Furious, I yanked my arm out of his grip and turned toward the royal guard. I wanted to tell him it was none of his godsdamned business and that he should be more concerned about the secrets his best friend was keeping. But before I could speak, there was a loud groan of a door opening, and I heard footsteps on the stairs.
Adriel froze.
A single ball of faelight bobbed into view, and Sorsha rounded the bend. “Oh, good. You found her,” she said toAdriel, her shoulders sagging in relief. To me, she added, “We’ve been looking everywhere for you. Siran invited us to stay for morning mess, but then we must be on our way.”
On our way to Dorthus, where we’d face the demon king’s army.
Swallowing thickly, I nodded and followed her up the steps, trying to ignore the prickle of Adriel’s gaze along the back of my neck.
He couldn’t know what I’d done, could he? Even if he didn’t, he sure suspected something. My planhadto work. There was no other option.
By the time we reached the top of the stairs, Kaden was pacing outside Sorsha’s suite, dark wings flaring behind him. His expression softened when he saw me, though I didn’t miss the flicker of anxiety in his eyes.
The four of us made our way to the mess hall, where the first rays of golden light were streaming in through the high windows. Dozens of Drathen soldiers were already seated at the long benches, tucking into platters of greasy sausage, boiled eggs, and filets of that oily white fish I’d sampled on our last visit. There were also tureens of lumpy porridge cooked with dried fruit and baskets of hard brown biscuits.
Despite the growing lump of dread in my stomach, I found I was ravenous. I piled my plate with sausage, eggs, and two of the biscuits, though I avoided the slimy-looking fish and porridge.
Sorsha, too, started filling her plate, but Kaden didn’t touch the food. As the room continued to fill with soldiers, he turned and made his way to the front of the hall. Dark eyes followed his every move until he stood beside the head table, where Siran was deep in conversation with one of hislieutenants. The captain looked up as Kaden approached, irritation flashing in his eyes.
A hush spread through the crowd as the soldiers took notice of Kaden, but he waited until the hall fell silent.
“I’m sure many of you are wondering why I am here,” he said, tucking in his wings as he strode the length of the hall. “You know who I am. Son of Elowynn. Bastard prince. But I am not your king.”
More silence greeted that statement, and my stomach clenched.
“Just a few days ago, Euroshean forces attacked the village of Klodäsch, murdering innocent fae, setting fire to their homes, and destroying their businesses. The attack was unprovoked. Many innocents were killed, especially the old, the young, and the infirm.”
A round of frantic murmurs swept through the hall. Some narrowed their eyes in disbelief; others looked downright hostile.
“Why should we believe you?” boomed one soldier, standing to face Kaden. He was tall and broad with a shadow of scruff and the look of a seasoned warrior. “The demon prince who hides away in Dorthus to do the Dark King’s bidding.”
More rumblings fanned out across the hall, and I grimaced at the rage that flashed in Kaden’s eyes.
When he spoke, his voice was low and deadly. “You needn’t believe me,” he said. “You need only to remember what you already know.”
Kaden started to pace again, not sparing another glance in the direction of the male glaring at him from across the hall. “Two hundred years ago, Alfrigg’s soldiers drove your families from their homes in Aerdale. Heburned their houses, raped their females, murdered their younglings in their beds. Any male who refused to fight for the false king was forced to his knees and executed in front of his loved ones. Alfrigg banished our people to the fringes of Anvalyn, and still he is not content.”
The murmurs around me grew angrier, but I couldn’t tell if the whispers were expressions of outrage against Alfrigg or Kaden.
“He doesn’t just want the Drathen fae relegated to the most inhospitable corners of the continent. He wants them exterminated. He seeks to repopulate Anvalyn with fair-haired fae who recognizehimas the one true king.” Kaden stopped, his throat bobbing. “Even though much of the land he now rules was secured through a peaceable alliance struck by Queen Elowynn.”
“Cursebringer,” spat a fae to my left.
Kaden’s gaze shot to the soldier who’d spoken, and the look he gave the male could have melted glass. “Do you call her Cursebringer because you believe she caused the blight that is spreading across the continent, or because she was forced to bear a youngling conceived from rape?”
The hall fell silent.
“Or . . . do you call her Cursebringer because she loved the son who you believe brought dishonor upon the kingdom?” Rage simmered in the prince’s eyes, and his magic crackled in the air. “Tell me . . . Is it dishonorable to care for a youngling brought into this world by violence through no fault of his own?”
Nobody spoke.
“My mother is not the cause of this blight.” Kaden swallowed. “I am. For centuries, I have been diverting souls fromthe Adraeis River to feed the demon king’s power. In doing so, I have deprived our land of the magic needed to sustain it. I did this to spare my sister’s life, and for that, I am not ashamed.”
A fresh wave of murmurs broke out among the soldiers, and a few of them looked at Sorsha.
“Do not dishonor the late queen by calling her Cursebringer. If you wish to cast blame, cast it at my feet. But I am not your enemy. I am the male standing between you and the Dark King –– the Dark King who will stop at nothing to take the throne of Anvalyn, destroy the veil between realms, and consume every living soul. To you, I may be a villain, but I am nothing compared to him.”
The tension in the hall was palpable as Kaden resumed his pacing, his shadows crawling up the walls.
