Chapter 28

UNA

"Thank you," I told Meck and Ferryn who were posted outside the door of Goll's war room where they'd escorted me. After my visit with Athelyn, I'd told Goll that I needed to speak with him urgently about Dragul Falls. He'd nodded and told me to meet him here with my book.

I was about to knock, but then the door opened and Keffa stood there. "Mizrah." He dipped a shallow bow of the head. "We've been waiting for you."

We? I didn't know Goll had summoned anyone else.

When I stepped inside, I was expecting a table of maps and walls of charts, perhaps weapons decorating the room. Back in Valla Lokkyr, that is what my father's war room, and now Baelynn's, looked like. Though there was a giant map on one wall next to the long table, Goll's war room did not appear at all like my brother's.

There was a long black oak table, polished to a beautiful shine. Chairs of gray leather with brass nail-heads lining the seats surrounded the table. A white-marble mantel framed a fireplace large enough for a wraith fae to walk inside of it upright, horns and all. Surrounding the hearth were a semi-circle of velvet-cushioned chairs and a rug of red and gold embroidery.

Standing in front of the crackling fire was Goll, his hands behind his back, his gaze on me. Soryn sat in one of the chairs as Keffa escorted me over. There were two other wraith fae. One I recognized as the white-haired councilman, Bozlyn. The kinder one who greeted me on my arrival. The other was a fierce-looking, orange-eyed wraith fae with a barrel-sized chest and a little gray in his black hair as well.

Goll stepped forward to greet me. I was surprised when he leaned down and brushed his lips against mine. "Did you sleep well?"

I arched a brow. He knew that I had since he'd slept beside me. I'd awoken to a grinning Hava in his bedchamber, chirping that the king demanded I eat a hearty breakfast.

"Yes, my king."

A low purr rumbled in his chest before he escorted me with a hand at my back toward a red-velvet chair beside Soryn. All of the males stood as I approached, so I remained standing next to the chair while Goll took care of the introductions.

"You know Soryn and Keffa, of course. This is Bozlyn, who is head of my royal council and also a member of my war council."

"I remember Bozlyn. Good to see you again, my lord."

"And you, Mizrah."

"May I present Morgolith to you?" He gestured to the fierce-looking one, who bowed.

"Oh," I said excitedly with a bright smile. "You are the one who befriended Hava."

The beefy wraith fae grinned, one of his fangs crooked. "I am, Mizrah." He bowed his head. "It is wonderful to meet you."

"And you, my lord." I knew now that all wraith fae with four horns were nobles of the dark fae and deserved the title lord rather than sir. "Hava has become a dear friend of mine."

"Indeed, I am glad to hear of it." He smiled warmly, his orange eyes crinkling. "Hava deserved a good life and a high station in the palace. And our king has given it to her."

He needn't speak of the prejudice she apparently suffered in her life with the shadow fae. I already understood she might've had similar treatment if she lived and worked in the city proper of Silvantis. But here in the palace under Goll's guidance and protection, everyone treated her with respect. It raised my esteem for Goll higher still, knowing he was the kind of king who demanded respect for everyone, no matter their origins.

"Have a seat," Goll urged softly, nudging me toward the chair.

Everyone sat except him. He stood in front of the fire again, facing me. "Now, I've caught everyone up to speed. Those here are my most trusted confidants as I had a feeling you wouldn't want this public yet. Still, we will need protection if we are going near anything that is god-touched."

I nodded in agreement, remembering it had turned into disaster when I'd gone by myself the first time. "I understand."

Then I opened my beloved book to the first prophecy I'd collected, the one I first found in my father's desk. After reading it aloud to them, I said, "This one caught my attention because of the mention of the plague."

It didn't surprise me the wraith fae shared a few looks at the rest of the vision, for it predicted a time when their people would reign higher than the light fae. It was just as the old myth had said, the one of Vix and Mizrah. Still, that wasn't my focus today.

"But this one"—I flipped to the next page—"is where I knew the first text must be at Dragul Falls." I read the second one, which was quite a bit longer, yet again mentioning a sickness in the land, "One will steal magick and one will steal the mind, one will curse the light and one the other kind."

"Madness." Morgolith's voice stopped me. When I looked up, he was scratching his chin, his expression in deep concentration.

"What of it?" asked Goll.

"When I left Gadlizel, there were rumors the king was ill of the mind. I never saw proof of it myself because when I'd heard you'd taken the throne in Silvantis, I didn't stay long enough to find out."

Goll frowned. "We hear nothing from the shadow fae, so we wouldn't know if it's true or not. Something to remember, though." He looked back at me. "Go on, Una."

I did, reading the rest where it spoke of the gods' intervention, offering fae-kind a way to balance the scales and set the world to right. Then the final description where rivers meet in the northlands and fall as one.

Soryn stood and walked to the map on the other side of the room. "That certainly sounds like Dragul Falls," he admitted soberly. "I can't see where else it might be."

"That's what I'd thought," I said, Goll's attention on me.

"And this oracle," Goll began, a heaviness in his voice, "is he or she still there in Issos? Can we speak to them?"

I shook my head. "No. She was excommunicated by my father years ago."

Goll's eyes widened with shock.

"I know," I added, realizing he must be surprised my father would do such a thing. "He didn't want any more prophecies about the downfall of the moon fae, it seemed."

"What was her name?" he asked with serious urgency.

I hadn't told him the oracle was female. "Vaylamorganalyn."

"Vayla," Keffa whispered, standing beside Goll and staring at me with a mixture of shock and sorrow.

Goll turned to him and put a hand on his shoulder. It was a comforting touch I didn't understand. "Easy, friend," he whispered to Keffa.

Then I remembered. Right before Goll severed his father's head, he'd said, Vayla was right.

Keffa's gaze swiveled toward the fire, but he was the one who broke the tension-filled silence when he said in a gravelly voice, "You would've been just a girl when she was exiled."

Swallowing hard, my pulse tripping faster, for there was something more going on here, I said, "Yes. I was. I found these prophecies at the Moon Temple."

"And you determined to act on them all alone?" asked Goll. His voice wasn't accusing but more concerned at what I'd done as a girl of seventeen.

"I tried to get Baelynn to understand. I'd even told my father, but neither would listen. At the time, Father was concerned about the Borderlands and the increasing dark fae in the region."

I needn't explain more because it was, apparently, the beginnings of war. All it took was my own capture and torture here in N?kt Mir to put that officially into motion.

"You spoke of Vayla," I added. "Was this the same Vaylamorganalyn? Did you know her?"

Keffa remained rigid, staring into the fire. It was Bozlyn, the older wraith fae who said, "She came here to Silvantis when she was exiled from Issos. She told King Xakiel that she was god-touched with powerful magick of prophecy, a world-seer and a god-seer in one. She said she must use the gift or be damned by the gods. And the gods had sent her to Xakiel."

"So she served your father?" I asked Goll.

"She did," he told me. "She was welcomed because of her exceptional scrying abilities. And for many years she was considered the greatest oracle we've ever had in Silvantis."

"What happened?" I asked gently.

Keffa finally turned from the fire, his face a hard mask. "She had a vision that the Demon King didn't like. She told King Xakiel that one day his son and heir would usurp his throne, and he would die by his son's sword."

"Heavens," I muttered, trying to absorb the realization that the same oracle who prophesied the plague and downfall of our people also foresaw Goll's rise. I looked at him, cut in shadow against the firelight. "Then you were put into prison."

"I was. So was she."

"Fucking tyrant," growled Keffa, turning back to the mantel and bracing both hands on the white marble, his black claws out.

A new dawning bloomed in my chest, pulling me to my feet. My breathing quickened as I stared into the fire, remembering.

Drip. Drip. Drip. "Sorka lillet."

"She was there," I whispered. "She was there in the dungeon with me."

Tears sprang to my eyes and spilled down my cheeks so suddenly I gasped. It hit me like a lightning bolt.

A frenzied panic gripped me as I remembered the hag. Her quiet whisper in the dark, her bloody fingers on my forehead, her magick seeping into my flesh, her sweet spirit slipping into the afterworld.

Keffa took a step toward me, his brow furrowing deeper, tightening the scar that ran down from his missing eye. "You saw her? Spoke to her?"

I couldn't answer, tears now slipping freely down my face.

When Keffa took another step toward me, Goll stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. "Can you all step outside a moment?"

I sat back down, staring at my hands, my fingers shaking as I picked at the fringe of ivy embroidery along my overskirt hem. I vaguely recognized that everyone left, the door shutting quietly behind them. Then Goll was on his knees in front of me, wrapping his large, warm hands around mine.

"Breathe, Una. Deep breath in. And out."

I hadn't realized I was breathing so quickly, near hysterical from the sensory memory flooding my mind so fast.

"I thought she was simply an old hag. A poor Issosian who'd been caught like I was, tossed in the dungeon to rot." I sucked in a breath after a sob. "She was so kind to me." I met Goll's concerned expression. "She tried to heal me, I believe. Gave me the very last of her magick on her dying breath."

His concern transformed to an earnestness as he asked, "Did she trace runes on your forehead?"

"I didn't know what she was doing at the time. When the healer came to my bedside in Issos, there were traces of rune sign, but none of it recognizable. The healer had asked me about it, but I didn't answer. I was in shock. Then later, I didn't care to share my experience with anyone."

"When I carried you into Esher Wood"—he reached up and swiped my cheeks with his thumbs—"I saw the bloody marks, but I thought my father's jailers had done that to you. Some sort of curse."

"No." I shook my head. "It was her. Vayla. I thought she had gone mad. She said something to me in demon tongue, which I didn't know. But then she said it to me in the common tongue right before she died."

"Do you remember what she said?"

"I'll never forget it." I held his gaze as I recalled and recited exactly what Vaylamorganalyn had whispered in the dark before she died. "You are the destiny. You are the dark lady." I paused, licking my lips. "You are for him."

His eyes widened, his fingers clenched around my hands in my lap.

"I'd thought it all nonsense. But she wasn't crazy. She gave me a gift with her last breaths."

He brushed his thumbs over the back of my hands. "Vayla sent her spirit into the afterworld, but she blessed you first."

"With her magick. I know she did."

He dipped his chin in a single nod. "And her prophecy."

"She meant you," I stated confidently, not as a question. Finally understanding. "She meant that I was destined for you." My heart sank a little. "Do you think the gods are toying with us? Forcing us together?" It shattered me to think that what we had wasn't our own will but merely the gods frivolous game of fates.

Goll stood, scooped me off the chair, and then resettled in it with me on his lap. I accepted his comfort, my stomach twisted in knots, and slipped my arms around his neck.

"I believe the gods are always playing with us, manipulating us to get what they want."

My heart plummeted at his admission. "We are merely pawns?" I blinked back fresh tears.

"Look at me, Una." He lifted my chin so that I had to. "If you think the gods can force my heart to beat only for you, then you're mistaken." He took one of my hands and pressed it to his chest. "They may have guided you to my doorstep, but you're in here now. Ever-present in the soul of this wraith king. No god or fae can take you away from me now."

I pressed my face against his neck, letting his tight embrace and heartfelt words soothe my renewed grief over the old fae lady. The seer who'd gifted me with new magick before she died.

We sat like that for some time, holding one another and absorbing this new reality that the gods had forced us together, but in the end, we'd both chosen each other. What happened from here, the heavens only knew.

In the quiet, I murmured, "Keffa loved Vayla, didn't he?"

"Very much." He heaved a sigh. "She'd not given herself to him, remaining true to her vows as a priestess. But after she'd told her last prophecy, and it was obvious the king was going to arrest her, she went to him. They were found together in his bedchamber. When he fought for her, that is how he lost his eye, how his horn was broken, and he was given those scars."

Closing my eyes, I held Goll tighter, so sad for Keffa having lost his dear one, the fae woman who'd comforted me in the dark and given me the last of her magick.

Finally, I sat up. "When do we go to Dragul Falls?"

"I'll take Keffa and Soryn and leave tomorrow."

"And me," I added.

He shook his head. "There could be danger."

"But you'll be there."

"Yes," he stated firmly. "And you won't."

"Why not?" I squirmed to get off his lap, but he held me tightly.

"Anything that is god-touched can be dangerous and I won't risk you getting hurt."

I shoved off my hip the hand that was keeping me on his lap and stood. "But I discovered these prophecies and where they guide us to the texts."

"I am glad of it, so I can follow through and find them," he said in that serene manner that made me want to scream.

"They aren't meant for you to find them. They're meant for me ."

He arched a brow in that superior way of his. "How do you know?"

Crossing my arms, I mimicked his slow and serene voice, "The same way you knew I would not die in N?kt Lykenzel and that I was marked to be your mizrah."

He clamped his jaws tight. I held his stare and waited. "Where are the other texts?" he asked.

Avoiding his gaze, I glanced down. "Farther north, I believe." I knew they were.

He scoffed and stood before me, towering over me with his height and breadth. "You're not going. You can give me the book, and I'll find them for you." Then he turned and marched for the door.

" Goll. " I hurried after him. "You don't understand. I have to be there."

He whirled around, scowling fiercely. "Why must you?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. I just feel that I must."

"Well, I feel that you must remain out of danger. Farther north into beast and shadow fae lands? No, Una. I won't allow it."

"What could possibly happen? We'll have your Culled with us."

"Anything could happen." He glared down at me. "Dalya foresaw someone who means to take my throne. An enemy. And you want me to take my mizrah into enemy lands?"

"You are enemies with the other dark fae?"

"The beast fae, not so much. They simply don't like us and we don't like them. But we have a violent history with the shadow fae, and I've suspected for a while that the enemy Dalya warned me about might very well be among them."

I bit my lip. "Then we'll be careful."

" No , Una." His posture and expression told me he wasn't going to see this my way.

Calmly, I stepped around him toward the door.

"Where are you going?" he snapped.

"To prepare for the feast. If you recall, we still have a guest from Issos to entertain." I whirled at the door. "That is, if you're going to allow me to speak again with my countryman."

I knew referring to Athelyn as my countryman would stir his anger, but I didn't care. He may want to protect me, but he refused to even acknowledge that the gods may have a plan for me as well. It was always about what he wanted. The tyrannical wraith king.

When he did nothing but clamp his jaw tighter, I left without a word to get ready for my first feast at N?kt Mir.