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After the rulers of the Day strode out of the Great Room, Kallyn rushed over from her side of the room and threw her arms around Kelty, who stiffened at the uncharacteristic gesture and lost her train of thought. She didn’t return the hug.

  “I didn’t do it,” Kelty said into the silence.

  She readied herself to beg. She could not live a life of banishment in a place as horrid as the human world. There must be something her parents could do.

  “The time has come,” her mother said in a solemn voice, ignoring Kelty and fixing her partner with a look of importance.

  “No,” her father said, his voice clipped. “It is far from it.”

  A challenging look took over her mother’s expression. Kallyn removed her arms slowly from around Kelty. The time has come? Kelty wanted to ask what that meant, but wasn’t sure if that would put her parents more at odds.

  “I would never do this,” Kelty emphasized again.

  Both her parents turned to her. They looked like they wanted to say more to each other but were reluctant to in front of their daughters. A frustration welled up inside Kelty. They usually told her things. Or so she thought.

  “We know,” her mother answered softly. She had a calculating look in her eye.

  “Is there any way out of this?” Kelty asked, hating how desperate her voice sounded.

  The silence in the room grew to an unbearable tension.

  Then her mother abruptly turned away from her father. “With me,” she ordered Kelty as she swept away on foot.

  Her father’s jaw tightened, but with an unreadable look, he let his partner go.

  Kelty turned guiltily away from her father and followed. Kallyn hesitated in the doorway, then followed as well when their mother called back for her to do so. She skipped to catch up to Kelty, the expression on her face a mixture of excitement and trepidation.

  The room her parents occupied lay at the center of court. There were leaves scattered on the floor and the bed, as the space went straight up to the canopy above. Kelty’s mother spread her wings and vaulted up through the branches until they reached a pocket among the leaves at the very top that was barely big enough to sit the three of them.

  It was a place for privacy, a place for tough conversations.

  “We must act fast,” her mother started in a quiet voice, startling Kelty.

  “We will refuse to cast you out,” she continued.

  The words caused a warmth in Kelty’s chest, but she knew what that would mean. “You would start a war over me.”

  “Any mother would,” her mother answered with a loving intensity.

  Tears pricked in Kelty’s eyes, and she hastily swiped them back. “There would be suffering in my name.”

  “Not if we use your powers to challenge the Day Court at the start.”

  Kelty wasn’t sure if she was ready to take on the Day Court, but another problem nagged at her. “I am supposed to unite the faerie, not destroy them.”

  Kelty couldn’t help sneaking a glance at her sister, who was uncharacteristically silent about this monumental announcement. Kallyn listened with a blank look.

  Their mother was silent as well.

  “Right?” Kelty prodded.

  “Perhaps in this instance fighting is the only way to peace.”

  Her mother’s words stunned Kelty into silence.

  Kallyn piped up at that moment. “Or you could ask The Glorious to pardon you. She has the power to resolve this.”

  Kelty and her mother turned to her in shock. “You are not suggesting I ask her to end this?” Kelty protested. “You have no idea what she will ask for in return.”

  “Out of the question,” their mother said dismissively, giving Kallyn a look like she regretted letting her younger daughter in on this conversation.

  “It would mean saving many other lives,” Kallyn said. Kelty winced at the truth of that statement.

  “They would be saved, but would they enjoy living?” their mother said with a haunted tone to her voice.

  Once she was sure her words sunk in, she turned her eyes back to her eldest. “We stand together. You will remain, and we will win.”

  “Father did not agree to that,” Kelty said past the lump in her throat, but hope swelled in her chest.

  Her mother’s eyes hardened, the eyes of a mother protecting her daughter. “He will.”

  Kelty’s heart swelled. This was more than she could’ve hoped for, especially since her parents had little words of defense for her in front of The Glorious.

  Her mother placed a hand on Kelty’s knee. “We stand together.”

  In this beacon of hope, both failed to notice that Kallyn watched them quietly and made no move to insert herself into the moment.

  Chapter 11

  The three of them glided down and back into the halls on silent wings. Court was deserted for some reason. They must have ordered everyone away, Kelty thought in shame. But seeing the confident stride of her mother before her as she touched down and marched toward the Great Room gave her strength.

  However, as she glanced to her sister on her left as they touched down, something still irked her about Kallyn’s glazed expression. Or you could ask The Glorious to pardon you.

  The Glorious could pardon Kelty publicly, but ask her to resign from her rule or require her to switch courts, a painful process to one who is unwilling. The list of underhanded things The Glorious could ask to make this all go away was long and would most likely destroy the Night.

  So would war, Kelty thought guiltily. But she shoved that thought down. No, Mother is convinced we can do this.

  But first I will find out what is wrong with my sister.

  Kelty grabbed Kallyn’s arm, saying to her mother, “I would like to speak to Kallyn a moment.”

  Her mother turned and nodded at them, eyes far away. Then she continued down the hall to speak with Baron. Kelty wanted to follow, to try to convince her father herself, but she needed some answers first.

  Kallyn said nothing as Kelty guided her in flight up two floors to her room and shut the door. Then she gave Kelty a sympathetic look. “It will work out.”

  You would never say that. Mother may be too distracted to notice, but not me.

  “Why did you say that? Why did you say I should ask The Glorious for a pardon instead of fighting?” Kelty challenged.

  Kallyn tilted her head to the side. “It would save many lives, wouldn’t it?”

  Kelty stared at the easy and open expression on her sister’s face.

  “What matters most?” Kelty asked her abruptly.

  “The balance,” her sister answered with a confident smile, as if that was the obvious answer.

  Wrong. Kelty let go of her hold on the power of the physical world to focus on the energy surrounding Kallyn, tapping into her spirit affinity for one daring moment.

  Her sister glowed, energy showing equally throughout her body instead of radiating outward from her core.

  Kelty’s chest tightened. She recalled her sister’s answer long ago, the conviction that taking care of themselves came before tending to the balance, came before everything.

  This was not her sister.

  The Glorious. Kelty thought the leader of the Day had let her go too easily earlier. She was one of the few spirit-users powerful enough to create illusions such as this, whole beings made of nothing but energy.

  It’s a test. But what is she hoping to discover? What does she want?

  Then ice cold fear threatened to overwhelm Kelty.

  She heard us discuss war.

  Her spirit energies that mimicked others were not The Glorious herself, but if this one was allowed to report back to her the contents of that conversation…

  “Yes.” Kelty made herself nod in agreement. She turned away from her sister’s face then to pace the room.

  I have to kill my own sister.

  No, Kelty amended, just a likeness of her.

  “It will work out,” illusion sister repeated.

  A tear leak
ed from Kelty’s eye as she spun and reached out with her own spirit energy again. Terror registered on illusion Kallyn’s face as the magic touched her, wrenching Kelty’s heart as she scattered the energy about her. Easing back into the familiar power of the land, she coaxed the energy to reabsorb into that of the tree that made up the room.

  I will not be that easy to fool.

  Chapter 12

  “That was disturbing.”

  Kelty startled at the voice and looked up to see the real Kallyn stepping down from her window. She wiped an arm across her face as her sister stared with wide eyes at the spot her illusion self had been.

  “I did not mean for you to see that,” Kelty said with a wince.

  “The Glorious?” Kallyn guessed.

  “Yes. I think so anyway. Kallyn, I—”

  Kallyn held up one hand. “First, you need to speak with someone.”

  Then a second figure stepped through the window. Kelty immediately commanded the vines covering the walls to bind the youth she had just before rescued from Briar.

  “You dare bring her here?” Kelty spoke out of the side of her mouth at her sister. Her captive merely met her gaze steadily and waited in silence for Kelty’s next move.

  “She has information for you,” Kallyn said.

  “You came of your own will?” Kelty asked the youth, a note of surprise in her voice.

  The youth sighed a little before replying, as if steadying herself. “You chose my life over your own. For that I owe you a debt.”

  Kelty’s mind raced. What information could she extract now that would help any? The fact that her mother was in the Great Room now, prepared to declare a war should it come to that, nagged at the back of her mind. The sky beyond her window was beginning to lighten. They did not have much time.

  “Why should I believe anything you say?”

  “My name is Verity,” was the youth’s simple reply.

  Kelty worked to keep the surprise off her face. Giving a name to one of the courts meant she could be hunted down. And this one gave hers so readily.

  “Is that the truth?”

  “Yes.”

  Feeling reckless, Kelty slipped back into her spirit affinity for one brief moment. The power she saw in this faerie stunned her. And the energy around her shone the same purple as her skin. She spoke the truth.

  Verity narrowed her eyes at Kelty. Moon and stars, she knows now. Kelty immediately regretted her actions, slipping back into her grounded state with the power of the land at the forefront.

  “We could make powerful allies.” Kelty gave Verity a look with meaning.

  A smile tugged at Verity’s mouth. “I will not slander your name or spread your secrets.”

  Kelty’s relief was short-lived. “What does Briar want from me?” she asked tersely. No matter how much she told herself it didn’t matter now, one question refused to leave her alone. Why would he go to such lengths to implicate them both?

  Now that she was cleansed of Briar’s intrusive energy, there was no more fear as she spoke of him, only a deep anger.

  “I do not know exactly,” Verity answered immediately, her eyes open and earnest. “But he believed in what he was doing whole-heartedly—”

  “He made us look like the Great Destroyers!” Kelty cut in in a low, dangerous voice. The vines securing Verity tightened in response. “He cannot be of sound mind!”

  Verity gazed steadily at her despite the tension. “But he was thinking clearly, as disturbing as that might sound.”

  That certainly sounded like the utter nonsense spirit-users were known for speaking. Kelty turned to her sister, frustration apparent in her eyes. “You brought her here for this?”

  “Mother and Father are going to refuse to cast you out, right?” Kallyn answered. “What if this is the Day’s way of getting rid of all of us who rule the Night? What if Briar was just playing a part in a grand scheme orchestrated by The Glorious?”

  Her theory had potential. The Day had greater numbers, greater power, but no real reason to take out the rulers of the Night. I gave them that reason. I made myself into a traitor, an enemy of Faerie. One who needs to be taken down.

  No. Kelty’s mind fought against the horror brought up by that thought. I did not do this. And I do not deserve this. We can still beat them. We have to.

  The refusal to accept that must have shown on her face because Kallyn grabbed her arm with one strong hand and continued, “The Day, whether or not court was involved in this, have seen their chance to take us down.”

  Take us down.

  No. I am the Star. I will not let us fall.

  Just as she reaffirmed her resolve, the silence was broken by Verity. “It seems you can stay and start a war or leave in peace.”

  Kelty threw off her sister’s arm and rounded on her. “What exactly is it that you are suggesting?”

  “You cannot mean for her to accept the banishment?” Kallyn stood beside her sister as they faced down Verity, yet her voice wasn’t as strong as her sister’s, her expression turning thoughtful.

  “I can only say it might be time to choose a different path,” Verity said in a quelling voice.

  I will make that decision myself.

  Kelty let loose the vines. “Fly free, Verity,” she said in a dry voice as she swept out of the room.

  Kelty heard Kallyn order Verity away from court in a hushed voice. She leaned against the wall in the deserted hall with arms crossed.

  It was not long before her sister emerged from the room, and Kelty pushed off the wall and advanced when she did. “Do you want to rule?” she forced out through clenched teeth, wings twitching.

  Kallyn’s eyes went wide at the sudden words, then she frowned. “I have never wanted to rule, and you know it,” she spat back.

  “Then why are you pushing me toward banishment?” Kelty blurted out.

  “The Night may not survive this, Kelty. We may not survive this.”

  “We will. We will survive.”

  A sadness passed over Kallyn’s expression. She shook her head. “You know I will fight beside you and Mother and Father if you all think it is the right path.”

  The lightness of the sky grew, visible in the window over Kallyn’s shoulder, darkening her profile. Kelty clenched her hands into fists as she thought of the illusion sister she had executed not long ago; it was a violation, a threat.

  “We fight.”

  Kelty turned on her heel, spread her wings, and was just about to take off toward where her parents waited in the Great Room when a low growl stopped her.

  Lakera slunk around the corner, ears down, a warning in her eyes.

  Enemy, Kelty heard the word in her mind as the mezra flicked her long, thin tale in the direction of the hall she had come from.

  Kelty nodded in thanks for the warning and ran a hand over the slick fur of Lakera’s back as the beast padded back behind her next to Kallyn.

  Maybe they didn’t take care of Briar after all. Maybe the fight starts now.

  Kelty gave her sister one last look. In that look she tried to convey her love and gratitude and an apology. I do not know what will happen next.

  “What matters is us,” Kallyn said softly.

  Yes. Us. Our family. And standing up for Faerie.

  “Stay here,” Kelty said with a touch of a smile. To Lakera, she ordered, Keep her safe.

  Then she walked away with purpose, rounded the next corner, and came to a stunned halt.

  The Glorious stood in her way.

  Chapter 13

  Kelty stood paralyzed as she faced the most powerful faerie, the one who owned the minds and hearts of most of Faerie. The Glorious spread her dark blue wings; the design of light brown circles with darker centers on each wing, like eyes watching, caused Kelty to shiver.

  She felt the death of the illusion Kallyn. I should have seen this coming. I can only hope she doesn’t know it was me who did it. Luckily, it could have been anyone in court with a spirit affinity.

  “Yo
u have the look of a fight in your eyes.” The Glorious’ voice was soft but with a deadly edge to it. “Do you wish to fight your fate?”

  Kelty said nothing.

  The Glorious tilted her head slightly to one side. “Would you like to see what that would look like?”

  Without waiting for a reply, she swept one arm across the air between them. There was a blinding light, and then Kelty stood in the Great Room. Her parents and Kallyn were here, though in front of her this time. The whole scene had a sort of haze to it, like she was looking at it through a good deal of mist.

  The Glorious stood in front of her parents and sister, who were on their knees. Around them was death and devastation, felled trees, shriveled plants, the soil dry and brittle.

  “You put yourselves above the balance, above Faerie. You forsook our world, and now you shall pay with your lives.”

  Her family was already covered in silver blood. They knelt with their backs to the remains of their thrones; their heads were bowed so Kelty could not see their faces. And The Glorious stood before them, eyes triumphant. In this hazy illusion world, her eyes locked on to Kelty’s.

  This is what happens to those who defy me.

  Then The Glorious turned her eyes back to Kelty’s family with a satisfied, evil smile.

  No! Though Kelty knew it wasn’t real, she was seized with the need to save them.

  Kelty reached within, about to grab for the power that lay at her core. Spirit was not her strongest power, but it would at least cause The Glorious to pause, show that she was a formidable weapon, if not against her, then against those of other affinities. Kelty could declare herself to the faerie as a challenger to The Glorious’ rule with the goal of uniting all of Faerie. She could gain the trust of the Day. If those of Faerie responded, if they supported her rule over The Glorious, they had a chance of winning.

  A chance.

  For some reason the thought felt hollow, sad. Only a chance.

  That was when she felt it, the magic swirling around her, testing, looking for a way in.

  No. I will not give up my secret. I will not give her power over me.

  Kelty took a steadying breath in as she reinforced the barriers on her mind. As she did so, she hardened her heart as well.