Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

ELODIE

When Wren called her name, Elodie had been daydreaming, and for a moment she was back in the forest, in the garden behind their tower, blissfully happy in their solitude and at peace with the world. For a moment everything was all right again.

The maidens taught contemplation and meditation, about the need for peace and isolation in order to truly let the Aurum fill the spaces in your world. She had been unprepared for the wonder that being so far from her old life would give her. This was the only place in Pelias where she could recapture even a fraction of that.

And then Wren was in her arms, sobbing against her shoulder, and the reality of the situation washed over her like a bucket of freezing cold water.

Outside these walls, the royal court had Wren in its claws.

‘What happened? Are you all right?'

‘Yes. Yes, I…I thought I might not see you and I…I…'

Elodie whispered calming words, watching as the shadows coiled and writhed at the edges of the garden. Sister Maryn was watching with too keen an eye, as was the girl with her, the one with the terrified expression. She at least probably didn't realise what she was seeing. One could hope.

‘It's going to be all right, my love,' she breathed. ‘You're doing so well. Just breathe and let it all go. Control them before they set off all the wards and draw attention to you. Make them leave.'

‘But I?—'

‘I know. But try, for me.'

Wren trembled against her, drew in a shuddering breath and released it slowly. And all was still again. ‘It's so hard. This place…the Aurum…'

‘I know. But you're being so good.' Slowly Elodie moved Wren back to arm's length and studied her. She smiled at what she saw, her brave and beautiful daughter desperately trying to hold everything together and still be herself. Someone was attempting to make a princess of her wild child. Good luck with that, whoever it was.

‘They wouldn't let me in to see you before.'

Elodie smiled sadly. ‘What changed their mind?'

Wren dropped her gaze to the ground, as was her habit when she had done something she shouldn't have, even if only accidentally.

‘I melted the stupid bell,' Wren mumbled guiltily and that made Elodie laugh. She couldn't help it. ‘I didn't mean to. It just…it just happened.'

‘I'm sure it did. That would do it, I suppose.' So overt a show of power would have caught the attention of the maidens. No doubt about that. They had probably been waiting for it. Everything was a test. Maryn had asked her so many questions about Wren, all of which Elodie had refused to entertain. She trusted the maiden with her life. But with Wren's life…she trusted no one. ‘Come, walk with me. We can talk in private in my cell.'

That one word brought Wren's face up, horror written on her features. ‘They lock you up?'

‘No, no,' and Elodie laughed again. Great light, she had thought perhaps she had lost the ability altogether but a few minutes with Wren and there it was again. That joy. The sheer delight Wren had brought into her life. ‘No, I mean my room. The maidens call all their rooms cells. It's a place of retreat, not a prison.' She smoothed a hand through Wren's hair, pleased to see it short, relieved to see the girl she had raised and loved so well, and to steal a little time with her.

‘It sounds like one.'

‘When have you ever seen a prison?'

Light, she hoped Wren had not been shown the prison beneath the mountain, with its bleak, damp cells, devoid of light and hope.

They wandered through the little garden and back towards the long row of rooms where the maidens slept.

‘This whole city is a prison.' Given that all Wren knew was Cellandre, that was almost fair. And certainly from what she had been used to, to what she had to be experiencing now, a good assessment. Elodie remembered her childhood here with a chill. Only one thing had made it bearable, her friendship with Roland and that…that was something she was deliberately not thinking about. ‘What's going to happen to us?' Wren asked.

Elodie shrugged as she opened the door to her room. It was very simple, as simple as the room that she had slept in back in their tower. It was a sanctuary and, from the moment she stepped inside, she could have sworn she breathed more easily. So did Wren.

‘There will be a trial before the Aurum. That's unavoidable, I'm afraid.'

‘And then?'

Elodie didn't answer at once. What could she say? If the Aurum deemed her guilty they would execute her. It was not without precedent. Her great-great-uncle Alvanor had been given to the flames because he turned away from the light. She couldn't even remember why. If they thought she had done the same thing…well, there were people who wouldn't hesitate. She had fled the kingdom when it needed her most, they would say. Worse, she had taken Wren with her and if they knew the actual reason why…

She had created a power vacuum and those who had stepped in to fill her place were unlikely to give up that power easily. It should have been a negotiation, and had it just been Roland, perhaps that would have been possible. Her aunt and the Earl of Sassone, however…they were another matter. Their enemies beyond Asteroth had taken advantage of it too, of course. Not the Ilanthians for once. They had been too busy trying to rebuild their shattered realm. But the rebel witchkind had apparently thrived and part of her heart had secretly cheered them on.

Elodie swallowed hard. Once she would have been able to talk to Roland about it. Long ago. But now…now, even though he was so close, she couldn't say a word. He would never understand. She knew that now.

But it left Wren exposed, in danger. Would he protect her?

‘I don't know, little bird.' It was all she could say, this confession of her powerlessness, and Wren looked stricken.

‘But they can't find you guilty.'

‘It all depends on what they want. I'm not exactly first choice to return to the throne for many of them. Some have had a taste of power. Some never cared for my headstrong ways. And some?—'

‘Roland wants me on the throne,' Wren blurted out. ‘So he can cement his own rule. He's on the regents' council and if I'm the queen…I don't know anything about ruling, or about the kingdom or…they'll put a crown on my head and the Aurum…'

The way she trailed off said it all, the dread in her voice and the realisation that she had probably said too much already.

‘What happened with the Aurum?' Elodie asked in a calm and quiet voice, one wreathed in a patience she didn't feel, dreading the inevitable answer.

‘I didn't mean?—'

‘I know that. What happened?'

Wren swallowed hard and then folded up to sit on the bed, her face hidden in her hands. ‘It went black. For a while. Just when Finn and I were there.'

Aelyn's prophecy.

No, this was not happening. This couldn't be happening. Not so soon.

‘Did he see?' Wren nodded and Elodie sat beside her, feeling as if everything that held her upright had been cut away in an instant. ‘Did he tell anyone?'

Wren shook her head this time and Elodie wrapped her in her arms again. ‘He won't. I don't think he will. But he's different with me. He's avoiding me, avoiding being seen with me. I think maybe, he's scared of me…or he hates me.'

The least of their problems, Elodie wanted to say, but it wasn't the least of it to Wren, she knew that. She remembered. It was everything.

‘He doesn't hate you. He's probably equally scared as you. He's from Ilanthus, remember? Of the line of Sidon? His family tried to sacrifice him to the Nox at the end of the war, to restore it. And the blood of the line of Sidon is tied to that dark power. He's probably wondering what it means for him.'

And how to exploit it, no doubt. Elodie knew the line of Sidon too well. If Evander was still alive, he would be trying everything to get Wren into his power. Oh, he would have loved this.

Finnian Ward…that was another problem. If he was avoiding Wren for now so much the better but Elodie knew it wouldn't last. Part of her said she should have killed him in that room in Knightsford. The pragmatic, calculating part. But he was just a young man and she hadn't known how deeply entwined he and Wren were already. And as for what happened at the Seven Sisters…

Tearing them apart now would never work. Even if it was all Finnian Ward wanted in this world, he would never be able to leave Wren. Not anymore. She would draw him back. He was her creature whether he liked it or not. Wren had bound them together to save his life. Elodie hoped they saw it as love.

Even if Elodie killed him now, it probably wouldn't take hold. Not for long.

She had to think. She had to work out what to do. And most of all, she had to protect Wren. That was vital.

‘Listen to me, little bird, if the time comes that anyone tries to put a crown on your head, you need to get away from this city as fast as you possibly can. Use any means necessary. I don't care if you have to summon every shadow in the place to help you. You escape, you run and you never look back. Do you understand me? You make him help you. You command him.'

There was nothing else for it. For Wren's own sake, and for the kingdom.