Epilogue
2412 Iclis 11, Jyda
The sound of glass breaking against the marble floor was loud in April's ears. She didn't even realize it came from her. From the goblet of Gafragoza that slipped from her fingers. "What did you say?" she asked the young Adviser who stood a few distances from her and her desk.
The Adviser, a sprite with quite a few petals left in her hair, quaked under April's glare. "N-news from Edgerift, Your Highness," she said. "The High Queen was murdered inside the Imperial Palace."
April's world spun. So it's real. It really happened. It wasn't like making the Adviser repeat it a number of times would make it less true. Fresh tears pricked at the side of her eyes but she wouldn't let them form those into real sobs. So, with her tongue feeling like steel, she asked, "Who was responsible?"
"June Zeilran," came the reply.
April took a sharp breath. Something in her face must have changed because the Adviser whimpered, suddenly fearing for her life. She needn't worry. April wasn't going after the poor Adviser. She would be going after June Sylkrana. Or whatever he preferred to call himself down there.
"You may go," April said to the Adviser. Bless her heart, the Adviser ducked out of April's office in less than three seconds, leaving her in the pool of her growing misery.
Before the door closed, however, the Adviser looked back. "My condolences, Your Highness," she said. April didn't turn. Didn't acknowledge the heartfelt sympathy. The door clicked shut.
So did any reasoning in April's mind.
She couldn't believe she spent a while trying to help that half-blood. A painful memory bit against the back of her mind. It was because of that that the previous Falkirtan court thought April was snitching to the High Queen. They had Hera killed and April maimed like a prized dagrine because of that.
And now, it's proving more and more like a mistake than a good thing.
Yes, out of the goodwill of April's heart, she managed to doom everyone close to her. April's fists clenched. The shards of the goblet and the wine dripping from them and forming a pool around them was enough of a prophecy for her. That's what she was going to do. She would saw June's face off with nothing but a shard of glass. Make his blood pour like the River of Wishes. Water the ground with his life.
Nobody kills the High Queen and escapes alive.
Because now that the throne in the Imperial Palace was standing empty, April was slated to take it. To rule not just over Falkirta but over the entire island, over Umazure. And once she was there, she's going to clean Lanteglos up like she mopped Falkirta clean of traitors and evil witches.
Her work was just starting now.
It would start with her killing her own brother.
The air shifted to her left. A figure stepped out of the swirl of black and gray that appeared out of the blue. April's magic flared out of her, a spear of wind spearing for the intruder. The intruder raised her hand and the temperature dropped a few notches. Before April's eyes, her spell vanished into the intruder's outstretched hand, like it was sucked in.
What—
"My, what a terrible greeting," the woman clicked her tongue, shaking her head slightly. April stayed near her desk, hands feeling for a metallic feather behind her back. "Don't you have manners?"
April allowed a smirk. "I was told I didn't, in fact, have those," she said. "Who are you?"
The woman smiled, showing off rows of perfectly white teeth. Her brown hair was tied in a strict bun behind her head, her dress uniform fitting her snugly. Tight, beige riding breeches covered her thighs, tucked into knee-high leather boots. A thin rapier hung by her belt which tapped against the chair laid out for guests in April's office.
"I have many names," the woman said. When she turned to April, April had to step back. Her eyes were void of whites. They're just pure darkness. "But the most famous one was 'The Heiress'. So I guess that's who I am."
The Heiress. The name itched at the edge of April's memory. She'd heard that name before. But...where? The heiress. Seeing as the woman literally sucked April's magic, she was on an entirely different level. April shouldn't take The Heiress lightly.
"How did you get here?" April asked. Her fingers gripped her transmuted feather tighter.
The Heiress shrugged. "I have my ways," she said. "What matters is about what you want."
April blinked. Her grip behind her back loosened a fraction. "What?"
"I'm here because I heard a...cry of distress, if you know what I mean," the Heiress kissed her teeth. "You want to do something but you don't have an idea how to start, right?"
Immediately, her faceless brother popped into her head. April narrowed her eyes. "How did you know that?"
The Heiress chuckled. She splayed a gloved hand in front of her, as if admiring her long and slender fingers. Compared to April's stumped ones, they did look gorgeous. "I also have my ways," she said. "Although you botched my previous assignment, I have a new offer for you. I am a patient woman, you see."
Botched a previous assignment. Something rang a bell in April's head. Sadly, it was one signaling an emergency. It was that Heiress. A curse formed and died just as quickly in April's throat. Was this how the Heiress approached the previous council before? Gave them no chance to refuse?
"If you've come to exact your retribution, I'm ready to bring you down with me," April snarled, dropping into a stance. Her eyes flitted to the sword lying against the wall a few steps from her desk. She should be able to run there fast enough after a quick diversion.
Suddenly, the Heiress threw her head back and laughed. April knitted her eyebrows. What's this woman's deal? "Please," she said. "Falkirta's too valuable to destroy. You have what I want. I have what you want. How about we make a deal. Hmm?"
April decided to test it out. "What exactly do you think I want?"
"Information and an access to June Zeilran, or rather, June Sylkrana," the Heiress answered. "I'm even throwing a little bonus here by saying you won't be able to reach him that easily."
April frowned. "Why not?" she asked. He was just one, puny half-blood. She could make his head explode with lack of air and be done with it.
The Heiress clicked her tongue. Once. Twice. Thrice. "I'm throwing another freebie here," she said. "You won't be able to touch him because he has the Virtakios by his side."
A snort resounded from April. The Heiress raised an eyebrow. "Did I say something funny?" she asked.
April shook her head. "Sorry," she said. "What are you saying? The Virtakios? Stop making things up."
The Heiress didn't look impressed. "Out of the two of us, I know what's made up and what's not more than you."
April didn't know what to make of that so she decided to play along. "Let's say everything you say is indeed true," she said. "What do you want from me? You could have just killed me and everyone in this territory."
The Heiress' face didn't shift. Her expression told April that she might as well. "Fairyslaughter is not my style. That's more of the Sovereign's," she waved her hand in the air. What was she saying? Sovereign? Were these people bonkers? "As for what I want...it's quite simple."
The Heiress leveled her gaze towards April. "Give me the secret as to how Falkirta was floating."
"Ah, about that," April said. "I'm not going to be experimenting on that kind of magic again."
The scars on her wrist, the ones brought about by almost touching the orb holding the island's mass, still glistened against her pale skin. There was no way she'd subject herself to the very thing that got the previous council and Potentate imprisoned.
"Oh, I don't need you to do that again," the Heiress replied as if reading exactly what went on in April's head. "I just need you to retrieve that spell from your memory."
April raised an eyebrow. That's...valid, anyway. Any spell casted for the first time would be stored in a soul's subconscious. "Why don't you get it from the Scholar himself?"
The Heiress stuck her bottom lip out. "The one he gave you was his last copy," she said. "Such a shame I had to dispose of him. He had a nice library."
In every context, disposing of someone didn't sound good. April had been right, though. That old fairy really didn't last long. "So that's it?" April asked. "I help you get your spell, you help me kill June?"
The Heiress bobbed her head. "Pretty much," she said. "Any other conditions?"
April grinned. "You provide me all the information about my brother and this Virtakios thing that's supposed to be with him," she said. Then, she flicked her gaze towards the sword her mother had given her. When she looked at the Heiress again, she crossed her arms. "That, and I need a sword. A new one. Preferably made from dwarven metal."
The Heiress returned April's gesture, only hers were more malicious and more...terrifying. "That's a deal," she said. "I'll send someone to take you to the base. I'll see you then."
Then, another layer of inky darkness appeared next to the Heiress when she stood up. April watched as the woman stepped into its embrace and how, within seconds, she was gone. Like she had never been there.
April scoffed and rolled her eyes. That was a strange encounter. Then again, the best thing she could do was to ride on it, no matter how ridiculous. Because now, she had a way towards June. Now, she had a chance to set things right for the rest of the island.
Now, the hunt begins.
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