Chapter 14

14

D amon

Shadows swirl around us like a thick wall. It’s like I’ve found my way to the heart of a hurricane. All around us is utter chaos.

I stand before General Belen. Not a single hair moves on either of our heads. A silence befalls us, unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before.

“That is indeed treason.” The general narrows his eyes on me.

I stand my ground, expecting to have to defend myself, to fight to the death. He can behead me right at this very second, and it would be called upholding the law. A perfectly reasonable response.

Treason is punishable by death.

“I don’t take it back. I will never take it back.”

“Let me see this marking,” he says in a calm voice.

For a second, I consider denying him. But, at the end of the day, what difference does it make? He could have his shadows hold me down and force me to comply. Without water, ice, or snow, I am at his mercy. The icefae are most powerful, most effective when in the high country or touching a large body of water. Otherwise, our magic is almost nonexistent. After our ordeal in the desert, my well is all but depleted. I am at his mercy, at least for now.

I turn and pull my tunic up, keeping my eyes on the general from over my shoulder. After a few long seconds, I pull my shirt back down and turn to face him.

He doesn’t look surprised at all. I don’t see his expression change in the slightest. Perhaps he is really good at schooling his emotions.

I don’t think so.

I think he knows exactly who I am. Perhaps he was sent to intercept us.

“Damon, the icefae king.” He drops to his knees and kneels before me.

I am shocked to my core. This is the very last thing I expected.

“No, please…stand. Kyran is the king of the icefae,” I say with authority.

Belen gets to his feet, his eyes hazy. “Except you must know that Kyran is dead. I’m sorry, Your Grace, but that makes you the king of the Ice Court,” he practically whispers as the shadows continue to fly around us, cocooning us from the others. “I was sent to intercept you.”

I thought so.

“And yet I still almost couldn’t believe it,” he continues. “One of the lost kings returned. There is a bounty on all of your heads, with rumors circling of two of the others who are also no longer lost. I almost didn’t believe it. I expected them to be false. The lost icefae king himself. King Damon.” His voice is filled with awe.

Hearing him say it is like a dagger to the heart, even though I already knew it to be true. It’s just that I was never meant to be king. It was never supposed to be me. My head falls until my chin is at my chest. My eyes sting, and it hurts inside. Like my heart is in a vise. I haven’t been able to grieve the loss of my brother. I couldn’t. You can’t grieve someone if you can’t remember them. For years, I had no idea who I was or where I truly came from.

Kyran.

“Is it true that you were lost, Sire? That you had a spell cast over you?” He says it in a way that is questioning. It isn’t with any kind of authority. “That all of you did?”

I lift my gaze and nod once.

“For years and years, I lived in the desert, at first in a village. When I tried to leave the desert to return to what I thought were my homelands on the Plains of Babel, I was captured and sent to the salt mines as a prisoner. I had strange dreams of ice and snow, even though, to my knowledge, I had never been to the high country. From time to time, I had nightmares that made no sense. Then, just the other day, there was a snowstorm in the heart of the desert, and the veil was lifted. I am a fae once more. My memories are back…all of them. Everything has fallen back into place.”

“A lost king returned to us. I had hoped this day would come.” He drops to one knee before me. “I am at your mercy, Sire. At your mercy and at your service.” He lowers his head.

I almost can’t believe what I am seeing…what I am hearing. I expected to be killed or shackled, not this. Never this.

“Stand.”

The general does as I ask, looking me in the eye.

“Do you not serve the queen?” I scrutinize him.

“Yes, but only because I have to, not because I am loyal to her. Most of us feel the same. There isn’t too much we can do about it. Her reach is far indeed. How do you think we found you?”

I lift a brow.

“You are traceable when you use your powers, Sire. She was alerted the moment the spell was broken and then again when you used your power. She has everyone looking for you. There is an enormous bounty on your head. She wants you brought to her alive. The other two kings have bounties as well, but you are the only one she insists be alive on capture. All of the others are wanted alive or dead.”

“There are two others? Which ones? Who of the lost kings has returned?” My heart beats wildly in my chest at the thought. I’m not alone. I’m not! There are others like me.

“Yes,” Belen says. “There are indeed others.” He nods, his eyes glinting. “Although I couldn’t believe it to be true until now. It’s the bloodfae and the beastfae kings: Xander and Orion. You are the third king to have awoken.”

My heart races. This is good news. The more of us, the better. I instantly feel like the load has been lightened. Like we might have hope.

“The reason I have shrouded us in shadows…” Belen gestures around us, “is because Queen Snow has eyes and ears everywhere. I must be seen taking you to the Ice Court…to her, but you will escape along the way. I will make sure of it. Do not speak of any of this with those traveling with you. They are not to be trusted. This has to stay between you and me.”

“I trust the female. She is my friend.”

“That may be so, but someone could overhear. Even the rocks have ears. When I tell you that the queen’s reach is far and her spies many, I am very serious. If she catches wind that I am aiding a lost king, I will be struck down in an instant. My family will suffer the same outcome. Even worse, I could be allowed to live on after everyone I love is killed one by one by one. It’s happened before, and it will happen again. Those of us who openly rise against her are ended in the most brutal of ways. The fae are terrified of what she will do to us, and with good cause. Make no mistake, we are under a dictatorship, and we are suffering under her rule.”

“How is she doing it? Snow is a human. She shouldn’t have any reach or any magic to speak of.”

“It’s dark, twisted magic of the worst kind. It’s unnatural and should be feared because she is immensely powerful. Powerful beyond reason. Beyond anything you have ever seen before or indeed will ever see again.” His eyes flick upward and then to the side. “I can’t shroud us for too much longer, or she will grow suspicious. We will talk more at a later stage. When I take down the shadows, you will be my prisoner once more. Please, Sire, you cannot speak of this. You cannot openly speak against the queen, either. Not yet. Our time will come.”

“Understood.” I nod once, “Thank you, General. It is good to know we still have allies among our kind.”

“You do, Sire. More than you know.”

My mind is in turmoil over all I have learned. I feel every emotion there is to feel and all at once. From deep sorrow to exultation. The general’s words keep rolling through my mind.

It’s dark, twisted magic.

The queen is immensely powerful.

Her reach is far.

Even the rocks have ears.

She wants you alive.

Her bounty on the remaining kings is alive or dead. Why does she want me alive? I don’t understand. How are we going to defeat Snow?

The shadows start to fall away. They leave almost as quickly as they arrived, sucking back into the general, first swirling around him for a few seconds before disappearing altogether.

He puts a finger to his lips. I nod once in agreement. I will stay silent. I will hold my tongue for as long as is necessary. We will escape. I will find the others, and we will overthrow Snow. There is no other option.