Malice (Malice Duology #1)(107)
“I was in love with a Vila once,” Kal says. “In the court of Targen, to which I served as a spy both before and during the war. But the Vila council forbade the match, insisting on keeping bloodlines pure. I wanted to leave them—start our own court, perhaps. But she wanted revenge. And she took it as ruthlessly as she could.” He fingers the thick chain and watches the sea. “Her magic bled into the Etherian lands. It was the first time in decades that the Vila had encroached on Etherian territory, and so the light Fae saw it as an act of war and struck back.”
War? But there was only one war in Briar’s history. “You mean the War of the Fae? Your lover started the War of the Fae? That’s impossible. I would have read about her.” Dragon knows I’d scoured every book I could find on the subject.
He wheels to me. A quick streak of lightning illuminates the crimson threads in his hair, like fine streaks of blood. “After the war, her name was scrubbed from all records.”
“No. There was only one Vila who—” The next clap of thunder shakes me to my core. “The Vila who cast the curse on Aurora’s family. She was…”
“Very good, Alyce.” Kal leers at me. “Yes. I helped her. Disguised myself as a servant to enter the palace and plant the Vila’s curse on the heirs. The royals deserved it. The humans poisoned our lands. Killed our kin. And so we did the same to Briar. Leythana’s daughters would live to the age of twenty-one, one year for each year of the War of the Fae. Just long enough to make the pathetic humans think they could do something to save their children. And then the poor princesses would succumb to the Vila magic. Eventually, the curse would end the royal line. Briar would be thrown into civil war, allowing the borderlands to be sieged and the mountains to be breached.”
A few pieces of the ceiling clatter to the floor as the wind howls into the chamber. Shame claws up my throat. All this time I’ve been trusting the very creature who branded Aurora’s family with the curse. Someone who just wanted to use me to tear Briar apart. My jaw clenches and I embrace the pain. I deserve far worse.
“But the princesses lived,” I grit out. “The Vila’s curse didn’t work.”
“Not as intended, no. After the Etherians managed to soften it so that it could be broken by true love’s kiss.” Kal waggles his fingers. “But it did damage enough. Quite amusing, actually, the way events unfolded. By forbidding younger daughters to produce children, the royals picked off potential heirs all on their own.”
He’s right. Aurora’s aunts have all died—childless, in order to prevent the spreading of the curse. There’s only one heir keeping the Vila’s work from being completed.
“And now it is our turn.”
“No!” I wrestle with the bonds. The shadows only wrap tighter. “You’ll have to kill me before I—”
“Oh, not you and I.” Kal laughs. “Someone far more powerful. Someone who deserves to witness the fruits of her labor.”
Storm-charged air punches through the narrow window.
“Do you mean…the Vila? You told me she was dead.”
“I lied.”
Kal unlatches the medallion’s chain and dangles it before me. Even against the pitch-dark of the storm, the gem shimmers, deep emerald and sapphire darting and whirling within.
And suddenly I understand. “That medallion had nothing to do with the binding enchantment.”
“Clever, as always, Alyce. And correct. The Etherians thought it entertaining to imprison us here together.” He taps the medallion. “This contains her spirit.” He takes a breath. Releases it and closes his eyes. “Mortania.”
Each syllable spears down my spine like a lightning rod, setting every nerve aflame. My Vila magic shivers, that strange connection between us thrumming.
“I nearly forgot the taste of her name. Like dark wine and rich blood.” Kal licks his lips. “I waited centuries for just the right vessel.” Gently, he places the necklace on the floor. “I was close once. But I am glad she did not suffice. You—so perfect. A Shifter as well as Vila.” He looks at me like a starving man regards a feast. “Perhaps I might even see her face again.”
“I was close once.” There’s only one other Vila I know of who had ever entered this tower—my mother. Kal claimed that Lynnore had been almost strong enough to free him, but not quite. That she was thrown into the sea on the day they were meant to escape Briar together—with me. He let me believe that her killers were the same people who trapped him here. That he couldn’t tell me who they were because of the enchantment. But the horrible truth spreads through me like winter frost crackling over a windowpane.
“You murdered her.” The words scrape against my throat. “You tossed her out of this tower and let her drown.”
“Lynnore was weak.” Kal looms over me. The walls groan against the anger of the storm. “She did not appreciate the power I laid at her disposal. Once it became clear that she would not be able to break my bonds, she decided to leave without me. It was not safe in Briar for her child.” His jaw sets. “I did what needed to be done. You were Vila and Shifter. A powerful mix. And that mix needed to stay here, where I could mold and shape you. True, it was a gamble as to whether the people of Briar would execute you. Whether you would ever find me. But I won in the end. And Lynnore would never have trained you the way I could.”