Page 34 of Shadow and Smite

Vanessa signaled to Heim, and we were off. The turtle took the lead.

The sea was now teal, serene and calm, as we sailed between the isles—so unlike my crossing of the Nearbright Sea. From here, the Starlit Isle had become a distant landform, and if I squinted, I could sense a second isle across the way.

The turtle’s pace was steady, and after a few moments of adjusting, Vanessa settled within the turtle’s wake. “With Heim’s help, we’re actually moving faster than I can alone,” she explained. “He says we’ll reach Leodoras soon.”

Leodoras.I didn’t recognize it, but the name gave me pause. The Isles of Fae weren’t magical because of the fae, but the inhabitants were magical because of their land.

The king, queen, and heir of each isle were connected to their throne far more intimately than my mother was to hers. The exact relationship between isle and ruler varied, but often the magics of monarchs were elevated, fed by their direct link to magic’s source.

Teyr and a Firewolf. Heim and Leodoras. I didn’t know how to perceive the complex web of magic surrounding me.

And the Firewolf wanted me. She had appeared to me. I thought our connection had broken.

It had always been easy to trust the Firewolf with a childlike surrender, accepting that she cared for me. She had earned that trust, saving me from folly time and time again. She had even saved Mariana the night an assassin hid in her room.

Except for the night everything had gone to hell… She hadn’t appeared, and I had barely survived.

I didn’t know why. Had I broken our bond? Her reappearance had shocked me. So many questions, one tumbling into another, raced through my mind.

Zayne sat on a crate, settling before a barrel-turned-table. His back was straight, firm with restraint. I remembered, just a few minutes before, when he’d been nimble and hungry, responsive to my hands and placing demands on my lips—

No. We had erected our wall. Pillows across a mattress.

I banished the memory of our kiss, the remnants not quite vanishing from my body. I ached.

Regardless, I settled on the other crate, letting the table separate us. “While we were in Port Saundyrs, did you tell anybody I’m here?”

“No, of course not,” he replied. “I restocked the ship. I sent letters to the other courts, documenting some of what I have learned about the Shades… But I didn’t even include a personal message for the Starlit King.”

That surprised me. “I thought he was like a father to you.”

“I was raised in his court. That doesn’t mean I trust him.”

“Nor should you,” I snapped back, parroting what I’d been told. “At least, my mother doesn’t trust him.”

“She’s right.” He rubbed his chin, thinking. “Many say your mother is wise. Is that true?”

“Even the sprites like her,” Vanessa agreed, calling down from the crow’s nest, her voice sounding through the ship.

The question made me pause. The public loved Queen Aveline, calling her a fair and just ruler. Even my birth had been spun into a symbol of her fertility—fae births were uncommon and fae goods were valuable. Furthermore, my existence provided a useful angle for all those who disliked the King Consort. My birth proved Queen Aveline would not be ruled.

My mother and her advisors had made me a symbol with no concern for how I felt about it. Despite her popularity, I found her to be cold and calculating, clever and occasionally cruel. My sisters and I were tools for Valterra’s greatness, not daughters.

“She is a wise queen,” I answered. “She isn’t nurturing.”

Zayne nodded. “Eleanor and I had a nursemaid, Sandra. Our parents were over a hundred years old, still in their prime, but already too distant from their childhood to be interested in ours. Sandra was nurturing when our parents weren’t. I’m thankful we had that, even if she’s gone.”

“She died in the Collapse?” I asked.

He nodded, his shadows tightening around him, protective and tense.

I changed the subject. “What was it like, being raised by the Starlit King?” I asked. I didn’t repeat what was said of him and Eleanor, whispers that called them puppets.

“I trusted him when I was a child,” Zayne answered. “The Starlit King seemed like a sound choice for a guardian—he is nearing three hundred years old. He promised our safety, and Eleanor and I didn’t have many options. We didn’t know better. The king offered us palace apartments and arranged our education. He gave us a place to grow and grieve.

“Only, he took advantage of us too. As the Shadow Heir, Eleanor had jurisdiction over certain matters, like the resettlement of our people, management of our remaining coffers, and limitations on shadow magic. When we were fourteen, she signed her first legislation, and it was, to say the least, ill advised.”

“Mother told us about it,” I replied. “She used it as an educational opportunity, warning my half sisters, ‘Never trust the word of another kingdom. Even your father’s.’”

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