Gathering Darkness (Falling Kingdoms 3)

His gaze shot to hers and he took a deep breath as he rubbed his chest again, as if the golden mark on his flesh caused him deep discomfort. Slowly, he gained authority over his expression.

“Eva once possessed a ring that helped control her overabundance of magic. The ring is said to have been created from pure elementia, drawn from the Kindred themselves. As such, it allowed her direct contact with the Kindred without any ill effects. But after her death, the ring was lost.” He glanced at Cleo, who still had her hands tucked behind her back. “And yet, here it is now. Resting on the hand of your brother’s wife.”

CHAPTER 20

CLEO

AURANOS

Cleo was reminded of how she’d felt when she’d stood up on the dais next to the execution stage as the detonations went off, causing bright, fiery plumes to rise up before her eyes.

Her world was exploding all around her.

She fought with every last ounce of strength to remain impassive in the face of the Watcher’s revelations.

He knew. There would be no denying this, no way to get out of this situation unscathed. She’d reached the end of the road.

She’d been such a fool to think she could wear this ring without anyone ever knowing what it was, that it might be safer on her finger than hidden behind a stone in the wall of her private chambers.

But she couldn’t despair, or all would be lost. She couldn’t let on that she’d known the secret of the ring all along, had even seen an illustration of it in a very old book about the original sorceress. Cleo had torn that drawing out and burned it, so no one else would ever see it, even though it had pained her to think of how appalled Emilia would have been to know that she had destroyed even a small piece of the palace’s rare tomes. Her sister had loved books.

And Cleo had loved Emilia.

She held on to that love now and let it strengthen her in this moment of despair.

Lucia stayed silent for a while, regarding Cleo with shock and confusion. “Did you know this?” she finally asked.

Remain calm, Cleo commanded herself. Do not lose everything you’ve worked so hard to gain.

She looked down at her amethyst ring, forcing a frown. Then she raised her brow as she directly met the gaze of the other princess. “Did I know that the ring my father gave me moments before he died in my arms once belonged to a legendary sorceress? I can’t say that I did.” She turned to face the Watcher and boldly held out her hand toward him. “You truly believe this—my mother’s ring—is the same ring you speak of?”

She saw confusion on his face as well, which helped lessen her fear by a fraction. If she were to be exposed as a liar and a manipulator in her attempts to befriend Lucia, it would be the end of everything.

An irony, really, as she’d honestly come to care for Lucia, despite her horrible family.

Not her real family, she thought, remembering Magnus’s drunken confession. She’s a Damora only by name, not by birth.

“It is the ring,” Alexius said with certainty. “I can feel its power. This ring—along with your magic, princess,” he spoke to Lucia now, “can awaken the Kindred.”

Lucia spun toward him, her eyes wide. “You can’t be serious.”

Cleo had never seen a boy look more serious than Alexius did now.

“You said you want to know about Melenia: what she tells me and what she’s discussed with the king. I wanted to wait, but now . . . this is part of your prophecy. The king knows your magic is the key to what he desires most: possessing the Kindred, which he believes will give him endless power over this world. Melenia has guided him in many ways, but she has a secret that he doesn’t know. That he can’t know.”

Cleo went as quiet as a corpse. Alexius continued to speak as if she were not in the room, as if he didn’t care if she overheard any of this.

Perhaps he didn’t see her as a threat, only a clueless girl in possession of a ring with a long and magical history.

Good.

“What is it?” Lucia reached down to take his hand, gazing up into his tense face. She, too, seemed unconcerned that Cleo was present for these revelations.

Cleo barely breathed as she waited for his answer.

“The king cannot claim the Kindred for himself,” Alexius said. “It can’t be allowed. I told you that Watchers are guardians. We’ve searched for the lost crystals for a millennium, to no avail, all with the goal to return the four Kindred to the Sanctuary where they belong, where their magic will be safe and protected. Their absence all these years has resulted in a slow fading of the worlds—both yours and mine. Magic—life itself—has drained away. You see this in Limeros’s transformation to ice, in the wasting away of Paelsia’s farmlands while its people starve. And here in Auranos, the temperatures have been steadily rising. It may not seem so drastic now, but before long the heat will become unbearable. After that, this fading will stretch beyond Mytican shores to lands—and worlds—beyond. A thousand years of this fading magic and the only solution has been for the Kindred to return to its rightful home. All this time, the missing piece has been you, princess. Your magic will light the way. And this ring will help you.”

Cleo’s head spun. She wasn’t sure she believed Alexius’s little speech, though his prediction of Auranos’s future was beyond disturbing. The Kindred were meant to be hers, to give her the magic it would take to reclaim her kingdom.