Chained to old wounds

CH22

Morgan

The entire table went quiet. The king cocked an eyebrow at me.

“Pretending?”

“As lovely as this… welcome dinner is, you don’t decide to revive the Trials lightly or without reason.” I sat forward. “So what has been so important that thousands of young women have had

to die?”

“You cross the line, human,” someone hissed down the table.

He lifted a hand with a wry smile.

“You are truly… chosen by the heavens, aren’t you? Speaking like a beam of light: straight and precise.” He sat back. “My wife would speak the way you do. It made it impossible to capitulate. I appreciate it. It’s refreshing… I’ve missed it, and given the situation, it’s necessary.”

Ignoring the hostility from further down the table, I focused on the king. He worked his jaw before speaking again.

“Our realm and the human realm rely on each other. It is believed that our realms sit side by side, but in truth, they are intertwined, not just through mirrors and portals and gateways but by their very essence. The veil, as we call it, is the borderline and the connection. It keeps us separate but also connects us. When the veil is open, the magic that is naturally generated in our room can spill out into the human room, allowing for longer life spans, healthier people, and richer land, but when it is closed, humans grow weaker, the earth suffers, and the magic that would usually spill out and have somewhere to go stagnate and corrupts us.”

I thought of Ael’s worry about their little magical garden dying.

“It has been five years since the veil closed with my wife’s murder. We estimate that if the veil remains closed for another ten years, the human realm will fall, and ours will fall soon after. We

have been warned of this in the Visions of Queens.

“And you’re certain.”

salready begun,” b

“The corruption said. “Tsuneo’s coma is thought to be the first sign.”

“What do these… visions say?”

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“That the heavens will fall, and the Phoenix will never rise from the ashes again.” He paused.

“The stars will burn out, and all will turn to darkness as it was in the beginning, except nothing will start again.”

He looked at me, a flicker of hope dancing in his eyes. But beneath that hope lurked a shadow of doubt, a fear of the unknown that mirrored my own.

“Your ability to go between worlds is part of your powers as queen, which you longer you are here. I suspect that you were behind the changing of the sky.”

will grow

grow into the

1 blinked, thinking back to when the sky turned blood red. I nodded.

“Frightening.”

He laughed. “A queen is not chosen lightly, and she is always as fearsome as her king.”

I smirked. “So, what was your wife like?”

He grinned. “A hurricane.”

The dinner stretched on. Eventually, it was time for dessert. I turned the information over in my mind. Glancing down the table, it was clear that everyone was looking at me with questions and

agendas in their eyes.

“And what are the consequences of opening the veil again?” Someone further down asked. “We know nothing about what humans are like now, or at least very little. What if the corruption of their world spills into ours?”

“Corruption?” I asked. “What are you imagining?”

“It was not so long ago that humans would hunt magical kind for their own ends,” one of them sneered. “Butchering our kind in vain hopes of immortality. If the veil is opened, it is open both

ways.”

“Are you talking about mermaids?” I blinked at her “I’ve heard myths about it, but they are just

myths currently.”

“Because the veil has been closed.”

I shrugged. “No fixes perfect, and honestly, thousands of young women have been killed at this point, so a few mermaids hardly balances a scale.”

She hissed at me, turning bright red. Her eyes changed like a fish’s, and I figured she was probably a mermaid or something.

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circle of life, I “And as I recall, part of the myths was that mermaids would drown and eat us, so… guess? Like tigers cating people and vis vera.” I smiled at her. “Maybe we could agree to mutually

(1) exclude each other from each other’s grocery lists?”

The king chuckled. “As sovereign over the human realm, you very well could.”

My eyes bulged. “Sovereign?”

He nodded. “There is a reason only the queen can control the veil… representative of the veil itself.”

Well, that wasn’t what I was expecting.

Some would say she is

“The risks are undeniable,” the king said, his voice firm. “But the danger we would evade is far more damning.”

He glanced at me, his gaze connecting with mine. “For both worlds. I hope that your lingering resentments do not cloud your judgment or hinder your progress in opening the veil.”

I hummed. “When I can verify what you say as truth, I’m sure it won’t.”

He smiled. “I am grateful for your healthy amount of skepticism.”

He shook his head and gestured to one of the servants nearby, a hint of a smile playing on his

lips.

“Enough of such grim conversations,” he declared, his voice lighter now. “Let us celebrate the potential for a brighter future and the unique bond that has brought us together.”

Before I could ask what he meant. Keiji leaned forward, his eyes twinkling with amusement. “Indeed, Father. Perhaps a toast is in order?”

A servant materialized at his side, bearing a silver tray laden with two intricately carved goblets filled with a shimmering, golden liquid. One of them was set in front of me. The other was in front of the king. The others were brought other goblets.

“Tonight,” he boomed, his voice filled with newfound vigor, “we toast to new beginnings and the revitalization of all that we know.” He looked at me. “I can only imagine that humans have a

similar tradition.”

“Depends… What’s in the cup?”

“This,” he murmured, a playful glint in his emerald eyes, “is a daughter–in–law, father–in–law tradition. We call it Empty and Harmonious Cups.

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My gut jolted. That sounded like a drinking game.

“And what does it entail?”

He chuckled softly. It’s simple, of course. We debate topics, argue, converse, and share points of view, and we drink before each new topic and when we have reached an agreement.”

My heart skipped a beat. It was definitely a drinking game.

“Among humans, drinking games tend to have the goal of getting at least one person drunk.”

He grinned. “I suspect, in this case, that person will be you, and I am intrigued to know which would have drunk you are, especially on magical wine.”

Never in my wildest dreams had I imagined myself participating in such a thing. I’d never drank before. But looking around the table, at the expectant faces, I knew there was no polite way to refuse.

I’m not sure how this would affect me, but as I say, do as the hosts do.”

“Excellent. Shall we?”

I lifted the cup to my lips and took a drink. It was sweet, almost fruity. Then, he spoke.

“A queen’s first duty is to choose a harem that will satisfy her husband. Knowing my son, he will need at least ten consorts. How are you going to choose them?”

This was going to be a long night.

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Karen Rolling

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