But as I voice the preposterous question, images flicker to life in my brain. Morvarid’s bloody smile... my dagger sliding in between her ribs. But no celebration, only sorrow, because someone dear to me had died. A man... a prince who’d loved me. The memories dissipate before I can grasp them or see his face or know his name.No!
“Raz? Was there another prince?” I ask desperately.
No. There was a... king.
If there is another king besides Javed, I have no recollection of him. My confusion must show on my face, because I feel the press of akasha in the bond between us, and suddenly, I can see into Razulek’s memories. A tall, dark-haired man, resplendent in purple-and-gold clothing, stalks across Raz’s gaze. I don’t recognize his profile.
“Are you certain this will work?” the man demands of a runecaster Idorecognize from my scattered memories: Aran, who holds a pair of familiar bracers in his hands. Maker above, those are the exact ones I wear now.
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Aran says, though the anguish on his face strikes me as odd. “With the changes we discussed, you will have complete control. Are you certain—”
“If I wanted your opinion, I’d give it to you,” he snaps. The king turns to face me—Razulek—and I gasp. He looks familiar, but alsonot. His eyes are filigreed with purplish smoke, a cruel smile twisting his full lips. “Proceed. And bleed the beast for touching my property.”
I’m thrust from Razulek’s mind just before the memory of his suffering hits.
“Who was that?” I wheeze, coming back into my own head.
He came before with his guards when you healed my wings. I tried to protect you, but the pain was too much to bear. They took you from me. I am so sorry that I failed you then.
I remember the taste of Jade in my mouth, the prick of the needle into my nape. The betrayal. I reach forward to stroke the side of his neck, pressing my palm into his warm, rough hide. “No, Raz. You didn’t. They did that to us.Theyhurt us. But we’re here now, and we’re safe.”
For now,he says.He will come for you.
“Did Darrius tell you that?” I ask.
I have seen the army that camps on the other side of the mountainsmyself. The Night King fears that war is imminent. He has tried tonegotiate with the Oryndhrian king, but to no avail.
I remember what Ani had told her brother about the king being difficult.
“Do you know where Darrius has gone?” I ask, dread pooling anew. “If they mount an attack, Everlea will be vulnerable without its leader. Ani is in line for the throne, and if her brother doesn’t return, the responsibility will fall to her. I know he thinks she’s capable, I can tell how much he esteems her, but what if she can’t?”
The curse the king bears will be his ruin.
Blinking, I frown. “Curse?”
I have shared too much already, and it is not my story to tell.
Despite my intense curiosity, I don’t press, knowing he won’t betray his king’s confidence. I’ll ask Darrius about the curse and the army at the border when he returns.
If all else fails, I will offer myself up to the Oryndhrian king, if only to save Everlea and its people and prevent war. They should not have to suffer for harboring me. And then I have to get back to Coban and my family.
“How did I come to be with you when we escaped?” I ask Raz as he makes a wide bank after passing the mountain peaks of Lora, out over the Glacier Ocean to head west back toward the castle, and the sight of the open expanse of blue below us makes me instinctively tighten my grip.
A noblewoman summoned you to the arena. It was a trick.I frown at his words, a woman’s treacherous face winking in my vision. She had hoped to kill me.I had been punished, poisoned, and starveduntil all I knew was pain and rage and hunger. Your blood healed me, helped me see through the darkness of the lie.
“I healed you with my blood, not magic?” I ask.
Akasha flows freely in our veins.
I exhale. “What happened after that?”
You gave me your light, little queen, and together we burnedthrough the heavens.
“Darrius says there are wards between the realms. How did we get through them?”
My mate informed the king of my return.Raz chuffs, and I can feel the devotion in his heart to Indira through our connection.Now what do you say we do a few flying drills?
I let out an unhinged scream when he does a barrel roll to flip us upside down, but the bonds of akasha keep me firmly in place after he rights us once more. I’ve barely had time to catch my breath as he folds his wings tight to his sides and plummets toward the ocean. The onslaught of wind makes my eyes stream, and I blink wildly, desperate to see what’s ahead, but there’s only a deep, dark blue.
