Page 105 of Crown of Darkness
“It cannot be destroyed.”
She has to be lying. For every Spell of Making, there is a Spell of Unmaking.
“The crown is the key to everything. Come, Iskvien. If you wish to know how to defeat your mother, come….”
And so I follow her.
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Chapter Twenty-One
The Mother smiles as she sinks onto her throne.
Carved of ebony basalt, it would seem almost menacing if not for the filigreed pattern of stars and moons woven into the stone. Someone has painstakingly carved moonstone and used it to fill the chiseled moons.
“You could defeat her, yes,” the Mother finally says. “Power sings through your veins, Iskvien. You have the promise of the best of my kind as well as your mother’s ancestry. If you learned to harness your gifts, you could force your mother to crawl at your feet. You could make her regret every little betrayal she’s ever given you. You could tear apart mountains with a thought and cause forests to grow in a night. You could sing the stars from the sky if you wished it.”
She’s lying. She has to be lying.
“You want me to free you. You’d say anything to make me free you.”
“Of course I wish to be freed. I never said that youwilldefeat her,” the Mother replies. “Merely that the promise is there. Do you think you are the first to be born of such a powerful coupling? Do you think you will be the last?” She leans forward. “I am patient, little princess. If not you, then another will come. If not you, then I will turn my attentions elsewhere. You’re not the only one who makes the earth tremble with their footfall. You could even hear them walking the lands if you learned to listen.”
My fingers slide to the golden filigreed bracelet trapped around my wrist. “There’s anotherleanabh an dàn?”
She merely smiles. “That is your question to answer.”
In the silence, all I can hear is my heart beating.
If there’s another one out there, then perhaps Angharad will turn her attentions upon them if she finds me too difficult to rein in. All I have to do is keep away from her hunters.
Find the crown.
And kill my mother.
“Why did you come to me?” the Mother murmurs. “For questions you could answer if you continue to search your books?”
I don’t know why….
Or do I?
I swallow. “Why did you help me? Why did you let Eris wake?”
“You wanted proof,” she says. “It’s difficult for the Dreamthief to escape the command of the Mirror, but he can do it, if the cause is strong enough. We have never been your enemy, Iskvien. But you know that, don’t you? That’s why you’re here.”
“You weren’t always the enemy of my people. The last queen who ruled Mistmere was fae, and she also worshipped you.”
The Mother of Night glances down. “Abalonia was a special case. She was wise and powerful and… she could be reasoned with. Mistmere is the border between two peoples—the seelie and the unseelie—and Abalonia knew it. She created a haven for her seelie, and yet she also welcomed the unseelie and the sylvaren within her territories. Hers was the only kingdom that knew true peace.”
I hesitate.
“What do you want to know, Iskvien?” Her depthless eyes seem to see right through me.
I rub my hands up my arms. “You said I was theleanabh an dàn.”
“Yes.”
“Who is my father?”
