King of Deception, page 13
part #3 of Helios Mage Series
Embry one, earth mage zero.
Jania throws a fireball at one of the other guards, reducing them to an even fight, so I drag my attention to Sasi, just in time to see an orb of shadow hurtling through the air toward me and Rone. I throw my helios powers at it. The two balls of magic collide mid-air, showering us all in flecks of white and black.
Juniper takes her place beside me, wielding her sword in one hand and supporting Clove with her other. “We’ll fight our way toward the portal. Throw everything you’ve got at them, Em!” she shouts.
“Got it,” I call back.
Clove attempts to create a protection dome around us, but his magic fizzles out; his declining health is draining his magic too fast. We need to get him out.
While Rone slowly but steadily walks us closer to Jania and the portal, I throw everything I have into the battle. I send balls of heat and light in every direction, bolts of electricity snaking along the ground, and pressurised jets of water at whoever is brave enough to come at me. Within minutes, there are only two battles left: Chilli and Noxen, and Jania and Glenn against their two opponents.
Just as I ready myself to aim a crackling orb of helios at Noxen, a scream fills the cavern. Jerking my face toward Jania, I throw a ball of my magic. The earth mage I shot backwards earlier has come to, launching into action by hurtling a jagged length of rock toward the queen.
Seconds before the makeshift weapon collides with Jania, Glenn pushes her aside and takes the full force of the attack. My helios powers collide with the woman at the same moment Glenn is impaled through the stomach. He uses the last of his energy to create a pink portal.
Caspian blows gusts of air at the last remaining guard, sending him into the swirl of pink. The portal disappears as soon as he’s through, and the room pauses. Everyone except Noxen and Chilli frozen in relief.
“Let’s get back to Faerie before more come,” says North.
“Not before I end this fucker,” I growl, throwing orb after orb at Noxen.
They all miss, which he takes great delight in. He’s too far gone now; there’s no bringing him back from Alston’s persuasion. He cackles, throwing a look over his shoulder as shadows build around him. “Pathetic,” he taunts.
Rone’s arm tenses around me. “Does anyone else know we’re here?” he asks. When Noxen scoffs, Rone adds, “Tell me.”
Noxen’s face softens, and he ceases his attack on Chilli, who sinks to the ground. Rone takes two steps closer, repeating, “Tell me if anyone else knows we’re here.”
“His Majesty knows I am dealing with a break in at Alston Castle. He does not know of this portal. I did not have time to update him.” Noxen’s voice is flat, monotone.
“What does my father want?” Rone asks, using his persuasion magic again.
“To rule over all. The shadows of Hell will be under his command as he controls humans, mages, and fae. He will be the supreme, the most powerful in history, the most loved. He seeks the helios twins to use their power, one for creating the Hell rift, the other for the Faerie portal. They will not survive his wrath. Tomorrow, he and his army begin their takeover of Earth.”
Fuck. Tomorrow?
“You will not speak of what happened here,” says Rone. “You’re lucky my magic is almost drained, or I’d end you right now. Leave.”
Noxen disappears in a burst of shadow, leaving us all reeling. Alston told the crowd we had five days. He wouldn’t do that if… No!
I gasp. “He knows we were watching. But there’s no way he could know that. Not unless someone told him.”
There’s a traitor in our midst.
“We’ll deal with it later. Right now, I’m getting you and Mother to safety,” says Rone. He starts toward the portal, adding, “Juniper, help Achilles. North and Sasi, support Clovis. Cas, help Mother with Glenn.”
He doesn’t look back to make sure they all follow his orders, but walks us through the portal. He doesn’t put me down, not even while Octavia heals my tail bone.
She presses her hands to my lower back. Warmth emanates from where she touches my skin, radiating down to my back end. “Definitely broken,” she says. “How’d you do it?”
“Jumped backwards into Clove’s portal, tumbled through the nothingness and got spit out on my ass in Everdawn Forest,” I say. “But don’t worry about me. Help the others.”
Sasi and North follow straight after me and Rone, heading straight for Rigel. “Touched by a ghost, I think,” says Sasi, helping to recline Clove on the sofa and lifting his arm for Rigel’s inspection. “He has this handprint.”
Rigel clicks his tongue. “It will take time to heal properly.”
“You’ve got until tomorrow,” snaps June, dragging Chilli through the portal. “We need him if we’re going to face the king and his army.”
“Achilles!” shouts Rigel, moving to help June.
June shoves him back. “Heal my brother first, then you can have your reunion.”
“But he needs healing,” argues Rigel.
“Heal. My. Brother.” Juniper aims her sword at my father. “Achilles is fine. He’s feeding off me as we speak.”
What the fuck, June?
“Juniper. That’s enough,” I snap. “You’re out of line. He’ll heal Clove. He just wanted to say hello to an old friend first. Stand. Down.”
She doesn’t move for a beat, and the entire room is still until Jania, Glenn, and Caspian come through the portal.
“What in the fates is going on here?” asks Jania. “Lower your weapon, Miss Stone.”
June holsters her sword with a sigh. “Sorry, Your Majesty.”
Rigel pokes his head out the door and calls for more healers before racing over to Glenn. Octavia joins him. As she hovers her hands over Glenn’s torso, she says, “We’re too late.”
Jania kneels beside her personal guard, resting a hand against his cheek. “You have served with bravery and respect, my friend. Rest easy. Yours will not be the only death in the fight against my husband, and it will not be in vain.”
“It was… a privilege,” Glenn wheezes. Blood dribbles from the corner of his mouth, tracking a path to the floor. “You are… stronger… than you think… Jania.”
Tears build in my eyes as I watch Glenn take his last breaths. As I rest my head against Rone’s chest, I vow to never let this be us. I will never let him die; I’ll turn back time until I’m senile if it means saving him. But it’s not just Rone I care so deeply about. I’d do the same for anyone in this room—they’re all important, and they all hold a place in my heart. We fought against the enemy together, and we came out of it whole. We’re not broken like the king had hoped. It’ll take a lot more than that to break us.
I turn to Caspian, asking, “Finch?”
He shakes his head, grief shining in his eyes. My heart pangs in return. Finch helped me. He helped all the maidens locked in the dungeons. His death is… infuriating, achingly sad, and wholly unnecessary.
“Oh. Excuse me, Your Majesty,” says Damita, entering of her own accord. “I didn’t realise I was interrupting. It’s just that the fae council would like a word. With everyone.”
“The fae council?” I ask.
Octavia’s face pales. “The six courts come together to form the council. It’s where I was sentenced to my fate.”
“A fate you no longer have to endure alone,” says Rone.
“What do you mean?” asks Octavia. She narrows her eyes at me. “What did you do?”
“It worked?” I ask Rone, my mouth popping open.
Rone smiles. His grin is so large, I can see every one of his teeth. “It did.”
Octavia repeats herself, demanding to know what’s going on. Rigel echoes her, both of them asking what I’ve done.
Rone answers, “It was all Bloom’s idea. She couldn’t understand why the fae decided you and you alone had to repair the portal, so she had me look into it. I used my magic to encourage the tree to grow. With the help of several other verdure mages, we can strengthen the portal. I’ve already organised a rotation of mages. You don’t have to give all your magic to it.”
“You’ll still lose time,” I say. “But you won’t have to sacrifice yourself to the cause. I don’t know how much you’ll age, though. It’ll be weird, having a twin who is older than me.”
Octavia’s face lights up. “You did this for me?”
“Don’t look so excited,” snaps June. “It means the fae have lied to you for your whole life. You’ve never been accepted here. You’re just a pawn in their game.”
eighteen
Damita leads us through the castle halls to what she calls the ‘throne room’. The halls are all pale smooth stone; immaculate but cluttered with pale brass sconces and gleaming armour.
They lost their opportunity for a lengthy reunion, so Chilli and Rigel settle with a bro hug; wrapping one arm around Rigel, Chilli pumps his fist against his back. Rigel mirrors the action. I’ve never understood why people like to hug that way. There’s nothing wrong with a normal embrace. Regardless of my thoughts on their so-called hug, their friendship brings a smile to my face.
“Thank you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you,” says Rigel. “You saved my girl.”
Chilli, who is perkier since feeding off June, clears his throat. “It was an honour. Emmy sure is something. Life was never boring.”
I catch up to them and nudge Chilli with my elbow. “Enough of that Emmy business, old man.”
He nudges me back. “Glad you’re safe, kiddo.”
We arrive at gigantic oak double doors. The carvings on the wood are intricate; two trees interweaving in the centre provide a canopy for a bed of flowers. The rising sun shines upon the scene while deer graze in the background. It’s the perfect depiction of spring.
Damita doesn’t knock, but opens the door and waves us in. “Come on, come on. Don’t keep them waiting.”
The oblong throne room is ridiculously large. Aneira of the Spring Court is at least fifty metres from the door. Perched on her throne, she looks down at the five other fae rulers. The kings and queens of the other courts.
Ah, shit.
Taking in the rest of the room, I’m horrified to see a rainbow has vomited over everything. Coloured banners line the walls, bouquets of flowers decorate every alcove, and the hardbacked seats scattered throughout all have different coloured cushions. That’s not all, though. The members of the fae council are a rainbow in themselves.
“Welcome, mages,” says Aneira. “May I introduce my fellow queen, Vinka of the Winter Court.”
The white-haired queen bows her head, in apparent respect. Her cunning ice-blue eyes disagree with her body language. “Welcome to our home.” I don’t miss the emphasis she places on ‘our’.
Aneira continues with the introductions. Elion of the Night Court is the black-haired man to the left. He stands beside Draigh of the Autumn Court, who has a shock of flaming red hair. In the centre, Cirrus of the Summer Court. He’s the friendliest by far. His deep green eyes light up in fascination as he takes us in. Next is Vinka, still scowling. On the right, Frewin of the Dawn Court, who says nothing but keeps his eyes trained on Damita.
“With introductions out of the way,” says Aneira, not giving us a chance to introduce ourselves in return, “we can each come to our decisions. Helping Talaron in the fight against your king is not something we expected, and we are yet to see how the result of such a battle affects us here in Faerie.”
“But you know what Alston plans to do,” says Damita. “Attacking Earth doesn’t bode well for Faerie. He’ll target you next.”
“If I may?” asks Rone, stepping forward. Aneira waves her hand in permission. Rone’s voice holds a hard edge when he says, “Everything we heard from my father’s speech was a lie of the deepest kind. He lied to my people, and he lied to us. Under my persuasion, his advisor revealed the king’s true intention. It does not satisfy Silas Alston to rule over Talaron. He wishes to command the humans and fae as well.”
“And how does he intend to do that?” asks Draigh.
“You’re saying he will war with us?” asks Frewin. He scoffs. “I hope he doesn’t expect to succeed.”
“He wouldn’t be brave enough to fight the fae. If he comes anywhere near the Winter Court, I’ll turn him into an ice sculpture. He’ll be the centrepiece in my throne room while I watch him slowly melt to a puddle on my marble floors,” says Vinka, smoothing the skirt of her skin-tight, blue dress.
Not extreme enough, Ice Queen.
“He won’t march on Faerie yet,” I say, fed up with their insults and bickering. “From what we know, his plans are to first control the humans of Earth, then command the helios twins, open a rift to Hell, and destroy Faerie with the help of Hell’s shadows.”
“You didn’t tell me that,” hisses Damita. “You could have told me that. Why didn’t you?”
I shrug. “There was no time.”
“Queen Jania Alston of Talaron,” says Rone, gesturing to his mother. “Rescued tonight from the castle dungeons.”
That piques the council’s curiosity. They straighten, showing respect for their fellow royal.
Jania approaches the six fae. “My son and I have been working together against Silas for some time. Working to dismantle my husband and his rule. When he discovered I was a part of Rone’s plan to free the maidens, he had me punished. Publicly. He is not a good man, and nothing good will come of Silas having so much power or control.”
Vinka scoffs. “Your husband punished you? Were you spanked?”
Jania unties her wrap dress, letting the silk rest at her elbows and expose her back.
I hold back a choked sob at the sight of her mutilated back; twelve horizontal lines forming a ladder from neck to hip.
Jania turns to show her still healing wounds. “One for each maiden I helped free.”
That fucking asshole!
Rone is shaking beside me, fists clenched at his sides and top lip curled in hate. “Why didn’t you tell me?” he growls.
“I didn’t want you to worry, darling,” says Jania, retying her dress. She turns back to the council. “Silas will not rest until the helios twins are under his control. He will kill them, absorb their magic, and use it to open a rift into Hell. Are you willing to ignore this?”
“He cannot have our Octavia,” says Cirrus. “We won’t allow it.”
“It’s no matter, Cirrus. We won’t let him near her,” says Aneira.
“So you can continue to use her? How dare you disguise your manipulations as compassion!” Rone warns me to keep quiet with a hand on my upper arm, but I shrug him off. “The original portal doesn’t need a helios mage to return to full strength. The tree only needs to grow! So tell me, all mighty council, why you sentenced a five-year-old to that fate when you could have encouraged the tree to grow on your own?”
Ice Queen snorts. “You think us stupid? It was too easy to convince a child and a mourning father to agree to our plan. It was easier to send a mage to her death than to sacrifice our own. Using the child solved all our problems.”
“Our own?” says Octavia. “I am one of you! I have devoted myself to the fae way of life, given everything I am to Faerie, and honoured tradition in a way even the purest of fae do not. I am fae.”
“You are a mage,” says Elion, bored. “A skilled magic user, yes. But a mage all the same.”
Octavia spins on her heel and storms from the room, slamming the double doors behind her. I can only imagine the pain she’s enduring. If getting the fae to side with us weren’t so important, I’d follow her, flipping my middle finger up at the asshole court leaders on my way out.
Down girl. You still need them.
I take a deep breath to calm my anger. “I apologise for my outbreak. Figuring out how to be a sister has been an adjustment.”
“You are brave,” says Cirrus, “to accost the council in such a way. Foolish, but brave. It is a trait both respected and feared among the fae.”
“We are losing focus,” says Aneira. “We are here to discuss the possibility of our courts joining the mages of Talaron as they confront king Silas in five days. If we were to—”
“Tomorrow,” says Rone. “He moves on Earth tomorrow. Yet another deception.”
The room is silent for a beat before the six fae royals shout over one another. I only catch a few words here and there, but from the gist of it, they’re not impressed with being asked to rally their armies on such short notice.
“From what we understand,” says Caspian, speaking for the first time. “Silas has obtained verdure, air, necromancy, shifter, and protean abilities. As well as his own persuasion and earth magic, he is a dangerous man. That’s if he hasn’t gained more powers since we were last informed. I believe him twisted enough to kill fae as well in the hopes of gaining their magic.”
“He intended to take my fire element and the shadow magic from Achilles. Possibly his sword powers, too,” says Jania. “With our escape, he would have made sure to gain those in retribution. I’m one-hundred percent certain he now wields the shadows and fire at the very least.”
“He shadow jumped from The Garrison after his speech,” says Rigel. “I heard the other girls talking about it. They were discussing the events at Larmine’s bedside.”
“Chilli?” I ask, turning to face him. “Did he take your magic?”
Chilli’s face falls. “Indigo tried to help when they took me and Jania. We didn’t see her in the dungeons. He must have…”
“Killed her?” asks Ice Queen.
“I am so sorry, brother,” says Rigel, clapping a hand over Chilli’s shoulder.
The room descends into quiet again. The fae royals are finally grasping the depths of Alston’s depravity. Instead of arguing our case further, I leave them to their thoughts, instead wondering if there’s a way we can know for sure how many types of magic Alston has now.
Maybe we could use the sight stones, or send someone undercover back to Talaron, or…
