A/N: I got some messages that a few of you were confused, and so this chapter is for you. It is a pretty revealing chapter, as well as a recap of the veil and Charlotte's importance in it all. It's a lot of information, but I hope this puts the story back on track for you :) It's also really important on its own because of what is revealed. I wonder how many of you saw this coming... Enjoy!!

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Ivan’s door crashed open, something that had become a regular occurrence since arriving in Tarshish.  And like those many other times, Kala’el stalked into the room, the air of violence preceeding him. But whereas others usually fled or trembled in his presence, Ivan remained sitting at his desk undisturned, gazing absently over a book of potions.

Kala’el raised a stiff hand and waved his guards away.

That's different, Ivan mused with a faint smirk as he observed Kala’el from over his book. He’d normally just vaporize or dissolve them into shards of ice.

The door clicked quietly. Instantly, Kala’el spun with all his supressed fury, and the papers on Ivan’s desk exploded, whisked off into the whirlwind of Kala’el’s swift move.  Through the veil of falling papers, what Ivan saw in Kala’el’s eyes withered what remained of his smile. Kala’el’s usual haughtiness was replaced by an amalgamation of frantic fear and anger. His crystal blue eyes were wide as they flicked unsettledly across the room, watching the papers float to the ground like ink- stained snowflakes. When the last snowflake landed, Kala’el set off on a silent trek. He paced in a perfect circle, silent, almost as if rehearsed. The silent taps of his footfalls filled the awkward void like a tempo, the sound of his whooshing cape between the soft crackles of the fire his song.

From his desk, Ivan noted the slight treble of Kala’el’s hands. He closed his book slowly and set it aside, no longer able to deny that something was very wrong. 

Kala’el paused. “If I didn’t need you to locate Charlotte, I swear I would kill you this moment,” he hissed, clenching his fists. He moved closer to Ivan’s desk and ground his fists against the marble in black fury.  “I would seep ice slowly into your veins until you cracked from the inside out.”

Ivan watched Kala’el through narrowed his eyes. Then he smirked and sat forward. “Fire is my mother element, Kala’el. I doubt ice would be the way to kill me, though you can try if you wish,” Ivan said darkly and  rolled up his sleeve, holding his arm out to a glaring Kala’el.

For a moment, Kala’el stared down at the black Dine tattoos wrapped around Ivan’s pale arms, his eyes considering the challenge. He shook his head curiously, and after an added minute, his face splintered into a dry, inhuman smile. He pushed back and walked to the wall behind Ivan’s desk, where a yellowed canvas map of all the Fae lands encompassed the wall.

Ivan swiveled in his chair and watched Kala’el trail a finger wistfully along the frayed edges of the map, working his fingers upward toward the various Seelie and Unseelie territories. Kala’el reached down and gathered a handful of small flag pins used during war to demarcate areas of trouble. One by one, he placed them in various Seelie and Unseelie territories. Ivan watched the ceremony dubiously, but didn’t say a word.

Once the last pin was inserted, Kala’el stepped back and admired his work, a solemn expression marking the pale planes of his face. “Do you know what these places are?”

Ivan stood and leaned on the edge of his desk, wholly uninterested. “Ah, I see now. You’ve come to boast, yet again, about the areas you plan to occupy first once you begin your rule? Though I must say, it’s a bit ambitious of you. You have flags all over the Unseelie lands. You’re so sure you’ll be able to kill Xanthus before he kills you? I don’t know. My money is on Xanthus… and not because he’s my common’s father.”

Kala’el sanded his hands and laughed heartily. Ivan wasn’t sure whether he liked this or not. 

The ripples of Kala’el’s laugh withered to a soft sigh. “Let’s see if you still have your sense of humor after I tell you that earlier this evening, in these various territories across our lands, villagers reported having seen the peaks of metal mountains reaching into the sky,” Kala’el revealed. “Only these mountains had tiny rows of windows, almost like shining eyes. Now, to the ignorant, useless villagers of our world, they must have really looked like metal mountains. However, to us, the more knowing lot that have travelled both sides of the veil in the human realm and the faerie realm,  we would know that these metal mountains with hundreds of windows  are in fact—”

“Skyscrapers?” Ivan breathed. Suddenly, Ivan didn’t need Kala’el to seep ice into his veins. His blood ran cold all on its own.

Kala’el nodded once. “Not so funny now, is it, Your Grace? When I heard of it, I was certain there would be a logical explanation. However, after consulting my Sages, they confirmed me of two things. One, I am surrounded by idiots. You don’t need to guess what happened to them. Two, it appears there is only explanation as to why the human world is bleeding into ours. Unless you have another reason,” Kala’el growled lowly, nearing Ivan’s face threateningly, “then it means that our precious veil is falling!”  

Ivan let out a quiet breath, but said nothing. He just watched Kala’el back away and dramatically rub his temples in continuous circles.

“You can see why this disappoints me, Ivan,” he said, strained. “At this very moment, upon hearing of these reports, Queen Alistrina has ordered her convoy back to Hillenia. Xanthus’ has also called for his troops to be readied. My sages picked up on a power source very much like Charlotte’s somewhere south of here...  and it only a matter of time before Xanthus’ sages locate it as well! Tell me, when were you planning on alerting me that Charlotte was in the Fae realm, when she was on the rock slab out in that temple being drained of her life by Xanthus? More importantly, when were you planning on telling me that she would choose to destroy this veil?!”

Kala’el ground his fists into Ivan’s desk with a deafening roar. The marble slab snapped in two, and shards of rock exploded into the air.  “Because of your stupidity, war is upon us! I cannot take over the courts when they are at war! Damn you, Stokaya. Damn you to the deepest pits of the Underlands. I have worked at this too long to let you ruin it for me now. ”

Ivan stood still amidst the explosion, registering every word, though none of it made sense. 
He walked to the map in a daze and placed an open palm on the leathery surface, disbelieving.

“It’s impossible,” he said finally. “Charlotte knows what Xanthus is capable of, and what he plans to do to the humans.  She wouldn’t ever have chosen to break down the veil. I know her.”

Kala’el paused. His eyes grew black and for a moment he just stared at Ivan. He shook his head slowly. “For someone so smart, you’re such a fool. I might as well sit here and let Xanthus occupy our world and the human world as well, all because you are too stupid to open your eyes and realize what you’ve done. The entire time it’s been in front of you but you’ve always been too blind to see.”

“This isn’t the time for cryptic talk," Ivan said. "If you know something, then I need to know it now.”

Kala’el stepped back and coolly adjusted his cloak, regaining his haughtiness in the process. His now blue eyes squinted into tiny black slits as he studied Ivan, who grew more impatient by the minute. 

The plains of his face eased, and Kala’el chuckled. “This just keeps getting better and better. Youreally never suspected a thing. You say that you know Charlotte, but riddle me this,” Kala’el said, stroking is chin thoughtfully. “How much do you know about the maniac you left bound within her? How well did you know Maris-- really know her--before she became your student? And how long did you think Charlotte would be able to keep Maris at bay with your dearest brother guarding her?”

Ivan turned sharply. The words clawed his throat on their ascent. “What does this have to do with Kheelan?”

Kala’el began to laugh. It was a dark laugh that twisted itself around Ivan’s chest, making each breath tighter, harder. Kala’el opened his mouth to respond when another voice from behind them answered—

“Everything.”

Kala’el’s hackles were cut short, and both he and Ivan spun with their dominant element in hand, ready for an attack. Upon seeing who stood beside the fireplace behind them, Kala’el paled, and just as quickly knelt. Ivan just stood, unsure what to feel about the person—the woman standing by the fire. The flames bathed her in a crimson hue, a bright light in the midst of the shadows.

Ivan inclined his head respectfully with little emotion, but refused to bow.

She smiled and stroked the royal jewel that dangled from her neck. It cast a kaleidoscope of colors around the room, but the beauty did nothing to tame the ugly memories her presence birthed within Ivan.

She said, “I suppose I shouldn’t expect you to bow in my presence, Your Grace?”

“You are no longer my Queen,” Ivan replied evenly, boring his eyes into the woman who ruined his life.

At this, Kala’el shot up sharply to her defense, but Queen Alistrina raised a staying hand. “Ivan is right. I stopped being his Queen the moment I blamed him for Maris’ death, unjustly.”

Queen Alistrina whirled her finger around, and all the curtains in the room closed at once, the fire dying to glowing embers. Only Queen Alistrina shone, her glow that of a million stars personified. It burned Ivan's eyes to look at her, and so he flicked an orb to his hand and thrust it into the hearth at her side, igniting a violent flame that matched his raging emotions.

“Your Highness,” Kala’el said, his voice now strained. “You had sent word that you were returning to Hillenia. With all the recent developments, I think that is much safer. I could have relayed any message you had--”

“I’d much prefer to relay private messages myself, thank you,” she said with a smile darkened by secrets.  “And no one knows I am here. I would very much like to keep it that way… especially from Xanthus.” She met Kala’el’s stare evenly and arched a brow. 

Kala’el paused for a curious moment, and then confidently brushed his onyx locks behind his shoulder. “Of course, my Queen. He will have no idea. What we discuss here--”

“What Ivan and I discuss here is, as I said, private," she cut him off. "You may go, Kala’el. I am certain with all the ‘recent developments’, you can make yourself very useful elsewhere.”  

Shock flashed across Kala’el’s face, and in a way that seemed impossible, he grew paler. “Yes, your Majesty," he said and bowed rigidly. Kala'el turned and fleetingly met Ivan’s eyes with a look of burning coals. Under any other circumstance, Ivan would have smiled to dig the blade of insult deeper. But there, in the presence of Alistrina, he could only watch as the door closed quietly behind Kala’el.

A tense silence settled over the room. Ivan remained motionless by his desk. Anger kept him rooted, and dread in what Alistrina had to say froze him. Furthering the torturous paradox, Ivan could see sunlight seeping through the cracks in the curtains. Though daylight was fast coming, never had Ivan felt everything so dark.

Alistrina moved away from a rogue ray of light that stretched across the floor. Her jeweled gown twinkled as she walked toward the remains of Ivan’s desk, running her hand softly along the walls as she approached. She reached Ivan, and stood vulnerable before him, closer than anyone ever dared stand by a Queen. She stared up at him, meeting his black gaze with  a melancholy stare of her own. Ivan swallowed, but didn’t say anything.

Queen Alistrina studied Ivan's face, her silver eyes taking in every line. Hesitantly, she reached for his face. Ivan clutched her wrist in a feral hold and bore his gaze into hers.

“You’ve aged,” she said a little lower than a whisper.  “The human world will do that.”

Ivan’s grasp tightened around her captive wrist. “I had no other choice, did I?”

At this, Queen Alistrina lowered her eyes, a solemnness washing over her face.

“Why are you here?” Ivan asked brusquely and tossed her hand away.  “Kala’el is right. There are more pressing matters.”

“Nothing is more pressing than this—why I am truly here,” she replied, stepping over the shards of marble on the floor.  Alistrina moved to the map, with a pained longing that rusted her movements. She trailed her finger along the various territories, just as Ivan had done, with the same misery. “I’ve done many things I am ashamed of, things I will not ask to be forgiven for because truthfully, I don’t deserve it. I hurt you and your family; I hurt my own daughter, and kept her from happiness all because of my own desires, all because of my love for the humans. And now, in spite of everything I did to keep it from happening, the veil is falling…”

Alistrina’s hand fell to her side, and her otherworldly glow diminished. Helpless, she walked back to the fireplace, and sat at a winged chair.  She looked so small and insignificant, Ivan almost felt sorry for her.

“I’m sure you’ve heard... about the skyscrapers,” she said. Ivan breathed out sharply and nodded. He joined her by the flames and sat slowly.

Leaning forward, Ivan weaved his hands in his black hair now peppered by stress and worry.  “Kala’el told me, though I don’t understand how it can be. There has to be some scientific explanation, some logical reason. Maybe it’s a flare in the atmospheric changes in our world, or—“

A hand on Ivan’s shoulder silenced him. Looking up, Alistrina smiled and shook her head slowly.

“We cannot pretend, Ivan. We must accept that both of our worlds are in danger. You know as well as I do that the veil is falling because of Charlotte.”

Ivan shot to his feet. “I just don’t understand how it can be. I dedicated half of my life to studying every legend and every story about the veil. I’ve read and re-read all the books, memorized them. You bound the treaty between our worlds to Maris--she is the key to the veil, she is the only one who can destroy it. I always thought that if you locked it away somewhere in time, it meant that only a Time Wielder could reach it.  That is why Xanthus chose Charlotte to place Maris’ soul in. So that he could have the ultimate key needed to finally destroy the veil.”

Queen Alistrina lowered her eyes, and Ivan felt his heart lower all the same.

Alistrina brought her hands together. Particles of ice whirled around her fingers as she slowly separated her hands, forming a spear of ice. “What do you see when you look at this?”  she asked, laying the dagger on her lap.

Ivan’s jaw clenched. “What does this have to do with anything?”

“Like I said before: everything,” she replied sharply, desperate. “Now tell me, what do you see?”

Exasperated, Ivan squeezed his eyes. “A dagger.”

Alistrina let out a small laugh. “Do you know what I see? A weapon much like the one Kala’el used to kill your mother, much like the one he intends to use to end my life.”

 Ivan’s eyes flicked up and met Alistrina’s knowing stare. “Don’t look so shocked,” she said. “I know everything Kala’el has done, just as I know the desires of his heart. The only reason he is still alive is because he protects this kingdom as if it were his own. I know that above all, he will never let the Seelie kingdom fall. But you see, Ivan, Kala’el has fooled himself into believing that I don’t know about his plots. In the end, he, like everyone else, always sees what they want to see, regardless of what the truth really is. That is what happened with the tales surrounding Maris and the veil.

 "When the veil was formed, what little truth slipped out about what really happened were linked together. Rumors and speculations became stories, and over time, those tales were accepted as truth. I suppose I am partly to blame. I never did anything to persuade anyone to think otherwise. I let the tales be written as history, never once admitting that they were just that—tales, fables, fragments of the truth. I thought that if no one knew what really happened the day the veil was formed, then the real veil would be safe. But today, all that has crumbled.”

Ivan suddenly felt sick, weak. The room spun around him in a dizzying manner, and all he could do was ask, “And what is the truth?”

“The truth of it all is that yes, after The Shattering, a treaty was formed between the humans and the Fae. We would remain in our world, and they in theirs. And yes, I did bind the treaty to the life of a royal offspring, one of human and Fae blood. Only thing is that at the time this happened, Xanthus had no child, while I did. Naturally, since Maris was the daughter of a royal and a human, everyone believed that I bound the treaty to her.” Queen Alistrina swallowed deeply, her hands trembling at her lap. “The truth, Ivan, is that when the elders and I formed the veil, we thought endlessly about the safest place to keep it. We knew Xanthus wouldn't rest until destroying it. We decided that a Time bender would be most wise as guardian. That way, if the veil was ever in any danger, the Time bender could simply move into another time and keep it safe. We thought it was for the best. And so with the help of the elders, we sent the veil into the future, into the life of the next born Time bender…“

Ivan dug his nails into the arm rest in savage rage. “Say her name…” he growled lowly.

Queen Alistrina took in a slow breath. “Charlotte.  She is the keeper of the veil. If she dies, then the veil falls.”

The words struck Ivan like thousands of icy daggers. In a black sweep, he tore Queen Alistrina from her chair, misting them across the room. He rammed her into the wall, holding her neck in restrained fury as the stone wall behind her cracked. 

“Tell me why I shouldn’t kill you this minute!” Ivan dug his fingers deeper into her porcelain skin. “This is all your fault. You let us all believe lies! I left Charlotte because I thought she’d have a better chance at succeeding if Xanthus didn’t have all the pieces in one place. She didn’t want me to leave, but I told her that she could do this. Now you’re telling me that it was all a lie? This whole time, the veil has been hidden within her?!”

Queen Alistrina coughed sputtering breaths, but did not struggle. Little by little, she paled, until weakened; her knees gave from under her. Ivan looked into the hopelessness in her silvery stare, to the life that was slowly dimming, and released her to the floor. He stumbled back, his mind whirling in madness. There were so many thoughts, colliding with one another, making for one frightful conclusion. He’d left Charlotte. The veil was within her. And if the veil was falling, it could only mean—

“Dear God…” Ivan whispered in dread. “She’s dying.”

Ivan spun to Alistrina who nursed her neck, droplets of blood seeping from the puncture marks of Ivan’s nails. She met his eyes and nodded.

“The veil is falling because somehow Charlotte is losing her life-- to injury, or to Maris, and I have the distinct feeling that with Kheelan at her side, Maris is slowly surfacing and slowly killing Charlotte from within.”

Ivan leaned back against the adjacent wall beside the fireplace. Around him, it felt as if the world had simply stopped.  He didn’t want to ask, but had to know, “What does this have to do with Kheelan?”

Alistrina rose slowly, supported by the wall. Her breaths were harsh, and she staggered a few steps before falling down into her seat. “Before you were called to become Maris teacher,  I noticed that with each day she grew more violent, less controlled. I'd studied humans for long enough to know the effects of love, and my daughter was in love—madly. Knowing this, I had her followed, only to learn that it was your brother she was tangled with. Naturally, I couldn’t have allowed it. Kheelan's reputation was ghastly in the upper circles, and marriages had to be amongst royals…”

“I am not of royal blood, yet you allowed for us to be married,” Ivan retorted.

“I had my reasons,” Queen Alistrina revealed. “I planned to confront Maris and tell her to end this with Kheelan, but I had no leverage. I could threaten her—arrange for her to marry someone else, but she would have eventually found a way to him. Then you were appointed Sage, and I realized that if I couldn’t keep her from Kheelan, I could keep Kheelan from her. He never would have betrayed you, his only brother. And so I confronted them both. I told Maris  that she had to end it with Kheelan and accept you, and warned Kheelan not to say a word, or he would forefeit his life.”

Queen Alistrina shivered, and the room grew colder. It was a battle, however, as around Ivan, the wooden planks beneath him curled.

“Maris’ anger was frightening, but I warned her that if she refused, I would send Kheelan to service on the front lines of the Unseelie borders. The battles there are as fierce as they are endless. She never would have seen him again. She either accepted you as her teacher, and eventually her mate in exchange for Kheelan's life.”

“How did you know I would fall in love with her?” Ivan asked, suddenly feeling like a stringed puppet being held over fire.

Alistrina's tilted her head to one side and her brows furrowed in confusion. “Whoever said anything about love? I would have demanded that you marry her, and you would have obeyed—you know this.”

Ivan did, and realizing how obedient he had been in his earlier days, Ivan felt all the fire within him fade, and ice corrode his veins. Blindly, Ivan walked to the basin where the truth of it all contracted in his stomach. He keeled over as his stomach released continuously. Ivan heaved and cursed, until nothing more came from within him. Gripping onto the sink, he pushed back and washed away the proof of his foolishness.

Ivan’s throat burned, and made his voice hoarse as he confessed, “My own brother has hated me in secret because I killed the woman he loved, and no one ever told me. I held the woman he loved as if she were mine, loved her as if she were mine, paraded her in front of him as if she were mine, but she was his, and no one told me!” Ivan roared, and the fire in the hearth exploded. He trembled, as memories haunted his mind and shameful tears prickled the back of his eyes. He’d hurt his only brother, and suddenly, Ivan hated himself.

"Kheelan was not good for her," Alistrina began once Ivan regained composure.  "She had no control around him. She would have done anything for him. I needed her with someone stable who could help her control her powers, and aid her in becoming the Queen she was to be. You were supposed to have done that. Kheelan is a healer. Where he is led by feeling, you are led by reason and consequence," she explained.

Defeated, Alistrina continued, "Kheelan obeyed immediately, and after many threats, Maris agreed to my demands. But in her anger, she reached out to Xanthus and plotted to kill me,” Alistrina confessed. “With me dead, Maris would have received all my knowledge, including the location of the Tree of Life—the only map with the location of the veil.  I learned after her death that in exchange for help in killing me, she would have taken Xanthus to the map. He would have finally known to whose lineage the veil would be born to. He could have destroyed Charlotte the moment she was born, hence destroying the veil.  But that didn’t matter to Maris. All she cared about was being free to be with Kheelan, regardless of if the Xanthus was destroying the world around them. But then you killed Maris and all I could think about was how it was all my fault. I blamed you because it hurt too much to know that my daughter hated me so much, she conspired with my greatest enemy. But do you see why I did it? Do you see how dangerous their love was? It consumed her and she would have done anything; destroyed our worlds just to have him.”

Ivan swallowed, and forced the words from his tightened throat. “If you knew this, why did you send him to Shongopovi to recover her?”

“No one knew what Xanthus had done when he ordered your mother to bind Maris within Charlotte, not even Kheelan. I sent him out to recover Charlotte and bring her back to Hillenia. But we simply didn’t know the extent of it all—that Maris was within her. I never would have sent him if I knew. It seems fate truly has us all in its grasp, as much as we like to believe we own our destinies.”

Ivan froze as fragments of memory fell apart and rearranged themselves in his mind. And after a moment, in the face of all the truth, he just laughed. It was the rich, dark laughter of foolishness. It was the derisive hackles at realizing it had all been staring at him in the face.

“Kheelan always told me not to marry Maris because she was evil, but it was because he was in love with her.  As soon as we discovered Maris was within Charlotte, I shunned her, but he took to her so quickly, accepted her without question… God, he's always called her Princess, and I was too blinded to see it. And now he’s with Charlotte, and I told her that he is the only one she can trust.” Ivan cupped his mouth. “What have I done?”

Fire coursed through Ivan’s veins, but all he felt was cold—bitter, cutting cold. The world that once revolved around him vanished under revelations of secrets and lies, and at the center of it all was Charlotte. And she was dying, losing her life to Maris.

 “What has been done can be undone, Ivan, but we must act fast. Queen Aeval has sent word that Charlotte was kidnapped, but they’ve recovered her safely. Aeval has been in league with the resistance for some time now, recruited by your father. She has been instrumental in freeing a lot of the slaves in the eastern Seelie lands, and so they have offered her aid at the Resistance camps, just outside of Coleck. Ivan, it is the Resistance that protects the Tree of Life.  You must get there before they do. You must keep them from reaching the tree and seeing the truth. If Maris learns that Charlotte is the veil, out of spite, she will destroy it.”

 “Kheelan won’t let her,” Ivan said unsteadily, wishing he could believe his own words.

  “We can only hope. But he has already killed Mirad who was like a brother to him, all to keep Charlotte and Maris safe. How long will he deny himself love for you? Kheelan has a good heart, but love can corrupt the purest of souls.”

  Ivan didn't like the insinuation. He rose slowly and walked to the balcony window. Parting the curtains, he looked to the rising sun. He gazed at it until his eyes hurt.

Alistrina appeared beside him, and placed a hand on Ivan’s shoulder. Ivan would have shrugged it off, but couldn't move as the truth settled in his mind, in his bones.

She said, “I’m trying to wrong my rights, Ivan. I know you don’t trust me. I wouldn’t trust myself either after what I did to you, to Maris. But we have an equal enemy, and if Charlotte dies, the veil falls and Xanthus wins. If Maris overpowers her, then Xanthus wins all the same. We must save Charlotte. Whether we like it or not, war has started. Quietly, but it has begun. I have reached out to the Great Mother of the Resistance, and offered my army to their cause, to bring down our common enemy. The resistance will never trust me, but they trusted your father, and they trust you. You can unite us both for the sake of saving our worlds. Go to them and find Charlotte.”

 The temple trembled suddenly, the ground beneath them shifting. The distinct sounds of explosions rattled the door outside--clear signs of a battle. 

"Kala'el must have warned Xanthus that I'm here! You must leave now! My guards will hold Xanthus' guards back. This is your chance. Please!"

In the middle of the hell bursting through the seams of the door, Ivan closed his eyes as images of Charlotte brushed past, her scent washing over him. He nodded.

 “Thank you, Your Grace. I know what I did is unforgivable, but you are saving us all.”

Ivan opened the balcony doors. The sight was beautiful nightmare. Golden hues of passing fireballs lit the morning sky like hundreds of falling suns.  Smoke swirled into the sky, joining the black clouds that rumbled overhead. Ivan stood in middle of a white marble balcony and watched the city below burn under the beginnings of war.

 “I’m doing this for Charlotte. I’m doing this to gain my brother’s forgiveness," he told her, his sight undisturbed from the chaos. "I am not doing this for you, never for you."

The door rattled with less resistance, the screams outside intensifying. Ivan looked to Alistrina one last time as the door finally exploded open.

 "Kala'el means to kill you..." he added softly. "I hope he succeeds.”

With the memory of Charlotte present in his mind, Ivan evaporated into a mist and vanishied into the black clouds.

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Thank you for reading!