"It was our father!" I finally say.
That freezes him, and he drops me back to my feet. I use the pause to dust the wrinkles out of my lapel.
His eyes go wide. "Our father? But how? He's dead."
"He's not dead," I say. "He survived the poison. But he knew that what he wanted, what he planned, would never work the way things were, so he joined with the Fae and became allies, faking his own death in the process."
"He's been helping the Fae this whole time?" Fen steps back.
I nod. "He orchestrated the kidnapping of Arianna, organized the attack on you. I rescued her, but she had already signed a contract to not reveal his plans." A small lie, that.
"Why? Why didn't you tell me the truth, Asher? I trusted you."
I snort. "You trusted me? Really? Is that why you poisoned our father and then feigned shock when he died? Is that why you held a mock investigation into his death when you knew all along the one responsible?"
"You knew?"
I nod. "I saw you that night, leaving his room. I waited for you to tell me the truth, but you said nothing. So… why didn't I tell you? Because he was our father, and you hurt him. I saw how the thought of his death pained you, and I wanted you to feel that pain a little longer."
Fen clenches his jaw and fist simultaneously, his eyes burning with rage, and then all the anger seems to deflate. "It was never meant to kill him. That poison, it was only to subdue him while I tried to figure out his plans before he brought ruin to our kingdom."
"Don't you see brother?" I look at Fen, the brother I've always loved more than the others. The one I trusted most until recently. "It's you who will bring ruin to our kingdom, if you persist in this war."
He says nothing.
I turn and walk away, leaving Fen alone to stew in his pain.
I don't have time to coddle the Prince of War.
When I'm sure I'm not being followed, I make my way through the snow-covered woods, running to save time, until I come upon the cave with the Waystone.
It's been activated with Fae blood, as per request, and I make fast time to the other side of the world, where Varis, Madrid and Durk wait in the dilapidated Crystal Palace. Lucian is there as well. Seems he returned from whatever business he had.
They sit around the dining table, drinking and talking when I arrive. I fill them in on what happened, and they frown.
"Then war has come," Varis says, his shoulders heavy. "We must consider siding with the Fae. If the Druids lose this battle, the Fae will never recover. It will mean the end of our kind."
My jaw hardens. "And if the princes lose, then our race will never recover!"
My father stands and slaps the table with his hand. "There is still a way to ensure peace."
How is it, again, that Lucian is now this force for peace? After so many years of bitter war, slavery and selfishness? Oh right, he never told me why.
He's still a gigantic ass.
"Maybe peace is a myth," I say. "A child's fantasy." I point at my father. "The Druids nearly killed your son. He's dying back in the Seven Realms as we sit here speaking of truce. How will my brothers ever forgive the Fae?"
Varis stands and paces the room. He raises a hand to his neck. Ah, a gesture I recognize. He is particularly stressed. His muscles bulge from pent up tension. "I will not support the demons in destroying the Fae," the Druid says. "I must protect my people above—"
"Above all!" I say, my voice too loud. "I have heard all this before. You speak of joining our two people, but always you side with your own."
Varis steps close and lays a hand on my arm, but I brush him off. Anger boils in me. I will not have this happen again. I will not be betrayed again.
Before I say or do something incredibly stupid, I push open the door and escape into the halls. I find a large balcony overlooking the mountains. The night breeze cools my hot face. I stare at the full moon and a sky full of stars. It's breathtaking, but not enough to distract me.
I know he's there before I feel his hand on my shoulder. "Asher… "
I turn on Varis. "No. I have something to say. Something I've kept inside me for centuries. And you will listen."
Varis, wisely, does not argue.
And the words suddenly get stuck in my throat. Standing here, in the moonlight, with him so real, so alive, so close. It's easy to forget the pain. The betrayal. But I won't. I can't. "How could you? How could you betray me all those years ago? Betray all of us? Our people? We had a plan. We would speak to my father and the Fae Queen. We would tell them our people could live in peace. That it could happen, because… " Emotion floods me, and I take Varis' hand, caressing it in mine. "Because it happened to us. We were going to show them our people could live together. Could love each other. Because we loved each other."