A Court of Bones & Sorrow (Lunaria Realms #2)

Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

Samara

The worn, brown, leather satchel I’d been carrying around all morning sat next to my curled-up legs. It seemed so innocuous, but the journals resting inside it were anything but harmless. My mother had a whole other part of her life that I knew nothing about. Granted, I’d been young when she’d died, but not that young. Was what she wrote in those journals so bad or dangerous that she hadn’t wanted to share it with me? Had my father known?

I’d probably find at least some of those answers in them . . . if I could bring myself to pick one up and start reading. Five more minutes. I’d give myself five more minutes to enjoy this tranquility before I dove into my mother’s secrets.

Two minutes into my respite, I let out a sigh and raised my head from where it’d been leaning against the tree. Someone was coming—their footsteps were light, but I still heard them. Like most of the Fae fortresses, House Harker was made up of multiple towers with courtyards and gardens interspersed between them. There wasn’t space for any serious agriculture, so most of our gardens only had flowers, herbs, and a few easy-growing fruits and vegetables .

I’d chosen to sit in this particular one because it was the least popular of all the gardens. It was nestled in a space behind the main tower and received very little direct sunlight, so it was mostly neglected.

Lavender grew freely and was doing its best to take over the small patch of dirt, though one lone tree sat in the center. We had no idea what type of tree it was, but there was one at every Fae fortress, so everyone just referred to them as the Fae trees.

They bore fruit every year just before summer ended. The palish pink fruit was hard and bitter with bright purple seeds at its center. Aside from tasting horrible, they were highly toxic. One bite, and you’d be hating your life for at least two days. They didn’t kill us, but the pain was unimaginable. Or so I’d been told. We discarded the fruit once it fell from the trees to prevent any mishaps.

Maybe the Fae had a different reaction to the toxin. They must have had some reason for growing the trees.

“Oh.” Nyx rounded the corner and halted when they saw me. “Sorry, Samara. I’m not used to anyone else being here.”

My brows rose. I’d observed Nyx around all the other rangers since I’d moved back to House Harker. Everyone liked them, and they seemed to enjoy the company of others. It was surprising to me that they’d seek out a quiet place like this.

“It’s been a little challenging for me to find solitude the past few days.” I patted the ground next to me. “Come join me. I wouldn’t mind getting out of my own head for a bit.”

Nyx grinned and sauntered over towards me. I’d been worried about them since we’d returned, but with everything going on, I hadn’t been able to check on them myself. Nyx was a few years younger than me, and I’d known them briefly at Drudonia before they’d disappeared and become a ranger instead of pursuing the scholarly path. I hadn’t seen them again until they’d shown up on Vail’s personal squad of rangers .

It’d been a little awkward at first because we’d been sort of friends before they’d vanished. Everyone knew things between me and Vail were a little tense, so I hadn’t blamed them for being unsure of how to act around me while also remaining loyal to Vail, but it hadn’t taken us long to fall back into a friendship of sorts.

My eyes traveled over every inch of their body as they walked across the garden, looking for any hints of lingering damage from the fight at the temple. They’d clearly been working out before heading over here because their light brown shirt was soaked in sweat and loose-fitting black pants were covered in dirt. To my relief, they appeared completely fine now.

“You and Adrienne are ridiculous.” Nyx rolled their eyes before dropping down next to me. Then they stretched their long legs out and leaned back on their hands. “Usually I’d be very excited about having the attention of two beautiful women on me. Except I know for a fact neither of you look at me that way and you’re just convinced I’m going to collapse at any moment. As if my ego didn’t take a big enough hit being sidelined so quickly by those fucking wraiths.”

“Sorry.” I winced. “To be fair, this is the first time I’ve seen you in person since we got back. Everyone told me you were fine, but I just needed to see it for myself.”

“I promise I’m okay.” They shot me an easy grin. “Only thing that’s still bruised is my pride.”

“None of us did particularly well in that fight.”

“Yeah, but I’ve been working hard to prove myself to Vail.” Nyx let their head fall back, and their eyes stared up at the sky that reflected back the exact same shade of blue. “He took a chance on not only letting me join the rangers but also taking me on to serve in his own unit.”

I picked up a broken twig and started twirling it between my fingers. “Why did you?” I asked. “Leave House Corvinus to join House Harker? As a ranger no less?”

Nyx’s older sister, Tamsen, was the Heir to House Corvinus. She was the reason Nyx had been at Drudonia in the first place. They’d been training to be an advisor to support her and House Corvinus as a whole. I’d always wondered why they’d left. When I’d inquired about their disappearance to House Corvinus, I’d received a letter from Tamsen herself telling me to leave it be and that Nyx was happy.

When Nyx didn’t answer right away, I worried I’d stepped too far. Normally, I would have had more tact in asking such questions, but the journals sitting between me and Nyx were messing with my head and making me sloppy. I’d need to get it together before I conversed with Draven again.

“You don’t have to answer.” I dropped the twig and glanced at Nyx, who was still staring at the sky. “Carmilla approved of you joining our House, and Vail obviously accepted you into the rangers. I meant no offense by the question, I was just . . . curious.”

“It’s fine.” They sighed. “I kind of owe you anyway for how I handled leaving Drudonia and ignoring all your attempts to contact me afterwards.”

“That was kind of an asshole move,” I agreed.

Nyx laughed and shifted until they were lying down and then let their head flop to the side to face me. “I’m guessing you went through the standard training all Heirs and other high-ranking Moroi go through when arranged marriages are in their future?”

“Yep. Although starting my sex education at twenty was a little late,” I said wryly. “Pretty sure I showed the instructors some things that made them blush.”

“Somehow that doesn’t surprise me.”

I did some quick calculations in my head. Nyx was several years younger than me, twenty to my twenty-four. They’d arrived at Drudonia a little over midway through my time there, so I’d been, what? Eighteen?

Only the Moroi engaged in this practice of “marriage training,” and it was only for high-ranking arranged marriages, typically those of House bloodlines. The tradition had started with the fourth generation and continued as our inner House politics only grew more complicated. Some of the early arranged marriages had failed, and this had been the solution for correcting that.

The training wasn’t just about sex and making your future spouse happy in the bedroom. More tailored instruction was created for each person based on the potential Houses they might be married into and the customs within them, but the sex aspect of it was what most people got hung up on. Cali and Rynn had been horrified when I’d first told them about it, but when I’d made it clear I was fine with it, we’d used it as a source of entertainment. Every time I came back from a session, they’d ask for all the details and how many times I’d embarrassed my instructor.

Well, Cali did. Rynn was mostly still mortified by the whole thing but couldn’t stop asking follow-up questions.

“How old were you when the training started?” I asked carefully, dreading their answer. As far as I knew, most Moroi didn’t start the sexual aspects of the training until they were at least eighteen. I’d been on the later side at twenty, but that wasn’t uncommon.

“Seventeen.” When Nyx saw my dark expression, they gave me a close-lipped smile. “Tamsen fought with our parents about it—they wanted me to start at sixteen. Seventeen was the compromise.”

“You should have told us.” I scowled. Rynn and Cali had taken Nyx under their wings too and wouldn’t have been happy about this.

“So the three of you could cause a political nightmare by going up against my parents?” Nyx shook their head ruefully. “The only thing that would have accomplished was further fracturing the alliances between the Moroi Houses and making things even more tense between the Moon Blessed.”

“We would have figured something out,” I said tightly. Since I was an Heir, it was my business to know the history, strengths, and weaknesses of all the other Houses. Kieran was also from House Corvinus, and while he rarely spoke about what it was like growing up there, I knew it hadn’t been enjoyable. They were a smaller House that was obsessed with moving up the ranks, and they viewed their children as pawns.

To some extent, all of the Houses were like this, but I’d had a choice in my future. Carmilla never would have forced me to marry Demetri or any of the other Heirs. If I’d told her I didn’t want to go through the standard training prior to a marriage, she would have accepted that. I’d assumed other Houses were the same. Clearly, House Corvinus was not.

“Tamsen would have paid the price if there had been any interference,” Nyx said. “It didn’t take long for our parents to figure out that the best way to control us was to threaten the other.”

I’d met Tamsen several times. We weren’t friends, but I respected her. Even more so now that I knew she’d at least tried to protect Nyx. She hadn’t come with the Heirs to see Prince Draven, and it was likely House Corvinus was working with Velika. But that didn’t necessarily mean Tamsen was in on it. She was Heir, but her parents still ruled the House. It was also possible they were forcing her cooperation by promising to harm Nyx if she disobeyed their orders.

Nyx and Tamsen’s parents were fourth-generation like Carmilla, which meant they were in their eighties, but that meant nothing anymore. Carmilla was ninety-five years old but had looked like she was in her mid-forties for as long as I could remember. The Moroi were still evolving with each generation, and none of us knew how long we would live anymore.

If Tamsen was to rule anytime soon, her parents would have to meet an untimely end . . .

“Samara.” Nyx rapped their knuckles against my leg.

“Hmm?” I blinked down at them.

“Stop plotting the death of my parents.”

My hand flew to my chest, and I widened my eyes. “I would never .”

Nyx chuckled. “You absolutely would, and don’t think it hasn’t crossed Tamsen’s mind too. To say we’re not close to our parents is a bit of an understatement.” Nyx folded their hands behind their head and rested back on them to gaze up at the sky again. “There were a lot of reasons I wasn’t happy at House Corvinus. My parents raised me as a boy and then expected me to fulfill my duties as a Corvinus male, but that never suited me. I didn’t really understand why as I was growing up. Then I met Roth at Drudonia, and I realized maybe the reason I felt like I was always crawling out of my own skin was because I was trying to be something I wasn’t.”

“Never met any chirlìn Velesians growing up?” I asked curiously, using the Fae word for those who didn’t fall in the categories of male or female. Technically, the word chirlìn meant either all of something or none of something. Either way, it seemed fitting, and the Velesians had been using it for some time. It was slowly catching on around the Moroi and Furies as well.

“Are you kidding?” Nyx’s brows rose. “My parents can’t go five minutes without talking shit about shifters. Rynn was the first Velesian I met.”

“House Corvinus is even more fucked than I realized.” I hesitated before asking, “Did you go through with the training?”

“No. I tried for the sake of my sister, but I couldn’t do it.” Nyx rubbed their face. “I didn’t have any experience before the training. I mean, I hadn’t . . . There hadn’t been anyone I’d . . . done things with.” They caught my eyebrows creeping towards my forehead and laughed. “I know that’s crazy, considering most Moroi start humping everything in sight as soon as they hit sixteen if not earlier, but I’ve never really felt inclined to stick my cock into everything that moves. Add to the fact that physically, I’d matured quickly and looked like this”—Nyx gestured at their handsome, masculine face and broad shoulders—“so everyone treated me like I was a typical male, which only added to internal confusion and ensured my sex drive was nonexistent.”

I winced. What a shitty experience. My first time hadn’t been amazing, but it’d been my choice, and it’d been with a courtier who was just as inexperienced. We’d stumbled through it together with clumsy fingers and panted breaths. Nyx had been quiet at Drudonia, but I’d had no idea they’d been dealing with all this.

“My instructors took things slow, but I panicked two weeks into the training, just as things started to get serious. I grabbed a horse and ran, not even caring which direction I was going as long as it was away from everything.” They snorted, a wry grin playing across their lips. “Ran straight into Vail fighting off a pack of howlers. Helped him out, and the rest is history.”

“You do seem happier now,” I said. “It was the main reason I didn’t tear your head off when I saw you for the first time with Vail. I was pissed off at how you just disappeared on us like that, but none of that matters if you’re happy.”

“Ah. I was wondering why I didn’t get the typical Samara Chewing Out .”

I shoved my knee out to the side so it dug into their hip. “Don’t worry, it’s still coming. I’m just letting it stew a little bit more. ”

“Thank you.” Nyx’s eyes flicked to mine. “For being my friend then and for being my friend now.”

“Always.” I wrinkled my nose. “Still think you had poor taste in choosing your ranger unit though.”

“We’ve all decided to not touch what’s going on between you and Vail with a ten-foot pole.” They shot me a pointed look.

“Can I take that option too?” I dropped my head back against the tree.

“Sadly, I don’t think you can.” Nyx nudged the leather satchel between us. “Did you steal some books from Roth? Because I’ll protect you from a lot of things, but there is zero chance of me getting between you and them if books are involved.”

My lips quirked. “I’d never ask you to do such a thing. Besides . . . I kind of like Roth’s idea of punishment.”

A light flush streaked across Nyx’s cheeks, and they squeezed their eyes shut. “I really need to get laid soon.” We both laughed, and after a moment, they peeked one eye open at me. “Is Cali . . . involved with anyone?”

“Nyx Corvinus, do you have a crush on Calypso Rayne?” I gaped down at them, and their blush deepened as they quickly squeezed their eyes shut with a wince. “Oh my gods, you do!”

“I swear to the moon and all that she gives us, if you tell Cali, I will bury your corpse beneath this Fae tree.”

The threat would have landed better if Nyx hadn’t covered their face with their hands and half-mumbled the words.

“Wow.” I cackled. “To answer your question, Cali isn’t involved with anyone.” I thought about it a little more. “Not seriously anyway. You know how Furies are. No serious relationships and all that.”

Nyx made a noise of agreement and tucked their hands behind their head. “Do you mind if I nap here? I’m feeling a little tired, and if I go back to the barracks, Adrienne will somehow find out, and it’ll only make her worry about me more.”

“Sure.” I eyed the leather satchel. “I have some reading I was going to do.”

“Perfect.”

I waited until Nyx’s breathing evened out, and then I pulled out my mother’s most recent journal. With trembling fingers, I cracked the spine open and started reading the secrets of the dead.

We’re close. I feel it with every fiber of my being.

Kasem is worried, and I don’t blame him. The last two sites we searched were completely empty, yet it felt like we were being watched the entire time. Lunaria has never been safe, but the wraiths are acting strangely now. They’re less feral than they were before. That should be a good thing, except I can feel them lurking in the shadows, waiting. For what, I don’t know, but every time we leave the safe walls of House Harker, I feel death following in our wake.

But we can’t stop now. We must find it before Velika does. Otherwise, our fates will be far worse than a grisly death.

I wish we had allies, but I don’t know who we can trust aside from Inés and Edric. It feels wrong to lie to Carmilla. Despite all our disagreements, she’s my sister and I love her, but our mother entrusted me with this legacy. I’d always intended to tell Carmilla eventually. About the journals. The crown. All of it. But then she became friends with Velika. I can’t risk it. No matter how much it pains me, our people must come first.

We’re leaving to visit one of the Velesian packs tomorrow. I didn’t want to stop our search, but Kasem insisted, saying it’s been too long since we’ve visited any of the Velesians, and he’s concerned about the rising tensions between our people and theirs. I only agreed to his request because the next site I want to explore is somewhere around Lake Molov, and we’ll need permission from the Narchis Order to go there .

Samara is coming with us, as is Inés and Edric’s son, Vail. Part of me wants to keep Samara forever tucked away in House Harker behind the wards, but Kasem is right. She’s the Harker Heir and needs to see more of Lunaria. I’m sure it’ll be fine. We’re taking a main road, and Inés and Edric are the fiercest warriors I’ve ever met—aside from Kasem of course. It’ll be fine. Plus, it will give me some time to spend with Sam. My daughter is a wonder, and she’s going to change the world one day. I just know it.

I’m going to try to sneak back into bed without waking Kasem. It never works, but it’s fun trying, and I enjoy what he does when he catches me. Maybe when all this is over, we can give Samara a younger sibling. Because we will survive this. I won’t accept anything else.

Heat pooled behind my eyes, and I slammed the book shut. She hadn’t survived. This was the last entry of the journal. Three days after this, she’d been killed by wraiths along with my father and Vail’s parents. Nyx’s light snores filled the air, and I concentrated on their rhythmic breathing as I bottled up everything I was feeling and shoved it down.

I couldn’t afford to lose it now. The wraiths were the lost Fae, the Sovereigns were betraying all of the Moroi and working with them, and there was a wicked prince in my home, courting me for marriage. I didn’t have the luxury of losing my shit right now.

After a few minutes of steady breathing, I reviewed the facts. My parents had known Velika had been plotting something, though nothing indicated they’d known she was working with the wraiths. Carmilla didn’t know about the journals or what my parents had been searching for because my mother had been concerned about how close Carmilla was with Velika.

And finally . . . they’d never made it to Lake Molov.

I’d already been planning on going there. I just needed to talk to Vail and Rynn about it to get them on board. What I hadn’t been sure of was if I should prioritize it or not. I had my answer now. Whatever my parents had been searching for had to have been important, and Velika had wanted it too. I needed to go to Lake Molov. Perhaps, Velika had already gone there . . . but maybe she hadn’t. Or maybe she’d gone but hadn’t been able to find what was hidden there. In either case, I felt I owed it to my parents to finish what they’d started.

The small journal felt heavy in my hands. I’d deliberately started with the last entry because the more recent ones were more likely to have information relevant to our current situation. Maybe some of the earlier entries would mention what exactly my mother had been hunting for.

Fortifying my nerves, I opened the book again and started scanning the pages. I didn’t let myself linger on any of the sweet moments she mentioned between herself and my father, and I entirely skipped over the one where she talked about my eighth birthday and how she’d worked with Leora all morning to make me the perfect cake because she wanted to have a hand in it too instead of just passing it off to someone else.

Most of the entries covered their failed search attempts and some mentions of increased wraith or other monster activity. Then I found it, and it was like a snake had reared from the page and sunk its fangs into me.

I had an odd encounter with Velika today. Something about her has always bothered me—I have never been able to describe what it is, and the few times I’ve mentioned it to Carmilla, she’s waved me off as being paranoid, which, to be fair, I am. There is a sickness running through the Moroi. Everyone judges the Furies, but it’s not like they choose to lose their minds and slaughter all around them. The Moroi are consciously choosing to harm each other in nefarious ways.

The Moroi Queen is one of those nefarious souls .

She hides it well—the rest of the Moroi practically worship her like she’s one of the old gods the Fae prayed to—but this time when we met, she wore a crown. Velika’s so vain, it was perfectly within character for her. Especially since she’s determined to bring back the old ways of how we believe Fae courts worked. It’s foolish. We’re barely surviving in this fucked-up land and she wants to hold balls and wear fancy dresses.

But when Velika wears jewelry, it is always dripping in gems. This crown had been so simple. Just a simple silver band with delicate carvings. Parts of it had even appeared broken. Still, something about it had bothered me. I could feel the magic in it, which was odd because I saw no glyphs and it held no gems that would have stored magic.

I couldn’t resist asking Velika about it, but I stumbled over the words. Carmilla is so much better at wordplay than me. I’m sure I tipped my hand about my suspicions. Velika just laughed it off as something she had made recently and acted like she didn’t particularly care for it, but I didn’t miss the way her fingers caressed the silver.

The Moroi Queen has a Fae artifact. I am sure of it.

There must be more out there, and we need to find them before she does.

“Fuck,” I breathed out. What if Velika had collected more Fae artifacts since my parents had died? Or maybe she was still searching for them and that was why she had allied with the wraiths? Were they helping her find them in exchange for Velika assisting them in reclaiming their true Fae forms? Once again, I felt like the few answers I got only led to more questions.

I glanced down at a still sleeping Nyx. My parents had given their lives to stop Velika’s mad quest for power.

My daughter is a wonder, and she’s going to change the world one day.

I would not let them down.