“Cicely, Kaylin saved our lives. His demon is right, let him have the victory, and let him claim his sacrifice.” Grieve reached out to take my hand and we walked in silence through the tunnels. Lannan and Hunter were a step behind, and for once, Lannan kept his mouth shut, a taciturn look on his face.
The labyrinth of passages led us deep into the heart of the Barrow. As we neared what felt like should be the center, I realized we were almost to Myst’s old bedroom, the place where I’d seen her heartstone being created. I swallowed my fear and pointed to a set of double doors.
“Through there. Myst’s bedroom, and the place where she vanished with her heartstone. I don’t exactly remember what to look for in order to trigger the secret chamber, but whatever it was, it should still be there.”
And then we were at the door. Check and Fearless went first, opening it. As soon as they gave the all clear, I followed them in, and everything came flooding back.
The room was still beautiful, done in silver and black with brilliant blue accents. The bedcovers had long vanished, as had the upholstery. But the ebony frame of the bed was there, as were the swirling designs on the walls and the other assorted pieces of furniture that had withstood the ravages of time. In the Barrows, though, the years flowed differently, and so it was like stepping into a time capsule where anything might still exist.
I closed my eyes, searching for ghosts, searching for shades from the past, but nothing had happened here to the people of the Indigo Court. The only blood to stain our walls and floors had been that of our meals. We were the ones who had perpetuated the slaughter, not the victims.
The quiet unsettled me. There should be ghosts. There should be screaming specters racing through the hallways, considering how bloodthirsty we were and how many we had killed. But nothing. Just a deep emptiness that echoed through the Barrow.
“Why does this feel so alien? I lived here, it was my home, and yet it has no life of its own. Maybe that’s it. This feels like an empty house that was abandoned but that never took on a personality.”
Lannan surprised me by speaking up. “Barrows, from what I understand, are almost as much of a living organism as the Fae who inhabit them. But this place can never quite be the same. Myst is an unnatural creature bent on achieving something for which she was never destined. I think she may have created it in almost a mockery of the Barrows she coveted but wasn’t allowed to rule.”
That made sense. She could never create a true Fae Barrow because she was hybrid. The Vampiric Fae were neither vampire nor Fae, but a demonic blend of both, and so anything coming out of the Indigo Court would be as alien as the Shadow Hunters were. And this Barrow? As devoid of charm and any sense of welcoming as Myst.
I crossed to the opposite wall and searched. The stone was cold and unyielding to the touch but then, after a few moments, I felt the shallow depression and pressed it. A secret door slid open, and I glanced at the others.
“We found it. I guess . . . it’s time to go?” It took me a moment to figure out they were waiting for my orders. I swallowed my fear and motioned for Check to take the lead again. This was as far as I remembered, and I’d never been down this secret passage. We’d all be flying blind from here on out, and I recognized my duty to my Court. I couldn’t go in the forefront now that we had found the passage.
As Check stepped past me to enter the passage, he stopped then turned to say, “We won’t need illumination here. It still glows. Her heartstone must still be at its core or the light would die out.” With that he moved forward, followed by Fearless. I was third, then after me, Grieve, Hunter, Lannan, and the rest of the guards. Now that Kaylin was gone, we were thirteen, not counting Ulean.
Once again, for the third time in the past two months, I was following the path in search of a heartstone. One of those times, it had been to retrieve Lainule’s gem in order that she wouldn’t die. The other had been to hide my own. This time, I was in search of one to use as a weapon—to destroy Myst.
Third time’s the charm.
The corridor in Myst’s unnatural Barrow was dark, but an icy-neon-blue light broke through the darkness. Considering she drove the snows, I had expected to find this place set in a world of ice and snow, like my own, but instead, it was deep rock and shadow. Myst might fancy herself the Queen of Winter, but she had stolen the title and was co-opting the storms. A thought crossed my mind as we hurried along the corridor.
Ulean, when Myst is defeated, will I gain her power over the winter? I am the Queen of Snow and Ice, yet I’m a wind witch.
You already have power over the winter; you just haven’t had the time to learn how to use it.
Her answer startled me and set me to thinking. If I had been given the power over snow and ice when I’d taken the throne, why hadn’t I known about it—or at least been told about it? And how long would it take me to learn how to use it? Could I possibly use it as a weapon against Myst now?
Ulean—can I—
No. I know what you’re going to ask, Cicely, and the answer is no. You don’t have the power to use it against Myst. She’s too well versed in the energy, and you would be like a child trying to code a complex program. You’re new to the realm you now rule, even though you were destined for the throne. Just because you wear the title doesn’t mean you can claim the power yet. Once this is over, Strict and the shamans will help you learn to control the winter storms. You will be more powerful than most other Fae Queens, save for those in the Great Courts.
How so?
Because you already can summon the winds and you are half magic-born, which increases your ability to use those powers.
I’m a hybrid, like Myst, then.
A hybrid, yes—in a way. But like Myst? No, never. Not even though you were her daughter. You may find yourself to be more stoic than others because of that lifetime, and because of that life, you will wear the power of the throne well once you discover your confidence, but Cicely, trust that you’ll never become Myst. You have heart, and you have love and compassion. And those three things cancel out whatever heritage she may have left your soul.
Somewhat comforted, I studied the walls as we passed through the tunnel. “What is this rock?”
Hunter gave me an odd look. “Rock is rock.”
I grinned at him. “No, I mean is it granite or basalt or . . .”
“Ah, yummanii terms. I don’t know the definitions, but this rock is lava rock and came from deep in the world, uplifted by a great force and pressure as the mountains folded under the earth’s plates. The rock tempered over time. And here it exists both in the world and yet outside of it, as do all lands within the scope of the Barrows, and Barrow places. But yes, it is a hard, unyielding stone.”
“But how did Myst create this? She was one of the Unseelie—the Dark Fae. But she wasn’t a queen, and she wasn’t, I gather, particularly powerful compared to the shamans. Even though she was turned by Geoffrey, how did she end up as . . . well . . . as the great and powerful Myst?” I grimaced at my own pun, even as I said it. The wizard of Oz had been a charlatan, illusion and parlor tricks. Myst was far more than that.
From directly behind me, Hunter laughed. “I can tell you a little about that. Live as long as I do, hide in the forests and shadows long enough, and you learn things. When my son, Wrath, took the throne of Summer, he kept in touch with me, and I was privy to many secrets that would have otherwise gone untold.”