Seeking the Fae (Daughter of Light #1) - Leia Stone Page 0,29

the door wide open, I came face to face with Indra. She was panicked and looked stricken. “The Tree of Life … it’s dying.”

Oh gods. If Liam touched our tree, I would kill him myself. “How?”

Indra’s face was pulled taut with anxiety. “You must retrieve the final six crystals. We need them now more than ever before.”

My brow furrowed. “Indra, yesterday everything was fine. Has something happened?”

Because if Liam took more crystals or screwed something up, I would feel so guilty.

She sighed. “There is one thing I have yet to tell you.”

Oh gods.

“I don’t think I can take any more secrets,” I confessed.

She nodded. “But this you must know.”

Grasping my hand, she lifted up off of the ground and flew towards the elder home. The Tree of Life. I followed her wordlessly, scanning the village looking for one escaped Dark Fae. If they found Liam, I was so screwed. When my eyes fell on the blue door, my brow furrowed at the huge crack in the base of the door.

Did the earthquake do that? Or … Liam?

We reached the elders’ home and stepped inside. There was a slight crack running through the entire house, stopping at the base of the elder tree. A gasp escaped me at the sight of one of the tree’s limbs sickly black and ill. It was shriveled and looked like it were about to fall off.

“How?”

It had to have been Liam. He was the only change from yesterday.

I was such an idiot!

Indra walked to the back of the home, where I heard hushed voices whispering. I followed her until we came to a door that was hidden right behind the tree. It was ajar and I recognized Kira’s voice. “She’s slipping away,” the healer was saying.

I frowned. Someone was dying?

Indra stepped into the room, cleared her throat, and I followed her awkwardly.

The other three elders and Kira bowed their heads slightly as we walked in.

My eyes immediately fell to the limp form lying on a crystal bed.

For a moment I had an out of body experience. For just a split second I thought it was my mother and I actually gasped. Then I saw the differences. The nose was sharper, chin more defined, but still … the resemblance was uncanny.

“Who … is that?” I asked, fighting the dizziness that threatened to overwhelm me.

“Is she stable enough for the next few moments?” Indra asked Kira, ignoring my question. Kira nodded and her eyes flicked to mine, but neither of us said a word. I prayed she kept my secret about Liam.

When the Winter elder passed, he lowered his head. “Indra, are you sure the child can—?”

“Out,” she ordered sharply, and nerves chewed at my gut. The rest of the elders scurried from the room, Rose giving me a sad nod as she passed. Kira left as well, leaving just Indra and I alone with a woman who looked like my fucking mother.

Just what the hell kind of secrets was my mother hiding?

When they had left, shutting the door behind them, Indra turned to face me. “This woman was formally Princess Dahlia of Spring Court, and now is formally the only living queen of Faerie, and she’s … your aunt.”

To my credit, I didn’t laugh. No, instead, my knees gave out and I collapsed to the ground in shock. How does a Fae with wings fall? I don’t know, but in that moment I couldn’t stay upright anymore.

Indra gave me a compassionate look and sat down on the floor in front of me, crossing her legs.

She looked at the woman on the bed. “Your mother, Violet, and Queen Dahlia share the same mother, but different fathers. They’re half-sisters. Your mother was born … out of wedlock.”

Oh.

Well it happened from time to time. I never knew my grandparents. They died in the Dark War.

“Okay…” I said.

Indra’s eyebrows raised. “Royal lineage is a very, very, big deal. Our people are tied to our royalty and our royalty is tied to our land. That’s why Spring is the only court left that hasn’t fallen. She keeps us alive, she keeps this small bit of Faerie alive.”

Holy shit.

“But the crystals … I thought they—”

Indra nodded. “They do. The queen needs the crystals to keep the tree healthy.”

It hit me then. “The tree, she’s … connected to it?”

Indra looked solemnly at the bed, nodding her head. “When the crystals were taken, Queen Dahlia bound her soul to the tree to keep it alive until your mother could bring them back. Only replacing