Crown of Ellova, Vol. 1 (Crown of Ellova Duology)

Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

M y chest tightens and I try not to think of Leon as I change into a plain black dress with a black cloak behind the dressing partition. Stepping out of the green gown, I roll it up and hide the sash within it. The lone jewelry shop candle is gone in a breath and I race out the back door after ensuring no one has followed me from the castle.

The moonlit walk back is quiet in the midnight hours, allowing me to move swiftly to Beggars’ Row. I reach into my satchel and I pull out the small bags of coins.

Making my way to the first house, I leave the provision coins on their window. Each bag is grabbed quickly, never there longer than a few seconds. The only sound is the slight echo of my heels and the chorus of whispered thank you s that follows me down to each shelter.

Home after home and family after family are given back the courtier’s wealth. Halfway down the street, the smallest of the homes leans at an odd angle, its window broken, the icy air slithering in. An elderly woman stares out of it. Our eyes meet and I place two bags near the large, jagged crack in the glass.

“A little extra to repair your window,” I say lowly so no others can hear .

Her pale hand, covered in age spots, reaches out for mine. She does not seek more coins, just a soft squeeze to my fingers in silent gratitude. Before I leave, I give her my gloves and cloak.

I’m shivering by the time all the coins have been passed out, save for Cyanna’s full bag. Passing her broken fence leading into the desolate yard brings a shred of relief. The moment my knuckles rake against the rotted wood on the last of the three knocks, the signal to declare who I am, the door swings open and Cyanna shoots like an arrow into my arms. She pulls back just enough to look down at me before pulling us together again. “Why are you late?’’ she demands, her eyes red-rimmed.

“I’m sorry. I got caught up at the castle.”

She shuts the door behind us, locking out the cold. Her home is quiet; all of the children are sleeping peacefully, most sprawled out in the living room. I hand her the few pieces of jewelry I have left and the rest of the coins I’ve saved for her.

“What happened?” Cyanna’s caring voice is low as she thrusts a cup into my shaking hands. “Are you all right?”

The broth is rich with herbs and I inhale the earthy scent before I drink deeply, welcoming its warmth. “No, but I will be.” The answer is honest and the rest pours out, weariness woven into each word as I tell her everything that has happened. “If Grayden expects to see me again, he is a fool. He can demand the moon fall into the Elbasan Sea, but even kings do not get all that they wish. If he sends guards to the shop, he will find it empty and no records that Lady Arra ever existed, nor did her out-of-work blacksmith husband and her four children?—”

“Three,” Cyanna adds helpfully, checking on the other sleeping children in their cribs.

Despite the dark conversation at hand, a smile spreads over my lips. “—three children who never existed. Arra will be a ghost. The shop is registered under a false name.”

“I didn’t know Grayden even returned.” Cyanna grimaces. “He was at a meeting with the king and queen of Kalvorn. I heard he spoke of nothing else at court for weeks beforehand. I was hoping his ship would be lost at sea. ”

I nod, swallowing. “Apparently, their king said Kalvorn would aid in all Adreania’s needs if Grayden surrendered the crown to him.” They’re fighting over a fae crown neither of them can control, willing to sacrifice their citizens for a relic of old magic, now a status symbol more than anything.

“Men and their quest for power will get us all killed.” Cyanna rocks a crib in the kitchen where a toddler sleeps fitfully, wheezing in his sleep. “I may need to call the healer again,” she says to herself.

Healer.

Leon.

I gasp, reaching into my pocket and pulling out the locket with my instructions to secure safety. A wave of gratitude for his concern hits me straight in the chest, leaving me breathless. I don’t need a safe place; Cyanna does. Leon can get her out.

I open the locket and hand Cyanna the tightly folded note. “I have a way for you to escape! Take everyone to the fisherman’s cove. Find the Black Bell tavern and the captain of the Hanolis’ Sun . Give him this note. Safety is waiting there! Tell Oliver that Leon sent you. Do not take no for an answer.”

Her eyes go wide, filling with tears. “What?”

“Oliver will take you far away from here.”

“Oh, Della, I don't know what to say.” Cyanna clutches the locket to her chest and lets out a small sob.

I put my hands on her cheeks, wiping away her tears with my thumbs. “I just want you safe. That’s all I’ve ever wanted. Oliver will take you to Leon’s childhood home. I will find you again, I promise.”

For the first time since I’ve known her, hope lights her eyes. “I believe you but you must go!”

I nod slowly, not wishing to leave my cousin, but Nueena waits for me and I’ve been away too long already. Cyanna opens the back door to her dreary garden, scanning for any spying eyes. When she believes it to be safe, she motions me out and we cross over the dead grass at the back of the house.

We stand in front of the barn door that will lead me out of Adreania .

“Cyanna, we will see each other again, maybe not for a while, but one day. You have done such a wonderful job loving every child the crown has failed. I love you and I’m proud to call you family.”

She bobs her head, stepping into my arms, and we hold each other in a tight embrace. “I love you, Arra.” I kiss each tear-stained cheek as we pull apart.

Her whisper is raw and broken. “Thank you.”

When we break apart, I take a small step back quickly, trying to hide the tears in my eyes as I head back inside. The last noise I hear is Cyanna’s soft sniffles as the final lock slides into place, leaving me in darkness.

With the cart empty, it takes half the time to return to my horse. Onyx, sensing my distress, pushes his head against me affectionately.

Leon holds all my thoughts on the ride back to the fae realm. I said goodbye to him. After years of late-night imaginings of what it would be like to feel him against me, it finally happened, only for him to be ripped away.

Not that it would have grown into anything.

I press my forehead to Onyx’s warm cheek, centering myself with deep gulps of the forest air before I hitch the empty cart to him.

Traveling back through the dead woods out of Adreania seems endless, and with every passing moment my shoulders sink a little lower, my movements slower. I’ve been without my magic for too long. By the time Nueena’s form appears in the distance, I’m trembling.

Farren whines as he races towards me, weaving in between Onyx’s legs as we reach the Divide. Nueena’s eyebrows are knitted with concern. Just before crossing, I dismount on shaking legs and step over it.

“Del!”

My magic slams into me with such force I collapse into her and down into the bed of greenery that has burst under her feet, the large ferns and soft clovers cushioning my landing. The jewelsmith powers rush to every fiber of my being, bright as a forge fire; it burns away the emptiness created by entering Adreania, and the feeling of being reborn overwhelms me. My magic reserves are like a small pool, so it does not take long for it to fill up again. The bliss of its return starts at my feet as the magic swirls up through me, going over my hips, through my waist, and down my arms before pushing up again.

Restoring and renewing.

For the first time in hours, I can breathe without an icy grip on my lungs. The air here is sweet and clear.

Nueena and I are a tangle of arms and legs. I roll onto my back, lush clovers grazing my neck, and stare up at the stars and blooming flowers above.

“Nueena,” I say in a calm tone that is far from the panic sinking into my bones as I take her hand, “your navlue tree. It’s been producing fruit, right?”

Her concern shifts to surprised confusion. “Yes, Camarra says in a few weeks they will be ready to harvest for the coronation. Why?”

“We may have a traitor in Ellova.”