“What is the meaning of this?” Father demanded, as if he blamed the visitors for this disturbance.
Maybe it was their doing? After all, it seemed to be a threat only they could hear.
Then a call went up outside the palace and echoed through the halls to our ears.
Confusion ripped through the guests. No one was sure what was happening, but it was definitely real. A panicked buzz erupted, and more fae got to their feet.
A palace guard raced into the room and came to my father at the head of the table, bending down to whisper to him.
His jaw clenched, and his fists balled.“There are undead in the bay. They approach the palace,” he murmured to no one in particular.
Undead? They were the creatures responsible for several attacks in the Twelve Kingdoms of late, weren’t they? Father had told us they could not reach our shores—how could they be here?
“Where are your cellars?” Nyx demanded as guards poured in to protect the duke and his important guests.
“I—we—” he stammered, more shaken than I had ever seen him. I saw it on his face then. Father had lied about the undead to placate us. He had merely hoped they could not reach our shores since most of the attacks were in the north. We were woefully unprepared for this kind of attack in our kingdom. Father never went to the expense of building up our fortifications, as he never believed real danger would come to our door when the target would naturally always be the crown. But I could see that it was dawning on him the mistake hehad made in not keeping the prince’s visit secret, and he was terrified.
“There is no time,” a guard shouted from the hall. “Bar the doors.”
Ice ran through my veins. This wasn’t good.Beside me, Kol was frozen and staring into the distance.
“Allow my ryder and I out,” Nyx ordered.
“It’s too dangerous,” Father argued.
“We have no choice, we can’t let them enter the palace.”
His words seemed to snap his brother from his frozen state. Kol slowly rose and looked his brother in the eye.
“No, brother, you stay here.”
“I must help,” Kol replied hoarsely.
Nyx shook his head. We could all see he was in no fit state to help with anything.
“You need the help. I have seen how this—goes.” His voice cracked over his words, and I trembled from their meaning. He had fought these things before, and from his appearance now, survival was little better than defeat.
Nyx strode around the table and faced Kol, clasping his face in his hands as the gathered crowd looked on in terror. “I need you to guard the prince.”
Kol swallowed, an argument on his tongue.
The prince stood. “Please, Kol.” He implored, but not knowing him, I could not tell if he was desperate for Kol to stay for his safety or for Kol’s.
“We need dragons in the sky,” Kol tried to argue.
“But if they get through, we will need firepower here, too,” Alaric argued.
Nyx placed a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “I’m not standing you down. I’m asking you to protect the crown. Can you do that?”
Kol nodded, eyes on the prince.
Alaric tipped his head to Nyx, signaling he should leave, and Nyx turned immediately, Zaria at his side, slicing through the fabric of her dress with a dagger as they headed for the door. Presumably to allow her to fly. I watched in wonder at the freedom to be that kind of female until the guards lifted the bar and let them slip into the hallway.
“Seal the doors,” Father called. “Take your seats, the general will ensure our safety,” he said to the crowd with a quavering voice. Then he headed for a gathering of the heads of the guard in the corner to be briefed.
Looks of fear and doubt were exchanged throughout the hall, but dutifully, the upper classes of the Light Kingdom either took their seats or stood near them in small groups, murmuring. I was astounded by the calm in the room, given that we were all trapped and essentially waiting to die.
I thought of the other guard again for the first time in a while. Was he on the ship and aware of the attack? Could he help in some way? That same need to be far away pulled at me. Somewhere at sea, if I had to pinpoint the feeling of the lure. No, not at sea…over the sea. It was bizarre. I feared I was losing a grip on my sanity from the stress I’d been under lately.
