The Shadow Princess (Chronicles of the Stone Veil 6)

I chew on my lip, considering. It’s the answer I’ve been looking for. The way has been shown for me to save Vyronas.

But still, I’m hesitant.

Scared to change, and there’s no doubt I will change once he awakens the shadow magic within me.

“Tell me what you are. I need to know more about this part of me that comes from you.”

Amell looks slightly irritated I’d question his gift but sighs and says, “Very well.”

With another flick of his wrist, he conjures a massive throne made of craggy obsidian. His wings spread and lift, enabling him to drop into the seat so they rest over the back. He sits imperiously with feet planted on the ground and hands resting on carved chunks of shiny black rock.

“I’m one of the original fallen angels expelled from Heaven when Kymaris tried to lead a rebellion against God.” I know this story, but it’s taught as more myth than actual history. Same as the gods we worship. “We were banished to the Underworld and sealed within, known to all as Dark Fae. Most of our powers were stripped, but over time, pieces of the meteor came into our possession, and we evolved. Witches, priests, and such from the First Dimension often summoned Dark Fae to perform services, so some were able to come and go. Some never returned to the Underworld, settling into lives above. As you should be aware of your history here in Vyronas, Light and Dark Fae mated and produced daemons. Your people here are descended from druid daemons, although much of their original characteristics have been bred out over the millennia.”

“That’s a fascinating recap of what we already know,” Bastien mutters. “But it doesn’t tell us who you are.”

Amell’s head pivots slowly toward Bastien. “I don’t think I like you very much. My daughter is too good for you.”

“She’s not mine in that way,” Bastien snarls back. Pain twinges in my chest to hear him confirm that, especially after what we shared last night.

It’s almost as if Amell can feel that pain in my heart, for his head whips my way and his mouth draws downward. “You deserve better.”

I don’t want to talk about Bastien, and most certainly not with this father I don’t know. I must refocus him. “But what are you? Who are you in the Underworld?”

Amell bows his head, twirls his wrist with a flourish, and says with an ego-filled smile, “I’m the newly crowned king of the Underworld.”

“Maddox said Kymaris is dead,” Bastien muses.

“The demigod spoke true. Zora is now the god of Life, and she has appointed me the new ruler.”

My gaze drifts to the side as I digest this news. I guess I’m a princess in more than one realm, if you think about it.

A million questions spring to mind, mostly about how I came to be. What occurred between my mother and Amell? Did she really do this just for my father, or was my mother susceptible to the dark arts like her brother was? Was she bored and looking for excitement? Did she have feelings for Amell?

All legitimate curiosities a daughter might have, but I find myself unable to ask a single one because I’m more terrified of those answers than I am of Ferelith.

“What more do you wish to know?” Amell asks, and it occurs to me that he’s not in a rush to leave. He seems too patient and accommodating, not what I would expect from a Dark Fae king of the Underworld. He probably has thousands of offspring given his immortality, and I am but one asking for help at this moment. How many others are waiting in line behind me?

“Nothing,” I reply. “I would like your help, if you’ll give it. Give me the shadow magic and teach me how to use it.”

Amell stands, and the obsidian throne fades. He paces toward me, and Bastien stiffens with wariness. I don’t think any of us doubt that Amell would send him to another realm if he came at him.

But that doesn’t mean I don’t want Bastien’s input. His eyes meet mine and I ask, “You agree? This is the way?”

“I don’t like it, but I think it’s the way if you want to defeat Ferelith.” Bastien turns his head toward Amell briefly, before coming back to me. “But if you don’t want to do this, I will take you away from Vyronas right now. I’ll take you somewhere you can live out your days in peace and safety. You can build a new life and have happiness.”

“You could come live with me in the Underworld,” Amell offers, and I blink at him in surprise. “Since Kymaris died, I’ve made parts of it quite nice.”

“She’s not going to live in your sulfur pit,” Bastien mutters.

“She’d be happier there than with you here, living a half existence because you won’t give her what she wants and deserves,” Amell retorts.