Page 61 of Black Hearted
It took the better part of the day to reach the edge of the uninhabited lands that held the Tree of Transformation, but we werealmost there. I could see the black-trunked trees that marked the border of the Savage Lands ahead of us. No one knew why the bark of those trees was the color of charcoal, but it was.
“Have you ever been where we are going?” Zane asked as we eased our horses down the thick, overgrown path.
I shook my head. “No, but my mother has. That’s how she was able to pen the map for us. When I was very little, she told me a story about how someone broke the law and ran to hide out in the Savage Lands. She was a young queen at the time and wanted to send a clear message that fleeing justice would not be tolerated.”
Zane nodded. “I’d do the same.”
“So she went with her guards and ferreted out the criminal herself.”
Zane looked impressed. “Has she seen the Tree of Transformation? Does she know what makes it special?”
I nodded. “The tree gets its name because, over the course of a single day, it cycles through all four seasons. Each morning, it’s reborn with new leaves.”
Awe shone on Zane’s face. “That sounds magical.”
“I agree.” As we approached the first black tree trunk, I glanced at Zane. “Now you tell me something.”
He stopped his horse and looked over at me. “Ask me anything.”
I squirmed in my saddle. “Isolde said we’d been lied to all our lives, but she didn’t give any details. What’s your side of the story? How were you told the curse started?”
Zane dipped his chin in understanding. “Balazar Warrick, the Winter king, was offered the hand of the Summerprincess in marriage, but he refused. He wanted to marry an unseelie—a nymph—instead.”
My eyes widened in alarm. A seelie and an unseelie? Together?
“The Summer queen at the time couldn’t handle the rejection and was disgusted by his choice. She started a rebellion against him. They took his throne, killed his unseelie fiancée, and banished him and his brothers, along with all of the unseelie, to Ethereum as punishment.”
“No,” I gasped. “That’s so cruel.”
Zane looked at me with compassion. “In retribution for his fallen love, Balazar pulled the magic of Faerie into himself and his brothers, becoming its keepers. The power was so immense that it turned their blood black. In response, the Faerie royals cursed him, but the curse backfired. That’s all my father told me.”
I was silent for a full minute, trying to process everything.
“Are you okay? What are you thinking?” Zane asked, his voice gentle.
I sighed. “Why is it always the Summer queen who goes evil?”
He chuckled softly at that. “Doesn’t matter. We’re going to end all that. Right now.” He gestured toward the blackened woods we were about to enter.
I knew from past champions’ journals that the unseelie were populous in Ethereum, but I had never really stopped to consider why we had none here. I’d been taught they were monsters—evil, like the Ethereum lords who ruled them. But as I looked at Zane riding beside me, I knew I’d been told lies.
There wasn’t an evil bone in Zane’s body. He was good. Kind, thoughtful, and selfless. And I couldn’t help but wonder what other lies I’d been told.
“It’s a lot to absorb,” Zane said, his gaze fixed on the black trees. “Are you ready for this?”
I forced myself to push aside thoughts of the past. Dwelling on it wouldn’t help anyone right now. Ending the curse had to be my only focus. It didn’t matter how it started.
“Yes,” I answered him firmly.
With that, Zane nudged Biscuit forward, and she cantered into the forest. Suddenly, the sky split open, and a bolt of black lightning struck the ground right in front of Zane’s horse.
Zane grunted, leaning forward as Biscuit reared up. He clung to her neck, barely managing to stay on.
“Zane!” I cried, riding up beside him as Biscuit steadied herself. My heart raced as I scanned him for injuries.
Zane sat in his saddle, staring at his hands with a mixture of awe and shock. When he glanced up at me, his eyes flashed yellow for a fleeting moment.
“What just happened?” I asked, my voice trembling.
