There’s a flash of white light.
It doesn’t dispel the lingering haze in my vision.
“Do not!” Rowen’s voice bellows and the blurry array of colors grows still. “This is blood tithe.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Panic explodes inmy veins, gripping my heart in ice.
The seconds it takes for my vision to return are too long and I struggle blindly against the arm restraining me.
“You’re no longer safe, Lady Ves.” Cyran’s voice comes from behind.
Peering over my shoulder, worried lavender eyes come into focus. Two more faces appear, Riordan and another I don’t recognize—blue eyes, tight dark curls.
“Cyran!” I shout, turning back to the center of the throne room. “Let me go!”
A wall of Sovereign Kings stands between me and Ryc. They block most of the view, but the sounds of fighting and the flashes of light tell me everything I need to know.
Ryc is going to kill Ganus.
He’s going to kill him andstart a war.
This is exactly what Vaelyn wants.
It doesn’t matter how hard I struggle against Cyran, his grip is ironclad. The breastplate of his armor digs into the flesh of my bare back, a pain numbed by panic.Coldsettles deep in my chest as I thrash.
“We’re to accompany you back to Ollora,” Riordan says, his voice gentle as if he’s trying to calm a wild beast.
The familiar shimmer of innate magic ripples over my skin, transforming panic into feverish terror. Slamming my heel, it crashes upon the top of Cyran’s boot—there’s a loudsnap, and I falter under my weight, pitching us both off balance.
It’s enough to break his concentration.
I willnotleave Ryc.
“Lady Ves—” His words become an enraged shout as the finger in my grip bends backward and the jointshatters.
His grip around my waist loosens, and it’s all I need.
Shedding my shoes, I buck, knocking Cyran back, and burst into a bare-footed sprint. Riordan reaches, utter shock upon his face, and his hands grasp at air as I slip around him.
A few kings turn with the commotion, granting me a narrowed view between them. Ryc towers over Ganus. The Sovereign King of Battalia lies pinned beneath him, his face smeared with crimson. Arm reared back, a ring of white light appears around Ryc’s fist as it descends.
“Ryc!” I cry. “Ryc, stop!”
None of the kings move. A few turn to the fight. Rowen gives me a rather imploring glance.
Theywaitandwatch.
No better than demons.
The lot of them.
I reach to push them aside. My fingers brush against Darin’s shoulder and vibrations race across my palm. A warning—
Stars burst in my eyes.
The air rushes to escape my crushed lungs.
