“What was your plan?” He slid the moonblade out, tossing it aside.
“My love. I wanted us to be together. To rule like we dreamed about.”
“Who killed the princesses?”
“Kyros,” she said, reaching out to place a hand on his chest.
“You will address me as king!” He leaned into the dresser, and she stared at him.
“You need a priest,” she said. “I’ll go get one.”
“You will stay and answer my questions. Who committed these atrocities?”
With a quizzical look, she tilted her head at him. “My love, you did.”
“What? I didn’t kill the princesses.”
“Not that you remember, but it was you nonetheless.”
He stumbled as if the news hit him in a way he wasn’t ready to remember. “I have never harmed those girls.”
Stephani’s face shifted, a cruel gleam in her eyes and she grabbed his arm. “It’s such a shame you had those awful lucid dreams. Dragon sickness is such a terrible disease and one you suffer because the fae don’t understand the needs of a dragon. I do though.”
He shoved her off as he slid into the dresser, slipping to the floor.
“And poor Laoise. I’m sure she suffered terribly from those candies you gave her.”
“It was you?” I glared at the witch. “And what if the king had eaten your poisoned candy?”
“We’re not fools like you fae,” she smirked. “We had plenty of antidotes already in his tonics.”
Kyros gazed over at me, confused. “I would never hurt them. Not just because I promised you, but because I loved them.”
Tears streamed down my face. There was no lie in his amber eyes. I covered his wound with my hands. Blood gushed around my fingers.
He glared at the witch. “The princesses were my daughters, even if not by blood. I would never have harmed them.”
“No, and yet when you went riding with Catriona and she fell, you did nothing. When Sorcha fell ill it was you who gave her that medicine to help heal her which only made it worse—that one I tried to warn you, but your mind does not remember events clearly.”
With a growl, Kyros moved, and I pressed him back. “Don’t. You’re losing too much blood.”
Stephani laughed. “I'm going to find a priest before he dies, and all of this was pointless.”
She turned around and walked right into Tallis’ sword. He shoved the blade through her chest and then yanked it back out. She looked at him in shock before slumping to the floor.
Tallis’ gaze flew to me then to the king before he ran to us. “I'll get help.”
“No,” Kyros croaked and grabbed Tallis’ arm. “Whatever Moira stabbed me with, it’s not just my ability to transform . . . but to heal. The wound is too deep.”
“I overheard them say that it was you. Then the other night when you came to me as if it was the night of the ball. I thought you had gone mad. I thought you killed them and after Olivia . . . I didn’t . . .”
He leaned his head against the wall.
A guard ran in. He gawked at the dead body on the floor then to Tallis,who still held the bloody sword. The guard’s eyes widened at the king bleeding out against the dresser. “The King has been attacked!” He immediately unsheathed his weapon.
“No,” Tallis said, trying to stop the guard from advancing. He parried the attack and pushed the guard back. “Get help,” he ordered.
The guard snarled. “You will pay for this, Tallis. We’ve all seen how you look at the queen. It appears you’ve finally made your move.”
