I close my eyes and rub my lips together, pushing down the rage boiling inside of me. She should have never negotiated with the Allaji without me. A treaty of our own binds our kingdoms. We are allies during this war, so whatever she promised, I want to know Lucent can deliverwithout putting my people at risk.
“What were the terms of the treaty?” I ask.
Esmeray folds her arms behind her back and climbs to the top of the dais. “I think it is ingenious. Every notable player gets what they want. Of course, there were some barriers we had to eliminate for it all to work out.”
Fear takes root in me.
She is enjoying the theatrics of her big reveal too much. I have spent little time in her presence, but what I know of this woman is that she thrives on vindictiveness. The harder the blow she can land, the happier she is.
“Of course, the Allaji were gracious enough to accommodate and prove their loyalty to the plan.” Her gaze locks with Zek’s and one corner of his lip quirks up. “I can’t thank you enough, Zekiel.” She chuckles and shakes her head like she has misspoken. “My apologies, King Zekiel. It will take a moment to get used to your new station among the Allaji.”
I gasp and take a step back. When? Why? How can my guard be the king of the Allaji?
“It was my pleasure.” Zek sweeps his hand in front of him and bows at the waist. Enormous cream-colored wings speckled in brown unfurl from his back. He lifts head and his bright blue eyes narrow in on me. That mischievous smile I found so endearing graces his face, but now it’s laced with malice.
“No,” I cry, clasping my hand over my mouth.
He doesn’t need to completely shift for me to know I’m looking at Micah’s murderer. Every piece of this puzzle is coming together in my head. When the carriage exploded, he didn’t run to my aid. He appeared after the danger passed. The night Kyron’s guard was slaughtered, Zek supposedly sat outside my door, but he was actually nailing an innocent man to the wall. The hawk that waited for Kyron and me at Basecamp was him. He knew where to find me.
Zek was never taken. He returned to his people.
A scuffle ensues behind me. My father and Leif have wrestled Borin to the ground. He wails and thrashes like a rabid beast while tears streak down his face. The man who killed his husband stands before him, and there is nothing he can do to avenge his death.
My father wraps Borin in his arms and rocks him back and forth. “You will get your revenge. I promise you will. But not in this place, my friend.”
“I will kill you,” Borin yells through his sobs.
Zek narrows his eyes and snarls like Borin’s threat is nothing more than an irritating fly.
My shock wanes, and my curiosity takes control. “How did you become a Lucent guard?”
“It’s a funny story, but sort of long.” He props an arm on the back of Esmeray’s throne and looks at his fingernails. “Condensed version: I wanted to be king. Like I told you before, our people require a notable act along with killing most of the other competitors for that to happen. I thought, shit, I can find a way to weasel into the Lucent guard, prove I’m the best, get a prime assignment and send all the intel back to my people, so they could plot to take your land. Guarding you was the cherry on top. I was hoping to fuck you, but you know, the whole pining for your parah thing really messed that up.”
“You son of a bitch!”
Kyron charges up the stairs, and I rush to grab the back of his jacket, pulling him back down beside me. I entwine my fingers with his and feel the rage coursing through him. The emotion is so strong that it knocks the breath from my lungs. I push away Kyron’s gift, needing some space before it suffocates me. My head clears, and I return my attention to the queen.
“You still haven’t told me the terms of the treaty,” I snarl.
“Sorry. Everything is so intertwined, and I get carried away with all the drama. The terms are simple. I reunite Pliris as its queen, and Allaji gets Cyffreds to work their fields, so they can continue to carry on like the animals they are.”
My heart hammers against my ribs, and dread rumbles in the pit of my stomach. My tongue thickens, making my next question almost impossible to ask. “What Cyffreds do the Allaji get?”
“The Lucent Cyffreds, of course.”
“No!” I bolt up the stairs and grab Esmeray around the neck. My fingers squeeze, and she claws at them, trying to get loose. Greer and Kyron grab me, pulling me away from her.
“You are bound to a treaty with Lucent,” I say through gritted teeth, fighting to get free.
Esmeray rubs the red finger marks on her throat, gasping for breath. “Our treaty had an expiration date. Once we were no longer at war with the Allaji, it was void.Weare no longer at war with them, Lucent is. But notfor long. The Allaji are rounding up your useless subjects as we speak and carting them to their new home. As far as the Khiros are concerned, they will fall in line when they see all I have to offer them.”
I hate her with every fiber of my being. She said Micah was a coward, but she hides in the safety of the sanctuary. He was fighting a war, and she can’t even face me without the Statera’s protection.
With an eerie calm, Kyron says, “We won’t let you get away with this. I will fight against this until your last breath if I must, and when you’re gone, I will undo it all.”
The queen dips her head, and dozens of warriors converge upon the dais. They race up the steps, blocking us from everyone on the floor and trapping us like mice in a cage.
Knowing she has the upper hand, Esmeray doesn’t fear approaching her son. She runs her hand over the side of his face. The gesture is so tender and motherly that I almost forget how wicked she is. Her words are soft, melodic as she says, “Don’t worry, son. I will free you from this bond, make you forget Raelle Mansi ever existed. I will pluck the memories of her and Lucent from your mind one by one. And when I’m done, I will reteach you to be a strong ruler like our ancestors. You will be an entirely new man, free of the absurdities caused by the parah bond.”
