Page 156 of A Palace of Smoke & Mirrors
The other woman was High Fae, and reminded me of Delia before I had turned her white hair black. Her skin was many shades darker than the Witch’s, though her tresses were white as paper. She was broad-shouldered with delicate features, slumped against the iron collar with an expression of pain cutting into the beauty on her face. She wasn’t a Witch or a Secret Keeper, though.
The dark faerie.
“Cacindra,” Owain called pleasantly. “Care to explain why there’s magic pouring out of that redhead over there?”
I frowned, shooting him a glare. “The curse is broken. You named it.Noxaeterna.” Saying its name out loud sent a thrill rippling through me, and I had to bite back another smile.
“The curse remains intact.” Cacindra’s voice was robotic, rehearsed.
Owain let out a frustrated sigh. “Naming the curse doesn’t break it, you stupid girl,” he muttered. “It simply removes the block that prevents you from being aware of it, and thinking or talking about it.” He paused, as if he wasn’t sure whether tospeak the next words. Then, with a shrug, he added quickly, “You might also find that one or two of the reality distortion hexes start to fall apart at the seams. And…” He squinted at me. “What is that?” he asked the Witch, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. “Is that alovespell?”
The Witch remained silent.
Owain threw his hands up in the air. “Never mind, Cacindra. Focus! If the curse remains intact, why isn’t her magic still being suppressed?”
“The fire magic is void,” Cacindra recited politely.
Owain lifted a palm in the air, fire blazing to life against his skin. “If you don’t say something helpful—”
The High Lord was interrupted by the pealing sound of someone’s laughter. At once, every head turned to Lucais and found him bent over in a fit of hysterics with the most deranged and jubilant smile I had ever beheld upon his perfect face. Raising his bound hands, Lucais pointed to Owain with a single finger as if he was about to say something, and then he laughed even louder.
Owain gestured to one of his guards, and a moment later, I was staring at the pointy end of a pitchfork. A snarl curled on my lips, but as I considered trying to wrestle it away from him, the High King’s laughter subsided.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” he warned. “You fucking idiot, Owain. She doesn’tneedyour fire magic. She doesn’t need any type of Elemental magic.” He glanced over at me, a gentle crease forming around the corners of his mouth as his eyes simmered down into the gilded smoulder I loved so much. “Can’t you see it? Aura has been absorbing the magic of the curse this whole time. And now she’s learning to control it. Sheownsit.” He looked back at Owain. “Where did you store thenoxaeternaprior to Aura’s conception?”
“Me.”
For a second, I had no idea who had spoken, but then Lucais was staring into the face of the dark faerie, and I realised that she had spoken for the very first time despite the iron sizzling against her throat.
“He stored it in me.”
“What is your name?” Lucais requested softly.
“My name is Bethanne, Your Highness,” the dark faerie replied. “I am the High Lady of the Court of Darkness. It’s an honour to finally meet you.”
fifty-seven
Dreams
“Bethanne,” Lucais crooned, moving towards her. “Oh, I am so sorry. I am so, so sorry. What happened to Blythe?”
“She’s dead, Your Highness.” The dark faerie tried to swallow, but the motion made her throat flex against the iron, so she let the saliva trickle out of the side of her mouth instead. I noticed that it was tainted with blood. “I was taken a long time ago—long before Blythe knew that I was destined to be her successor, and I’m afraid she did not react well when she finally discovered me here. She gave her life trying to save me.”
Lucais tilted his head to the side. “She was murdered?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
He blew out a long breath, taking it like a hit to the face. “Oh, the sneaky bitch…” He shook off the news and glanced at me over his shoulder before turning back to Bethanne and asking, “You’re the reason the Court is covered in shadows, then?”
“Yes,” Bethanne agreed. “I am afraid there is very little that can be done about them while I am here. The shadows persistwhile the Court is forcefully separated from its leader, but nobody can take my place while I am still alive.”
Lucais retreated a few steps closer to me, and two of the guards followed him. “And I never would have suspected this Court with the former General of the Fire Army acting as Hand to the High King for so many years.” He fixed Wrenlock with a hard look. “How long have you been a spy?”
The other man stared at him impassively, giving nothing away in his depthless brown eyes.
“He almost failed in his task,” Owain remarked.
“What do you mean?” The High King kept his eyes on his former friend’s face.
