Page 41 of Unseen Lord

"So my whole life was a lie for nothing."

"You still would have been in danger. Constantly. I don't know that we could have kept you alive until adulthood," Kayla says. "So it wasn't for nothing. It was because we all loved you so much that we were willing to do anything to protect you. Don't you see that? Your mother and father were willing to lose you… again. That tore out their heart. We were willing to leave our lives and family to live in isolation, because we loved you so much. That is how much you were always loved, Arias. All of us gave up everything out of love for you."

Arias looks away, squeezing his eyes shut, and I reach out a hand and place it on his shoulder. I don't have words to offer, but I can at least offer this kindness.

After a long, silent moment, Arias clears his throat. "We can't defeat her, not without the Shadow's Bane," Arias says. "She's too strong now."

All right then, back to business. He definitely needs time to process this.

"You have the Twilight Bow, after you stole it from us," Elias accuses.

He nods. "And I still have it. Good thing I took it, or it would likely have ended up with the Moonlight Sword. Locked up by the Council. Out of reach."

"Whatever," I say, channeling my inner mopey teen. "So we need the Shadow Mantle and the Moonlight Sword. But we aren't going to get the sword this time. They learned from their mistakes. And we have no idea where the mantle is."

"I know where you can get a Moonlight Sword," Kayla says. "It's not the same one. But they are the same."

My eyes widen. "There aretwo?"

Kayla nods. "I forged the second one myself. For Ari."

Well, shit. "Guess it's time to talk to your mother," I tell Elias.

We leave Duke and Theo by the fire to rest and warm. Kayla excuses herself to continue tending to the wounded. "There are many," she says. "The storm ravaged the village and killed some, wounded more. Even if we are to stop this, the people here won't quickly recover from the devastation wrought."

"And the storm, it's just going to keep at it?" I ask.

Arias shakes his head. "Worse. It's going to escalate until it destroys everything in its path, and then it will move on to another world."

"Lovely."

We follow Tavian through the tunnels to where Ari is being kept. "What happened to her? Why are you imprisoning her?" Elias asks with a hard edge to his voice.

"She's cursed," Arias says. "By the Tempest."

"Likely excuse. You've been wanting to punish her for abandoning you your whole life. I'm supposed to believe this bullshit story?"

I lay a hand on his arm. "She tried to kill me, Elias. It's true. The Tempest is affecting her mind."

That quiets him, and I worry at his reaction when he sees the state she's in.

I wasn't wrong to worry either.

He's furious.

"You have her shackled? Chained up like a monster?" He rushes to her side. "Mother. What have they done?"

But all the great queen can do is rock back and forth, mumbling. Her eyes are sunken and dark, her skin sallow. She hasn't eaten the food laid out for her. I'm glad I at least was able to bathe and dress her, and I see they brought her bedding, but it still must be a shocking sight for Elias.

There's pain in his voice when he speaks again. "How do we free her from this?" he asks, heartbroken.

"We must kill the Tempest," Arias says.

"You mean my sister," Elias says. "To save my mother I must kill my sister."

Arias crosses his arms over his chest. "You must kill your sister to save all the Nine Worlds, and yes, your mother will be saved as well."

Ari's moaning grows louder and her back and forth rocking increases in speed and urgency. All eyes return to her as we look on helplessly, not sure what to do.