“My two brothers still battle for the title of High Lord, even now,” Andrea said, his voice edged with frustration. “I was granted those powers nearly a decade ago, but they’ve fought me at every turn. Now that I’m officially crowned, their efforts to undermine me are forced into the shadows.” He let out a sharp scoff, his expression darkening. “Once, I had a sister. My father, he embodies the essence of the Earth Court-the good and the bad. Tradition runs so deep in our court that it rarely welcomes change and is often the last to align with others.
“When I was a child, my father’s sister was wed to the High Lord of the Air Court. By the next season, she was dead. That was the beginning of the feud between our courts.”
“Your aunt and the High Lord… were they true-mates?” I asked, feeling a pang of sympathy twist in my chest. I hadn’t grasped the depth of the rifts between these courts or the grudges that outlived entire generations.
Andrea shook his head slowly. “No, they weren’t. Most of us Fae never find our true-mates. But High Lords still take wives, build families. The High Lord of the Air Court pursued my aunt, won her over, and eventually gained my grandparents’ blessing. My father barely spoke of her, and when he did, it was in anger. But my mother used to say she seemed genuinely happy.”
“And what… what do you think happened?” I pressed, heart heavy with dread.
“Anything, really. She was young, innocent-a stark contrast to the resilience of Earth Court Fae. My mother always said she had a stubborn streak, though,” he added with a faint smile. “I suspect someone saw her as a tool to get to the High Lord. It’s common enough.”
I bit back the urge to ask if someone would truly go so far as to kill for power. I already knew the answer. People-human or Fae-could be ruthless in their pursuit of power or status. One thing I knew was that I could never sacrifice another for my own gain.
Andrea’s voice grew even darker. “My father hated the Air Court for what they did to her. With my eldest brother, Celso, he invited the High Lord of the Air Court and his family to our palace under the guise of peace.” He spoke so quietly I had to strain to hear him. “Halfway through the dinner, the slaughter began. The High Lord and his wife were killed that night. But, with the help of some sympathetic Earth and Air Court Fae, the children escaped.”
“You-you helped them, didn’t you?” I asked, already sensing the answer.
A shadow crossed Andrea’s face, his expression haunted. For a moment, the pain of a boy who had loved fiercely was evident before it was replaced by hardened resolve.
“We of the Earth Court are many things. We’re fierce, unyielding, but we don’t deceive. We’re not the sort to betray and manipulate,” Andrea said, his voice rough. “That invitation was not my father’s idea.”
I leaned in, compelled to know. “Whose idea was it?”
“I don’t know,” he replied, a flicker of sorrow in his gaze. “But whoever it was, they cost me my family. Years later, once the children of the Air Court matured and an heir assumed power, they retaliated. My father, brothers, and I were away on our annual hunting trip, one my father always insisted on. My mother and sister were slaughtered that night, killed just as mercilessly as the High Lord and his wife.”
A sharp ache gripped my heart, and tears pricked at the corners of my eyes. I could see the emptiness in Andrea’s gaze, the depth of his loss. Not only did I mourn for him but also for the children of the Air Court who lost their family. The cycle of vengeance had claimed so many, binding both courts in blood and grief for generations.
“Do they… do they know you helped them escape?” I whispered. “That you saved them from your father and brother’s wrath?”
Andrea’s face twisted, his hands tightening around the railing. “What difference would it make now?” he muttered. “The blood has already been shed. As much as my brothers despise me, I won’t repeat my father’s mistakes. The killing ends with me. If my brothers have any sense, they’ll obey my rule.”
“And if they don’t?” I asked, my stomach sinking with the weight of what I already suspected.
“Then they will die,” he said flatly, leaving no room for debate. A bitter laugh escaped his lips as he turned to me. “How far I’ve come from the boy who used to visit the human creek.”
I finally voiced the question that had lingered since I’d found Andrea again. “Why did you look human back then?”
A soft smile curved his lips, relief evident as the conversation shifted. “Once you master your powers, you’ll be able to glamor yourself.” I watched, transfixed, as the bronze glow around him dimmed, his skin taking on a tan, human appearance. His ears rounded, the ethereal shimmer in his features faded, and small imperfections-a slight unevenness to his eyebrows, a tooth slightly misaligned-emerged. Gone was the Fae-like flawlessness, revealing the Andrea I’d known before.
“I’m not sure which version I like better,” I teased, glad to see a genuine smile break across his face.
“I’ve missed you, Isabella,” he sighed, the glow rekindling under his skin as he returned to his Fae form. “It’s been so long.”
“Has it?” I asked, tilting my head. “It’s only been a year for me, but I know time works differently here.”
“A year?” Andrea chuckled, the deep sound rumbling through his chest. “Try eleven years.”