Page 55 of Cages and Crowns
“The one Theo made into a dagger.” I recall quietly.
“Yes. It’s sirenstone. It was made using his blood and a special crystal you can only get in Vodia. When you bled on it, it allowed your bond to become stronger. He could appear to you as if he were standing there in front of you. When the stone broke, it weakened your connection to one another.”
“This is so confusing.” I groan, defeat and resignation filling my mind.
“I know, it’ll be a lot to absorb.” We are both quiet for a second. “A few months ago, the white in Enzo’s hair disappeared. We thought you were dead. We didn’t know, or even think, that you were strong enough to not need him.”
“How could I have possibly been strong? I was being drugged and tortured—” My voice cracks and my eyes widen as I turn to face him. “Tobias. He said that he was replacing my cells, healing me every single night with his own magic. He said he was constantly remaking me to be whole again.” I admit. It can’t be…
“He’s young, and inexperienced. He probably was making you stronger every time he did it.” Kassius says matter-of-factly. As if the idea of Tobias healing me isn’t at all shocking.
“He didn’t even flinch when I snapped.” I say softly.
“Your starlight isn’t enough to hurt him.”
“What is he?” I ask, almost hesitantly. I don’t know if I want to know.
“He’s cursed.” He offers, saying it as if I’d know what that means.
“What does that even mean?” My voice is little more than a whine, but he doesn’t seem to mind. He steps away from the wall and holds his arm out, gesturing back towards the palace.
“Come, there are some things that I have to share with Enzo, too.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
The Caged
I follow him back into the palace. Our footsteps silent as we walk. He doesn’t take me back to the council room, but instead, takes me upstairs to the library. Enzo is already in there, Scarlett perched on his lap. Her eyes focused on him, as if she was afraid she’d never get the chance to see him again. I can’t imagine that type of love, that type of devotion. I had it for Tobias, but receiving it? I ruined my only chance by not believing Theo, and now look where I am.
I look away from them and my gaze snags on Nithe. He’s leaning against the window, his eyes filled with shadows. As if he’s having a rough day. Or maybe he’s just tired. I think we all are.
Kassius gestures for me to sit and I do, taking the remaining settee for myself. He stays standing and I pull my legs up to my chest, wrapping my arms around them. I wince as the burn on my leg rubs against the leggings. I need to find their master or whatever mender they have available. I need to be checked over. I feel ill, as if something is eating away at my insides. Maybe it’s exhaustionor anxiety, but I feel like something is wrong.
“There are some things that I haven’t shared with any of you. Things that only a few others know, Dav and Thel being two of them.” He says, referencing the Rakushian and Labisian kings. Which reminds me—what happened to Thelonious? I open my mouth to speak, but Kassius continues. “I have my reasons for why I didn’t share this with any of you, but it’s time you know.” He looks at me and then to Enzo. “Especially you two.” He turns back to me. “This story spans 20 years, but it’ll answer a question that has been bothering you for over a decade.”
“What?” I ask.
“Who killed your mother.”
“I assumed it was my father–Viktor?” He shakes his head and I glance over at Nithe, who is watching silently, avoiding my gaze.
“Your mother and Amaya, Tobias’s mother, were childhood best friends. They met when Sybil was about two or three, well, we were all that age.” All? I open my mouth to interject, but he cuts me off. “They were close, closer than siblings. I think on some unconscious level, they loved each other. Amaya’s father worked for Sybil’s mother. Sybil’s mother, your grandmother, she is High Witch of Zivell, she reigns over the land of magic and aether. Amaya’s family were not born witches, but they wanted magic, they wanted power, so they took it. It is not common for siphons to be born, much less one who could siphon magic and then transfer it to someone else, but they found one.
“They found someone who could pull from the lands and redistribute that magic. So they did it, and Amaya’s parents stole from the very ground our world was built on. Amaya wasn’t born yet, but when she was, she was gifted as well. It took a very long time for your grandmother to figure out the blight placed on the lands, why everyone’s magic seemed to dampen almost instantaneously, but when she did, she killed Amaya’s parents. See, the land always needs balance, everything does. So instead of pure aether, Amaya’s parents were cursed. While the blight on the land reversed and everything seemed fine, they passed that curseonto Amaya.
“She was nearly ten the first time her curse appeared. Sybil’s magic was silver, bright, so much so that she was called Moonlight. You see, all aether is pulled from something, someformof energy. Sybil got hers from the moon, you got yours from the stars, Nora, and your grandmother pulled hers from flames. Firelight.”Firelight. “Amaya’s magic was dark, fueled by hatred, greed, and shadows. In order to keep her safe, she needed the curse siphoned away. She needed me. Your mother and I, we are twins, and one of the small magics I was born with, was siphoning.” My mouth falls open and I glance over at Enzo, whose eyes are just as wide. Twins?
Enzo is mycousin.
“We fell in love. I siphoned away the curse on a routine basis, so the High Witch, my mother, never found out and Amaya stayed powerless and happy, but she was sold. Our mother needed an alliance in the north, so she sold Amaya to the Rosenthal’s, whose family was the richest in Noterra. They were just lords at that time. Sybil met Archie right before Amaya left, and after some convincing, their engagement became a political alliance that was unforeseen but welcomed. They were engaged for nearly a year before Jahara was murdered. They were set to get married right after, but that never happened.” He paused and looked over at me.
“My mother was pregnant when he died, wasn’t she?” My voice is soft, quiet as the pieces start to fall into place. My grandfather was High King Jahara, and my father was his heir, Argent Nottingham. Which means I am the heir. The heir toeverything.
“Yes. Pregnant with twins.” Twins? I sit up, my legs dropping back to the ground, shock pummeling through me. “She was sold by Evreux to Viktor, and they wed within days of Archie’s murder. But she knew whose children were in her. She knew all along.”
“I have a sibling out there?” I whisper. I have a brother or a sister somewhere in the world.Wait. He hesitates for a moment beforehe looks at Enzo. Scarlett’s hand flies up to cover her mouth as we all stare at him. “Enzo—he’s my brother?” Kass nods and Enzo lets out a trapped breath, silence filling the room. Argent,KingArgent was my—our—father. And Enzo is mybrother. Nausea spreads through my belly and I fight the urge to be sick.
“My father—you aren’t my father?” Enzo’s voice is thick, as he fights through the lump growing in his throat. His hand finds Scarlett’s and she squeezes it.
