“His mate is quite determined,” the high advisor said stiffly.
The king raked his nails across the arms of his throne. “I should’ve killed her the moment I saw her.”
“Without draining her first?” Kerune shook his head, though he kept the movement subtle.
“Shewastasty.” Ivenrail growled. “Bring her back too. When you find that dragon, kill him.”
“You won’t try to reclaim him once you break their bond?” The high advisor’s eyes widened.
“He betrayed me.”
“Perhaps.”
The king cocked his head to look up at his advisor. “I raised him from the moment he slipped from his egg. Vexxion too for that matter. They owe me.”
“Loyalty has become a relic of the past.” Disgust churned through High Advisor Adwarin’s voice. His breath jerked in, and his robe swayed across his shoes with his agitation. “Except for me and Kerune, of course. We remain yours.”
Liar. He was only loyal as long as he could benefit from his association with the king. If he could replace him without dying from his effort, he’d do so in an instant.
“Don’t toy with me.” Ivenrail’s snarl rang out, and his gaze landed on the Nullens. “Bring them to me one at a time.” His finger flicked their way, only a subtle shake of the limb telling me he hadn’t recently consumed power. “I’m famished.”
Kerune stepped off the dais and grabbed a woman’s arm, dragging her up the steps and over to the king. “Hold still,” he grumbled. He must’ve used magic because she stilled, staring forward blankly.
Ivenrail gouged his thumb against her forehead but other than a jerk of her body, she remained unmoving. His gaze blurred as he drank my power, his throat working as if he truly guzzled it down. Lifting his thumb away from her, he stroked it down her cheek, his voice slurring. “Bring me another.”
He worked his way through them, taking from me each time, and I wondered how often I’d have to keep coming here before we could finally end this. Now that I wasn’t bound to his whims, nothing could stop me from killing him.
Except the foretelling of the witch who saidshewould bring about the balance, not me.
Only one woman could right the wrongs brought about by this monster.
Before she died, my mother whispered a few lines that only confirmed that the witch meant Tempest.
When nature bends and true love speaks with all its might,
Only then will justice end this bitter blight.
If only Icould grab onto our love once more and help bring about the predicted end.
Finally, Ivenrail slumped in his chair, his legs splayed out and his hands hanging limply by his sides. His head lolling, he dismissed his court and sent the remaining Nullens from the room. Those partly drained stumbled beside the others, though their dizziness was a result of the lull I’d placed on them with my own magic.
“Shall I bring the rest to you in the morning?” Kerune asked pleasantly as the guards led the Nullens from view.
“Tomorrow afternoon will be soon enough.” The king groaned with the pleasure only found in a sated despot. “Sotasty. This batch was better than the last. See that you bring more like these, rather than the ones I consumed over the past few days.”
Power was slowly consuming this monster’s mind, but it appeared he hadn’t discovered that it wasmypower he craved above all others.
I should’ve come here the moment I woke from the ether. Sadness dragged its tines through me at the thought of those who may have been drained to the point they now wandered the ether. One day soon, I’d find them and bring them back.
The staff I’d carefully selected would find this group the instant the guards left them. They’d disappear like all the others, spirited back to wherever they’d come from.
Perhaps it was time to stop wiping their memories. If they talked, others would listen. I had no reason to maintain the ruse that they were protected by a treaty any longer.
Since Ivenrail would follow his usual pattern and go to his bed to sleep it off, I flitted back to my sitting area in Weldsbane, where I slumped on the sofa and tipped my head back to stare at the ceiling.
If I wasn’t careful, one day soon, he’d take everything I had left to give, leaving a shell even Tempest couldn’t awaken.
I wokesometime during the night, mostly recovered and knowing that it was time.
