I was actually a little grateful Riona was missing; it gave me something else to focus on. Otherwise, I'd return to the nonstop moping, replaying Ayla's… Ayla. Even saying her name was like a hammer to my heart. How I could've misread our entire relationship for so long was beyond me. I couldn't even pinpoint how long I'd loved her, how I'd been so sure she loved me back.
The way she'd lit up when I'd come home from the fae realm. How she'd cuddled up next to me on the climb up the mountain, wanting me to stay with her instead of anyone else. It was easy to be angry with her, to blame her for making me feel one way when she clearly didn't.
But some part of me still hoped there was a chance for us. That maybe now she didn't love me, but she could one day. Especially if I managed to recover Riona, repair that relationship, bring things back to normal. Maybe then…then Ayla would see me as more than her best friend.
Doing so would require me to quit moping and find Riona. So as I stood in the middle of the staircase, I closed my eyes and let the world fall away. The rushing water noise came back with a vengeance, clouding all my senses until there was nothing left. But I focused on the scent that had become familiar, the sweet mead-like taste of Riona's magic. Unique in the fae realm, unique because of her human blood. Unique because she was.
Then…I thought I sensed it.
I began walking slowly, stopping every few feet to let my senses fall away again. The scent was light, but definitely there. I kept moving down the stairs until I reached the landing then continued to the left, toward Edric's wing of the castle. It wasn't as if her scent lingered if she wasn't around, so sensing it now meant she was close.
It seemed to be growing stronger the farther I went until I was standing in front of a doorway. Avram's observatory. I didn't love the idea of Riona alone with the creepy scholar, but perhaps she'd stopped in on her way out.
"Hello?" I called, opening the door. "Anyone home?"
The observatory was empty, but the experiments were bubbling and steaming in their glass vials as they moved through the tubes. I leaned down to peer at them closer, watching the red liquid ooze from place to place as slow as sludge. It was mesmerizing.
Finally, I pulled myself away, turning to look at the rest of the room. There was a cracked door on the other side I hadn't seen before. But as I pushed it open, revealing a long hallway, I realized I'd seen it before—this was the path to the memory stone room.
I kept my footfalls light, knowing that if Avram had left this door open, he hadn't meant to. The gas lamps were off, so I dragged my fingertips along the hallway to keep my bearings. I walked into the room, and the light came up, as if triggered by my presence.
The memory stones sat on a shelf on the other side of the room. I picked one up, examining it. They weren't just baubles—there was something alive inside them. Memories, life, stories…even with my muted abilities, the magic was visceral.
It probably took a little troll magic to pull the memory from the stone, but it wouldn't hurt for me to try. There was a small indentation in the center of the floor where Avram had placed the stone the last time we were in here.
To my surprise, as soon as I placed the small rock in the divot, the memory stone sank into the floor and the lights disappeared in place of a vision from the past. This was an old battle, but it didn't appear to be the one that happened in the aos sí. The trolls were fighting other fae—perhaps the sidheog, but it was hard to tell.
I kept an eye on the door, hoping the sound didn't travel. The battle was bloody, and although the trolls were victorious, they suffered heavy casualties. The memory was shorter than the one we'd seen earlier, and when it finished playing, the stone popped out of the floor. I replaced it on the shelf, glancing at the others. Perhaps they were, like Edric had said, all about old trolls. But I wanted to try one more before I continued my search for Riona.
I walked to the center of the room and placed another in the hole, standing back as the room darkened once more. But this was a familiar sight—Aoibheann, the Pennlan king, and a new fuath queen were sitting around a table in a dim light, the whole seod croí in the center of the table. Even dormant, it shimmered and moved with raw power that I could sense from a thousand years in the future.
"We need to destroy it," the Pennlan king said. "It needs to be wiped from this earth."
"It's not that simple," Aoibheann said. "It was made to be indestructible. To withstand any and all magical attacks. You can't just…destroy it with a spell."
"Then several spells."
She waved her hand impatiently. "That won't work."
"Then what do you propose? No one can be trusted with this thing," the fuath queen said, her bulbous eyes darting to Aoibheann. "Not even those who created it."
Aoibheann picked up the stone, staring at it as she thought. "The only thing that could possibly destroy it is itself."
The fuath scoffed. "That makes no sense. How can an object be used to destroy itself?"
"Not as it is," Aoibheann said, seeming more confident in her thoughts. "But if we… If we split it, we might be able to use the pieces to destroy each other." She glanced up, her golden eyes shining with faint hope. "It's worth a shot."
"And what do we do if that fails?" asked the human king.
"Let's hope it doesn't."
The memory faded away and I jumped to my feet to snatch the stone from the ground and grab another. I could only guess what happened next. They succeeded in splitting the stone, but before they could destroy it, the trolls took off with their piece, and the others walked off as well.
I stopped short. If we were to get all four pieces, we could finish what Aoibheann had started. We could eliminate the seod croí and the danger Eoghan posed to this world once and for all. Then we'd just have an incredibly dangerous wizard to contend with…but not an incredibly dangerous wizard plus the most powerful object ever created.
I swiped the next stone off the shelf and ran back to place it in the spot, holding my breath that this would tell me the next phase in the plan.
Instead, it was…Avram.
"I don't trust him. Not even a little."
"He promises he has something to offer us." Edric's voice filtered in around me, but he wasn't visible. He must've been the source of the memory. "It's been a long time since we've had any hope."
"But what he's asking of us. It would mean giving up our only source of magic—and trusting…trusting a stranger. A dangerous stranger."
"If what he says is true," Edric said, "then we won't need that useless trinket anymore. We will have all the power we need at our fingertips. And so will our army."
"But—"
"There's enough magic in the water to sustain us for at least a year. That should give you plenty of time to concoct this potion he describes. Then, we will awaken our army."
"Do you think they will forgive you?" Avram asked.
"Once we march on the fae and reclaim what is ours, they will sing legends of my name."
The memory moved forward, as if Edric were walking down the hall. I recognized the castle, the city outside. This must've been a recent memory, because everything looked more or less the same. Even Avram's wrinkles.
Edric walked down a long stairwell to a part of the castle I hadn't been in before. It was a dungeon of sorts, dark and dank and empty. I doubted they had many prisoners here, what with their city being so insulated. Whoever had arrived had caused a stir.
A dark cell was visible in the dim light, and Edric walked up slowly. "Are you finding your accommodations to your liking?"
"I am, thank you."
My stomach dropped to the floor as my eyes widened.
"Tell me of your proposition," Edric said. "The exact ingredients."
"Well, the list begins with the blood of a half-fae…"
The lights in the room came up, and the memory disappeared. Avram stood in the doorway, his face a mask of fury.
"What are you doing in here, wizard?"
"You…" I turned to him, still not believing what I'd seen. "You betrayed us."
Avram glanced at the floor where the stone was still sitting and licked his lips slowly. "So the curtain has risen."
"I'm going to…" I didn't know what I was going to do. My magic still on the fritz, Avram clearly in control of his. Riona…
It was then that I realized the strong scent of Riona I'd been following was coming from the scholar. It was as if she were standing right in front of me.
"Where is she?" I demanded, my gaze growing dark. "What have you done with Riona?"
"She's none of your concern anymore," he said.
"She is if—"
The ground rose around me, encircling my legs and my arms, knocking the staff from my hand. I yelped in surprise, a twist of fear running through my veins. But Avram's stone magic held it gently, even as it kept me glued in place.
"I would much rather just dispose of you, as I find wizards distasteful, but His Majesty would like you to join the others." He turned his back on me. "Come along."
I could say nothing else as the floor moved under me, dragging me away.