Page 63 of Crown of Ellova: Vol 1

“How do you know that?” Nueena asks.

Leon faces her. “Both princesses in the Iron Castle are my friends and close confidantes. Erenia would never wish harm to come to the innocents of Adreania or the soldiers from her motherland. She and Lyrora are the best parts of Adreania.”

An ugly twist of jealousy darkens my face. Only Tavien notices and pats my leg in reassurance.

I have no right, but a bitterness blooms within me and it claws at my chest. Leon and I only spoke once a month. Life in that palace was miserable. Leon and the princesses deserved to find any light in the darkness, to find comfort in friendship. I have no right to be jealous.

But I am.

A palace attendant comes in and leans to speak into Nyvenah’s ear. She nods at the attendant’s words. “We will have to complete this conversation at a later time.”

Lillian opens the door to Everett’s mother, Camarra, the Seed Keeper and Guardian of the Court of Green. She is barefoot and wears a long, flowing sage dress with a golden belt. Small pouches hang from it with wildflower seeds and loose tea leaves. Camarra’s dark blonde waves are pulled up into a bird’s nest on her head and are home to a yellow canary that sits on her shoulder, chirping every so often.

“Hello, my Keeper and her kin.” Camarra’s voice is light and airy, unhurried.

“Camarra, welcome. Please join me for breakfast,” Nyvenah says.

They kiss each other on the cheek.

“Della, Everett was telling me he was with you yesterday. How delightful that he is back for a while. You two have much to catch up on.” Camarra beams at me.

“I hope to see him later this week,” I say, noting that Leon sits up straighter at my words.

Nyvenah turns her back to the Seed Keeper, her eyes widening with meaning to me.

Time to leave.

Even though the crown is hidden under my braids, I need to avoid any court Guardians, who are more sensitive to powerful magic as they hold it themselves. I rise and look at Leon, tilting my head towards the door. Leon immediately rises as well, following me out while Camarra is distracted by Nyvenah.

Leon turns to me in the hall when the door has shut behind me, a wide grin on his face. “Good morning, Izadella.”

CHAPTER 26

My heartbeat skitters at my real name on those smiling lips. “Hello, Leon.” I get a little lost in those hopeful eyes he has pinned to me. “H-how are you this morning?”

His smile grows even bigger. “Remarkably well. Intrigued where you went off to so early in the morning. I assume if you wanted me as a prisoner, I would have been brought to the dungeon and not trapped in a lavish royal tower with a most impressive library and a full spread of breakfast.”

“I would say you’re somewhere between a prisoner and an esteemed guest. I need to show you something.”

He sticks out his elbow in a gentlemanly fashion. “Lead the way.”

I hesitate just for a moment, but his earnest expression makes me want to melt into a puddle in his hand, and I take his arm as we head outside.

We continue our walk, a slight sweet breeze in the air, and arrive at the royal gardens.

Before I can tell him he might not be able to enter as the gardens are heavily restricted, the vines and thorns twist themselves apart, allowing us to walk through. “Oh, wonderful! Nueena must have given you entrance already.”

Leon moves to the statue of three fae women gowned in moss off to one side of the garden. Flowers grow all around the statue, small blooms in the lightest shade of purple. “Who are they?”

The stone fae women sit in a half circle, bright smiles carved into their beautiful faces. Long pointed ears peek out behind the stone hair with everlasting crowns of flowers on their heads.

I point to each stone woman. “Inara, future queen of the mortals. This was long before the crown ruined it all, though. At the center is Zarella, Nueena’s ancestor and the first Realm Keeper.” Zarella holds her stone crown in her hands. “Last is Alvina Vanabalt, the Forger, my ancestor. The monument was built by my court as a gift to Zarella for her crowning ceremony. The three of them loved this garden.”

“It is nice to know Inara had a good life before her dreadful one in Adreania,” Leon says as he takes in the statues.

‘They were closer than sisters, their friendship torn apart. Queen Inara sacrificed herself to save her daughter. Alvina was exiled from Ellova by Zarella. The crown wreaked havoc. Zarella’s quest for revenge and retribution over Inara and her missing daughter led to war with the mortals, a failed attempt to get the crown back that took the life of many Ellovians.” I’ve heard this story so many times, but each retelling feels like a new puncture wound on my already tattered heart.

“A blood-soaked, tragic history,” he says.

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