Page 83 of Crown of Wrath

She nods excitedly, her training breaking for a moment. “I’m the only person alive who has never experienced any place other than Valinar.”

That explains the strangeness. Her power is both from the House of Shadows and… and from here. She’s breathed this magic in since she was conceived. It’s not the magic of Nyth. It’s the magic of Valinar. Of the Nothing. Of my mother.

My eyes open wide. “You’re the only Immortal that’s been born since the Shattering.” Again, she nods and turns around to continue to lead us through the city.

We walk quietly behind her, our feet tapping against the uneven stones of the road, but no sound escapes. It occurs to me that the mist in the air dulls the sound here almost as much as it does in Nyth when it’s nearby. The whispers fade too quickly. There’s a distinct lack of wind rustling the trees or brushing against the thatched roofs of the homes.

“Why is Valinar so quiet?” I ask. Cole arches an eyebrow in question, but Echo quickly answers.

“Because sound is magic, Queen Maeve. The world beyond Valinar has forgotten much that was known in the time of dragons.”

I say,“When words combine with intent, the most basic magic can be done.”They’re words from Vesta’s book, words that have come to mind unbidden many times now.

Echo turns to me, a gleam in those stormy eyes. “You’ve readA History of Magic and Dragons?”

“Is that the book those words are from?”

For the first time, she doesn’t hide the wide smile that crosses her face. “Yes, it’s the most important book in the world, and yet, you don’t know its name? How strange!”

I shrug. “I always just knew it as Vesta’s book. It’s the only one she ever had, and I was a child, much younger than you, when she read parts of it to me.”

Echo’s smile widens. “I miss Vesta. She was always so funny. She was the one who read it to me as well. Do you know where she is?”

She wasfunny? I stop, and everyone around me seems surprised by my reaction. “Wait,” I say. “She was funny? How? I don’t remember a time that Vesta wasn’t there. More than anyone else, Vesta has been at my side, and while she is many things, she has never been funny.”

Echo turns and cocks her head. “She didn’t tell you jokes?”

I think back on stoic Vesta. She was always there, but unless she was actively teaching me something, it was like she was more a part of the wind than my friend or even tutor. During the times she was teaching me, she was so focused on making sure that I understood her lessons that there was no possibility of laughter. Just learning. Just becoming better.

“No. I can’t remember a single joke. She was my teacher, but she wasn’t really a friend, if that makes sense.”

Echo frowns and shrugs. “That’s too bad. She’s been a wonderful friend for as long as I’ve known her.”

The girl turns back around and begins walking again, ignoring the fact that it was me that stopped the procession through town. She was raised by my mother. By Immortals. My childhood was that of a human, and that difference seems to have influenced everything.

I hadn’t expected to have to fight for my place in a world built around my mother. Not when so many of my friends and family are here. I guess I’ll have to.

In Echo’s—and probably many other Immortals’—eyes, I’m just Brenna’s Wyrdling daughter. I’m not someone who went to war with the Nothing and was never caught. I’m not someone who protected a human kingdom from hundreds of Immortals or turned King Casimir to our side.

The only answer is to stop being the human. I remember what I’ve learned about nobility and Immortals. I stand taller. I let the shadows flow from my feet unbound, and I pay attention to the smaller details. This is not Aerwyn or Blackgrove. This is—maybe not enemy—but unfamiliar territory, and while the people here may be connected to me, I don’t know them. I can’t trust them the way I trust Cole, Darian, and Lee.

Cole notices the changes, and immediately slides the cold, uncaring mask over his face that he wore in Draenyth so often. It’s the same one that he wore every day that we walked from Blackgrove to Aerwyn, and part of me wants to smile because I fell in lust with that mask.

Echo points out places of interest. The only tavern in town. An explanation on coins in Valinar. A library that was put together by the shadow walkers that have come and gone since the beginning of Valinar. Brenna’s home. The school for the human children.

I listen intently, paying attention to more than the words. I take note of what she emphasizes and realize that everything is pointed toward how everyone else uses these things. Thehumanchildren go to the school. TheImmortalsuse the library.Peopleenjoy the tavern. Nothing about her. Nothing about her connection to anything here.

Echo is as separate from the people in Valinar as my mother is, and that’s both heartbreaking and terrifying. Why would shehave any care about the people that are under her care if she isn’t a part of them? It’s as bad as Casimir’s separation from the Lesser Fae and humans.

Finally, she stops at a small building and turns to us. “This will be your home while you are here. It’s near Brenna and my home.” She points at a larger building, not all that different from the one we’re standing in front of. “If you need anything, please let me know, and I will be more than happy to help. Brenna will come by later this evening to talk. There are important matters to discuss, and it has been a long time since she saw her daughter.”

“Thank you,” I say with as much coldness as possible. “We’ll wait for my mother here.”

Then Echo hesitates for a moment, and with more warmth than I could have ever imagined, she wraps her arms around me. I’m taken aback at first, but then I understand. She’s tried to maintain her coldness. She’s tried to present herself like a Queen would. She’s been trained for this, but… but she was trained by my motheraftermy mother married Da.After she became more human.

“I’ve wanted to meet you for so very long, Maeve,” she whispers. Then she pulls away, and I see the faintest hint of a tear welling up in her eyes.

Echo nods to me, a wide, warm smile taking the place of the coldness as she turns and walks away, leaving us in front of the door. I finally look around at Da, Hazel, and Casimir, who have all been very quiet since my mother walked away. Da and Hazel grin at me, but it’s Casimir who speaks up.

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