Callie and Don weren't the allies I would have chosen, yet they were only ones I had.
Callie shook her head. "We've been without a home for too long."
"The crown will not let you leave until someone is chosen," Don warned.
I'd begun to suspect as much.
Which meant running would only delay the inevitable and get others killed. Perhaps even those I loved.
The crown was tired and lonely. It craved a companion. For it to survive, it needed someone on the throne.
If I didn't give it one, it would keep me instead.
Callie's snakes slithered over her shoulder. They butted my face and shoulder, their tongues flicking out in small kisses. "Little hatchling, fate has not been kind to you."
"She never was."
She was a cold hard bitch who took too much delight in upending my world.
A dagger flew from the side. Don's horn extended, catching it before it could impale itself in my throat.
Travis limped into view, his eyes burning and his front coated with blood. "Step away. That crown is mine."
TWENTY-ONE
I SCRAMBLED TO my feet as Callie straightened.
"That's not how this works. The one who holds the crown chooses the next ruler. You know that," she said.
It seemed someone had missed the memo that Travis wasn't the ally he appeared.
I edged away, my gaze darting between the three of them. "I forgot to mention. He's the reason the crown was lost in the first place."
The battle raged on the other side of the chamber. Liam and Nathan were occupied holding back the rest of the Scattered.
Inara streaked into the room, followed by the twins.
They weren't the only ones, Arlan stood proud and tall, flinging powerful magic around him with precision. In his hand he held a blade and wielded it with a skill every bit as strong as Liam's.
From a distance I could hear other fights. What little of the realm had been clawed back from the veil over the centuries had descended into a brawl, the stakes of which would decide everyone's fate.
There was something I didn’t like about the way Callie and Don were looking at Travis, like he was one of them.
He wasn't.
It was time they realized that.
"I had a chat with the old king. Travis is the reason for all of this. He conspired with the other High Kings to imprison the old king. Brin had no choice but to close the realm to keep it from falling into his hands."
Callie and Don went still, their attention moving between me and Travis.
I held my breath. If they didn't believe me, it was going to be three against one. Liam and the rest would never make it across the room in time to do anything but watch me die.
"Are you going to believe the daughter of a traitor?" Travis asked, seeing the hesitation on their faces. He seemed disbelieving. Insulted, even.
Callie didn't speak as she studied the two of us.
Don shifted so he could focus the majority of his attention on Travis. "I would be less inclined to believe her if you didn't smell of Owen's magic. Would you care to explain why that is?"
