Cyndi Cylendar's Arc

Chapter 3 of 3

The east court still smelled of scorched stone when Cyndi rode hard for Blackspire. Her attack had failed. Bella had faced her down, and her own daughter Goldie had stood against her. Worse, Cyndi felt the truth spell twist in her chest. Through the same thread that bound Heather's silence, Goldie had sensed where Cyndi kept her sister locked away. If Goldie was truly her enemy, Bella now knew Heather sat behind these walls. Cyndi did not know if her daughter had betrayed her or protected her. She found Heather in the high chamber, seated among the pile of cracked spell books she refused to touch. Heather was Cyndi's youngest sister, gentle where Cyndi was sharp, a mother of three who had never wanted any of this. She had drunk the trust cup to buy Cyndi one season of silence. Now she looked up, calm as still water. "You lost," Heather said. "I felt it. The court held." She smoothed her pale dress. "You look surprised your own child chose the other side." "Did she tell Bella you were here?" Cyndi demanded. "I don't know Bella's mind. I know yours." Heather stood. "Goldie isn't your weapon, Cyndi. She wants the hours and nothing else. You bent time against her tower and she still didn't sell you out. That should tell you something." Cyndi gripped the top book. Its jagged clasp bit her palm. "Then she is not my ally either." "No," Heather said. "She's her own. You never learned the difference." The words landed harder than any spell. Cyndi had spent weeks certain Goldie was either a tool or a traitor. Now she understood the truth. Her daughter had refused to be either. That refusal answered the question and broke it at once. Cyndi had no rival heir to fight and no daughter to command. She was alone. Then the floor shook. A horn sounded below the walls, and Cyndi heard hooves on the stone road. She crossed to the arrow slit. Riders massed at the gate, silver banners bright against the dark towers. At their head rode Bella, white hair loose, the crystal shard glowing in her hands. "They came fast," Heather said. She did not sound afraid. "Goldie rides with them. Silver too." Cyndi's heart dropped. The truth spell had leaked the fortress to Goldie, and Goldie had carried it straight to Bella. The question of ally or threat was settled. Her daughter had chosen the realm over her. "Let me go down to them," Heather said quietly. "Before this becomes a siege. You still have a season of my silence. You don't have to lose Goldie too." Cyndi turned from the window. Below, Bella raised the shard, and the gate began to glow. The choice was no longer whether to hold Heather. It was whether to fight her own family at her own gate, or flee before they broke it open.