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

Chapter 46

C HAPTER 46

RION

T HE A URORA K EEP —A F EW M ONTHS A GO

R ion shuffled through the papers on his desk with a grim sense of frustration. He’d been working on a new set of amendments to the laws governing The Aurora’s mines. He needed unrestricted access to the labor of the low fae. They were moving too slowly for his liking, and he wanted to extend the length of their shifts while also conscripting more workers.

One of Herric’s journals lay open next to him. In it, the former Aurora King claimed that virulence was an inconstant material. The deposits found closer to the surface were less potent, almost to the point of being devoid of magic. He’d used them to build the Keep, wanting to be surrounded by the material without inadvertently alerting anyone else to its power. It had the added bonus of shielding him from Zerra’s sight as he’d worked on methods to destroy her.

It had been his ode to himself. A monument to all the things he’d accomplished so far and the dreams he had yet to fulfill.

Rion had read those words seized with a sick sense of desire.

How far could he go? How much power could he amass? Would it be enough to fill this aching hole in his chest?

From Herric’s notes, it became clear that the virulence used to create the arks was from a deposit so deep that Herric couldn’t seem to map out its location. In his cynicism, Rion wondered if Herric had purposely created this mystery lest anyone happen upon these notes. The former king also hadn’t deigned to speak to Rion in centuries, further adding to his frustrations. Almost as if he was purposely keeping this information from him.

But it was the strongest virulence the former king had ever encountered, and Rion wanted it.

He returned to his papers, reading them over again.

Once he managed to force these amendments through, Rion could conscript as many low fae as he wanted, no longer concerning himself with their base needs, like food and sleep and water. If one died, he could just replace them, and maybe then he’d find what he was looking for.

He opened the top of his collar and stared out the window before he pushed himself up and strode through the Keep to find himself alone in the throne room. He’d been spending a lot of time here lately. The Torch’s presence had a calming effect, and those warm flames flickering in its mouth allowed him to forget for a short while.

He marched up the dais and dropped onto his throne, leaning back while crossing an ankle over his knee. He pondered in the massive room’s stillness, watching the lights ripple across the sky through the ceiling’s glass dome.

It had been a difficult week. Another riot inside Nostraza, and this time, that girl—Serce’s granddaughter if Cloris Payne was to be believed—had disappeared. He’d already confirmed her two siblings remained behind the prison’s walls, and as far as he could tell, it seemed she’d died in the Hollow. Still, Rion wanted to be sure.

He’d sent his disappointment of a son looking for her. He knew Nadir would keep his secrets. Even if he hated him, Nadir had no choice but to be loyal. Rion had too much insurance to use against him.

Rion had pretended the girl was no one. She might have been the heir of Heart, but her magic was gone, and she was useless.

He should have killed her all those years ago, except that wretched priestess had convinced him otherwise. Why had he let her talk him into anything? She’d convinced him he could use the heir of Heart to claim the land that refused to be claimed, but it was all lies. She had a silver tongue and just enough feigned authority to make Rion fear Zerra’s wrath. Despite his opinions about their god, she was still a god.

When he got his hands on the girl, he’d do what he should have done twelve years ago—end her and do away with the brother and sister, too. This chapter in the history of Heart would finally be over .

You’re on the right track.

A voice popped into Rion’s head, and he shot up in his seat.

Herric.

After all these years.

“What?” Rion asked into the empty space, hardly daring to believe he’d returned.

Heart cannot be claimed as long as its heir lives.

Rion narrowed his eyes. “Where have you been?”

Below. I am the Lord of the Underworld.

His breath hitched at those words. Was this what had happened to Herric?

“How? I don’t understand.”

I pushed too far. I continued to dig and dig until, one day, it became too much. I was trapped, forced to remain here at the bottom of the world amongst the souls of the dead, where I rule without challenge.

“How did you become the lord?” Rion asked, and Herric chuckled.

What a very predictable question.

Rion pressed his lips together in annoyance at the condescension in Herric’s tone.

I am the only living being on this plane. I claimed this crown when I lost my own. My nephew Elias had already been named Primary and took over in my stead, burying the truth about me.

“He’s the one inside the Torch?”

He is.

“How are you speaking to me then?”

There are many things I can do, Rion. Things your mind cannot even begin to comprehend. But I grow tired of this place. It is dead. I want to feel sunlight on my face. The wind in my hair. I want to see the aurora lights in the sky. It’s been so long.

“And what do you want from me?” Rion asked as a warning pricked up the back of his neck. Why was Herric contacting him now ?

Find me the ark of Heart. You’ve read my journals—do you understand what they are?

“How am I supposed to do that? The arks are all hidden. Or gone.”

Use the Primary.

“There is no Primary,” Rion said, though at that moment, he realized that probably wasn’t true.

There is. The magic of Heart still lives deep in the earth.

“Where do I look?” Rion asked as thoughts cycled through his head. The prisoner was dead, or so he presumed, which meant the Primary might be someone else. The brother was of Woodlands magic, and the sister had no power of which to speak. Perhaps he’d have to hunt through the settlements searching for the Primary. The old magic of Heart had always followed through the female line.

That is what you must discover.

“What if I could find the ark without the heir?”

It’s possible. However, I still require the Primary to use it.

“Use it how?”

There is great magic inside the ark of Heart. Amara was the strongest of us. And after I’m done with the heir, you can kill her, and the people of Heart will die. Only then will the land stop fighting you.

Rion chewed on those words. “And what do I get in exchange for all of this? Freeing the Lord of the Underworld? ”

Herric chuckled again, the sound like chains dragging over stone.

Why stop at Heart? You seek a source of the most powerful virulence in existence, and I am surrounded by it. You want to use it and learn to control it. You want to know everything it is capable of.

I can teach you, King Rion of The Aurora. I can show you where I failed.

I can give you everything.