Kalen had lied to me, about a lot of things, but things had changed these past few weeks. He’d helped me. He’d cared for me…hadn’t he? A scream built up in my throat, but I held it back. I swallowed down my rage and tried tofocus. Something wasn’t right about this.
My heart hurt from the twisting thorns that wrapped around it. They dug in deep, the sharp points like knives. I brushed away tears as I plucked the communication stone from my bed and held it up in the dim light. Letters were nothing but words, and they easily held lies. If Morgan was telling the truth, I wanted to see it with my own eyes.
If Kalen had betrayed me, I needed to be sure of it.
I went over to the door and locked it before kneeling in front of the hearth. Metal tongs were propped up beside it, and I used them to hold the stone over the flames. Dark lines curled across the pale surface of the gemstone, twisting like snakes. The shadows consumed the entire jewel until it was black.
“Ula Baran,” I whispered, my hand trembling and shaking the tongs.
A moment passed with nothing but the crackle of the fire. And then the surface of the stone wavered. My mother’s face blurred into view, and behind her I could see the bars of a cell. I sucked in a breath and almost dropped the stone, my heart leaping at the sight of her. Even with the matted hair and the dark shadows beneath her eyes, she’d never looked more beautiful.
A sob choked out of me. She was there. She was alive.
“Mother?” I gasped.
“Oh, Tessa, my love,” she said, leaning forward. “I have never been happier to see your face in my life. Are you all right?”
I opened my mouth to tell her everything, but Morgan’s warning rang in my ears. We wouldn’t have much time to talk before the guards spotted the flame that powered the communication stone.
“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.” I mashed my lips together. “Is it true you’re in Albyria’s dungeon?”
She glanced over her shoulder at the bars. “I’m afraid so. Listen, your Mist King knows about it, too. You need to get away from him, Tessa. Don’t listen to his promises about finding me and Val. We’ve been here this whole time, and hewantedus in here. He’s been lying to you, and we can’t be sure why, but it’s—”
The stone cracked in two, and Mother’s face vanished. A vicious monster rose up inside of me, causing my entire body to shake with anger. With a silent roar, I hauled back my hand and threw the stone into the fire. It shattered, just like my heart.
All this time, Kalen—the Mist King—had known where my family was. He’d taken me on a wild chase through the mists, tempting me with the idea that they were out there, that all we had to do was find them.
All to trick me into trusting him. I never should have listened to a word he’d said.
It had all been a lie.
Thirty-Eight
Tessa
Chest tight, I perched on the edge of the bed and focused on the words that blurred before me. I couldn’t stop reading the letter from Morgan. A tear dripped from my cheek and splattered on the ink, smudging it until it was unrecognizable. Kalen had lied to me. He had never wanted to help me find my family.
That was why he’d released me from our vow. So that he would no longer be bound to his promise. But then what about his plot against Oberon? I shook my head, crumpling the note in my fist. Clearly, the Mist King had done all this to get me to trust him. Then, I’d no longer need the motivation of our vow to do what I’d promised him.
He was free to stop looking for my family. Now, he could go back to what mattered most to him: winning a war against the other kingdoms.
He’d known I’d still want to kill Oberon. This way, he got what he wanted without giving me anything in return.
My heart thumped as I strode to the window and gazed outside. Through the mists, I could spot the flicker of torches from the battlefield. What was the real reason for this battle? Why did the storm fae want to fight him now? For me or for something else entirely? I had no way of knowing. The lies were so thick that I could not swim in them. Soon, I would drown.
My stomach twisted in on itself. Sucking a sharp breath, I sat hard on the bed. How much of what he’d told me had been true? What had been false?
Which king was the liar?
I knew the answer to that, at least. They both were.
* * *
For the first time in my life, I did not barrel head-first into action without thinking things through. The Mist King had taught me that. What was better than using his own advice and training against him? He had no idea that I knew about his betrayal, and right now, he was distracted by battle plans.
I had some time to plot.
I lay flat on my back, legs crossed at the ankle, staring up at the ceiling. A mural in deep violets and blues spread across it, a night sky lit up by thousands of stars. Mist sprayed in at every corner. Beautiful but deadly. Like him.