Morgana lay on her bed and a blanket of blue butterflies had settled over her. She woke, sitting upright, and the butterflies scattered like a cloud of fluttering petals. They flew back to the gilded mirror in the corner of the room. Her mouth was bitter, and her head hurt.
What happened?
Then it all came back to her slowly like a vague dream. She had been in the training room and magic had exploded out of her. Morgana's heart quickened. She looked over herself, searching for any signs that the magic had injured her, had started ripping her apart. But there was nothing, except for a mild ache in her muscles. Morgana sighed in relief. At least there wasn't any physical damage. But where Erik was concerned there was trouble. He'd seemed so angry that she couldn't repress Elysia's magic. As if it was something that she could even control. It wasn't Morgana's fault that she lived in a dangerous environment that was toxic to humans. Perhaps he was worried that if she didn't control the magic then her death would be a burden. A burden to console Larania and Damon. A burden to organize a funeral for a human. All her life he hadn't cared about her, so why did he care about this training? Or maybe he was just disappointed and saw her as a failure, annoyed that she couldn't do something that was rudimentary to all fae.
By her bed was a pitcher of water. A note was propped against it. Morgana picked up the note.
You did well with your training today, there should be less magic absorption from now on. We'll do another session in a couple of weeks. Let me know if anything changes.
Damon.
Morgana blinked. She'd done well? But magic had exploded out of her. She gulped a glass of the water down and washed away the taste of vomit. A bath would be in order because stale sweat clung to her clothes.
There was a soft knock on her bedroom door and Morgana placed the glass down. "Come in," she called.
The door cracked open, and there stood Aelys, wearing a floaty yellow gown. Morgana blinked, surprised. This was the first time Aelys had ever visited her. Aelys shut the door and Morgana eyed her warily.
"I didn't see you at lunch. Damon said you had a headache?" Aelys walked over to the foot of the bed. She fidgeted with her hands.
"Yeah." It was partly true.
"How are you feeling now?"
"Okay."
An awkward pause followed.
"I need to have a word with you." Aelys sat down on the end of Morgana's bed, eyes on the floor. Her freesia scent was like a heady bouquet.
Morgana stiffened, wondering what nasty thing her sister was going to say next.
"Since you saw Brighid and I the other day, I've been waiting for the rumors to spread." Aelys looked at Morgana.
"I told you I would keep that secret."
"I know." Aelys's throat worked. "I just thought it would've been the perfect thing for you to use against me, because ..."
Morgana frowned.
"Because I've always been so horrible to you, and it would've been within your rights to get me back."
"I'm not that kind of person."
"I know and ... I'm sorry I've always treated you differently."
Morgana's heart skipped a beat.
"I'm grateful that you kept my secret. I love Brighid with all my heart, so it means a lot to me that you haven't said a thing."
"I don't know what to say ..."
"You don't have to say anything. I know that I never gave you the time of day when you were a child, and I never grew out of that," Aelys said. "I guess I was always a little jealous of the friendship that you and Damon had. I should've been a better sister."
Morgana looked down at her bedspread. Aelys reached for her hand and clasped it which made surprise clang through Morgana.
"Can I make it up to you?" Aelys asked. "I want us to grow closer."
Morgana didn't know if this was a trick. But the genuine look on Aelys's face made her hesitate. "Sure."
"Are you free tomorrow night?" Aelys grinned.
"I am."
"Great, because I'm having a party tomorrow in the Flower Fields, and I was wondering if you'd like to come?"
"Of course." Morgana gave her a tentative smile.
"Excellent! We'll go there together." Aelys beamed.
**
Morgana went to bed earlier that night, and not just because the training session had drained her completely, but because she wanted to get a good night's sleep for Aelys's party the following night.
It was the first time she'd ever been invited anywhere by Aelys. It made her wonder whether her sister was just pretending to be nice, or of it was some awful trick where there was no party and Morgana would end up going to the Flower Fields on her own, only to be laughed at while Aelys and her friends hid behind a bush. But then again, it didn't seem like the sort of thing Aelys would do. She wasn't one for playing tricks. Mainly she'd just ignored Morgana for most of her life. Either way if the party was a failure, it was in a safe enough part of Elysia where Morgana could just walk back to the castle if she was having a bad time.
Soon, Morgana drifted off into a strange dream where eight dark cloaked figures stood on the pebbly banks of a clear river. The air was fresh with pine, thanks to the forest that surrounded the river. A light breeze made the trees whisper, like courtiers exchanging secrets. Nearby was a gigantic cliffside made of jagged rock where a huge waterfall roared and misted the air. Magnus and Odessa Aeperos were there, and so were four other fae.
Percival Frigard folded his arms. He was Lord of the Frigard Territory and brother to Odessa Aeperos. He wore light grey leathers and had pale skin, green eyes, and a fiery beard streaked with gold. He had unrivalled earth magic which he'd passed on to his daughters Willow and Aurora. His wife Bryony was a water elemental with topaz eyes, dark olive skin, and raven hair that hung in a plait down the back of her maroon dress.
Zahara Vale, Lady of the Vale Territory stood next to the Frigards. She was an elegant fire elemental with dark skin and short black hair. Each of her fingers had a silver ring with a precious gemstone that winked whenever she touched her cloak. Zahara's pants and tunic were black and lined with silver. Wearing her wealth was important to Lady Vale. Next to her was her husband who had been the former Lord of the Vale Territory, Ivnar Vale. He had long green hair, brown skin, and was an air elemental with a stern face. He wore a dark suit that was also lined with silver. The remaining two coven leaders, Allegra and Dana, completed the circle. Their heads were bowed, faces worn. Allegra wore a simple cream dress made of cotton, and Dana wore a gown the color of lapis. Odessa kept glancing towards the forest, wary of intruders.
"Eamon and Aiofe said that Lord Moraxes poisoned his own land with salt and iron from the Mortal Realm," Magnus said.
"Who are Eamon and Aiofe?" asked Zahara Vale.
"Servants of Lord Moraxes."
"Why the Goddess is he poisoning his own land?" hissed Percival Frigard.
"He's trying to frame us for it," Allegra said.
"Why?" asked Ivnar.
"We don't know," answered Dana. "For some reason they want an excuse to persecute us."
"We saw your testimonies and spoke to your witnesses. We believe that the witches are not behind this desecration of the land," said Odessa. "We've lived with your kind for centuries. We know witches are good."
"We need to find out why Moraxes is doing this, and we need justice for the Crone Coven. The public needs to know that they were slaughtered because of his lies," Allegra said.
Dana nodded, eyes moist.
"You will have your justice tomorrow. We'll go to the village square, where Eamon and Aiofe will testify on your behalf. We'll vouch for you and show the fae and faeries of Elysia your findings and your witnesses," Magnus said.
"Thank you," Allegra whispered. "We can't even practice magic anymore, out of fear we'll be persecuted. We've had to turn away all our patients who need healing spells. They've no choice but to go to a fae healer, even though fae treatments are useless against their ailments."
"The witchlings are suffering too. It's best for them to connect with their magic early, so that they can have better control over it. But they're forbidden from learning because of the decree. We've had to shut our schools down." Dana chewed a fingernail.
"You don't know how grateful we are that you support us. We've had few allies. Fae and faeries who we once thought of as friends now hate us," said Allegra.
"Have you really moved away from Golah Court because of this?" asked Dana.
"We have," Odessa said. "We can't stand with them anymore, not after how they've treated you."
The dream rippled like the disturbed surface of a pond, until an image of the square in Golah Village appeared. There was a crowd of fae and faeries gathered around a small wooden stage, where Eamon and Aiofe stood. Eamon was a squat pooka, who wore a scratchy old potato sack. His feet were bare and smudged with dirt. He had yellow teeth, two of which were missing at the front. Aiofe was a half-fae that had stringy orange hair and a wart on her forehead. Her clothes were so dirty that it looked as if she'd slept in a barn. Their heads were lowered, as Lord Moraxes paced in front of them. He wore a fine lavender suit with gold buttons, his hair was slicked back, and he smelled of jasmine water.
"These two servants of mine are known liars," Lord Moraxes addressed the crowd. "They used to be thieves and would've been thrown in jail if I hadn't shown them mercy and taken them into my household." He shook his head. "Ask yourselves: why would a lord poison his own land? What would I have to gain from it? The answer is ... nothing my friends. I've nothing to gain from making myself so sick that I couldn't even access the element air."
The crowd gasped.
"Oh yes." Moraxes nodded. "That's how sick the witches made me. I'm lucky to be alive." He clasped his hands behind his back. "But I can't say that for some of my faery tenants." Moraxes hung his head, sorrow on his face. "Some of them died because the witches were so selfish that they kept practicing magic no matter the cost. The witches don't care that their magic poisons the land and kills us. They've even gone so far as to bribe these faeries in my employ to make up falsehoods!" He pointed at Eamon and Aiofe. Moraxes's face was red with anger. "Would you trust the lies of these criminals over my word? I've always looked out for my tenants. Have I not?"
Murmurs of agreement rose.
"But instead of questioning me, you should be asking yourselves: who has the most to gain from poisoning the land?" He pointed to the Maiden and Mother covens in the crowd. "It's the witches who have the most to gain. They want to divide us through lies. They want a civil war, because they don't want you to know how poisonous their magic is. They don't care if you die. They only want to practice magic, no matter the cost, so that they can remain the strongest in the land!"