Page 59 of Kingdom of Briars and Roses

I stiffened at the truth on my tongue. “You try being stuck in the house as the only one awake for seven years and see if it doesn’t make you grumpy.”

He didn’t look convinced, and I braced myself for more prodding. But he said gravely, “I can’t imagine it. They truly never wake then? Not for all this time?”

My eyes burned as I shoved out the word, “No.”

His expression softened, and I bit my tongue to keep from breaking. Sympathy wasn’t something I was prepared to brush off.

“We thought you’d all been killed, you know. After you ended our—” He cleared his throat and started again. “After I returned home, we learned of Heliconia’s attack. The scouts all said the castle had been destroyed, along with everyone in it. We assembled soldiers and returned, but…we were unable to enter the castle grounds. We tried. For a very long time, we tried.”

I frowned, thinking back. Sonoma hadn’t mentioned any attempts by Callan to breach the wards. I’d waited, silently hoping he’d try. Back then, I’d half-believed Callan would somehow find a way to save us all. That his reputation as formidable general and skilled warrior would prove true. I’d given that hope up after the first year. And replaced it with faith in myself instead.

“There are wards keeping our enemies out,” I said, my throat tight.

Fear stabbed through me as I thought again of Sonoma. The fact that she hadn’t come to investigate all the noise was a bad sign.

“And I am your enemy?” he asked.

I didn’t answer.

“Tell me what I can do for you, Aurelia.”

“I told you already. Leave and never return. And never speak of what you saw here.”

He frowned. “That’s not going to stop others. Legends have circulated for years. And if these wards are down, as you say?—”

“That’s not your concern.”

“It could be. If you let it.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“We were allies once. Is it so far-fetched to consider the idea we might renew that alliance now?”

The Obsidian’s words came back to me.She sees you. Allied with the prince. She sees her own destruction.

“That was for mutual benefit, Callan. I have no army to offer you anymore. No kingdom to rule. The land is dying. In a couple of decades, it will be barren and devoid of the magic that once flowed here. There is nothing in it for you to ally with me.”

“Nothing except you.”

I shook my head, refusing to be flattered. “That’s a stupid strategy. I’m not useful to you. Not without soldiers.”

“What if I could help you break the curse? Free your soldiers?”

Again, I searched for some trace of power on him. Again, I came up empty.

“How?”

He shrugged. “What do you know about it?”

That the magic Heliconia had used sprung from a well of darkness so deep and ancient that no other living creature could access it—or reverse it. That the only magic strong enough to compare sprung from a tribe that had vanished from the continent hundreds of years ago. That the last fae queen who’d ruled with that kind of magic had lost herkingdom and her life. And if anyone found out I possessed that same dark power, they’d likely do to me what they all wanted to do to Heliconia: Kill first; ask questions later.

“Not enough,” I admitted grudgingly. “I need access to more resources than I’ve been able to locate. Whatever this is, it’s old magic. Dark. No one I’ve met these last years has been able to explain it.”

“Then let me help you find someone who does know.”

“Like who?”

“There’s a fae in Grey Oak. An … oracle of sorts. She is long-lived and well-versed in obscure magics. I can bring you to her.”

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