More cheers.
Hero slunk along her hip and thigh. She bent her knees up to allow him under.
“When I made this prophecy, the Elf King tortured me with basilisk venom, dripping it upon my legs so it ate holes straight through my flesh and my bones. Under this agony, I was compelled to reveal to him everything that I had seen. Most importantly, that this Prince, who would see the advent of this great war, would be of his own blood. A second born twin.”
The hall was silent. Python held them spellbound. Even Magda hung on his words.
Suddenly, Python swept his arm towards her. She lowered her legs.
“Careful!” Hero cried as he was pinned under her calves.
“Later, I had another vision. One of a King to come, whose wife would bear these ill-fated twins, and then the death of that second son by his father’s own hand. And I despaired. For it seemed the time of war would not come, and that we would fail in our noble quest against theDökkálfar.”
The mood in the hall darkened. Even the lights seemed to dim.
“But then I met this Rae, thisLjósálfr, exiled by her own kind, and I received yet another vision. I saw her in the Shadow Realms. She reached into the tempest of darkness and withdrew two swords. One was red with blood, and upon its blade was the King’s diadem. And that was when I knew the twins had been born, but that the father had failed. The second son had escaped and survived. I knew this Rae would find him and bring him forward.”
Every eye turned towards her. The weight of their attention fell as heavy as dwarf boots on her.
A second son of the king? One she would bring forward? But that didn’t mean...
She glanced over at Kaelan, still unconscious on the floor. When she looked at him, everyone else did too.
Her eyes snapped back to Python. The soft gnawing and groan of rope filled her ears, but if anyone else heard it, they didn’t appear to realize what it meant.
“And so she has,” Python said, his slick eyes sliding over to her before he turned back to face Froenz, who had pressed himself far back in his throne, his eyes wide and yet distant—as if he was both eminently aware and deeply thinking.
“I know that our cause has always been against the Elves, of all names,”—Python threw this comment back over his shoulder at Magda—“but I implore you to consider that this Rae and this Prince might be our only hope of seeing an end to the reign of the Elf King once and for all.”
“Well, now,” a voice said from the back the hall, smooth and deep and haunting, “isn’t that interesting?”
Magda twisted, accidentally snapping the ropes that Hero had loosened. With all eyes on the back of the hall, she was able to shake them free and surge up to her feet without challenge. Hero darted over to Kaelan, perching on his arm protectively.
“Seize her!” Froenz bellowed.
She retrieved her knives and unleashed them, backing up until her heel bumped Kaelan.
The crowds remained frozen despite the King’s command.
The deep pockets of shadows filling the grand hall swept out from between the columns, like the blacks hands of an ogre, crashing together in front of the massive entrance doors.
The shadows parted, unfurling across the floor and up towards the ceiling in billows. As they cleared, they revealed a lone figure in black armor.
Endreas.
FROENZ LEAPT TOhis feet. The head of the axe in his hand was bigger than the one on his neck. A contingent of dwarfs raced into formation, creating three lines before their lord, one of shields, one of spears, and one of axes. The rest set up along the perimeter, merging in front of the doors, behind Endreas. Fairies swirled up, up, up and away, fleeing via some unseen cracks or vents perhaps. The brownies, too, vanished. Imps darted frantically back and forth between the columns. Goblins hunkered down behind the dwarfs, as if preparing to take bets on the fight to come.
She should’ve been looking for a way to take advantage of the situation, yet she couldn’t quite pull her attention away from Endreas.
His fitted armor at first appeared to be leather, but the scales were black and iridescent. Color rippled over their surface as he moved. From the stiff shoulder pauldrons shadows wafted like a torn cloak fluttering behind him. His hair was drawn back, fixed in elaborate plaits, giving his cheekbones a deadly edge. Both of his swords remained at his sides, sheaths fixed to the cuisses constructed of the same oil-like scales.
He didn’t look at her. His black eyes remained fixed on Froenz.
Python slithered back, up to the dais, next to the lord’s throne.
“How dare you enter my hall?” Froenz bellowed.
“Your hall?” Endreas glanced around at the dwarfs surrounding him, a smirk playing over his lips. “Everything in the Realms belongs to the King. Are you the King, dwarf?”
