Page 97 of To Wear a Fae Crown

My eyes narrow, suspicion creeping over me. Is that why she’s here? To fight me for my throne? She’s the eldest. It never occurred to me that she would fight me for the crown. That she might have a stronger claim to it than I do. I lower my hand, extinguishing the flame as my fingers clench into fists. “Why are you here?”

She takes a step back, as if surprised by my cold tone. “I escaped him. I finally did it, Evie.”

I steel myself to voice my next words. “Our mother is dead.”

Her hands fly to her lips. “No.”

“They killed her because you refused to attend her trial.” I know I’m omitting more than I’m saying, but in this moment, I want to wound her. I want to punish her for everything she’s done and for everything she intends to do now.

She slides to her knees, wailing. Her hands reach for the bars but flinch away before they make contact with the writhing shadows. “He did this,” she cries through her teeth, slamming her fists on the obsidian floor.

“Who?”

“Cobalt.” The name escapes her lips with more wrath than I’ve ever witnessed her demonstrate. “He...he destroyed me. You have no idea the things he made me do. The things he made me say and suffer through.”

My heart squeezes, but I refuse to fall for her words. He could have sent her here, could have planted every reaction and every word into her. He could be lurking near the border, waiting for some sign from Amelie that he and the council can make their move against us. She could be here to poison me, to take my crown. “Why are you here?” I say again, more forceful this time.

She looks at me through glazed eyes, cheeks wet with tears. “I came to see you.”

“What do you want from me?”

“Your protection.”

I let out a bitter laugh. “You had your chance and you refused my help. Why should I protect you now? After everything you’ve done—”

“I want to kill him.” She says it like a growl, face twisting into a hateful mask I’ve never seen her wear. “I want your protection. Then I want to help you kill Cobalt.”

I study her, seeking signs of Cobalt’s manipulation. “How would you help me do that?”

“I have the power of his name,” she whispers.

“You’re Bonded, so he has the same power over yours as well,” I argue. “He could be ordering you to do this, to be here and say everything you’re saying at this very moment.”

She shakes her head. “I made sure I waited until all his orders that could possibly harm you faded. He had to give me new orders daily to ensure he always covered all his bases with me. But with his new wife,” she says this with clear disdain, “he became easily distracted. Stopped renewing my orders as often. Left me alone in the undersea palace for longer and longer. When I felt no current command to keep me there, I fled. I crossed lakes, rivers, and streams to get here. Ran until my feet bled.”

I can feel my resolve to hate her beginning to lessen, a sure sign I need to cling to it more. “How can I trust you?”

She rises to her feet on trembling legs. Tears continue to stream down her cheeks. “Evelyn Fairfield,” she says, voice quavering. “I give you my name. I give you the power of my true name.”

A hum of energy buzzes toward me, feeling like both a lightness and a weight at the same time. It isn’t like the mutual hum between me and Aspen. This one only moves one way. Rage soars through me, revulsion at this one-sided power she’s bestowed. I never asked for this burden. All I ever wanted to do was protect her. Now I control her.

Angry tears swim in my eyes, but I blink them away. I square my shoulders to hide how shaken I am and burn Amelie with a glare. My voice comes out cold. “Thank you, dear sister.”

Without another word, I turn on my heel and march from the dungeon, letting my sister’s sobs follow me long after the sound of them is gone.

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