She barked a disbelieving laugh. “You want me to go to Syrus with you.”
“I can walk us there and back in no more than an hour.”
He used the termwalk, but he didn’t mean by foot. “Why do you want to meet with me in Syrus?”
“To show you what the kingdom of anevil immortal tyrantlooks like.” He said it with such jest, but there was nothing funny about this situation.
Cora and Teryn said nothing, which made Darius’ expression darken.
“I’ve called it an invitation, but—” He stepped forward again and disappeared at once.
“—it’s not—” he said, appearing on the opposite side of the bed.
“—really—” Now by the wardrobe.
“—a request.” He reappeared where he’d first stood. He’d moved so fast, they’d hardly had time to react beyond a flinch. He’d worldwalked with ease, as if he’d been taking a leisurely stroll, hopping from one location to the next with each step he’d taken.
Cora wasn’t that powerful. She couldn’t activate her abilities that fast.
“I don’t want to take you by force,” Darius said, “but I can. I can cross this space and take your hand before either of you can react.”
“Is that how you intend to get us to trust you?” Teryn said, edging closer to Cora, his poker raised once more. “With threats?”
“What else do you want from me?” Darius said with a sneer. “We’re enemies until we agree otherwise. I can’t make unbreakable vows like pureblood Elvyn can, but I will still state it out loud. I swear not to harm Queen Aveline Caelan at any time while she is in Syrus.”
Cora shook her head. “Your word means nothing.”
“What matters to you, then? Blood? Well, then let me tell you this. I have a vested interest in you. A reason why I’d rather not kill you, and it has to do with your bloodline.”
“What…what do you mean?”
His lips curved in a cruel grin. “You, Aveline, are my kin.”
43
Darius’ words rattled around in her mind, but she couldn’t make sense of them. “What do you mean I’m your kin?”
“You share my blood,” Darius said. “Well, notmyblood exactly. We both share my father’s blood, the blood of King Tristaine Solaria. Your relation to him is diluted over many generations, but I can still sense it when I stand before you. The same way my son thought he sensed the weight of prophecy on you. That’s what his report had said. That the moment he saw you as a child, he felt a connection and knew you were the prophesied mother. Can you imagine how embarrassed he’d be to discover just how wrong he was? What he felt wasn’t the magical tug of prophecy, but the connection fae feel to their kin. Had he been humble enough to harbor at least a shred of doubt, he’d have done his due diligence to follow your family tree. He’d have followed your mother’s ancestry to the Southern Islands, then several generations back to King Tristaine of Syrus, his grandfather.”
Cora didn’t know what to think. What to feel. She was distantly related to Morkai. He’d targeted her, hurt her, cursed her all because of a prophecy and a sense of connection he hadn’t understood.
He’d been wrong.
So recklessly and foolishly wrong.
Every conclusion he’d come to about Cora had been the result of his mistakes.
Everything she’d suffered.
Every loss she’d been forced to bear.
Rage boiled inside her, curling her fingers into fists. Flames filled her mind’s eye as a dark weight fell over her, smothering her.
Then a whispered voice.Should it have been her?
A thorn of guilt shattered her anger. She forced the dark thoughts from her mind, forced her fury to cool enough to maintain her tether to the present.
Darius spoke again. “I truly mean it when I say I don’t want us to be enemies. All I ask is for one hour of your time. Just see what Syrus is like. See what kind of king I truly am. Hear me out, and I’ll answer any questions you have.”
