Page 24 of Spark of the Everflame

“If I wanted to hurt those children, I would have let your darling Princess Lilian bleed to death. Wemortalscould have stayed home and let all three of those children meet their ends. Instead, we saved them—and this is how you thank us?”

A muscle ticked in his jaw, but he said nothing.

My lip curled. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to wash up. Seems I made a mess while savingyourpeople.” I whipped on my heel and stalked away.

I waited until I was in the washroom and heard the soft click of the lock sliding into place before I slumped to the ground and burst into tears.

ChapterSix

Ilet out a choked laugh at the miserable picture I made, covered in blood and weeping on the floor of the most extravagant room I’d ever set foot in.

The washroom was half the size of my family’s home, its domed ceiling hand-painted with the image of a swirling evening sky. Light twinkled through the stars that dotted the expanse of sapphire and obsidian whorls, casting a dappled glow across my body.

In an alcove, a circle of solid gold washbasins surrounded a fountain of the goddess Lumnos emerging from a bubbling pond. Rows of cut crystal jars containing soaps and perfumes lined shelves along the wall. There was even a hearth, still aglow with the embers of a dying fire, warming a pyramid of soft, fluffy towels.

My eyes dropped to the dark marble floor, its white and gold veins swirling around a trail of bloody smears that led directly to me. “Great,” I muttered. “Just perfect.”

I wiped away a tear with the back of my hand. I wasn’t even sure why, exactly, I was crying. Maybe it was the innocent girl I’d almost killed with my incompetence. Maybe it was the way that insufferable Descended man had looked at me like I was merely a bug to be crushed beneath his heel.

Or maybe I was just a daughter who missed her mother.

Seeing him had taken me right back to that cursed afternoon. That was the last day I’d seen the crinkle of her eyes, heard the pealing bell of her laugh, felt the warmth of our linked arms as we walked together into town.

Until now, I hadn’t allowed myself to accept she might truly be gone. For my family’s sake, I had always played along with the pretense that she was alive somewhere and would eventually come home.

But sitting here, in the royal palace, surrounded by Descended—the very situation my mother had spent a lifetime trying to keep me away from—felt like the turning of a page.

A goodbye.

Life after Auralie Bellator.

Five minutes, I conceded.You get five minutes to feel sorry for yourself. Then you get up, and you get back to work.

I tilted my head back against the cold stone wall and closed my eyes. With a shuddering breath, six months of pent-up grief crashed into my shattered heart.

* * *

Lanaand I returned to the center while Maura stayed behind to check in on the elder royal my mother had been caring for, who I now knew to be the King of Lumnos.

To my relief, all three of the injured children survived and would fully recover. Only Elric had bothered to thank us for ensuring such a happy outcome. The rest of the Descended had slipped away without so much as a glance.

I didn’t see the mystery man again after our odd encounter outside the washroom. I was still second-guessing my decision not to ask him about my mother. I wondered now if I’d ever get another chance.

On our way back to town, I caught my first-ever glance of Lumnos City. Though mortals were, in theory, permitted to live there, none could afford to do so. Even the most modest homes were grandiose, sprawling estates adorned with columns and leafy terraces, the light from glittering chandeliers warming oversized windows. We caught the occasional scent of fresh-baked bread, grilled spiced meats, and bouquets of fragrant florals—a far cry from the pungent odors of our mortal village.

How strange, to live my whole life only a brief distance from such breathless excess, and yet be entirely disconnected from it.

That’s not to say that I wascompletelyunsophisticated. I’d made the occasional visit to the bustling ports of Meros, Realm of Sea and Sky, as well as to Fortos, Realm of Force and Valor, our realm’s nearest neighbor to the south. My parents had met there while they were both serving in the Emarion Army. Though led by the Fortos King, the army’s ranks included mortals and Descended from every realm, and it could be summoned by any of the Crowns if a conflict went beyond what the realm’s own internal Royal Guard could handle. Our family visited the army’s headquarters in Fortos often, Father to catch up with old friends and Mother to meet with the well-trained, well-stocked army healers.

Further south lay Faunos, Realm of Beast and Brute, home of Descended who were rumored to be more animal than human. Mortals were forbidden in Faunos unless passing through on the Ring Road leading to Arboros, Realm of Root and Thorn. With its rich vegetation, Arboros supplied many of the medicinal plants we used at the center. I occasionally accompanied my mother on her annual visit there to restock our more difficult-to-find ingredients.

Our realm’s northern neighbor Montios, Realm of Stone and Ice, was technically forbidden to mortals, though Henri and I once covertly slipped across the border to catch a glimpse of its stunning snow-capped lavender mountains. We had even spotted a distant band of Montios’s secretive nomadic Descended tucked away in a cave amongst the rocky terrain.

In fact, there were only three realms whose soil I’d never touched.

Sophos, Realm of Thought and Spark, was open to mortals by invitation only. If Teller earned a spot at one of its lauded universities, only then would I have a chance to visit their legendary city of innovation and see its cloud-scraping buildings and infinite libraries.

The sun-scorched southern deserts of Ignios, Realm of Sand and Flame, were completely off-limits to mortals—even travel along the Ring Road meant certain death. Not that I had any interest in visiting that harsh, wretched place.

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