The king chuckled as the collar sunk deep into Vexxion’s flesh, forcing him into a life serving one master.
This couldn’t be true. The rules stated that a high lord could only claim one person at a time.
He’d collared Brodine. I saw it. I felt it all the way to my bones.
What evil despot ever follows the rules?someone said in my mind. A chill wracked through me, and I gulped back horror. The voice wasnotVexxion’s.
It was not mine either.
Who is this?I snarled.
There was no reply.
The world around me ebbed and flowed, and while Vexxion whimpered, I was wrenched back to the sitting area in our suite. I collapsed on my side, yanking the blanket around my shivering frame, though I knew whatever warmth the fabric gave me would not stop my quaking.
Thiswas why Vexxion made me promise never to enter the king’s bedroom. He didn’t want me to discover this final truth.
And oh, how horrible it was.
“No,” I whispered, then said it louder, harsh and sharp enough to make Drask startle. “No!”
Ivenrail was not following the rules laid out in the treaty, but that was a paltry thing compared to what I now suspected.
Some rules were set in stone long before Ivenrail rose to power. Only one of them concerned me at this moment, the one related to the master and the person they collared.
The king wouldn’t care enough about this one to find a way past it.
I’d stabbed Delaine in the heart and shoved her off the cliff, killing her.
And at that moment, Will died.
When I killed the king, Vexxion would die as well.
54
VEXXION
Standing near the arch and to the king’s right inside the throne room, I dug at the back of my neck and struggled to keep a bland expression on my face.
Brodine had arrived along with other Nullens, and they stood off to the side like stoic sentinels. A few discreetly peered around the room, taking in the flowers strung on strands across the ceiling, the captured sprites generating sparkling light, and the creamy fabric draped artfully along the walls. Gone was the throne room where the king dispensed his heavy hand of justice, replaced only for today with the fixings for a brutal ruler’s wedding.
While Brodine had not risen to the surface and continued to stare at nothing, I could tell Tempest had found him. The spell worked well. No one knew he was no longer collared except me.
There was no fifth collar for my neck, though I’d tried.
While pain coursed across my throat, I was thankful that her friends had a chance of living the way they were supposed to.
Madrood had been brought in through the large door along the wall the king had crafted for this purpose. He rested on his haunches near the dais, looking as unamused about the pageantry as me. Who did the king plan to burn today?
High lords and ladies dressed in their finest had settled in seats on either side of the aisle behind me. Their titters and the low murmur of their voices rang out, echoing across the ceiling. Used to being entertained at all times, they were getting bored already.
“Where is she?” Ivenrail asked High Advisor Adwarin who’d wormed his way between me and the king. I hadn’t protested him taking the spot reserved for the king’s controller.
My controlling days were over. Soon, the plan I’d put into place when I met Tempest would begin. Now I was just a puppet on strings waiting for the true master to arrive and controlme.
“I’m not sure, my king,” the high advisor said.
“Someone fetch Brenna,” the king barked. “It’s time for the wedding to begin.”
