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Dusk turned over the crystal in his hand, knowing it was now nothing more than a pretty rock. It had been almost two days since the attack and Lex was only a few feet away, still asleep on the bed of furs. He’d been in and out of consciousness, but seemed to be recovering little by little. His father had left some time ago to wander down to the kitchens in search of food and drink. What little food had been brought up was fed to Lex when he was conscious. Dusk had hardly touched anything at all. Thankfully the wounds on Lex’s chest were mostly sealed over by Dusk’s magic, but the internal damage remained. The lilies had stopped the bleeding and kept him alive, but he’d have to do the majority of the healing on his own. It was going to be a long road to recovery for him.
Dusk, out of curiosity, had drank some of the lily tea himself. It was strangely sweet and bitter at the same time with a strong floral flavor that he could only describe as invasive. Not being near death by any stretch of the imagination, he felt little difference in his body after taking it. However, when Selussa came to change the bandages for the first time, she commented that it was healing faster than expected but would still take some time for it to finish knitting itself back together. She warned him that he’d always have a scar. There was nothing she could do about that. It wasn’t a concern to him, just another reminder of the past permanently carved into his flesh.
His thoughts had been all-consuming every moment Lex didn’t require his attention. He’d been so lost within himself that he hadn’t even gone back up to visit Lyra since finding the crystal. It didn’t seem to matter though. It wasn’t like there was anything he could really do to make the situation any better. Nedarya had killed Tiernan and that was the only good news. Most of the caretakers had been killed by the Circle members, either in the valley or near the gate into the mountain. Barely a dozen, including Selussa, had managed to escape with their lives. Even then the majority of them had been wounded. They didn't have enough people to care for the animals now wandering the valley or tend to the vegetable gardens that were in full bloom as the summer equinox drew nearer. Lyra was unable to leave her position atop the mountain just yet, needing her injured wings to get to the bottom of the volcano. Dusk knew he shared the feeling of being trapped with everyone else. There was nowhere to go and it was inevitable that Nedarya would come back for the crystals. She’d made that need clear.
Dusk flipped the stone in the air like a coin, which was about all it was good for, and popped it into his pocket. He didn’t see any reason to guard it now.
He walked over to Lex’s side and sat on the edge of the bed, needing something else to focus on for a moment. Reaching out he pushed a few hairs out of Lex’s face, brushing the skin with his fingertips. Lex’s eyes fluttered open and a small grin crept across his face.
“Hey there, handsome,” he smiled, his voice sounding less gravelly than it had.
“Hey,” Dusk replied, staring down at him. It was good to see him smile again.
“Why the long face? You look like Maribel.”
Dusk snorted unexpectedly, surprising even himself. “If you weren’t hurt already I’d punch you for that one.”
“If you wanted to get rid of me, here’s your chance.” Lex smiled up at him, clearly trying to lighten the oppressive feeling in the room. “Speaking of getting punched, where’s Tara?”
Dusk felt his heart drop. He hadn’t gotten a chance to tell Lex everything that had happened the night of the attack. Lex noticed the shift in his mood and reached out, taking Dusk’s hand.
“Is she alive?”
“As far as I know.”
Lex paused. “So she’s not here...”
“No.”
“What happened up there?”
“I promise I will get you up to speed, but you need to focus on resting,” Dusk sighed, squeezing Lex’s hand. “In a day or two we’ll all sit down together and talk about what’s going on.”
“I know I can’t convince you otherwise. Not that I’d have the strength to do it anyway.” Lex glanced over at the door, checking it was empty. “Hopefully you can explain to me why my good-for-nothing father is here too.”
“He was under Tiernan’s spell. He doesn’t remember anything.”
“That’s what he claims.”
“I don’t have any way to prove it to you,” Dusk said, patting his hand. “You’ll just have to talk to him yourself and come to your own conclusions. He should be back here shortly. You two should talk.”
“I don’t want to ever speak to him again.”
“Lex,” Dusk sighed once more, hearing the petulant child rising up in Lex’s voice. “At least give him a chance. He is the one that saved your life. Without him you’d be dead right now.”
Lex’s eyes burrowed into Dusk’s, confusion clouding their surface.
“At least speak with him. I don’t care if you two never work it out, but hear him out just once. He hasn’t left your side for more than a moment for two days. I think you can at least do that.”
“What if it’s another trick?”
Dusk understood Lex’s fear and hesitation. He’d been through the same thing with Yarick and came out worse for wear on the other side. If their journey together had one lesson, it was to trust no one.
Dusk bit back his pessimism. “And if it’s not you’ll have sacrificed an opportunity to get back the father you used to love so much. I remember the stories you told me about him and how great he was when you were a child. He’s been under Tiernan’s spell for a long time and maybe the father you loved is still there, finally free.” Dusk paused for a moment, Lex staring at him intently. “And if you decide you still hate him, at least you tried. That’s all anyone can ask.”
There was a soft knock at the door and both of them looked up. Lord d'Ronja was standing there with a wooden tray in his hands piled with an assortment of food. His cloak was still stained with dirt, but he’d managed to find a place to wash up a little bit and make himself more presentable.
“Can I come in?” he asked timidly. “I don’t want to interrupt you two.”
Dusk nodded and Lord d'Ronja stepped through, bringing the tray over to the bed. He set it gently off to the side and stood there awkwardly for a moment, unsure what to do next. Lex kept his eyes turned away from his father. He didn’t look like he would be the one to begin the conversation.
“Lord d'Ronja,” Dusk began, feeling the title stick to his tongue like bitter oil. “I think it’s fair to say that none of us here trust you for multiple reasons. However, I’m willing to hear you out. Tell me what you remember.”
Lex’s father shifted uncomfortably. “I don’t remember much...”
“When does your memory go blank? Let’s start there.”
He looked down at Lex who was still keeping his eyes averted and took a deep breath. “The last thing I remember was going to Eblesal to see King Cecil and his family. Cecil and I were best friends growing up and we remained close.”
“King Cecil is dead,” Lex spat.
“Oh...” Lord d'Ronja took a deep breath, visibly pushing the beginnings of grief down before it could surface. “Anyway... I was taking Lex to be presented to Princess Nedarya along with the Malkekna boy, Jesper.” He paused for a moment, his eyes looking up and to the right as he searched for memories. “I remember we arrived safely and I went to meet Cecil’s new advisor a week before the presentation ceremony. He introduced me to Tiernan who had done him a great service, although he didn’t explain what it was. He seemed like a charming and warm fellow, nothing odd about him in the slightest. The three of us spent quite a bit of time together as the week went on. But the night before the ceremony, Tiernan called me to the throne room. I remember him speaking to me about plans the king had to make peace with Inahan and how he thought he was making a mistake. I recall defending Cecil, but then it sort of goes fuzzy there. I’m not sure what happened.
“The next thing I knew I was waking up at the top of this volcano with a dragon, a deranged princess, and a much older son that I barely recognize.” He stopped, reaching his hand up to comb it through his silvery hair. “I’ve been wracking my brain for days trying to find anything else. All I have are brief moments of time, things that I have no context for.” He looked up at Dusk. “I don’t know what I did, but considering how everyone has been looking at me, it must have been terrible.”
“Lex will tell you his story in time I’m sure,” Dusk replied stiffly. “As for me, I have reasons to dislike you beyond Tiernan. I was a piece of your property at the Ronja mines.” Dusk held out his arm and pulled back the sleeve, displaying the faded tattoo of his ten slashes. “And your mine was in operation long before you were enchanted.”
Lord d'Ronja looked uncomfortable, like he’d never come face to face with any man from the mines. “It’s... it’s just the way things are done,” he said, his voice shaking. “My father left me the mines and I just continued with what he taught me. But I’ve always made sure to treat everyone well at the chateau.” He paused. “They’re very happy.”
Dusk rushed forward, grabbing him by the collar and slamming him against the wall, a piercing pain shooting through his chest under the bandage that he ignored. “Tell that to the hundreds of men that have lost their lives in those mines. The thousands that were shipped off to Malkekna to be sold to brothels, farms, homes, and abusers! Go home right now and ask your very happy house slaves if they enjoy working their lives away for nothing under the threat of death.” He growled under his breath, leaning close to d'Ronja. “You wouldn’t be thankful to be a slave with no free will, so why should they be any different? Don’t feed me your fucking bullshit.”
“It... it’s just how things are done.”
Dusk threw him to the floor. “Then it sounds like things need to change. You and your kind don’t deserve the power they have if it costs people their humanity.” He went back over to the edge of the bed and stood protectively over Lex. “I can see why he hates you so much. If you only want to give shallow excuses and are unwilling to listen or change anything, then leave. We have no use for you.”
Lord d'Ronja pushed himself to his feet, his shoulders hunched and head turned downward. “I... I want to help,” he murmured. “To make up for what I’ve done. But you have to understand... I don’t know any other way to live. My father taught me how to keep the family going, just like his father taught him. I know nothing else.”
“Do you have a brain?” Dusk cried, throwing his arms up. “Your own thoughts?”
“Yes...”
“Then grow the fuck up and use them.”
“Yes sir.”
Dusk went to make another snide remark, but stopped at Lord d'Ronja’s familiar words. He suddenly recognized the man standing in front of him looking defeated and bruised. It was the same person Dusk had been almost a year ago under Maxon’s watchful eye. If someone had given him the same speech he’d given Lord d'Ronja, he would have reacted the same way. All he’d known was mining and following orders. Every day was exactly the same and to break that routine meant pain or death. Lord d'Ronja seemed to harbor the same fear, however unrealistic it might be. Someone had beaten the child out of Lord d'Ronja that cared about things like happy slaves. At that moment Dusk realized he was going about the conversation the wrong way. Instead of leading with shouted anger, maybe he needed to lead with a listening ear and understanding. Making Lex’s father feel guilty wasn’t going to change anything, it would only make it harder to communicate.
“Sit down,” Dusk sighed, purposefully lessening his voice. He gestured to a nearby chair. “What any one of us is angry about, doesn’t matter.” Lex turned to look at him, but Dusk waved him off. “It really doesn’t. There’s much more at stake. What matters right now is that Nedarya has now taken control of the Circle and she is much more powerful than Tiernan ever was.” He took a seat on the edge of the bed. “With Tiernan we knew mostly what we were getting into. He was free with his information and although he didn’t tell us the whole truth, he told us a great deal. Nedarya, on the other hand, is a complete mystery. We didn’t travel with her long enough to learn who she was and I suspect she kept herself hidden on purpose, waiting for a moment to strike Tiernan down.
“But now that she’s accomplished that goal, I’m at a loss as to what she’ll do next.” Dusk turned his attention back to Lord d'Ronja. “She’s made passing remarks about hating her family and tradition, but I don’t know how far she’ll go with it. Lyra said the heart would drive her mad, but is she really a killer?”
“Yes, she is.” Lord d'Ronja paused for a moment, lifting his eyes to Dusk. “Nedarya had always been a problematic child. On the outside she was all sweetness and elegance. She was always beautiful and disarmingly charming towards anyone that could be of use to her. Long before I took Lex to be presented to her, I had a heart-to-heart with Cecil. He said she’d been caught multiple times getting into fights and had maimed many of her swordsmanship teachers on purpose when they were supposed to be drilling techniques. At twelve she was already asking her father when the next war was going to break out and if she could train to be a commander of troops.”
“Can that be true? Nedarya, when we first met, was almost helpless,” Dusk explained. “She was running from monsters and cowering behind Tara for protection.”
“That’s her façade,” Lord d'Ronja replied. “It took a long time for anyone to catch on and Cecil was the only one that had witnessed her ferocity firsthand. In fact, I made him promise me that he wouldn’t choose Lex as her suitor. We both knew the Malkekna boy was vicious and since she had to marry a noble, we thought they’d make a perfect match.”
“You asked the king not to choose me?” Lex asked, turning back towards them.
“I didn’t want you to end up with someone like her,” he said, nodding his head. “You’ve always been soft-hearted and gentle, especially with animals. She would have eaten you alive.”
“But that doesn’t make any sense.” Dusk said. “Tara spent months with her in private on the road to and from Malkekna. They even fell in love. She said Nedarya liked to cause trouble, but wasn’t blood thirsty.”
“She’s been a master of deception for a long time.” Lord d'Ronja shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know why she started out the way she did, but I will tell you this: the year before the ceremony her father and brother told her that she would be locked up for the rest of her days if she didn’t consent to marry. It was her duty to her family and the crown. More than that, he was terrified of what she might become if she were allowed to gain power after he died. All involved agreed there were no other options. Something inside her broke when he told her. I listened from the adjoining room as she cursed her father and her entire family, wishing they would all drop dead. That night, without warning, she snuck into her father’s chambers and tried to assassinate him in his sleep. Thankfully Arius didn’t trust her and was there to stop it from happening. She nearly killed him before the guards finally arrived. Her father had her locked in the dungeon for almost six months.
“When she came back out she was the picture of sweetness, charm, and queenly grace. I don’t know what they did to her, but I suspect it was extremely painful, although you won’t find a mark on her. I suspect Cecil was already working with Tiernan at that time and his great favor to him might have been the mental breaking of Nedarya. And even with all that accomplished, the king never trusted her again.”
“Tiernan killed her a few years later, after he fell out of grace with the king, and stole her crown,” Dusk replied, Lord d'Ronja’s words slowly sinking into his mind. “After the king died he stole her body from the catacombs and resurrected her, then tortured and experimented on her for his own gain.”
“By the gods...” Lord d'Ronja lifted his hand to his mouth, his eyes wide. “That poor girl.”
“I know what she’ll do because it’s what I would do in her situation,” Lex said, pushing himself up onto his elbows. “If I’d been through all that and corrupted by the power of the crystal, there would be no stopping me. I’d burn the entire world to the ground.”