Page 46 of Promise of Darkness
“She can’t bring an army through. Unless she has a few weeks.” The portal needs to repower after every transfer, and the more people it transports, the longer it needs to revive. “And this is the worst place to stage an invasion.”
She’d be crushed between the Prince of Evernight and the Queen of Aska.
“She’s not planning on bringing an army through,” he replies grimly.
“Then what—?”
“The only reason she might be resurrecting the Hallow is to bring one of the Old Ones back from the Underworld. This is the gateway to the Mother of Night’s prison.” Thiago scowls, setting a hand to the small of my back. “Let’s move. I’ve seen enough, and neither of us can afford to be caught here. We need to alert the alliance.”
11
Iflee the tunnel into the cool night air on the other side of the lake, but I can’t escape the dirty sensation of something crawling over my skin. Whatever I felt at the circle lingers like little spiders crawling over me.
Thiago follows, cursing under his breath. “I didn’t think Angharad was this stupid.”
“They wouldn’t let one of the Old Ones out, would they? They couldn’t. They’ve been trapped since the wars.”
The Unseelie worshipped the Old Ones, and rode at their command, but surely they remember how dangerous they were?
“They would, and they could, if given the right spells.” He scrubs a hand over his mouth. “The right sacrifice.”
I hadn’t yet been born during the wars. “What do you mean ‘right sacrifice’?”
“What do you know of the wars and the Hallows?”
“We were losing,” I reply. “Badly. And then King Raen came up with a plan to trap the Old Ones and remove their power from the battlefield. Each King and Queen sent their most powerful warriors to lure each of the Old Ones into a Hallow. Once there, the trap was sprung, and the Old Ones were flung into a prison world they cannot escape.”
“They used an ancient spell and blood magic,” Thiago says. “The power required to access the Underworld is immense. A circle of stones to control the power of the ley line; thirteen fae sorcerers standing at each stone chanting; and a sacrifice within the Hallow. A kingly sacrifice, in most cases. They cut the heart right out of Raen’s chest in the middle of Mistmere. It was the only way to defeat the Mother of Night, and he knew it.”
My mouth slowly drops open. “He offered himself up as sacrifice?”
My mother would never do such a thing.
“The sacrifice is the key,” Thiago replies. “If the sacrifice can’t withstand the power of the ley line and the Hallow, then the spell is ruined.”
“So… how is Angharad going to reverse the spell?” She has the power, but I can’t see her sacrificing herself in order to bring back the Mother of Night.
“They need a queen. Or a prince,” he replies. “Someone who has a trickle of the old blood in their veins. The power required to break the prison open is immense, but they need someone who was tied to those who created the circle. A direct descendant, preferably.”
Like my mother.
Or me.
“But why would she…?”
“Power. Angharad signed the treaty, but let’s not pretend she would have any intentions of holding her people to it if she has a choice. It’s been a good five hundred years since the war. She’s bowed her head all that time, but she must have found the right spell to unleash an Old One.” He paces the hill, frustration edging through him. “The Seelie Alliance is not as strong as it once was. If she brings the Mother of Night back, she’ll have direct access to all that power. And we’re a fraction of what we once were, even if your mother could be trusted to guard our flanks during a war.”
“My mother’s many things, but she’s not a fool,” I bite. “If she doesn’t stand beside you in the war, then she’ll be wading through Unseelie the second you fall.”
“If you think, for one second, that she wouldn’t be tempted,” he shoots back, “then you’re the fool. Adaia thinks herself invulnerable. Shemightjust think herself powerful enough to confront the three Unseelie queens by herself. Asturia is far enough south that she might think herself safe.”
I bite down on my words. There’s no point arguing. “So, what do we do?”
“We need to alert the other kingdoms.”
A howl goes up in the forest.
It sounds close. Far too close. And it sounds almost… gleeful.
