Wil fashioned a face full of pride while Corey bobbed her head from side to side, uncertainty making her usually smooth forehead crumple. “I haven’t figured it out a hundred percent,” she admitted. “But I am getting there.”
“Where did you find it?” Pia asked, less impressed by the fact that Corey had almost figured out how to solve one of the many problems that came with Rhia—her immortality.
“Feris left it for me,” Corey informed them hesitantly.
“Feris was here?” Pia asked, suddenly trembling. “Did he hurt you? Wil?” She looked back and forth between the two visitors, trying to read from their faces whether they actually were okay.
“If he was here, we didn’t see him,” Wil explained. “But someone left a message at Corey’s threshold, containing clues, and we went to retrieve the book.”
“Just like that?” Pia asked, her body shaking. For the first time since she had met the girl, Maray was actually scared she would just pop into a Yutu. “Without telling anyone where you were going? I could have helped and protected you,” she pointed out.
“I don’t need your protection, Pia,” Wil objected, and Pia’s shaking frame calmed as her face went from furious to hurt.
“Maybe you don’t,” Pia mumbled, “but Corey does.”
“We are okay, Pia,” Corey reassured the girl and crossed the gap between them to lay an arm around her shoulders. “Wil took good care of me.”
“Does Mom know?” Maray interrupted before anyone else could speak, and this time, she got an unreadable face from both Corey and Wil.
“Not yet,” Corey spat out the truth eventually after eyeing Wil for support and not getting any. “I thought it would be best to come to you first before proceeding to actually attempt it.”
Corey’s words, vague as they were, scared Maray. She had rarely seen such hesitance in the warlock girl. She knew her as a secure force of nature who flipped around the odds of those who had been threatening to die on Maray’s journey in Allinan. In no way could that look on Corey’s face mean anything good.
“Maybe we should all sit down,” Wil suggested and strode toward the ensemble of blue armchairs near the closet, Corey following him closely with a grim expression.
Pia hooked her arm into Maray’s and led her to a chair. “Whatever it is, we’re going to deal with it,” she said, sounding half as convincing as she probably was trying to convey.
Maray let Pia pull her to the chair and dropped willingly into the soft cushion closest to the bed. Her corset shifted as she leaned back, poking into her stomach on one side. She used one hand to adjust it and the other one to make sure the top didn’t slide as she shifted the bottom.
“Let’s hear it, then,” she said, opening the conversation, hoping to appear less eager than she actually was.
Corey’s lips twisted before she opened them to speak. “If I read Feris’ notes correctly, it’s likely at least one of them won’t survive the ritual.”
Maray waited for Corey’s words to make any other sense than the obvious one—that it was likely either Rhia or Laura was going to die if Corey undid the binding spell… or both.
“How much of a chance?” Maray asked as she led Corey and Wil down the hallway to her mother’s chambers. This involved the Crown Princess of Allinan as much as it involved the Queen, but while Rhia didn’t need to know what was going on and what they were planning, Laura absolutely had to be informed of this development. They needed to figure something out, Maray couldn’t lose her mother again. No matter the disagreements they had on her future husband and how to pick him, this was her mother they were talking about—and her grandmother. Despite all of her crimes, Rhia didn’t deserve to die, either.
“Feris wasn’t very clear in his notes. It’s not as if there are that many immortals and that spells are being broken every day in order to create statistics,” Corey said, sounding less reluctant now that the worst news was out and trying to keep pace with Maray, who was half-running across the black-and-white marble.
“That’s even more of a risk, then. A guess actually, nothing more.” Maray heard herself say the words, but she didn’t actually mean to speak them. There wasn’t much of an option. “What do you think will happen?”
“I can’t tell.” Corey lowered her head. “I haven’t even figured out all of the ritual that is supposed to reverse the spell.”
Maray fell into her thoughts for a moment, considering everything she knew: Rhia’s disloyalty and her attempts to lock Maray up for her blood, how she had held her own daughter prisoner for her blood… but even before that, opening the rift between dimensions and gambling with the fate of Allinan just so she could gain power. Her hunger for more, always more—power. And yet, her words of remorse and her help in figuring out the truth—
The carved door to her mother’s chambers was there as unexpected as it was anticipated. Maray lifted her hand and pushed down the handle after a forced smile at the guard who was saluting.
“You need to hear this, Mom…” Maray’s words died on her tongue as she found Laura in an animated discussion with Heck sitting at the coffee table in the corner of the room. They both looked up as Maray burst in through the door, followed by Corey, Wil, and Pia.
Heck jumped to his feet as he noticed the look on Maray’s face; a face that was shaped by both the mourning of her relationship with Jemin and the knowledge of how much pain and fear he must have been going through those first days as a shifter.
“Have you seen him?” Maray prompted the second Heck’s eyes found hers. She stormed forward as if proximity to Heck would let her somehow magically feel Jemin, too.
Heck held up his hands in a gesture of innocence. “I am pretty certain he doesn’t want to see me at the moment.”
Maray stumbled on his words, but before she had a chance to ask, her mother joined them and asked the reason for their visit.
“I assume this has something to do with the spell.” Laura eyed Corey, who immediately shrank an inch, diverting Maray’s attention from Heck and encouraging her to come to her friend’s aid instead.
“Corey found the instructions on how to break the binding spell,” Maray informed them without any build-up. This had to be build-up enough for what was the actual subject they needed to discuss.
Laura’s face brightened. “Wonderful, Corey.” She inclined her head. “Congratulations.”
“Don’t congratulate me yet, Your Royal Highness.” Corey curtseyed. “The spell comes with a pitfall.”
Laura raised one eyebrow. “It would have been too easy.”
As Corey informed her what that pitfall was, Laura’s face paled.
“The ritual may kill us both,” she repeated.
“Likely only one of you,” Corey said, hardly audible. “And if so, likely Rhia.” She looked up helplessly. “At least that’s what Feris said in his notes.
Maray’s stomach clenched from watching Corey as she was obviously fighting the urge to run so she would never need to find out if Feris’ guess was correct.
Laura was very quiet, as were the rest of them. The only sound Maray perceived was the hammering of her heart as it protested against anything that would try to take anyone else from her.
“Is there any other way?” Laura asked as diplomatically as Maray’s father would have done, but the foreshadowing of what her thought process must actually be was devastating.
Corey shook her head. “I’ve looked in all the books, in all the legends, and there is nothing that remotely refers to binding spells, the undoing of immortality, or anything connected to it. Feris’ instructions are the only option I have.”
Maray looked at her as if a stare could change what reality said. “Can’t you invent a spell? Something that could protect Mom?” she asked Corey, and again she knew what the answer would be even if this time it came in drawn-out apologies.
“Believe me, if I had another option, I would take it any second. The entire reason why I initially came to you was that I am not certai
n this is even worth pursuing, not with what’s at stake.” Eventually, Corey said no. “I am sorry.”
“Exactly, because of what is at stake, we cannot afford to not at least try,” Laura objected from Maray’s other side. “Allinan is better off without either of us than with Rhia in the long run.”
“Then why don’t we just have her executed?” Heck suggested naively for the routine soldier he was at the tender age of seventeen, and much to Maray’s surprise, earned a shocked look from Corey and Wil—even worse than her mother and her.
“There is a difference between a death sentence and a chance someone might die during a procedure,” Laura explained, and Maray had to agree, thinking of all the barbaric medical procedures people in the other world went through, always with a residual risk that things might go wrong in surgery or a medication’s side effects might harm them more than the medication actually helped them—and yet, it was a justifiable risk because it was for the benefit of the person who was at risk.
On the other hand, actually damning someone to not be worthy of living—because ultimately, that was what it was, not a sentence to die but a renouncement of the right to live—was an entirely different level. Maray didn’t think she had it in her. Neither did she believe her mother did.
But what actually changed the entire angle on the question was Corey’s desperate words, “Feris has a theory on that, and it’s a theory that came from Gan Krai originally, the one who figured out how to do the entire immortality thing.” She glanced at Wil who nodded, encouraging. “If you actually kill Rhia, the person she gained her immortality from will most certainly die with her.”
There was a moment of silence so thick that Maray had trouble breathing. Then, Laura leaned back in her chair and looked out the window, eyes on the arcades that were framing the yard between the palace and the servant quarters. “If I died, would she die, too?”
Maray grasped her mother’s hand. “You can’t even think that, Mom,” she scolded her, deriving by fear over what the motivation of Laura’s question had been.
“It doesn’t work that way,” Corey explained, much to Maray’s relief. “Life energy is shared between the immortal and the one they gained immortality from, and while it works one way with making someone immortal, it doesn’t work the other way with transferring the energy back. Whenever Princess Laura loses part of her life energy, Rhia gains it. She grows stronger and more durable with every day Princess Laura’s life is coming closer to its end. And if you died—” Corey finally looked at Laura, eyes darker than their usual black, “—then she gains faster while you remain dead.”
Corey paused for a moment, letting everything sink in, before she placed the book on the table and opened it to a page that Maray had never seen before. It was full of scribbles, symbols, and drawings. But what was most fascinating about it was that Maray could almost sense the magic in the pages. This wasn’t a law or a ritual in the way the title of the book suggested but real, powerful magic. She glanced at Corey, who was staring, equally drawn to the mystery on the parchment.
“While Rhia would live, stronger than ever if you died, should Rhia die first, you’d die for certain. Whatever of you is bound to her is enough to pull you with her across the dark line of death. Because you didn’t simply give her your life energy and that’s it, but you are bound together by a spell that ensures she grows while you fade, making her the carrier of both your lives now.”
Laura nodded and met Corey’s gaze. “I understand.” They were two simple words that made Maray worry even more than what Corey had just explained to them.
“What does that mean, Mom? You understand?” She had been hoping for some reaction, some defiance, something. But her mother got to her feet, not even acknowledging that Maray had asked.
“Thank you for informing us, Corey. I’ll need some time to consider. Please go ahead with your studies in case we need to use the reversion spell.” With those words, she walked from the room, leaving the five of them behind.
Heck’s hand on her shoulder was the first thing she felt after a moment of petrification. There really was no other option. If they wanted to make sure Rhia could never harm anyone again, they needed to try to unbind her mother and her grandmother, hoping that they survived.
“Are you all right?” Heck asked in a soft tone that was like balm to Maray’s soul.
She bobbed her head absently. She had to be, didn’t she? As a Princess of Allinan, she had to be strong, composed, dignified, a symbol for the strength of all of Allinan and for the prosperity that Allinan should experience in the future—a future that wouldn’t exist if Rhia ever turned on them again or if Gan Krai lost his patience and reopened the rift to let the Shalleyn consume Allinan.
Suddenly, she understood her mother’s need to be alone. With a swift motion, she was on her feet and rushing toward the door. She dismissed Pia, who wanted to come with her. It was only when she arrived at her own chambers that she noticed she wasn’t alone. Heck was beside her, his eyes molten chocolate, full of compassion, and a hint of frustration decorated his forehead as his brows knitted together.
“What do you need, Heck?” Maray flung herself onto her bed and pulled her covers over her as she rolled to the side.
Heck stood where he was, obviously not accustomed to dealing with behaviors such as hers—or there was something else holding him back from his usual flow of words. Maybe the fact that Maray would soon have nothing and no one here in Allinan. Her father would eventually go back to the other world to fulfill his duties as an ambassador. Maray had overheard her parents talk about that. If anything went wrong while undoing the binding spell, she wouldn’t have her mother or even the horrible grandmother Rhia was. And as she couldn’t have Jemin—
“It’s probably not the best time to bring this up, but—”
“You are right, Heck,” Maray stormed at him from behind the blanket, feeling like a thirteen-year-old rather than the composed Princess she had to be in the public eye. “Whatever it is.”
Heck’s eyes widened in reaction to her tone, and as Maray peeked at him from the shelter of the blanket, she was surprised to see Heck actually frightened. He hadn’t even looked that terrified when Rhia had crossed the iron bars in the dungeons as if she were sailing through a breezy ocean. It made her want to at least try to hear him out, whatever it was he had to say. He wouldn’t come to her in a moment like this if it wasn’t important—more important than his own head, which he seemed to be fearing to lose, judging by the look in his eyes.
With a push, Maray heaved herself up onto her elbows and watched as the covers slid down her chest and her corset revealed part of her cleavage. She didn’t care. Heck had probably seen more than that on more than just one girl. He wouldn’t even notice hers.
Heck fidgeted on the spot, oddly nervous for the Heck she knew.
“Spit it out, Heck,” she prompted, not trying hard enough to conceal the sense of feeling overwhelmed that was making her voice thick. She was no longer clear whether she was struggling with fear or anger or simply the fact that she was helpless in all of this.
Heck took a cautious step toward the bed before he stopped, finally ready to speak what was on his mind.
“I am sorry, Maray,” he croaked, and Maray could tell this wasn’t the reason why he was here, just to tell her that he was sorry. With another step forward, he cleared his throat and pulled loose black strands back behind his ears. “It must be incredibly difficult for you, going through all of this, especially now that you will also need to choose a suitor in a week.”
“Thank you, Heck,” Maray replied, acknowledging his words of sympathy. “That’s kind of you to say. But the truth is it doesn’t really matter who I choose if everything else goes wrong, as long as the guy is worthy in the eyes of the nobles and the people.” As she heard her own voice, she was surprised how detached she sounded. Almost as if she had come to peace with what was looming over her future.
“That’s not entirely true,” Heck cor
rected. “It does make a difference.”
“Have you seen the list of suitors?” Maray quizzed, her mind already drifting back to the conversation with Pia.
Heck, however, stiffened as she mentioned the list.
“You have, haven’t you?” Maray assumed at his response.
“I can understand that you are upset with me,” Heck started, but when Maray eyed him without comprehension, he stopped.
“What did you do to anger me?” Maray wanted to know, no longer sure if they were talking about the same thing.
“Wait—which list of suitors are you talking about?” Heck asked in return, leaving Maray confused.
“The list—” Maray named all of the candidates Pia had told her about. “All four of them are either children or not from the capital, hence no reputation, no age, no—” Maray stopped as she noticed that Heck was biting his lip like some of the insecure boys in high school when the teachers had caught them forgetting homework. “What’s going on, Heck?” Maray slid to the edge of the bed and let her calves dangle down to the floor, readying herself for whatever news he was bringing that made him this uncomfortable. Nothing made Heck this uncomfortable.
“I don’t know where you got that list, but it’s incomplete. Pia failed to mention the fifth candidate.”
Maray saw it in Heck’s eyes, something bad was coming. “No.” She crossed her arms over her chest.
“I haven’t even told you.”
“You don’t need to.” Maray bit the air instead of throwing the first curse at Heck that came to her mind.
“It wasn’t my idea. You have to believe me,” Heck defended himself. “Your mother came to me a couple of weeks ago with the idea—”
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