"SO? WHAT did the Rattislon say?"
Andorra was happy to see Clini and Vulara in one piece, finally back in the Royal Court. She didn't want to admit how much their absence had made her anxious for their wellbeing. She had told herself that if something happened, she would know.
"This is a conversation that needs to be held in private." Vulara nodded towards his basement. They moved to the familiar space, and Andorra silently vowed to spend extra time that week training with Vulara to make up for his absence. By the time they were down in the furthest corner of the basement, Vulara pulled the recipe out of his pocket and passed it back to Andorra.
"The Rattislon did not know what it was at first. It... took some time trying to uncover what this sort of medication was."
Not great news. Andorra shifted, arms crossed, chest tight. Callum, who was watching her, noticed the discomfort. Not that the Queen would tell anyone. To Vulara, he barked, "So, out with it. What is the medication?"
Clini cleared his throat. "It's not a medication. Not really. It's a pain reliever of sorts. It has the same properties as a blood promise."
Andorra's nose scrunched. "Blood promise?"
"When you make a binding deal with blood, you're entered into a blood promise. Old, old magic." Vulara rubbed the back of his neck. "Someone in the kingdom was taking this recipe to help ease the pain of a blood promise."
Andorra tried to think of what that meant. What sort of blood promise would Roseria make? And why make one if it resulted in pain? "Do all blood promises hurt? Why is it not a more well-known recipe?"
Clini shook his head. "I've heard my mom talk about them. Blood promises are made forcefully, and it only hurts when you don't fulfill your promise. At first, it only hurts a little bit, like a reminder. But the longer you ignore the promise, the worse it gets. Until... well, until you die."
Andorra's mouth popped open. "Death?" She spun towards Callum. "That means Roseria is going to die if she doesn't make good on her promise."
"And it definitely means she'll come crawling back for this recipe. She's going to be desperate."
Andorra turned back to Clini and Vulara. "There were a lot of people with this recipe connected to their name. They were patients of Roseria's father. So... how many fae make these promises? How common is it?"
Vulara looked away from Andorra, a distant look in his eyes. "It's not common. Very few know how to make a bond formed by blood. But yes, it will kill those who do not complete the promise in a timely manner."
The first thing Andorra wanted to do was ask Roseria what her blood promise was, but she wasn't a fool. Roseria was hiding it for good reason, as were the others who needed their own version of the medicine.
"You used the word forcefully. So do you think there's a chance Roseria didn't want to make this promise?" Andorra was asking it outloud, but really asking herself. Because if Roseria hadn't fulfilled the promise yet, it had to be something hard. Had to be something she didn't want to do, or something she couldn't do.
"I'd say a lot of people who make these promises don't want to make them. For whatever reason. But, whatever Roseria needs to do, there's plenty of motivation to do it."
Andorra rubbed at her forehead. She really needed to have this conversation at the castle with the rest of her council. Her mind whirled with the possibilities. She had always had an ulterior motive when it came to Andorra. Not outright murderous, but something else. She'd been a lying, manipulative person, and Callum had known that all along.
She turned towards the shadow fae. "Why did you hate Roseria? That first time I met her, you told me to stay away. Why?"
"It's not a secret she's a leech of a person. And she was real buddy-buddy with Anders. I think you and I both know what sort of person hung around him."
"No, there must have been more. You were still kinda friends with Anders then."
Callum's eyes narrowed, and his shadows flared. Andorra took notice when his hands clenched tightly into fists. "If you want a full backstory, you're not going to get it from me."
Andorra's head tilted. She only saw Callum like this a few times when he was talking with her. "She did something to Win, didn't she?"
Shadows exploded in the basement, but Andorra didn't cower. Perhaps she would have last year, but not anymore. Even when she couldn't see anything but night, she held her chin high. Squared her shoulders. "You don't have to be dramatic about it."
"I told you to drop it." His voice was rough and low. A warning, but Andorra didn't need to heed it. She shrugged her shoulders, and then let her palms emit a glowing light that swept the immediate shadows away.
"If you're going to be like that, then I'm going to the castle without you. And I'll ask Win myself."
Andorra stepped into the in-between. But, she wasn't going to punish Clini for this fight. She opened the gate to grab the green haired fae, then closed it back up again. Clini stumbled with her, his mouth open in surprise as Andorra pictured the castle.
"You should give someone a warning before doing that!" Clini pressed a hand to his thrashing heart. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"
Andorra brought them to the council room. When she opened the gate, she stepped out of the in-between with Clini on her heels. "You could say thank you for not leaving me with Callum." She turned to grin at Clini.
"Yeah, that would've been a nightmare walk back."
"Tell me more about the Spring Court. How was your mom?"
Clini let his shoulders drop. Let his head tilt forward. "Mad, of course. Actually, more like furious. You should've seen her face. I thought she was going to murder me, actually. And being home is not... not what it used to be. The way they're idolizing Anders is sickening."
"What are they doing?"
Clini moved around the table and dropped into a chair. He rubbed his forward. "It's not a good sight. They're protesting you. Loudly, I might add. They've made Anders a martyr. As if he was this great, upstanding guy. They're calling for your death, Andy."
Andorra waited to feel fear, or anxiety over the news. She waited to feel her chest tighten and her stomach plummet. But, she felt neither of those things. She felt at peace with the fact that the Spring Court may never like her, not after what had happened with Prince Anders. She felt, quite frankly, over the drama of being the Golden Prophecy.
But, this was her birth right. And it was decided by Coronomous. There was nothing the Spring Court could do about it.
"Then they'll have to come and kill me myself." She too dropped into a chair. "But, less about me. What else happened in the Spring Court? How are you holding up?"
There was a beat of silence. "They made Rythe leave. My... my ex. When the courts put up their borders, they were threatening it. Threatening to make everyone pack up and return to their home court. Well, when I left, my mother actually did it. As punishment for me leaving." Clini swallowed thickly, forcing the tears to stay away. "It's my fault. All my fault."
"Hey," Andorra soothed. She placed her hand on Clini's. "It's not your fault. It's your mother's fault for doing that. I didn't realize she knew-"
"She didn't know. I think Jez told her." His voice had grown so soft. "I think she betrayed me."
"Well, we'll fix that. The Spring Court is going to have to realize that things in Anlithamy are changing. Including the caste system."
When Clini's eyes met hers, they were watery. "You mean that?"
"Yes I mean that. We will fix this, Clini. For Rythe and anyone else that deserves to be with the one that they love."
Clini blinked hard to chase the tears. His voice was broken when he said, "I love him so much."
"I'm so sorry your mom did that. And I'm sorry I sent you on this mission. I didn't mean to throw your court in your face. Truly."
Clini discreetly tried to wipe his eyes. "Not your fault. If I'm a part of the Queen's counsel, the least I can do is go to my own court and do things. My mom doesn't scare me. And neither does Jez."
There was a knock on the door that surprised both of them. Andorra stood, giving Clini a look of support before she opened the door. She was expecting a pissed off Callum, but when she saw Kyle standing there, her mouth dropped open.
She slammed the door shut. Her mouth was still open. Her eyes were wide with the realization that he could have done it, right then and there. Could have wiped everything. She turned back to Clini. "It's Kyle."
"Let's make a gate and get out, then." Clini jumped to his feet, already moving towards her. "Quick, before he breaks the door down-"
"Andy." Kyle called from outside of the door. "Can we just talk?"
"No, you psychopath. We can't talk." She gripped Clini's hand in case she needed to make a sudden gate. "Remember how I don't trust you? Yeah, that hasn't changed."
"I need your help. Please." Andorra tried to ignore the way his voice broke. Tried to remember how he had treated her in the human realm. How he had kidnapped her, how he had turned into this stranger of a boy who had the worst intentions.
"I needed your help when you kidnapped me, remember?" She seethed. "But no, you couldn't help me. Just watched my aunt drug me, and then you locked me away! I think we're past trust and help."
"Andorra, I can't heal myself. And I can't keep living like this, so just hear me out, please."
She didn't want to help him out. "You used me, Kyle. In the absolute worst way. We aren't friends, and I owe you nothing."
"Can you just hear me out? I need to-" he cut himself off with a sputter of gurgles. Andorra could hear a muffled thump as if he had fallen. Andorra held her breath, waiting to hear him speak again, waiting to hear anything.
But there was nothing. Just disturbing silence.
"Let me open the door," Clini offered.
Andorra's human heart lurched. She nodded, moving out of the way for Clini. "The moment something happens, just go in the in-between. I'll handle myself."
Clini opened the door while Andorra was more hidden in the corner. She heard Clini's soft gasp. "He's... he's dead?"
Andorra stepped into the hallway quickly, heart thumping. She saw Kyle sprawled out on the carpet, limbs bent in a way that suggested he fainted. She observed him, observed the blood leaking from his nose.
But, his chest was moving. Breathing. "Not dead. Knocked out?"
Andorra blinked down at him. Her mouth pressed together in a flat line. He himself said he needed help. Countless times, he needed to speak with her. And he was in pain, enough that he was desperate, and yet he couldn't heal himself.
It clicked. She felt the weight of the recipe in her pocket. "He made a blood promise."
Clini looked at her. "How do you know?"
"I don't. Not really. But I think whatever his blood promise is, it involves me. And he needs my help, so... perhaps that doesn't require my death."
"He wants to talk, so let's have him talk. Locked up in the dungeon." Clini stepped away from him as if he would wake up at any moment. "If he has the power draining metal or whatever, will he be able to wipe your memories?"
A great idea. A perfect one. "I guess you're right. We can chat when he wakes up with no powers." Andorra looked over her shoulder at the empty hallway. "Let's find a guard."
"No need." The angry voice had Andorra twisting her head to the side. A sheepish smile covered her mouth at the sight of Callum, his arms crossed and his shadows leaking all over the floor.