Page 154 of Frozen Hearts and Death Magic

“The dragon lords trapped them. Everything is dry because the city is connected to Mount Prime. If the nature there is destroyed, the nature in the Ancient City is destroyed as well. I can’t go to the Ancient City because I was exiled. It’s strong magic. But my deal of eternal devotion to you is stronger. It’s stronger than the anti-magic in that room.”

“Why were you exiled?”

He closed his eyes and exhaled. “I had a powerful magical tool that would have allowed us to win the war. I destroyed it instead.”

“Why?”

“I didn’t want to kill innocents. Not even humans.”

“That’s not a fair reason to exile you.”

River shrugged and looked away. There was so much there, so much to understand, so much to unpack, but she decided to move to the questions that had been bothering her the most.

“What are you doing in Ironhold?”

“Creating illusions for them.”

“Explain. Explain in a way that I can understand what you’re doing there and why you’re doing it, and what your goal is.”

River sighed. “Let’s talk normally.”

“I said no complaints.”

He rubbed his hand on his face, then glared at Naia. “Ironhold, I think they’re worse than they seem. Much worse.”

“So you decided to help them. Makes total sense.”

“It does. I was alive during the war, and a city in Umbraar was destroyed.”

“Formosa.”

He nodded. “They say the fae did it. I don’t think it was us. I think it was Ironhold. But I need proof. Being there allows me to look. So that’s one reason. The second reason is that they killed my sister. She was my favorite sister, the one I most got along with, and they killed her. I’m just one, Naia. All I can do is help them dig their own grave. I approached them and offered to create illusions for them.”

“And they said sure, come on in?”

“I used… my powers on their king. And he trusts me now. I am creating illusions, like the one in Frostlake. There was no fae there.”

Illusions. It made sense. “Did you create that watersnake that attacked us in the lake?”

He shook his head. “No. I think it was someone from Wolfmark. A strong wildbringer can enchant a water creature. I didn’t know anything about it, but when you told me, I realized you could be in danger. That was why I wanted to take you away.”

“So you could help Ironhold and still keep your part of the eternal devotion?”

“Partly.”

“So you’re creating illusions to make people fear the fae and give power to Ironhold? How’s that going to defeat them? And if your people get free, humans will attack them even worse than before.”

He sighed. “The illusions are reversible. In six months, people are going to realize it was Ironhold. By that time, I can infiltrate other kingdoms and make them join together to attack Ironhold, which is going to be weakened by then. I am just one person and I don’t have an army. This is the best I can do.”

“Why didn’t you tell me any of that?”

“I didn’t think you’d like it, and you had the power to stop me. I mean, you still have it.”

“Some villages were attacked. Something mysterious. Was that you?”

He shook his head. “No. But it was Ironhold. They have some strange magic. That was why I thought they could use the illusions instead of killing people.”

“Why did you spend a year away from me? How could you even do it, considering your eternal devotion?”

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