Not a monster, just not human. The Duke of Alba’s orders weren’t questioned, so the blue-skinned baby was taken back to the camp. Elena did not ask Ivar about the nature of the child until they left the child sleeping safely in Mariela’s arms. (She and Laila fed the baby and took care of him without question, even if the latter looked a bit afraid, making Elena proud of her people).
“Do you know what he is, if not human? Is that perhaps the reason why he was abandoned?”
Ivar nodded, “I believe the child is a mixed-race, half fairy.”
He started unbuttoning his shirt and sat on the bed, looking completely nonchalant after a statement like that.
“Fairy?”
Did something like th
Elena did not see Ivar the next day either, while she was getting acquainted with all the servants and learned about everything there was to know about the city of Aurora, the most important trading market between Eir and Vallas even in times before the Empire.A trip to the heart of the city, its schools, academy, and orphanage was the first thing on her list. Getting to meet the noble families that lived nearby came second.If the nobles around the capital or down in the south had their apprehensions about the Alba family and Ivar in particular, then it was a well-known fact that the nobles in Alvor just hated him.This duchy was built over the destruction of many old names that used to rule in the north of Vallas, and even some southern
The cold fever didn’t go away until he woke up, well past noon the next day. The space on the right side of the bed was empty, any trace of Elena’s presence was long gone.“Who did this to you?”Few people had ever sounded so sincerely concerned about his well-being, and he almost felt guilty that he couldn’t be honest with her (which seemed like it would be a constant in this relationship).Putting on a shirt, and grabbing some clean clothes from the closet, Ivar walked out of the room and made a slow descent to the hot springs underneath the palace. On his way there, he asked Bolton about Elena’s whereabouts and learned that she’d gone outside with her personal maids and the baby, who apparently needed to spend long hours out
The man dressed in grey was a sorcerer, the one who brought the storm upon them. Elena sensed it as soon as she stepped out of the carriage, looking around their attackers and the situation they were in. “Your Grace, don’t…” Whatever Vicente wanted to ask of her, Elena didn’t hear him finish, because he passed on on her feet. She clenched her fist, trying to control her trembling. It wouldn't help if she let them see her fear at the moment. One of them grabbed her arm forcefully, and Elena tried in vain to push him away. “Who are you?” “You will have your answers soon enough.” The leader, a tall man with the most ordinary appearance, smirked as if he’d already won. “Sir, what do we do with the other girl in the carriage?
“I did say there was something I wanted to show you.” He whispered, brushing his lips against hers one last time before letting her go.She followed him with her gaze as he walked a few steps towards the bookshelf on the bookshelf closest to his desk, and opened it as if it was a normal door.“Is this supposed to be some kind of secret passage?”“Not really. It’s more like a convenient entrance to keep some areas of the palace for myself, but if someone came looking for a secret passage, it isn’t that difficult to find, don’t you think?”He stepped into what looked like a rather long staircase that descended in a spiral and kept one of his arms stretched towards her, an invitation for her to follow him to this u
All she knew about death was that it was unforgiving.Her mother died during childbirth, so she never really had any memories of her, and didn’t think much about her absence. But she was five years old when her father died. He caught some rare disease in the cornfields, and one morning he just didn’t get up from bed.“Laila, you should be an obedient girl, listen to your grandma and grandpa, okay?”At the moment she had not understood he would fall asleep and never wake up again.Her grandfather had been a knight once, when he was young. He’d survived the continental war, but his leg got severely hurt and Earl Valverde sent him home some meager silver coins. He wasn’t able to find a job afterwards and that was why, after
Nothing ever changed in Alvor, except that it was more prosperous and magnificent every time one came back to take a look, and when he visited these lands Miros had to acknowledge Ivar’s ability to choose his people. According to his mother, it wasn’t always like this. During the times before the war, long before he or Saray were born, this was considered the wasteland of the two kingdoms, which was one of the reasons that made it a frequent hiding spot for magical beings who were unlucky enough to be born outside of the limits of Raeden.“Lord Miros, this is a surprise.”His brother’s right-hand man was waiting at the gates of the palace. If it really was a surprise, then Jean’s inexpressive face certainly didn’t reveal it. He’d been like that ever since they were children.
At first, she had not thought much of it. Ivar killed them and she felt relieved. Why should she feel sorry towards the people who had wanted to cause her harm? It was only as the days passed by that the image was imprinted in her mind, and the gravity of it sank in. No one deserved to die in such a horrific way. If she did not care about this, did it make her the same kind of person as her father? Her father, who would have let her burn alive… There was also the fact that she was able to take away that sorcerer’s magic. During the first days, Elena was able to feel it, different from her own and tingling through her body. Later, it just became a part of what was already hers. It scared her to know what it meant that she could steal the magic residing in other living beings. Neither Ivar nor Miros could provide an answer for that phenomenon, and when sh
Elena recognized Cain as one of the knights who guarded them in their trip to Alvor. A handsome young man, who couldn’t be more than thirty-years-old, with tanned skin and dark brown hair. But half of his face was marred with an unnatural black that seemed to be spreading from his chest to the rest of the body. “The blade cut isn’t deep at all, so he probably did not worry about it at first. But it was poisoned, and this poison isn’t common at all.” Miros explained to her. It was only the two of them and the unconscious Cain in the room, as the doctor had just left saying there wasn’t much he could do for this patient, and the twins were waiting anxiously outside the room. “I want to help, but I don’t know how I could be of use... you know I haven’t learned much about healing yet.”
Raeden looked like a land of fairytales (although, to be fair, all stories of fantasy and magic had come to be true after she met Ivar). It was summer here, but a thin layer of snow covered the ground all the way to Jade City. She could see it all from above, the magnificent views that changed first when they crossed Eir until they landed at their destination, and for the first time she thought about how frustrating it could be for him to ride on a carriage when he could always do this instead. People looked in awe when they landed, but few of them seemed to be afraid. Elena couldn’t help but ask why. “Some people tell stories around here. Their parents must have seen it during the war.” Here, it didn’t matter if he wasn’t really the brother of the Emperor and the Gr
Her father had lost his mind. What did he think would be the result of this? He kept repeating that they couldn’t win, that he wouldn’t let them win, but the commotion was enough to have Danna come into the room, and she grabbed Enmanuel from the behind, pulling him away from Elena and sending him flying towards the room's desk.“Your Grace! Are you okay?”“I'm fine, Danna, don't worry.” Elena swallowed with difficulty, feeling her throat sore. Free to think and use her magic properly, she grew vines that imprisoned her father. She tolerated him for too long. “Call the others and take him to the cell for criminals. He can stay the night there.”“You can't treat me like a mere commoner.”She strode towards him an
Pregnant…“Congratulations, my lady!” Mariela clapped her hands in excitement. “Congratulations, Your Grace!”They kept staring at each other in silence, just waiting until they were left alone in the room.Something like that should be impossible for them, and yet, it wasn’t. Elena wasn’t really human, but the vessel of the Emerald Heart, and someone who could already use the Gift of Life in extraordinary ways in spite of lacking experience and control over her magic.Viviana Lagrave was convinced her son was only born because Elena pitied her and felt sad for the kind of treatment she received as a wife who couldn’t bear a male heir. It seemed far-fetched considering that Elena was only a child and unaware of her powers
Two doctors arrived in the morning, quickly installing themselves in the house that Elena had been staying at those days, and with help of the Black Knights, the place became ready to attend to people in no time. Neither Laila nor Mariela seemed to be really surprised seeing that their mistress and the duke had reconciled and came back with linked arms to tell them of their intention to fix the county.“We’ll open an academy here soon, Miros will work on it so that in the future we can send doctors and sorcerers to the small villages too.”“But for the moment, this is already a great relief to the people who couldn’t get medical assistance after doctor Marin left.”They were at the entrance of the house, ready to leave, when the men from the manor came to see what all the fuss was
There was only one doctor in town, the same who attended the Valverde family, so it was a risky move as her father would learn about it and probably hand her to Ivar. But Mariela (who insisted on Elena staying in the house, her eyes would give her away immediately) came back from the Doctor Marin’s house with the news he’d left town weeks ago.“I went to the apothecary to get something for Laila’s fever, and it seems it’s a very contagious flu. Everyone is getting sick, but there’s no one to treat them. Doctor Marin left because the Earl hadn't been paying him for months, and there were many other lords in the region asking for doctors too.”Her father was a stingy pig.“He can’t be so deep into debt that he can’t pay the only doctor available in town
“Lady Elena, do you really think the Duke would try to hurt you?”Laila voiced this question when they were peeling apples for the afternoon snack, sitting near to the attic windows of the abandoned house they decided to turn into their temporary hiding place. It was quite convenient that Elena was able to grow most things they ate or used to cook, because it wasn’t as if they could go out of town freely these days. The black nights were still looking for them in the streets, knowing that they couldn’t make it very far in just a few hours.Eventually, however, they would give up and look elsewhere.“We’ve only known each other for a few months, Laila. Exactly the same time I’ve known Ivar. Maybe I’m not the one who knows him the best, I couldn’t, in such a
In hindsight, Vivian should have known it from the moment the midwife exclaimed it was a girl. She couldn’t get pregnant before Elena, in the same way she couldn’t carry any of her pregnancies later, as if the whole purpose of having the girl was to continue hiding the Heart.When Milan was conceived, however, she knew that much like her mother before her, her daughter could access that magic. It was because of her misery and Elena feeling sad for her that made it happen.But should she be happy about it?“My mother and her mother before then, for hundreds of years, they lived that kind of life. Do you think I would have been anything else than a slave if they thought I had magic too? My father, the very generous, kind-hearted Baron de Lagos, would have kept me prisoner the rest of my life. The wor
It was bound to be the talk of the town when the daughter of the Earl came back home less than a year after the wedding.“As expected, you are useless. Couldn’t you at least satisfy your husband? You have no shame coming back to this house alone!”“You are reading too much into this, father.” Elena breathed in deep and managed to keep her calm. “I just wanted to make sure my brother didn’t come home alone, and since I have the time to spare, why wouldn’t I accompany him? I didn’t know I’m not allowed to visit this house anymore.”Enmanuel Valderde glared at her, his frown deepening as he tried to find the mistake in her words.He couldn’t come up with anything, and that was the end of it. She instruc
Given that it had come to this point, Ivar decided it was useless to keep hiding the truth.“Come with me,” he said, seeing that Elena wouldn’t move or say anything in response.But she still followed him to his office, walking down the stairs that led to the underground springs.“Why are we here?”“It’s the only place inside that palace that’s spacious enough. So you can see with your own eyes what I really am.”Elena barely had time to grasp what was happening in front of her, as he changed into a large, two-winged black creature so frightening that her trembling legs did not want to move when all she wanted was to step back. Just his head was the size of her whole body.