Page 5 of Dark Master's Redemption

She inhales near Ariana’s cheek, her cold breath sighing out in the night.

“Well. You have power, Animante.” Light beams from Clariss’ eyes now as she pulls back, smiling bemusedly. “I look forward to seeing more of it, as my father works with you during your stay. For the third of your bound trio has descended into darkness—which I assume is why you are here. Where is he, your Mentale?”

“In here.” Ariana pulls out Quinn’s Florentine Box from her gown again. As Quinn roils inside, seething with red-eyed hatred, Curio’s sibling and the others of her welcome party flinch. Though Clariss holds her ground, the other two step a safe distance away now as they watch the furious Revenant.

“That is going to break soon. And the demon will be freed.” Clariss’ pale eyes snap to Ariana, then me, as if accusing us of bringing a true hellspawn here.

“Don’t we know it,” I say, wry, as Ariana stashes the cube away again.

“We’re hoping to put him in a safe place before that happens.” Ariana is more magnanimous as she beseeches Curio’s sister for help. “Curio said your father has such a place here in the citadel. Which is why we’ve come. Part of it, at least.”

“Indeed.” Clariss’ gaze is softer now as she evaluates Ariana with her pale blue eyes. With a gentler smile, she steps to Ariana, linking arms. “Come. I will show you to a place where you can put your beloved, monstrous though he is at the moment. For I sense true love between you—all of you. It is a beautiful thing, when a Dark Fae’s Triad is formed of love, rather than necessity. I sense you have no malicious intent among us; thus, you are our guests. We will do everything in our power to help you while you are here. And repair your broken hearts… if such a thing can be done.”

From such a tense welcome, our arrival in Novakitsk becomes only kindness as Clariss leads Ariana into the citadel. Though she didn’t exactly welcome me, I step forward, walking beside Ariana as I keep pace. Eiseth follows with Curio, who strikes up casual conversation with the other members of the welcome party.

Clariss escorts us in with a beaming smile now, her former tension gone as if things have been sorted to her satisfaction. As if a crisp winter wind just blew her concerns away, she beams with light now, and a buoyant radiance. She doesn’t hold any tension as we walk through the elegant city of ice, light, and artistry. It’s impressive how clear her aura has become, when Summer Fae seethe and churn about even the smallest slights for ages. It strikes me that most of those around us are Dark Winter Fae, like her.

The rest Dark Fae from many Fae Lineages, I note as we walk.

“So… is everyone here Dark Fae?” I have to ask as we head through a beautiful courtyard of ice colonnades. A tremendous fountain featuring a tall Dark Winter Fae maiden dancing with a bear, a stag, and a fox splashes in the center of the courtyard. Arctic foxes with a bunch of kits play around the fountain’s base, darting through a bramble of moon-white roses that grow all around.

“Not everyone, but most are,” Clariss answers with peace now as she glances at me. “Poor thing, growing up under your father King Bellari’s pogroms and thinking you were all alone with your mysterious, not-quite-Summer Fae power. Have you ever met any other Courante Dark Fae?”

“Not until recently. None that I knew were Dark Fae, at least,” I say, not knowing how to answer that.

“No wonder you’re intrigued, coming here. I forget there are still those of us out there in the world, barely awake to their powers and not knowing what they are.” She shoots a glance at me again as she and Ariana walk with arms linked, as if intrigued by my unique situation as the son of the one person who has persecuted Dark Fae the worst in the modern age.

“There are more of us still out there? Unknown, and unaware of what they are?” Ariana asks as our party walks beneath a colonnade of ice-pinnacles. Each has a collection of luminous night-moths congregating at its peak, which drink a clear nectar that drips from a vine crawling up into the pinnacles.

“A few.” Clariss nods, though again, she glances at me. “Most are like your trio’s Cuorante or Mentale—made Dark Fae by an exceedingly strong Vampire, rather than born one of us. They walk the world without a clue why their power is no longer quite what it once was. Most Dark Fae’s power chooses a side—Light or Night—and thus, they continue to believe they are either Vampire or a regular Fae. You might think being Animante is the most common type of Dark Fae, but it is quite rare; very few Dark Fae walk the balance of the two powers. Or want to, for it is a very hard road to travel. Ah, here we are.”

As Clariss leads us inside a building now, I find we’ve entered a massive atrium of ice. Like an observatory for the midnight sky, the towering indoor atrium has chaises for lounging and curved planters all along its clear, circular dome. A riot of vines, flowering plants, and trees grows around the space. A burbling water fountain flows around the perimeter, watering the plants.

I feel serene here; as Clariss waves a hand at the vaulted ice doors, they whisper shut behind us. Solemnity devours this space as I heave a deep sigh, feeling the most amazing serenity breathe through me now.

It’s like I’ve entered some kind of holy space; like a chapel, or a cathedral of ice as Ariana and I share a brief smile for the first time in what feels like eons. As Clariss waves a hand, some kind of invisible power barrier shimmers into the air throughout the dome. Though beautiful, it looks like the same sort of barrier that kept us out of the fortress earlier.

And vaporized snow from Curio’s hand.

“There,” she says as it finishes. She flicks her fingers, manifesting a small archway of ice in the barrier, then gestures to Ariana. “Step forward, Animante, and place your Master’s prison within the chapel. Return, and I will break the seals upon his box. And close the barrier so he cannot escape.”

Understanding, Ariana nods. I feel something about this holy space do our hearts good as she moves forward through the delicate ice-arch now and places Quinn’s Florentine Box on the glassy floor. Something about this space feels right as Ariana returns. Clariss dissolves her arch and her power barrier fills in, though she stops it with a pin-prick of space left. Focusing her gaze on Quinn’s box, she inhales.

Then flicks her fingers at it, making the box explode.

As the Florentine Box shatters, Quinn’s Revenant pours out. As he surges forth in a tirade of seething Night, Clariss quickly seals up her barrier. Quinn’s vast Revenant goes roaring into the highest vaults of the midnight dome, shrieking like chandeliers shattering as it whirls in a furious, malevolent wind. Clariss motions us all back; though her barrier of power is solid, Quinn rages as he tears around the space, looking for a way out. But though his red eyes burn, being trapped inside the ice cathedral doesn’t seem to harm him.

At last, he settles.

Staring at us with his black vortex churning in a slow, venomous rage.

“He will be safe here,” Clariss says, as we all stare at the evil thing that is Quinn. Wrath burns in its red eyes, and I feel nothing but darkness from it. Though Quinn asked us to help him through this terrible demon of Night earlier, I feel nothing of him in it now. My heart aches as I understand this vile creature feels nothing for us; it’s just biding its time until it can escape.

Ariana’s heart aches for Quinn just as much as mine, now that we are face-to-face with his current horror. Moving to her, I cuddle her under my arm as she wraps her arms around my waist.

I cinch her in, kissing her temple as she gives a terrible sigh beside me.

“For how long will he be safe in this place?” I ask as I glance at Clariss.

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