Beautifully.” Ursula grabbed her dress, pulling it back over her head. “Thank you.”
Cera smiled. “Excellent.”
Ursula pulled the dome off the tray, revealing a steaming meat pie with a side of mashed potatoes. “Will you join me?”
Cera wrung her hands. “I am quite hungry...”
“Please, eat with me.”
Cera plopped down on a stool, grabbing a fork to delve into the pie.
Ursula speared a potato and bit into it, letting it melt in her mouth. “I’m confused. Nyxobas said the melee begins when the sun sets over Lacus Mortis. But the sun has already set. It’s night.”
“Lacus Mortis is on the other side.”
“I see. Seems a long way to go.”
Instead of answering, Cera shoveled another forkful of meat into her mouth, gnawing away.
She had to wonder who Cera would have shared a meal with before the Abelda Manor massacre. This place was almost entirely deserted now. Ursula couldn’t be the only one plagued by loneliness. “How many oneiroi lived here before the attack?”
Cera’s face fell for a moment. “Hundreds. Most died. The rest ran away.”
“Why didn’t you?”
Cera’s face contorted with anger. “Serving in a lord’s manor is a lifetime appointment. Without loyalty, we have nothing.” She shoved a hunk of pork into her mouth.
“I see.”
“And besides, if my brother’s lord learned I’d failed in my duties as a servant, it would be very bad for my family.”
She scooped a piece of buttery, flaky crust into her mouth. Gods below. This woman can cook. “You never mentioned you had a brother.”
“Yes, it’s just me and Massu now. He’s a soldier. Even if I wanted to desert the lord, I couldn’t, for his sake. I must protect Massu by remaining loyal to my lord.” Savagely, she tore into a hunk of meat, swallowing quickly. “Of course, I don’t hear much from him these days. I’m not sure that his lord would find out if I ran, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. I worry about him terribly.”
“Are you close?”
Cera nodded. “We were, before we were split into different manors. He was the sweetest boy. He always wanted to dress up like a lord, and he’d parade around with his little toy sword in secret. And he used to draw little pictures for me, of moths and bats and ships that flew in the air.”
Ursula smiled. “He sounds adorable.”
“He certainly was. All grown up now, but I’m sure the same sweet boy inside, even if he serves another lord.”
So which one of those sadistic arseholes does Massu work for? “Which lord are we talking about?”
Cera shook her head. “I’m not allowed to say the name of any lord.”
“Can you write it down?”
Cera shoveled a forkful of potatoes into her mouth. “Why is this so important to you?”
Because I watched Abrax bring an army of oneiroi into the fae realm, and I killed dozens of them. “I just like to know the lay of the land. And I may have seen him in the fae realm.”
Cera silently nodded, swallowing her food. She placed her finger on the granite countertop, slowly tracing out letters. Ursula followed along, tracking the movements as Cera spelled out a name:
A...B...R...A...X
Ursula’s blood went cold. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Cera’s brother was a soldier in Abrax’s army. Had Ursula killed him—murdered the brother of the only person she actually liked here? Had Bael killed him?