And they all aimed their nocked bows at Rune, the arrowheads glinting with Nightstone.
CHAPTER 42
Alora
Alora’s heart thundered, shock freezing her in place. But Runelaughed. As if he were surrounded by candle flames rather than a swarm of Midlands most lethal paladins ready to kill him.
His gaze slid over Zinnia.
“Your niece has enjoyed all of my fingers, Thornbearer,” he purred, voice low enough to curl heat and mortification down Alora’s spine. “And she didn’t complain in the slightest last night.”
A shocked murmur rippled through the ranks.
Alora’s face burned beneath everyone’s stare. She dare not look at Caelum lingering silent behind her.
Her growl hummed through their bond,Rune.
He shot her a sharp smile. He remained kneeling in the array, utterly unconcerned that death hovered a breath away, wearing arrogance like a crown.
Thorned roots burst from the earth with a hiss, whipping toward Rune like striking serpents. They lanced across the ground, tearing through soil and stone as they lunged.
Alora moved before she even thought.
She stepped between him and the roots. They halted an inch from her face. Barbed tips quivered, trembling with the stored violence of Zinnia’s command.
Her shadows reared instinctively, ready to cut them down. The roots recoiled a hair’s breadth, confused, wary, tasting the power that hummed beneath Alora’s skin.
“Enough,” she said, voice ringing with something that made her magic hum.
Zinnia’s eyes narrowed. “Alora, whatever he has told you, he is not the one you should protect. He brought about your mother’s death.”
Her heart ached, but she kept her voice steady. “It wasn’t him.”
“Don’t believe his lies.”
“My husband vowed to never lie to me.” Her voice softened, turned razor-sharp as she flicked Rune a pointed look over her shoulder. “Even if he were crafty with his words, I can now sense untruths more keenly than before.”
The smirk dropped from Rune’s face and he glanced away.
Alora breathed in, steady. “If Rune had been the one to make the bargain with my mother… I would feel it. He is guilty of many things.” Her jaw tightened. “But not that.”
The truth—or a trace of it—hung between them, fragile as spun glass.
Taking a breath, she closed her eyes and withdrew whatever strange magic had formed the array, releasing Rune.
“I commend your bravery, Thornbearer, to at last face me yourself instead of sending your knight,” Rune said, glancing at Caelum as he rose to his feet, towering at her shoulder.
A curl formed between Zinnia’s pink brows as she glanced at him as well, then at the glowing glyphs on his sword and shield.
Rune picked up the axe again. “Though it won’t take much to cut through your little army.”
The Midland soldiers instantly drew their weapons and Lady Zinnia’s vines reared to attack.
“Stand down,” Alora snapped. To Rune, she pointed down at the ground at her feet. “Stay.”
The markings on her skin blazed, shadows swarming around her.
Glowering, he lowered back down to his knees. She tasted his anger through the bond, and a trace of his delight.
