Page 172 of Mountain of Mirrors and Starlight
And his small army, following him one by one, arranging themselves on the grass.
Aislinn looked to Minerva for direction, but her eyes were rooted on the display below. Aislinn’s gaze moved to Venus instead. She could not possibly be permitting this—
But Venus only smiled.
“No,” Aislinn said, marching towards her, her hands going for her hip although no sword swung there. “You gave us your word. You said you’d protect Caer from his father—”
The guards’ halberds darted towards her, but Venus held up her hand. “I’m sorry,” she said, “But I made other promises long ago.”
Minerva snarled at her sister. “This ridiculous charade—it was all for nothing?”
“Notnothing,” Venus said, her voice oddly sweet. “We needed someone to go and fetch the Mirror. Aeron couldn’t do it alone, not even with all his power. It could have taken decades to convince enough faeries to help us, but then two fae royals just waltzed right in…”
“You couldn’t have known they would agree to help you—”
“That’s what I said, when Aeron first suggested it, when Owen first told us that the royal family had come to visit. But he also told me that King Hawthorn would do anything to free his children… and he has no power here. If you hadn’t agreed to get it yourself, I would have held them here until he agreed.”
“My father would never—” Aislinn started, but then she stopped, because she couldn’t finish her words.
Because they would be lies.
Hawthorn was a great ruler—fair, just, cunning, benevolent. But he had just one weakness:
His family.
Them.
Venus smiled.
“And how does Owen fall into this?” Minerva asked, gaze dark.
“We share a common goal,” she said. “The annihilation of the fae, and our loved ones back beside us.”
Caer shuddered, his breathing still tight. “You can’t mean… no. She wouldn’t want this.”
Minerva shook her head. “You can’t bring back the dead, Ven. Not as they were.”
“Mother,” said Tiberius, stepping forward for the first time, his features pale and shaking. “This is… no.”
Venus paid him no heed. “He’s already brought someone back. He’s shown me. He says we’ll need the Mirror’s full power to bring Clay back, since his body is no more than bones, but he’s proven it can be done—”
“If you’re talking about Dillon, there were extenuating circumstances.”
Venus frowned. “Who isDillon?”
Aislinn froze. Had they genuinely, in all that had happened, forgotten to mentionDillon?Had news of the undead knight not reached Venus’ ears?
We never brought him into the palace. He met up with us later. Unless a servant mentioned it to her directly—
Minerva snarled again. “You’re telling me that this Aeron has already brought someone back?”
“Yes. And he can bring back Clay, too. And Queen Gwyn. Exactly as they were. All he needs…” A hush fell over the party, and her eyes fell hungrily to Caer.
Aislinn stepped in front of him. “No.”
“Oh, my dear, what choice do you have?”
“This process,” Min started, jaw tight, “will it kill him?”
