Page 9 of Tangled Power
Rose inwardly cringed. The Norden elders would not want to admit there was something to fix. Rose was still missing alot of information, but there was little doubt in her mind that the elders knew Aiden was not the correct Norden Point. There were too many signs. The checks and balances in the Norden Point test would have caught such a scheme. At the very least, Samuel knew she had passed the test. And only one Norden per generation passes. She didn’t know his angle—willful ignorance or something more malicious. She wasn’t sure she cared.
Rose would become Norden Point.
“Thank you, Juliette.” Rose spread her arms to the elders. “As the Compass Points say, Aiden has proven unable to fulfill the duties of the Norden Point. I was.”
“It’s not that simple,” Meg replied.
“Why not?” Carter asked, his head tilting.
“Aiden passed the test.” Meg gestured at Rose. “She did not.”
Rose didn’t miss the sharp dart of her gaze to Samuel and Catherine. Rose had seen enough. She wasn’t buying this. Her gaze met Samuel’s.
A weight fell on her shoulder as Arie, in his raven form, landed. The small knot in her chest uncoiled at his presence. She wasn’t sure what those on the beach had put together about him. Right now, it didn’t matter. Right now, he was her best friend—not the Vesten god. And he was offering his silent support.
With Arie’s light press on her shoulder and Luc’s hand slipping to the small of her back, Rose knew she was different from the girl who’d fled here ten years ago. She was not facing this alone.
“I did pass.”
The elders met her words with silence. Samuel’s gaze lingered on the Suden Point’s hand as it casually rested on her. His eyes lifted, meeting hers. She raised her chin, daring him to deny her. Daring him to call her a liar.
“She did pass,” he relented with a heavy sigh.
Catherine and Meg gave Samuel icy stares that might just freeze Compass Lake. The anger in their eyes told Rose everything she needed to know. They were complicit. She wouldn’t waste words trying to explain her tragedy to them. It was clear they didn’t care.
“What’s the problem then?” Rose glared at the elders with more confidence than she felt. The scent of Luc’s magic hit her nose, and the increasingly familiar feeling of his magic wrapping around her made her stand a little straighter. The Norden land below her feet thrummed its approval, sending waves of power through her.
“Why didn’t you take the seat if that’s true?” Meg asked, feigning ignorance of what she clearly already knew.
They didn’t deserve her story, but she wouldn’t be denied because she refused to share information. Rose took a deep breath. “The day I passed—the day I should have been recognized as the next Norden Point…” Her words failed her again. Water rimmed her eyes, and she used her element to stop it from trickling into tears. Warmth flooded her, beating back the bone-chilling cold reliving this night brought her. Luc’s magic circled more tightly, wrapping her in its protective shield. Her voice was even as she continued. “My family was murdered. My home destroyed. The false Norden Point tried to kill me. He thought he’d succeeded until a few days ago.”
If she’d been expecting a sympathetic glance from an elder, she would have been sorely disappointed.
“It’s been ten years,” Meg continued as if Rose hadn’t just relived trauma before her. “You may no longer have…appropriate qualifications.” Her gaze lingered on Luc’s hand where it touched Rose.
Catherine nodded in agreement. She crossed her arms over her chest and looked away from what she must consider a distasteful display of affection between a Norden and Suden.Never mind that it was between the rightful leaders of each court.
Their reaction to Luc, unfortunately, wasn’t a surprise. This scenario had been her biggest fear in acknowledging her feelings for him. The mixing of fae courts was…frowned upon. But Rose had decided they would face this together, as they had plenty of deadlier trials in the short time since they’d met. She wouldn’t let the elders dictate who she could be with based on outdated beliefs.
If pure lines from a single fae court were supposed to be the most powerful, how did they explain her? How did they explain her Norden water magic and her Osten wind magic?
She wasn’t ready to bring that secret out for all to examine. It was unclear how she had both lines, but that wasn’t the point. She was still strong enough to hold the Norden seat. And she had still been taught to hide the duality of her magic because of prejudices like the elders’.
“I guess it wasn’t all an act,” Juliette said, breaking the silence. Her gaze roamed between Luc and Rose for confirmation of the elders’ unspoken accusation. Rose wasn’t sure if she was thankful or angry at the conversation being brought to a head.
“I’m not sure that’s anyone’s business but ours,” Luc stated coldly. His jaw clenched, and his magic gave Rose a reassuring squeeze. Meg inadvertently stepped back when his eyes locked on hers. The ground didn’t shake, but the thick heft of his magic was potent around them all now.
An inappropriate laugh bubbled up as she considered the deadly glare he gave those around him and the warm embrace in which his magic held her. To Rose, Luc just appeared to be working hard to stop that dangerous red glint from overtaking his irises. But this was the Suden Point they all feared—yet shewas cocooned safely in his power. She wouldn’t have it any other way.
“How much longer before he really gets angry?”Arie asked into her mind, noting her attention. She couldn’t respond to him now, but a small smile crossed her face as she figured another two minutes max— then his eyes would flash red, and they’d be in for a fun display.
“It’s most certainly our business,” Catherine replied when she realized Meg wouldn’t continue. “The Norden Point must focus on what is right for their court. They must protect the ways of the Norden. They cannot have uncertain loyalties.”
This was a more interesting argument, at least, Rose thought.
“Is that an official part of the test?” Luc pried, a smirk tilting up the corner of his lip.
Catherine’s spine straightened at the challenge. She eyed Luc with more than a little pride. He had trapped her into having to answer in front of the other Compass Points. No matter what she shared, the group included representatives from each fae court. He ensured Catherine was doing more damage, revealing the ways of the Norden ritual with other fae courts, than Rose ever had.
