Queen of Stars and Shadows (Dark Fae Guardian #3)

Sarielle

Chapter Sixteen

Sarielle

I stare up at the gates to the Amethyst Palace. It’s so surreal to be back here. I’ve been gone a little less than two months, but it seems a lifetime has passed.

In the distance, the crystalline dome of the cathedral rises in the late afternoon sky, shining a pale lavender hue. Beyond, I can see the gaudy golden spires of the palace. The entrance to the palace grounds is similarly ostentatious, golden spikes wrapped with silver flowering vines. Each gate is set in a huge white marble block, atop which sits a golden statue of the High Priest.

It’s shocking no one saw through his facade all these years.

But I’ve ended his power, and now I’m going to take that stolen power and give it back to Eldare.

Lilette, standing on my right, draws in a breath that shakes ever so slightly. I reach out and take her hand. “I’m sorry we had to come back here,” I say. “If you want to wait outside, you can.”

“No,” she says after a moment’s hesitance. “I want to be a part of his undoing. One day, if I ever see him again, I want him to know that I helped. His last High Priestess, bringing about the end of his reign.”

I nod. “Let’s get it done, then.”

Owyn steps around us and pushes the gates open with a small flux of magic. They swing inward silently, and we step through into the palace grounds. It’s strange how quiet it is, how hushed. It was always somewhat quiet, being as how the priestesses were supposed to be well mannered and obedient and devote themselves entirely to their work. But still, you could always hear the sound of voices talking or raised in prayer, or the sound of a broom sweeping or pots and pans clanking.

Now there is nothing but silence.

I almost don’t want to ask, but I have to know. “Lilette,” I say softly, so only she can hear, “what happened to Dain?”

Dain, the palace guard Lilette loved, although it was forbidden. Dain, who helped us sneak up to the hidden valley to get away from it all for just a few minutes once a month.

Lilette’s stride falters, and I instantly regret asking.

“He was called away to the royal palace a couple days after I became High Priestess,” she whispers. “I think it’s because one of the coriata saw him talking to me.” A tremble runs over her.

If he was called away to the royal palace, then that means he was likely there last night, when it was besieged. My heart sinks.

“I’m so sorry, Lilette.”

“It’s for the best, I’m sure,” she says, sniffling. “If he’d been here when the nightmares came, he might have been taken with the rest of us. And so many didn’t make it.”

I nod but say nothing else. I can’t assure her that he’s okay, or that they’ll meet again, because chances are, they won’t. Just like the chances of me saving Zyren and stopping Avonia and the demon and surviving any of it are slim. Nothing is guaranteed. My life became one giant uncertainty the moment I left this palace.

I still wouldn’t trade it for staying and continuing to serve the High Priest. Never knowing the truth of who I am. Never meeting Zyren.

In the end, if the whole world burns, will it really have been worth it? Can I really claim that?

And I know in my heart than I can. Zyren is worth ten worlds. A hundred.

We pass by the cathedral and soon are climbing the steps to the palace. It had taken us the better part of the day to get here, and now the sun is falling from the sky. It’ll be dark within the hour. And then another day will be gone, and the clock that is ticking with deadly speed will keep burning down the hours until the demon is released. If this doesn’t work…

It will work. It has to.

Owyn falls behind us as we enter the halls of the palace and make our way to the northernmost wing. That entire wing had been occupied by the priest, while the dozens of women that served him all shared another wing. At the entrance to the wing stand more golden statues bearing his likeness. An ode to a man who had stolen the heart from this realm. It makes the nightmare within me stir with fury.

I’ve never traveled within this part of the wing, so it’s Lilette who now takes the lead. We pass by libraries and sitting rooms and rooms full of strange artifacts, one filled entirely of maps, and another than appears to be an apothecary. It seems the High Priest had plenty to occupy his time while subjugating the rest of us. The entire realm, really.

And then we reach a huge bedroom with soaring ceilings painted in extravagant murals. The bed is a four-poster with a gilded golden frame, naturally, and a large marble fireplace sits opposite. Lilette leads us to the door in the corner, which I wouldn’t have even noticed if she hadn’t pointed it out. It’s set into the wall such that you can barely see the outline of it. When I cast my eyes to the floor, I see the faint glow at the bottom, a pale icy blue.

Lilette pauses before the door and turns to look at me.

“Are you ready?” I ask them, looking at both her and Owyn, who has stepped up beside me.

They nod. There is no doorknob, so Lilette reaches down tentatively and pushes the space in the middle of the door. It doesn’t move. I step up next to her and we both press around the frame, trying to find the spot that triggers the door to open. When I can’t find one, I decide to try another tactic. I call my magic, meager as it is, and I send a soft push toward the opening.

The door creaks slowly inward. Of course the High Priest would lock the door with magic, knowing he’d forbidden any of the priestesses from utilizing magic outside of his supervision. The doorway reveals a pitch-black nothingness. It’s so dark I can’t tell if it’s another room, or a passageway. There’s also, strangely, no hint of the glow we’d seen moments before. Something definitely isn’t right.

Lilette steps forward, her face grim with determination.

“Lilette, wait!” I hiss, but it’s too late.

She spins and falls into the void as if something has sucked her in.

I dive for her and grab her hand just as she vanishes.

Darkness swallows me.