“And the other eight?” I felt myself stiffen a bit. This was what I really came to talk about.
“They were all involved,” Syrion nodded. I felt a pit in my stomach and my mind filled with thoughts of aggression. Eight of them, in the dungeon right now, my prisoners. It would take less than five minutes to reduce them to ash, the same way I had their precious leader.
“Hold on,” Daath interrupted my thoughts, and I realized he’d heard them. “We still have some more information.”
“What?” I frowned. I’d been more concerned with figuring out which of them were involved in the plot against me.
“The prophecy.” Syrion combed his hand through his white hair, pushing it from his eyes. “It didn’t make sense. If it was foretold, then there was supposed to be a record of it. Someone else would have known.”
“Right. Have you found out anything?”
Daath nodded. “One of the council members’ memory wasn’t as locked as the others. A Seelie made the prophecy. Minerva kept a small school of prophets because she thought it would give her a leg up in times of turmoil, but it doesn’t quite work like that. Real prophecies are rare and quite random. When this was foretold, the school informed Minerva.”
“Apparently,” Syrion jumped in, “she knew she could use it to her advantage. The prophet was supposed to record it, and it was her job to inform as many people as she could about the prophecy. Before that could happen, Minerva killed the girl and stole the memories from those who had already heard it.”
“So, what was the full prophecy?” I felt my heart rate rise. I had so many questions about this that I never thought would be answered.
The pale, black-haired King shook his head. “We don’t have it. It was buried too well. The council member we got this information from never heard the prophecy which is probably why Minerva didn’t hide her memories as well.”
I slumped into myself as he spoke. So I still didn’t have an answer.
“But we know who was involved,” Daath continued. “And we have our answer for why this was the best-kept secret in the universe. That’s enough, little owl, isn’t it?”
“My Queen,” Syrion’s voice was bright, and I knew he wanted to cheer me up. “We can tell you exactly to what extent every council member was involved, and their sentence and punishment are entirely up to you.”
I didn’t respond. They were silent, and I was sure they were trying to figure out what to do. Something just wasn’t right. I still had unanswered questions about this whole situation, about my nightmare, and how to stop it.
I finally broke the silence to say, “I need more answers.”
Daath furrowed his brow, and pity painted his face. “I swear to you. We’ve taken everything from those fae that they have to give.”
“No,” I shook my head. “Not from them.”
20
Myrcedes
I nodded to the Kings as I opened the door to the Floor of Dreams, my eyes locked on them until it was completely closed. I turned to look at the hall and took a few steps forward. In the corner of my eye, I could see my reflection in the moonstone walls.
My reflection and I moved in time with one another, but I wasn’t quite sure which one of us drove the action. I paused at the same time she did and turned to lock eyes with the figure. Despite the strange appearance that made her seem stony and even a bit fuzzy, the eyes were clear, as if only that part of me was reflected by a real mirror.
“Can you tell me what the prophecy was and what it means?”
As I asked the question, my reflection’s mouth didn’t move. In response, she walked forward, closing the gap between us. She walked past me toward a door, and the freestanding reflection opened it, beckoning me to follow her. I stepped through the door and froze, seeing the scene from my last visit to the Floor of Dreams. I flinched at the sirens and screams ringing through the air. My reflection looked at me but said nothing.
I felt as though something was pressing against my chest. I tried to breathe harder to fight against it, but the feeling persisted. “I’m trying to stop this. I’m doing my best.”
My reflection returned a look of confusion, and she shook her head. “You’ve misunderstood.”
I frowned, my breath still heavy. With a mere blink, I opened my eyes and saw a door behind her that I hadn’t noticed before. She opened it and led me through once again. This time, I saw the fae world. We were in front of the palace, and instead of the orange sky full of fire that I saw on Earth, the sky was a sickly green color. I’d never seen a tornado, but I’d seen pictures of the way they could turn the sky green, and this was worse. All the trees and the grass in the area were dead and pale. I turned to look at the palace, and it looked completely intact, but I had a feeling that wasn’t the case.
“What’s happened here? Where are the people you showed me before?”
“There was a mutiny,” I heard the reflection speak behind me, “after a civil war broke out. The magic you’ve been trying to dispel on Earth? This is what happens when too much of it concentrates in one place.” She walked up to stand next to me. “Nobody won. Everyone suffered.”
“Kalian was-”
“Beheaded. Along with Serriah. They both called out loyalty to your name before the blade came down.”
I felt a surge of tears, and my hand jumped up to cover my mouth. I closed my eyes to hold back the tears, and when I opened them,
