Chapter One
Moira
Laoise lay in my arms,her body still warm. Blood trickled from her button nose. Tears splashed on my daughter’s cheeks, and I pressed my face into her hair, breathing in her sweet scent.
Already, it was fading with the setting sun.
“Your majesty.”
“Do not speak to me.”
Magic seeped out of my pores, transforming the room into a dark tomb to match my aching spirit. The three priests cowered back as the luxurious white curtains streaked crimson and the plush carpet hissed with magical vipers. I held my daughter tighter to my chest, unable to make sense of this madness.
Dead?
How?
Why?
“Clear the room,” Tallis said, his voice authoritative yet calm. The head of the royal guard forced the priests out along with anyone else who had been lingering by the door.
“Where’s the—?” The guttural cry of my husband interrupted my question. His roar echoed through the halls outside, followed by slamming doors.
Tallis kneeled in front of me. “Let them take her.”
Through blurred vision, I watched my old friend ignore the horrifying sight I’d created, his sea-blue gaze full of concern. The golden runes around his eyes and nose glowed in the dark, the tattooed mask allowing him to see through my illusions.
“Where’s Kane?” I croaked, my mind clearing for a heartbeat.
“Still in his room,” Tallis replied, holding my gaze.
I pressed my lips to my daughter’s forehead then gently placed her on the ground, remembering her face one last time. Tallis reached for me and I grabbed his hand as he helped me stand. I clutched his forearm for support, tears blurring my vision.
I knew what I needed to do.
And I had to act quickly.
“Let’s go,” I said.
The darkness shattered, returning the room to the pastel shades Laoise adored.
Tallis nodded and opened the door. The king had disappeared, ranting off in another hallway. My husband could not stomach the pain, but I would. Grabbing my dress in both hands, I ran down the hall, around the corner, and straight to my son’s chambers.
Kane was the last of us. The end of my line and I would not let him die.
Two blade dancers stood outside my son’s room, their curved blades at their sides. Tallis nodded at them to let us in.
The door opened and Kane stood in the center of his room, pacing back and forth.
My heart lurched at the sight of him, and I ran inside.
“Mother!” He wrapped his arms around my waist. “What happened? They locked me in here and they won’t tell me what’s going on.”
Holding his head, I rubbed my fingers over his cheeks then pushed back his dark hair. “We must go right now.”
“What are you talking about?”
He was too young to understand the politics of ruling, but old enough to know what was happening to his siblings.
