Veils of Storm

21. Broken Legacies

Cage's entire body trembled as he glanced at his hands. There was nothing wrong with them. No claws, no burns or scratches, no bones breaking and rearranging.

That was his magic, the one he knew, the one he was used to. On rare occasions, he could heal. And now, as a result of great effort, he'd managed to lift a rum barrel off the deck.

It was impossible that he'd been the one holding the wrath of the sea at bay. He didn't have the power for that. He hadn't been aware he was doing it. And yet, the moment Cecile had pushed his magic back inside him, he'd felt it. He still did. It rumbled, displeased to be contained once more inside a vessel of flesh.

"There's no way," Trix said, his voice almost a whisper.

Cage agreed. And yet, the ship suddenly rocked with the movement of disgruntled waves. Their times of peace was over.

"Can you do that again?" Trix asked.

"I don't know how I did it in the first place. I wasn't even aware I was doing it." Cage looked at his hands again, trying to force the magic back out, but the panic inside him didn't allow for it.

Why did she do it? Why couldn't she just let them be protected, no matter how it had come about? What was she trying to prove?

"The sea will not be contained," Alathea said. "She is a vile creature."

"Allie..." Trix said, his tone wary. "You should leave well enough alone."

Cage didn't agree. Too many things had been said, and he needed a distraction from the turmoil inside him. It was too clear that he couldn't put the barrier back up and they'd have to face uneasy waters. There were other things which demanded his attention.

"Is it true that she's a High Fairy?"

Alathea's burning gaze moved from the place Cecile had disappeared to him. "Her name itself speaks of her position."

"What do you mean?" Trix asked.

"Cecile. Before her Lucile. Their names are proof of their status."

Cage hadn't known that, but it wasn't as if humans knew many facts about fairies. It could be true and he saw no reason why Alathea would lie. "So she's one of the High Fairies then?"

The mermaid frowned, tilting her head as if she couldn't make sense of his words. "One of them? There is only one High Fairy at a time."

The news felt like a cannon being fired into him at point blank range. Cage swallowed heavily, trying to deny the obvious. He couldn't be that unlucky. It was one thing to provoke a random fairy and a whole other to toss the leader of the fairies herself over a table. And yet, he'd done it, and here he was. Still alive somehow, and not that cursed anymore.

Why had she approached him? Why had she wanted him? Why did she still? Because it was clear in the way she touched him, in the way she punished him for escaping her charms and loving someone else.

"So you're not sure," Trix said.

Alathea shook her head, but there was a fire in her eyes that was at great odds with her usual aquatic demeanor.

"She is vile and she is dangerous," the mermaid repeated. "They think that only because they are blessed with more than elemental magic, they are greater than everyone else."

"Is that what she meant when she called you the runt of the litter?" Cage asked.

Alathea bristled, but with her indignation came great silence, and he understood that wasn't it. Cecile had rubbed some sore spot only she knew, because the fairy had a point. It made sense for Trix to be fascinated by her and her unearthly beauty, as well as take advantage of the her immunity to his curse. At the end of the day, seeing as she could fabricate legs and become fully human in body, Trix made sense. He could find everything he needed in her.