Kaem grinned faintly. “That’s where I come in. I figured it out. Death loosens certain bindings. Not fully, but enough. Reanimating a freshly dead person allows access to what’s left of their memories. And their deeds. Through myspecialmethods he’ll talk.” He yanked on the rope and it made a crunching sound. “But we need to be fast, he’ll lose what’s left of his essence in about five minutes, then he’ll be no good to us. Until then, he’ll tell us whatever we need to know.”
I was so fucking glad I’d enlisted Kaem’s help. The old Fae warrior had more than proven his worth with his off-grid magics and abilities. This was one more thing to add to his growing list.
“Go on, ask him what you wish?” Kaem continued, yanking on the rope again. “My magic compels truth. He cannot lie. He cannot withhold.”
The corpse’s mouth opened and closed, jaw cracking.
I walked right up to the corpse and gazed deep into those soulless eyes. “Who commands you?” I asked.
The rebel’s head twitched.
“Speak,” Kaem urged.
The corpse convulsed. “I have many commanders. All over the realm.”
“But there must be one mastermind,” I insisted, mindful of the time slipping away from us.
A sound scraped from its throat like bone against stone. “Thereisone mastermind here. But there are others—those who answer to the ones who whisper with no lips and watch with no eyes. Andallof them owe allegiance to a greater master.”
The heat of rage raced over my skin. “Give me names.”
“Your… uncle.” The rebel’s jaw stretched too wide. “Dreyn… thor.”
The name echoed in the library before it rang through my mind.
Alaric and Kaem stilled, faces turning a ghostly shade of white.
I did not move. I simply stared, all my suspicions narrowing to this single point.
“My uncle,” I grated out through gritted teeth. “Tell me everything you know aboutmy uncle.”
The corpse’s spine snapped straight. “He… staged… the rebellion.” Each word tore free with visible strain. “He orchestrated the unrest, manipulated supply chains. Spread dissent. Paid the rebels. Staged his own attack,” the corpse rasped. “Distract… King Lysander… distractWolfe.”
My pulse remained steady despite the turmoil roiling within me. The motherfucker I’d been after this whole time was Dreynthor.
And he’d wanted to distract my father and me specifically. Why? “Distract us from what?”
“The rituals.”
I glanced up at Kaem. He clenched his jaw and shook his head in disbelief.
“Only you can stop them,” the corpse rattled on. “Your dragon bond magic.”
“What are the rituals for?” I demanded.
“For the greater ones. I do not know their names only that they are powerful.”
I wanted to press him for more information about the names but there was little point. Kaem’s magic had already ensured the rebel was telling meallthat he knew. So now for the biggest question.
“Did my uncle have anything to do with my father’s death?”
The world waited for the answer with me.
“Yes, he ordered the assassination.” The corpse’s head twisted toward me, showing the angle his neck had broken. “But not he alone. Theyalldid. But only one wielded the sword.”
“Who?”
“A human. A man.”
