The staff rose above her head before she bought it down upon the glass floor. Spider webs of golden magic shot from the tip, revealing hidden orbs that bobbed around the circumference of the room. Another burst of light, and each orb of gold disappeared with a resoundingcrack. The hauntingly familiar sound echoed. Lenna flinched at the implication.
Wards.
The reason why none of the beings in the room fled at Esmeray’s arrival. Why the soldiers and the Regent had not disappeared immediately. Esmeray played Lenna, Merrick, and Laurent at their own game,putting wards up to not allow anyone to wane in or out of the throne room–just as they’d done to her outside Merrick’s home in Spinella.
At Esmeray’s behest, colorful flashes of light erupted as fae that could wane grabbed gargoyles and disappeared. The few stragglers that couldn’t wane ran, shrieking, out of the throne room. Soldiers once again surrounded their Regent as he waned out of the room, before they began backing out slowly, swords still drawn. Once the last one crossed the threshold of the throne room, Esmeray waved her tattooed hand in the air impatiently, and the doors slammed shut.
Lenna felt it now, in her blood and bones.
Death.
Her life felt so fragile, so insignificant. She was going to die. Did she regret leaving Doortan just to wind up murdered by a creature she hadn’t even known existed outside of myth and legend? They’d run as fast as they could, and it was still not enough. The Princess that murdered her own parents, murdered the last Oracle, stood before Lenna as judge, jury, and executioner.
Laurent moved in front of Lenna, standing shoulder to shoulder with Merrick, blue flames crackling down his wrists and fingertips.
Holding the line.
Merrick and Laurent stood between Lenna and Esmeray. Lenna’s whole body shook. Failing at getting the Prism was one thing. Dying on the other hand…
She couldn’t talk, couldn’t think, as panic set in.
Behind Laurent and Merrick, Lenna agonized over which one of her brave companions she’d have to watch die first, or if Esmeray could somehow kill all three of them simultaneously.
But a killing blow never landed. Instead, to Lenna’s utter bewilderment, Esmeray merely stated, “I request an audience with the Oracle.”
Chapter twenty-three
Lenna
“Notgoingtohappenyou fucking murderer,” Merrick spat, flaring his wings out, taking up a defensive position in front of Esmeray. “Why don’t you shift intoyourSentry form–I’ll do the same. We can make this battle beast versus beast.”
He was goading her, trying to move Esmeray’s focus off Lenna. But even as Merrick hissed out jeers, Esmeray stood her ground, a sheen of golden magic beginning to materialize around her closed fist. She appraised him with curiosity, but Lenna waited with bated breath for her to strike. So close, yet so far away–this first true adventure was coming to a brutal and bloody end alarmingly fast.
Esmeray cocked her head, her own horns vulgar in comparison to Merrick’s much smaller set. Standing with predatory stillness, her black wings extended, Esmeray met the gargoyle’s eyes, and whispered in a voice deathly quiet, and not without grief, “You are Merrick. Keerian told me so much about you…Bothof you.” Her green eyes took in Laurent–the blue flames wreathing his hands. “He told me you both are like brothers to him, and that if anything happened, I would need to find you.”
Merrick growled but it was Laurent who spoke first, his tone guttural, “We were there, that day in the throne room, Princess. We watched as you stole Keerian away. We watched you challenge Queen Adara for the throne. We heard of your killing spree of the Oracle and Royal Guards. I couldn’t save them, but I can save the new Oracle from the same fate as her predecessor. You will not kill today, Queen of Nothing.”
Laurent took a step towards Esmeray, and Lenna noticed the slight touch of his ring. Almost instantly, Merrick shifted his stance and slipped behind him, circling Laurent’s back, until he was right next to Lenna. Cold fear sliced over her.Laurentwould challenge Esmeray and sacrifice himself for her–for the Oracle.
For the truth she needed to reveal.
Merrick was in position to grab Lenna and attempt a run to safety. With another step closer, Laurent raised his chin in defiance to Esmeray. “And if my last act on this realm of existence is to end you for your crimes, I pray Keerian understands it was in defense of the Oracle, of the truth, that you are so desperate to stifle.”
The eloquent words were a challenge, hanging heavily in the air.
To Lenna’s complete shock, Esmeray rolled her eyes at Laurent’s violent declaration, popped out a hip and snapped at the fae, “Well, ifIknow anything aboutmy mate, after meeting his friends, at least I can say you’re all the same amount of stubborn. Keerian told me as much, but I knew I would have to see it to believe it. You want proof? Here.” The golden staff vanished into thin air, and Esmeray reached into the bodice of her top to pull out a thin chain with a golden ring at the end, the sibling of the ones Merrick and Laurent wore.
Merrick lunged at her with a roar, sword ready to slash her throat. “Youstole–” With a flippant wave of her slim hand, Merrick just…froze. He was locked in place, unable to move his wings, his body. Merrick’s eyes darkened to pitch with wild rage. He struggled against the invisible bonds that held him, but Esmeray ignored him, her grim expression fixated on Laurent. Lenna stayed completely still behind Merrick, warily assessing the interaction. She let out a breath before sucking in another shallow burst of air, doing her best not to pass out.
Laurent looked from Esmeray, to the ring, to Merrick, his brows pinching. The writhing flames that grew around his hands flickered out and dissipated into a few harmless sparks. Lenna’s eyes shot up in surprise. She was completely confused and definitely lost in what all of this meant. But Laurent knew something.
Straightening, Laurent adjusted his robes, as if he hadn’t almost sacrificed his life for Lenna’s slim chance at survival. He was taller than Esmeray by a solid foot and now regarded her with a bemused expression on his face, as if he understood something that changed every facet of this situation.
“Keerian gave that to you.” It wasn’t a question.
“Yes. He gave it to me after we spoke to my parents, in the meeting that led to their death. But I cannot tell you any details here–the walls have ears and eyes. Keerian made me promise if anything happened, I’d use this ring to track you down.” Esmeray winced, as if the memories bought up were too painful still. “I couldn’t talk through it since I am not the one it was created for, but I could hear you two when you mind spoke to each other. It was how I confirmed you were in Spinella. Granted, you had the Oracle, which was a surprise, but you disappeared before I could explain anything.” For the first time Lenna noticed the sadness in Esmeray’s face as she held the ring out to Laurent, the gold chain sliding down her tattooed arm.
He took the chain and ring gently, inspecting it. “This is Keerian’s ring,” he murmured, sliding the ring across the chain. “There are onlythree of these sibling rings. One for myself, one for Merrick, and this one–for Keerian. A caveat of these rings is that they cannot be taken forcefully. If they are stolen against the wishes of the bearer, they self-destruct. They can only be freely given by the wearer to another without the threat of the ring simply destroying itself. But yes–you would not be able to speak to anyone, only hear.”
