Solitary seconds turned into immeasurable hours as Iliana's sense of self slowly cemented. The sensation encasing her mind was familiar in the most unsettling of ways. Her heart still beat and her lungs drew in heavy breaths--but the heavy, nothingness of death weighed her shoulders.

Unlike her last venture into the realm, however, Aran didn't appear to release her. Instead, she was left drifting numb and alone in the nothingness until a gentle voice brushed her ears.

'That's enough. Time to wake, Little One.'

Koun?

Something grew taunt and, suddenly, she wasn't floating.

Her eyes fluttered open. The sheer fabric canopy above her head threw Iliana's thoughts for a loop. Shouldn't she have been looking into the darkness of the Black Tower? When had she moved?

Her shock fell away as something other settled into her bones. It wasn't uncomfortable or painful--instead, a sensation that something existed within her that shouldn't have. After all, Iliana was confused and muddled, but not terrified. The emotion felt akin to her dreams--of being a her that wasn't her.

"You're awake?"

Del's voice stole her thoughts.

She searched the visible part of the room, fear and wariness flooding her in equal measure. What had happened to him after the ball? How many new wounds might he have received without anyone to care for them?

Her eyes found Del two feet away from the bed. A quick search of his face eased the stress in her shoulders. She found no pain in his eyes, only worry. Nor could she spy a wound on his visible skin--which was quite a lot. Heat touched her cheeks as she pointedly diverted her gaze from his bare chest to the damp cloth in his hands.

Was that for her?

The question was on the tip of her tongue, but the moment she attempted to utter the words, she found it impossible. Harsh, painful coughs tore from her dry throat. Del grimaced. The cloth fell from his hands as he moved to help her. Iliana batted his hands away, before sitting up herself. Seemingly unfazed, he stepped back to pick up a pitcher from her bedside table. Within the second he had a glass of water poured and in her hands.

"Be careful," he warned. "Don't choke."

She almost did.

Another cough ripped from her as she held the glass away from her face. Pain with the sharpness of glass and the heaviness of a rock racked her throat as she tried to swallow past it. The knot moved to her chest and--cautiously, this time--she took another sip.

"You shouldn't drink all of it just yet," Del suggested after a minute. "Here."

She eyed his extended hand, before reluctantly handing the glass over.

"How is your head?"

"It--" Her voice cracked. She cleared her throat before trying again. "--it feels like shit."

"Sleeping for multiple days would do that, I suppose. No pain?"

She shook her head, then grimaced. "Nothing unusual. Days?"

He hesitated. Seconds ticked by as he stepped back to place the glass down on the table, before eyeing her, and therefore the bed. Seeming to consider the situation for a moment, he slowly moved back over, before taking a seat next to where her legs tented the blankets.

"What do you remember?" he asked.

It was her turn to hesitate.

As much as she trusted Del, their situation lended little weight to the merit of shared secrets. If Zuher ever thought he knew something important, or even just interesting, she wouldn't put it past the man to heave Del tortured.

Wasn't it better, then, to keep dangerous information to herself and remove the risk? If it were only her life on the line, she wouldn't have hesitated. But, it wasn't. Whatever impossibilities it was she had experienced likely had something to do with the anklet. And--if Aatami was to be believed--everyone's future rested on those delicate strings.

"I remember waking up in the dark. My neck--" her hand flew to the spot in question. She was only faintly surprised to feel bandages under her fingers. "--hurt and I was dizzy. But that's all."

"He sent someone to check on you the next night," Del explained. "You were out cold. The guards brought you back here for the witch to more easily observe. They seemed to judge your state as a result of blood loss, hunger, and thirst. Whatever the truth of that, the commotion was three days ago.

The realization settled like an anchor on her chest. What had become of the others during those three days? Was Mara alive? Kain?

Were there wounds on Del she couldn't see? How had Zuher handled her state? She doubted he would be willing to blame himself for the issue.

"D-did he hurt you?" she asked, grimacing as her voice broke once again. "When I--after the ball?"

Silence stole the air for a moment, before Del slowly shook his head. "No. His temper didn't swing my direction. Aria escorted me back to the tower where I was left alone until you were discovered."

"But his temper did swing," Iliana stated, noting the gap in his answer.

"He had questions for the witch regarding your...failed binding."

She hesitated. "You have to know I didn't intend--"

Del laid a hand on her knee, cutting off her words. His reassuring smile bore butterflies in her gut.

"I believe you're smarter than to intentionally reveal yourself to Zuher while in a position where that would only do you harm."

"Is Aatami..."

"Alive?" Del guessed. She nodded and he squeezed her knee. "For now, at least. Zuher rarely allows his temper to overcome his mind. He won't kill Aatami until he has someone with more magic within his grasp."

Eumelia's face flickered to life in Iliana's mind. How did she remain free if that were the case?

"Are they really that strong?"

Aatami couldn't possibly be better than Eumelia. Were they close enough in skill that Lykos' potential reaction didn't outweigh the benefits of claiming her? Or was Zuher simply not aware of how skilled a witch Eumelia was?

"I don't know," Del replied, a frown played across his lips as his fingers drummed a slow rhythm against her knee. Iliana shivered. "I'm too human to be a good measure of these things. I've heard, though, that the older a witch, the more powerful they become since half of their abilities come from their knowledge. And Aatami isn't young."

But Eumelia was. Perhaps that was it. Zuher assumed she wouldn't be as useful because of a lack of experience.

"I see."

Del fell silent for a moment, giving her time to sort her thoughts as he quietly studied her. Relief settled the flitting in her chest. Thank the gods Zuher hadn't thought to punish him in her place. It was regrettable that his wrath had fallen in the witch, but at least Del was safe. It would have to be enough.

Aatami was a potential ally--but not so well-known to her that she was willing to put her neck on the line for them. There was the issue of what they knew, however. The tidbits of knowledge they had shared had been earth-shattering. If they died, what became of that future?

"Iliana."

Startled, she refocused on Del as his voice forced her to the present. He smiled when her gaze met his, before a hesitant purse of his lips stole his expression.

"How did you sing past the binding?"

Indecision held her tongue. Concealing knowledge from him left a bitter taste in her mouth, but it really was the best choice.

"I don't know how I sang," she settled on. The reason might not have been as Del thought, but her lack of knowledge was the truth. She didn't know why her pulled feather had effected the piano. "I was just...playing, and it happened."

His hand fell away from her knee as he frowned, seeming to consider the issue. Then, he sighed, carding the same hand through his hair.

"I'm afraid I don't know enough about your kind to make any guesses," Del admitted. "I know a bit more than most, but not much."

"I'm surprised you would know more to begin with," Iliana pointed out. "My kind aren't exactly...social."

His eyes warmed. "My sister taught me."

"Sister?" Iliana echoed, before furrowing her brow. "The priestess?"

"She spent some time amongst the sirens when she traveled with her lover," Del explained. "I was too young at the time, so I don't remember anything of him, but he was one of the merfolk. An important one, from what I understand, so the sirens bent their rules for her. When I was little, I would hound her for stories of her adventures before she secluded herself in the temples. And, being the generous person she is, Gabrielle humored me."

Warming to the topic, Iliana racked her mind for what she knew of Cieon's eldest princess. Changing the subject to someone Del obviously cared about seemed like an easy way to avoid lying further to him.

"Are the stories true, then?" she asked. "About the journey she took for her son? And the curse?"

He grimaced as his hand fell back to his lap. "It depends on the tale, honestly. The people twisted and spun the past until it became a legend. My father only worsened it, by encouraging the truth to be buried in shadow. Fact and fiction have become near-impossible to decipher unless you're someone close to the mess."

"Why would he do that?" Iliana asked.

"Because, in Cieon, the people are the happiest when you ignore the fact that our country has been teetering on the brink of war for nearing three decades." His voice was bitter. "And my father always thought that appeasing them was better than chancing what might happen when the axe falls one way or another."

"Why--"

"How do the stories you know say Gabrielle's son died?" Del interrupted.

She hesitated. As he said, there were many tales. The most common one, however... "He was stillborn. The blessing of the gods couldn't overcome the fact his father was merfolk and his mother was human."

"That's a lie born through politics," Del said, bitterness sinking into something grim. "The gods had nothing to do with it. Instead, it was a greedy handmaiden who slipped small doses of poison into Gabby's food for eight months. And he wasn't still-born, instead, he was born so ill he faded in her arms within the night of his birth. The tale is hidden because it doesn't reflect well on the throne."

Perhaps her choice of subject hadn't been wise.

Something heavy unfurled in her stomach with each word he spoke--bringing to life an intolerable picture.

"Why would anyone--that's horrible," she whispered. "I understand that the nobility can be...he was the child of a priestess. What benefit is there in harming someone so far from the throne?"

"Because he wasn't, not until that moment," Del replied. He picked himself up from the blankets, busying his hands with the water at her bedside. "I had many siblings, as you know. Many of them have died over time. Poison, hunting accidents, happen chance duels and illness--many of the ones born after her, but before me, died before my nephew's birth."

"Wait, then..."

"There was no crown prince when my father was told Gabrielle had become pregnant with a miracle child that would be loved by the gods themselves. Despite his ill health, he immediately sent for the best craftsmen in the lands to have a gift prepared." He absently traced his fingers over his knuckles as he spoke, drawing Iliana's attention to an intricate, black tattoo over the base of his ring finger. "You see, you can't gift the state seal to an unborn child. It carries too much risk. So the symbol of the throne was engraved into the hilt of a masterwork sword.

"It was to be gifted to him when he was old enough to learn the blade. I remember father's pride as he held it up, talking about how a crown prince needed a good blade. He was certain that placing a blessed child on the throne would solve our problems.

"Zuher must have thought so, too, however, because that crown prince was killed before he even opened his eyes.

"Then, when Gabrielle refused the truth and journeyed to the land of the gods' to force their hands, Doroi cursed him, therefore making it impossible for him to be given the throne without risking the lives of everyone around him."

"That's the truth behind the legends." 

A/N: Sorry this took so long! 

At first, I was distracted by writing/finishing a different book on my account (A Legacy of Ash, it's  novella), then when I was finished I just found it hard to jump back into this story. I had a half-finished chapter that I ended up rewriting, and while I still don't like it, I think it's best to just continue on! 

So, here we are. Hopefully I get something done and make up for the gap with another chapter being released next weekend. See you then and hope you enjoyed!