Tale of the Heart Queen (Artefacts of Ouranos #4)

Chapter 6

C HAPTER 6

O h. Ohhhh.

It takes a moment to fully process Cyan’s words. Linden, with her brown hair and green eyes, looks nothing like the residents of Alluvion. Everyone else has silvery or blue hair and eyes that range from nearly white to charcoal to navy.

I look at her more closely, and there I see the resemblance to Cedar, the Woodlands King, in the slope of her nose and the bow of her lips.

“She killed my brother,” Linden spits with enough venom to burn a hole in the floor.

“I had nothing to do with that,” I say, feeling the desire to defend myself. “That was hundreds of years before I was born.”

Linden takes a step towards me, and I scuttle back. I could pretend I’m not afraid of her, but I’m ready to fold like a cheap paper fan. Meanwhile, she looks prepared to tip me into a pot and then enjoy me with a nice glass of wine. Or maybe a goblet sloshing with my blood, her chin dripping with my soul.

“Your entire family is responsible,” she hisses. “She tricked him. Used him. And then destroyed him.”

I open my mouth to respond, but I don’t know what to say. That might all be true. It might not be. Everyone accuses my grandmother for what happened, but how much of a role did Wolf play in their downfall? It’s curious that everyone blames her.

“I’m sorry,” I say because I am sorry. I’m sorry for everything that happened. That I never had the chance to know them. That we spent our lives in hiding. I’m sorry for every single day and every person Serce hurt, even if I wasn’t directly responsible for any of it.

“Linden,” Cyan says, interrupting our tense exchange. “You can’t blame the girl for Serce’s mistakes.”

“I can,” Linden says, whipping around to face him. “I will.”

Cyan presses his mouth together as his nose flares. “Come and sit,” he says, patting the table next to him. “Have something to drink.”

Linden grunts but drops into the seat next to him. Holding an ornate crystal decanter, Anemone leans across and fills a glass that she hands to Linden. Linden then drains the entire thing before slamming the glass on the table hard enough to nearly crack it.

The table, I mean. The glass is toast.

“Another,” she barks as she grabs a new glass, and Anemone fills this one too. Cyan takes Linden’s hand and squeezes it before he flips it over and places a soft kiss on her palm. No one else blinks at the intimate gesture between the king and his army commander.

After Linden destroys another stiff drink, everyone’s gaze falls on me. I swallow as the silence stretches awkwardly. I wasn’t expecting the red carpet upon my arrival, but I also wasn’t prepared to be accused of a litany of crimes I never committed.

I remember when I voiced these fears to Nadir and he said no one would hold me accountable for what my grandmother had done. I’m not happy to prove him wrong. I should probably get used to this, though perhaps Linden has more right to feel this way than most.

Anemone rises from her place on Cyan’s lap and moves to the chair on his other side. Not wanting to be anywhere near Linden, who’s still staring at me like she’s trying to decide which part of me to stab first, I move around the table to take the empty seat next to Anemone.

Cyan sits back and regards me with an amused twinkle in his eyes. “A wise choice.”

He gestures around the table. “You’ve met Linden. Please let me introduce you to Anemone.”

“Hi,” I say, already preferring her over my great aunt.

“Why don’t you tell us a little about yourself,” Cyan says. “Lor, is it?”

“How do you know that?” I ask.

He leans forward and clasps his large hands on the table. “Do you think you’ve been moving through Ouranos undetected? Rumors have been spreading. ”

“What rumors?”

He shrugs a broad shoulder. “Atlas stole you from Nostraza, where you’ve lived for most of your life. And Rion wants you for some reason I’m still trying to puzzle out.”

“How do you know all that?” I ask. “When we were in The Woodlands, Cedar had no idea what had become of us.”

Linden slams a hand on the table, making me jump.

“Do not speak my family’s name,” she growls. “My brother did not allow you into his home!”

My indignation flares, and I lean towards her, baring my teeth. “Yes. He did. He welcomed us into his home and let us eat his food and sleep in his beds. He invited us to attend the Winter Ball.” I pause, wanting these next words to sting. “He let me hold the Woodlands Staff.”

Linden hisses like a venomous snake twisting around my ankles. “Liar.”

I roll my eyes. “Why would I lie about that?”

“You must have some angle.” Linden stops and then glares. “What did you do with it? Why would he let you touch it?”

“Because it’s my family, too,” I say. “And I asked nicely.”

Linden does not care for that answer or that reminder because, if it’s possible, her expression turns even more toxic. Given how welcoming Cedar and Elswyth were, I guess we got off easy. I’m grateful Cedar didn’t blame me for Wolf’s death, too.

“Who is ‘us’?” Linden asks.

“Me and my brother,” I reply, and then inwardly grimace. She’s really going to lose her shit when she finds out Tristan is the Woodlands Primary. With the way she’s behaving, I kind of hope I’m there when she does. Maybe I should wrap up this gift with razors and barbed wire and hand it to her.

“There are two of you?” she snarls.

“Yes,” I say with a glare, deciding to leave Willow out of this for the moment. “Your brother welcomed us as family. If you aren’t inclined to do the same, then I can’t force you, but stop looking at me like that and stop threatening me.”

Linden glares for another few seconds before she takes another drink and then faces away. So it’s to be pointedly ignoring me then. Fine, I can live with that.

“Why don’t we eat?” Cyan suggests. He waves a hand, and a gaggle of servants materializes to fill our plates—some human and some low fae.

The low fae are of a type I’ve never seen before, with pale blue-and-green skin that shimmers like pearls. Some have gills on their necks, and others have patches of scales. Many of them have long blue-and-green hair, while some have hair that almost resembles beaded crystal strands.

I try not to stare, but they’re beautiful.

They move about the table, ladling food onto our plates and bowls. A thick cream soup bobs with clams and pieces of fresh raw fish that are so bright and colorful they look like jewels.

Once the servants have finished, they bow, leaving us alone once again. My gaze follows them, and apparently my interest doesn’t go unnoticed because a moment later, Cyan cuts through my thoughts. “Is there some problem with my staff?” he asks.

“Do low fae hold only positions of service here?” I ask, remembering what Nadir told me about Alluvion and how their laws don’t oppress the low fae .

Cyan arches an eyebrow. “I see you’ve been spending time around Erevan.”

I blink. How does Cyan know the rebellion leader in Aphelion?

“Yes, but I can think for myself, thanks.”

“Erevan lived here with us for a time,” Cyan says, answering my unasked question.

“So this is where he got his ideas?” I ask.

“In part,” he says. “He told me he could never return to his home and look at it the same.”

“He’s been stirring up a rebellion in Aphelion,” I say.

“I’ve heard as much. Tell me what’s going on,” Cyan says. “Reports have been coming in, but I can’t parse out what is truth and what is fabrication. While you’re at it, why don’t you tell me what you’re doing here? And where you’ve been hiding all this time?” He raises a hand. “The truth would be nice.”

I take a few moments to gather myself, doing what I do best. Curving around truths to make my lies seem as believable as possible without revealing too much of myself. One day I’ll be able to meet someone new and just be honest, but today is not that day.

“I was in Aphelion because I’m trying to locate the Heart Crown,” I say, deciding not to mention the ark lest I arouse his suspicion.

I had the Heart Crown, but I dropped it when the Mirror tossed me the ark. Then Rion appeared, and now it could be anywhere between the Sun Palace and the Beltza Mountains. Maybe someone found it? Maybe Willow or Tristan? Gods, I hope they’re okay .

“Why in Aphelion?” Cyan asks. “What would it be doing there?”

“I need to back up a little,” I say. “There are many pieces to this story. We grew up in the Violet Forest under the secrecy and protection of the Woodlands King.”

Linden bristles across from me, but she holds her tongue as I take a deep breath and prepare to live the pain of my history yet again. I don’t mention Nadir during my narrative either. That feels like a secret I need to keep for now.

When I’m done, Cyan studies me as if trying to decide whether I’m telling the truth. I don’t really care if he believes me, at least in so much as I can find the ark and get the fuck out of here.

“You went to Heart,” Cyan says. “My scouts reported a skirmish near the castle not long ago.”

“I did,” I say, deciding that information is safe enough. “Rion found me there and tried to recapture me, but I managed to escape.”

“So resourceful, aren’t you, Heart Queen?” Cyan says with a smirk.

A loud bang startles us all. Linden is back to her storm cloud presence, her fist against the table where she just smashed it. She stands up, her chair tipping over in her haste. “Do not utter those words in my presence. The Heart Queen is dead. As she should be.”

Cyan smiles at Linden, not the least bit affected by her hostility.

“Oh, Linden, come here.”

He gently snags her wrist, tugging her closer before wrapping an arm around her hips and kissing the bare skin of her stomach. She doesn’t move, her posture rigid.

“Are you all a . . . unit?” I ask, gesturing between them.

“You could say that,” Cyan says.

“So who are you going to bond with? Atlas told me you’d been searching for a partner for a long time. Can you bond with more than one person?”

The question slips out, and it’s clear this is a touchy subject as their eyes all meet and then look away.

“Who are you?” I ask Anemone. “What’s your story?”

“You do ask a lot of questions, don’t you?” she replies.

“It seems you all are asking the most.”

“Hmm,” Anemone answers. “I am a citizen of Alluvion who caught the king’s eye.”

She exchanges a warm look with the king, and I believe that part of her story, but something about her claim doesn’t sit right. I scrutinize her as she tucks a piece of hair back from her face. Then I notice that her roots are black like they’ve grown out, and it almost seems like her hair has been dyed teal to mimic the people of Alluvion’s. But why?

“Tell us what happened in Aphelion,” Linden interrupts, clearly trying to change the subject, which feels a little obvious. They’re clearly hiding something.

It’s the first time my great-aunt has deigned to address me with anything but accusations and hostility, but I’m not chalking this up to any kind of win just yet. She just wants information.

“There are rumors of a battle,” Cyan says. “That things went poorly for the king during the bonding ceremonies. ”

“A battle?” I ask. I’ve been so focused on returning to Nadir that I haven’t had time to digest everything that went down in Aphelion. I have no idea what happened after Nadir and I entered the palace. Gabriel revealed the truth about Tyr, and then what? I just hope Tristan and Willow are safe.

“Yes,” Cyan says. “Apparently, it turned quite violent.”

He peers at me, and his suspicions are growing by the minute.

“Did you not just say that’s where you came from?” he asks. “Surely you know this already?”

“Yes. No. I mean . . . yes, I was there, but—” I stop and take a deep breath as my lies and half-truths start to topple over each other. “Let me explain.”

“Please,” Cyan says, his patience clearly wearing thin. I’ve stumbled into his life with a lot of wild stories, and he doesn’t even know yet that I’m here to steal from him. If I’m not careful, he’ll sniff out my true purpose, and then I’m well and truly fucked. “Enlighten us.”

I tell them more about my mission in Aphelion and what happened with Gabriel and Tyr, giving them enough details to make my stories sound plausible.

“Tyr lives?” Cyan asks, sitting up, the incredulity in his voice obvious. “That’s impossible.”

I shrug. I can’t be sure the man Gabriel presented to Aphelion is, in fact, the true king, but everyone else seemed to believe it.

“And then what happened?” Cyan asks.

“I’m not sure. You know as much as I do at this point.” I toy with the fork on the table, flipping it over and over. “Why weren’t you there? Were you not invited?”

Cyan nods and sits back. “I declined my invitation. I had things that kept me here.”

“I see,” I answer when it appears he has no intentions of explaining any further.

“What does the Aurora King want with you?” Anemone asks.

“I don’t know that either.” It’s partly the truth. I recall the details of what Cloris shared with me and Nadir. She revealed our location to the Aurora King, and he sought us out, but what was his goal? I had always assumed he wanted to keep us close and contained, but the way he’s been chasing me across the continent suggests it’s something more. We know he wanted the ark, but for what purpose?

I fall silent as their expressions all turn solemn. There’s technically nothing false in my story. But my words are edged with emotion that even these three have to sense. I don’t want to reveal my vulnerabilities before them, but I also need them to lower their guards. To trust me somewhat.

Cyan is the next to speak, his tone a little less flippant and with a bit more reverence.

“So what happened when you got to the Mirror?” he asks, picking up the thread of my earlier tale.

“I never got the chance to reach it,” I lie. Again.

I cannot reveal anything that truly happened in that throne room. I’ve never been able to trust anyone beyond the safety of my family, and that has never changed. “Rion was in Aphelion, and he found me. He overpowered me and then captured me. I passed out and woke up somewhere in the forest. I used my magic to blast them all away, and then I ran, ending up here. ”

I take a long sip of my wine. Reliving those events feels like losing Nadir all over again, and it’s everything I can do not to choke on the thick knot of my grief. I’m putting on a great show here, and they can’t know how desperate I am. That would ruin everything.

Everyone is quiet for a few seconds, lost in their thoughts.

“That is quite a story,” Cyan says a few moments later.

“Yes,” I say. It sure is.

His eyebrows pinch together as he bites the inside of his cheek. “Well, then you must stay as my guest for a few days. To recover,” he adds. “And perhaps we can get to know one another. A king and a queen of Ouranos’s realms. You’re practically family.”

His gaze slides to Linden, who growls under her breath.

“I’d like that,” I say, hoping it sounds like I mean it. My plan is to get the fuck out of here as soon as I can, but I’ll have to pretend if I want to find out where the ark is.

He raises a glass and waits for the rest to do the same.

“To new beginnings,” he says and takes a drink.

I follow suit, watching his face, wondering if he believed a single word I just said.