Page 54 of Renegade Queen
“So, who started the rumour that she was still alive?” Dean asked.
“I did, of course.” Rhidian grinned as he spoke, and I eyed Fizzle suspiciously because this was one part I couldn’t figure out. “It took me a few years to get the information out of him, but he cracked eventually.”
“Just wandering the forest alone in exile, hey?” Ryder joked, but his laugh fell silent when Fizzle cut a glare in his direction.
“I may have left the forest on a handful of occasions, but it was only to gather information about what was happening on the outside. Unfortunately, on one of those occasions, I required information from the slovenly stalwart in front of you… and he drove a particularly hard bargain.” Fizzle was definitely going to sulk about this, but I wasn’t angry with him. I was glad Rhidian had known I was still alive somewhere, even if I was a bit annoyed that he didn’t keep that information to himself.
“The people needed something to hope for,” he said unapologetically. “Anyway, yoooouuuuuuu!” he suddenly hissed, grabbing a handful of sand and playfully flinging it in my direction. “I knew you set my mother’s roses on fire, and I got the blame for it, I might add.”
The guys laughed at how I shrugged, still proud of getting revenge on the old hag. She’d never treated Rhidian right. He was never the son she wanted. Not a good enough fighter, didn’t make the best alliances, and wouldn’t bend to her every whim. In reality, she hated that he had a mind of his own and wouldn’t be content to be her puppet. And I hated her for it. Because anyone with eyes could see that of the whole rotten family, Rhidian was the only shining light. And he’d been one of my only true friends as a faeling.
“You know she deserved it,” I told him.
He had no choice but to agree. Because she did. Although, maybe it was a slight overreaction on my part. I hadn’t heard the end of it from Fizzle for months because if I’d been caught, my secret would have been outed, and I’d probably have been running for the human realm a lot sooner.
“Okay, change of subject,” Rhidian suddenly piped up. He held his hand out to the fire, and a small stream flowed toward him, wrapping playfully around his fingers before it started to wind around the group. “What’s going on here? Don’t get me wrong, Aly, I love the harem life for you. Goddess, alive, you’re going to need the protection. But what’s with all the growls and the wild magic?”
My eyes moved to Fizzle because this was the first I’d heard of wild magic, and then I remembered the way he’d asked Maddox what he was back in the forest.
“Explain,” Dean gruffly barked out.
“That’s what I was asking you to do.” Rhidian laughed.
Maddox sighed like the whole dynamic was starting to exhaust him. “He means, what do you mean by wild magic, and why is it weird that we have it?”
“There have always been two types of magic in Nymeria,” Rhidian explained, leaning back on his hands as he surveyed the men before him. “There’s the polite-trained magic that the fae have. The one so far removed from the source it’s only able to do the barest of tricks they seem to think is impressive.” His eyes moved to me then. “And then there’s the wild magic. The stuff that comes fresh from the source. It sparks and dances inside a person before it explodes in unexpected ways. It makes the trees in the forest move just to mess with your mind, and it drives the creatures insane with bloodlust. But in a person? It links you with the source of Nymeria, and some say, with it comes a knowledge of the land and power over the creatures who live here.”
“So that’s how Arik took out the Spring and Winter Courts?” Tank asked. “He has access to this wild form of magic.”
“No. Whatever Arik has is a foul corruption. It’s why the wild magic is flooding back into the land in response. Arik controls something that was never meant to be his, and Nymeria is lashing out in response because we let it happen. No one knows how he did it.”
“But you know why?” Maddox asked like that was the most important thing.
“He wants to take the Courts for himself. He wants to rule.” I thought it was obvious. At first, I’d always assumed that he wanted the Winter Court, and Spring had paid the price of being the easiest way for him to do it, being collateral damage as he’d made his move.
But if Arik had taken out the Autumn Court, he obviously had his eyes on more than just the Winter Court.
“Yeah, and he thinks if he takes the Fifth Court, Nymeria will have no option but to accept him,” Rhidian added, and I rolled my eyes in response.
Always with the Fifth Court. I was getting bored of hearing about the place.
Rhidian just laughed, and Fizzle, in his usual way, huffed in disappointment at my refusal to accept a fairytale.
“This isn’t the first time we’ve heard someone say that,” Tank pointed out. “What’s the significance of this Fifth Court?”
“Nothing,” I cut in before Rhidian and Fizzle could fill their heads with stories. “It doesn’t exist. It’s a children’s bedtime story.” They stared at me, waiting for more information, and reluctantly, I gave it. “The story goes that Nymeria was once a paradise. Magic danced along the land, and the people and creatures lived harmoniously, sharing their gifts. Nymeria chose one amongst her people, and they took the throne in the Court of Light and Shadow, overseeing the land and everyone in Nymeria.”
“And you were chosen,” Ryder added on like it made total sense.
The urge to start throwing more sand about was becoming overwhelming, but I was trying to be an adult here.
“No, because again, there isn’t another Court in Nymeria. If there were, it would have been found by now,” I pointed out.
“Obviously, it’s hidden in the Wildling Forest.” Rhidian looked at me like I was the only one being irrational. I found myself starting to hope that Dean would lose his patience and attack him, just a little bit, though. You know, for my honour or something.
There was no reasoning with people like this, though.
“Wildling Forest?” I could see the excitement behind Ryder’s eyes as this whole situation spiralled out of control.