Page 19 of Heart Cradle
Aeilanna’s mouth twitched, not quite a smile. “To some, a long time ago.”
Maeve hesitated. “Can you help me understand?”
Aeilanna gave a small nod.
“I didn’t even know about fae until yesterday. I only know the names of the realms. Where are we?”
“We’re in Avelan.” Aeilanna exhaled through her nose.
Maeve blinked. “Avelan.”
Aeilanna nodded, her gaze darkening. “The most ruthless of the six. Built on ice and ruled through cruelty in the north. The Pale Court, commands through terror, not respect.”
She went on. “Melrathen is the heart. The strongest in power, deepest in history. Home to the old bloodlines, the royal family, the Chain, the High Temple. I was born there.”
Maeve’s fingers twitched at the mention of the Chain.
“Armathen to the east, is stone and strategy,” Aeilanna continued. “Harsh terrain. Harsher people, they speak in steel, not poetry. But they’re loyal, and invaluable in war.”
She shifted slightly, wincing. “Edhenvale hides to the east and sits behind its trees and glamours. Incredibly secretive, their magic winds like ivy, beautiful, but hard to trust.”
Her voice softened. “The Storm Coasts are south of the continent... fierce and untamed. Independent to their bones. They sail like they were born of salt and wind, I trained there after I ascended as a spellweaver.”
Maeve tilted her head, as if to ask something, but let it go.
“Finally, Eldrisil further west.” Aeilanna’s voice quieted. “Eldrisil remembers what the rest of the world forgets. They carry the old stories, they feel everything, know everything.”
Maeve took it all in silently, pieces of a map clicking into place. “And the war?” she asked at last.
Aeilanna’s expression shuttered. “It’s never just one war. It’s centuries of grudges and power changing hands. Melrathen held the centre for too long and Avelan wanted to rip it out. The rest of us got dragged in, whether we bleed for the cause or not.”
A breath passed between them.
“You’ll learn more, I’ll teach you.” Aeilanna said, leaning back against the stone. “But we’ll need to survive first.”
She said nothing else. Offered no history, no details that tied her too closely to the realm she came from.
His realm.
Maeve didn’t pester her, she saw the exhaustion in Aeilanna’s bones. The way she spoke of power like it belonged to someone she used to be. She wasn’t just locked in a cell, she was surviving through it. But Maeve wasn’t sure she was trapped with a broken woman, she had the feeling she was trapped inside a vacuum.
“And they’ve kept you here?” she asked.
Aeilanna nodded, face tight. “When they want something, information, spells, they drag me out. When they don’t... I rot.”
Maeve’s stomach turned.
Aeilanna shifted again, her voice dropping. “You need to listen carefully. If the male guards come in, don’t make eye contact. Don’t speak, don’t move unless they order you. Be invisible if you can.”
Maeve swallowed. “And if they take you?”
“Stay silent, stay small and protect yourself,” Aeilanna whispered. “There is nothing you can do to help me when they come for me.”
Maeve stiffened. “That’s…” she began, then stopped. “That’s fucked.”
“It’s survival,” Aeilanna said. “You can’t fight them, you’re human.”
Maeve’s hands curled into fists. “So I’m just meant to fucking watch?”
