Page 4 of Stone Sentinels

“The Unseelie Court sentenced us to execution after we were torturedadequatelyfor our crimes. There was no investigation and no one consulted the King. It was only the new Court making decisions. I was meant to be taken to a separate cell—I think they were going to kill me right away—but Kolvar protected me,” Aima explains.

“And I’d do it again,” he vows, raising his tankard of ale.

She smiles at him in thanks before returning her insistent gaze to me. “His little stunt delayed the execution, but we were tortured even more for it. I guarded him for three days. Dragan and Revenant arrived only hours before we were supposed to face the executioner.”

I breathe deeply, trying to process everything they went through. In my eyes, they earned our loyalty through those acts of bravery alone. Aima pats Kolvar on the back and turns her gaze to me again. “I can help you get a few of your memories back, Eilish,” she says and surprises me.

“You can?” I ask, in awe.

She nods. “It’ll only take a few minutes. I’m not Pyre, but I have some skills of my own.”

Kolvar leaves the room to refill his glass and I nod. Aima crosses her legs and sits in the center of the mattress. She motions for me to lay down in front of her and rest my head in her lap so I do as she instructs. She massages my temples.

“Look into my eyes, Eilish,” she says. Those ebony eyes began to swirl and I’m quickly lost to them. As she sings softly, images begin to flash in my vision…

“Mother!” I shout, bursting through the door as the remnants of my home crackle like embers in the hearth. I can’t find her! Panic begins to bloom in my chest.Hewas supposed to protect them. My hands burn as I sift through the ash, looking for any trace of my mother and sister. “Solya!”

A man stands over me.

Silvanus.

I don’t understand why he’s here. Was he the one meant to protect them? Somehow I don’t think so.

He helps me to my feet and brushes a kiss over my forehead. “Don’t let him take you, Eilish,” he whispers.

Suddenly, he’s gone, blown away with the snow that hovers on the wind. Crimson catches my eye, stark against the white snow. A trail of blood leads me to the mangled bodies of my family. Their heads severed, displayed on pillars of ice like macabre statues. Chunks of flesh litter the ground and I fall to my knees….

I open my eyes to find that Aima isn’t with me. I’m alone, but still lying on the floor, my face facing the ceiling.

I hear the sounds of the others gathering for supper. My head is spinning, but I remember that day so vividly now.

My mother’s name is Maeline, and she still loved my father long after he abandoned her. Their love was passionate and forbidden, secret to the rest of the world, but they had found peace together—brief though it might have been. Solya’s father is not the same as mine. Her father was an angel, like my mother.

I close my eyes again and try to reach out to Silvanus, but he’s silent. Still more questions come to mind, swirling through my head. Questions I can’t answer.

Who was supposed to protect my mother and sister? And why didn’t that person protect them? And who was Silvanus talking about? Don’t letwhotake me?

I sit up and shake the questions away as I force myself to my feet and ignore the headache that thunders between my ears. I remember the lessons Pyre taught me and I focus on the pain, willing it away. Seconds later, it yields and fades into oblivion.

I walk down the corridor and knock on the door to the Midnight Queen’s bedchamber. Morrigan answers after only a few seconds, and appears surprised to see me.

“Eilish... how lovely to see you.”

“We haven’t had much time to talk since I returned,” I offer. “Do you have a moment before we head down?” I ask softly. She looks as though she wants to deny me entrance, but permits it in the end. Morrigan points to the chair near the door and I sit.

“What is it, my dear?”

“You gave me guidance and kept me safe all this time. It was your voice I heard and every time I followed your directions, I was relieved I did. I’m very grateful to you.”

“It was the least I could do…”

“Now, I wish to know why,” I interrupt her. “Why did you choose to speak to me when you’d been silent to everyone else for so many years?”

She’s quiet for a few seconds as she stands up and begins pacing the room, nodding as if my question is a good one—as if she expected it. Knowing her immense power, maybe she did? Well, immense power that was stolen from her…

“Call it intuition, Eilish. I had a sense you were special, but I didn't know why or what you would come to be. I only wanted to give you a fighting chance.”

“That’s not an answer.” It’s as much an answer as “everything happens for a reason,” but I need to know why.Whatis the reason? She chose me for a purpose, and I intend to figure it out.

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