“Far from it. I couldn’t stop looking at him. He was awe-inspiring, beautiful, and spectacular.”
Usaeil’s lips lifted in a grin. “Those were almost the exact words Rhi used to describe her lover.”
Shara couldn’t sit any longer. She rose and paced, her mind racing with questions she couldn’t begin to answer. It was all too much, and yet not enough.
“What is it?” the queen asked.
Shara halted while wringing her hands. “Fear has ahold of me. Fear to dare to dream of something I don’t deserve.”
“And?”
“Fear that if I don’t try for that dream then I’ll be filled with misery the rest of my days.”
Usaeil came to stand beside her. “In the end, we only regret the chances we don’t take.”
“What if he doesn’t want me?”
“You can’t know the answer until you speak to him.”
Shara faced the queen. “And if I don’t? Can I remain here?”
“This is where you belong. You’ll always be welcome here.”
“Even though I’m Dark?”
Usaeil’s smile was mysterious. “Are you sure?”
“Pretty damn positive.”
The queen turned to walk away, and as she did, she waved her hand. Shara stepped back as a large square mirror appeared in front of her, hanging at eye level. Her gaze locked on that thick stripe of silver that fell by her cheek. She could use glamour to hide it, but she wouldn’t be able to conceal it from Kiril.
She was about to turn away when she looked into her own eyes—eyes that were no longer red but … silver.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Shara quickly turned away from the mirror. She was breathing hard as confusion swarmed her. Her gaze latched on Usaeil with a fierce glower.
“I know I’m a Dark, but it doesn’t give you the right to trick me like this. Do you think it’s funny to give me something I desperately want, and then watch as I learn it isn’t real?”
“Whoever said it wasn’t real?” the queen asked in a calm voice. She bent over and smiled down at a bright pink flower, her fingers reverently touching the petals. “There are many things that separate the Light from the Dark. Trickery is one of them.”
Shara refused to believe what she saw in the mirror. It hurt too much. “This could all be a trick played by Balladyn.”
The queen’s cool fa?ade vanished as she whirled around, her silver eyes shooting daggers. “When have you ever seen a Dark attempt to re-create the Light?”
“Never, but then I was born into a Dark family.”
Usaeil folded her arms across her chest as she stared hard at her. “I deal in truths, Shara. You can either accept that or you can’t. Make your decision now.”
She wanted to turn away from Usaeil and demand to see the truth, but there was the tiniest thread of doubt that what she saw was reality.
“Hope is one of the most powerful weapons to have. Love is the other,” Usaeil said evenly.
Instead of turning away, Shara took a deep breath. “How are my red eyes gone?”
“It’s true the Dark tell their own that once a Fae turns to the Dark there is no turning back. The fact is, it’s a lie. Not everyone knows that, and most times I tell others that it can’t happen. Before you ask, I’ve my own reasons for that.”
Shara grabbed her stomach as if someone had just punched her. Was everything she had been led to believe a lie? Her world was spiraling out of control, and she needed something to hold onto. She needed Kiril.
“Doubt undermines the truth your heart senses.”
Shara fell to her knees. She grasped for breath, to steady the world that was rapidly falling away. Truth. What was the truth? Could she recognize it after a lifetime of lies?
Usaeil knelt beside her, her arms going around Shara as she did. “Search your heart,” she whispered. “The answers are there, waiting. You have to be brave enough to see them.”
Shara squeezed her eyes closed and rested her forehead on the cool white tiles of the floor. If Kiril were beside her she could do it. If Kiril were there, she could face anything.
He is here, within you.
She stilled. The realization that Kiril had left a part of himself with her was like stepping into the sun and being surrounded by warmth and light. Shara grabbed Usaeil’s hand, and with the part of her that Kiril had changed irrevocably, she searched her heart. She was hesitant at first, afraid of what she might find.
Then the truth fell over her one drop at a time until it was raining down upon her in a shower that cleansed her, graced her.
She sucked in a mouthful of air as she sat up. Her eyes opened and she saw the magnificent room with new eyes, eyes not blinded by lies and deceptions. The flowers were richer, the light warmer. Everything felt right, as if she had finally found somewhere she belonged. She turned her head to Usaeil to see the queen smiling brightly.
“I knew you could do it, Shara. You’re special.”