The Shadow Princess (Chronicles of the Stone Veil 6)

“You’ll never know how much I regret what I did, Thalia.” Heph’s misery is clear in his tone. “Your parents spared my life when I was found out and banished me here to near isolation. It was far better than I deserved.”

My eyes beseech Bastien’s for guidance. I feel like I’m ready to bolt and leave this nastiness behind.

Bastien’s voice is deep, reassuring as he surprisingly advocates for Heph. “Like he said, it’s not always black-and-white, Thalia. I can tell his actions weigh heavily on his conscience.”

“You’ll never know how much,” Heph says, his face contrite. “There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t struggle with the right and wrong of what I did.”

“And you never practiced it again?” I ask, crossing my arms over my stomach.

Heph shakes his head. “Never.”

I can see the truth of his regret. He lost his entire family because he got sucked in too deep. He killed a man and will always bear the weight of that. My heart breaks for Hephastus—he crossed a line he shouldn’t have and paid for his crime with everything he held dear.

“You said blood magic was unbeatable,” I say, returning to the table. “If that’s true, how do we defeat Ferelith?”

“Blood magic against regular magic is superior in most circumstances. To put yourself on even ground, you would need a blood magic practitioner to help you create spells for both defense and offense.”

“Can you teach me how to do it?” I ask. “My magic is strong. I’m a quick study.”

Heph is shaking his head before I even get my last words out. “I can’t do it.”

“Why not?” I demand. “We’re talking about saving Kestevayne. I’ll do anything it takes.”

“I believe you, dear child,” Heph says as he sits back in his chair. He looks tired and defeated. “But Ferelith is too powerful, and you’d never be able to learn enough in time to thwart her. More importantly, you don’t have it in you to take a life, and that’s the type of blood you’d need to match up against her.”

His words hit like a sledgehammer, and I feel numb as hope drains from me.

“So… Vyronas is doomed?” I whisper, more to myself than anyone.

My eyes move to Bastien, and I can see not only his frustration but also sorrow for me.

I look to Heph. “Is there nothing we can do?”

Pushing up from the table, Heph goes to the kitchen sink and rests his hands on the edge. He looks out the window. I glance at Bastien, and he shrugs.

I rise, walk to my uncle, and place a hand on his shoulder. He stiffens, refuses to look at me.

“What aren’t you telling me?” I ask.

He shakes his head, staring blankly out the window.

“Heph… what is it?” My voice bristles with anger, because now I can tell he’s hiding something big.

“I promised your mother I’d never tell you,” he says shamefully, finally giving me his regard. Tears of regret well. “But… I also know she’d want me to help you in any way I could to save your kingdom.”

My blood turns to ice. Whatever he’s about to tell me is going to change my world, and probably not for the better.

But he said it can save us from Ferelith.

With a quaking voice, I say, “Tell me.”

“You possess shadow magic inside you, Thalia. It’s dark, untapped power, and it could be the difference in waging this war with Ferelith.”

I frown at him. “Shadow magic? What is that? I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

Heph turns to face me fully, his expression troubled. “It’s magic born of darkness. It’s the opposite of light magic.” He spreads his arms outward to indicate everything around us. “When Vyronas was established, it was created with basic stone magic, but with good intentions. From the start, the ley lines that powered our realm were considered light magic. Those terms aren’t really used these days, but I suppose it all has to do with the basic way in which our dimension was conceived.”

I look back at Bastien, who rises slowly from his chair and comes to stand at my side.

“Now, that’s not to say the people who use magic in Vyronas are all well-intentioned people. Anyone can warp our realm’s inherent magic for nefarious purposes. It’s what Ferelith has done by adding blood.”

“So blood magic isn’t dark magic?” I ask, confused.

Heph shakes his head. “No. Shadow magic is created from a place where the intent is nefarious from the start. Its origin is wicked.”

“That’s not Vyronas,” Bastien says. “You imply it comes from somewhere else.”

Heph rubs the back of his neck, tension evident in the stiffness of his moves. He looks pained but resolved. “You inherited shadow magic from your father. It’s rare and not of this world.”

My eyebrows knit together. “You mean… my father went to another dimension and got this, um, shadow magic, and then I inherited it?”