“No,”Iwhisper.
But she speaks anyway.
“While innocence guards the royal flame,
No curse nor blade may stake its claim.
But when he plucks the flower fair,
The half-blood’s bloom—then death is there.”
My blood turns to ice.Me—I’ma half-blood.AndIwas innocent beforeTheronchanged the color of my eyes.
Grizalyn smiles at me as she sees the recognition dawn on my face.
“And look at you…Ido believe he’s plucked your flower at last, my dear.”
“No!”Icry, shaking my head desperately.“No, he hasn’t?—”
“Oh yes,” she interrupts smoothly.“Hehas.Youreyes are green now, not blue.”Hergaze rakes over me, looking utterly satisfied.“Andso at last…Imay have my revenge upon the wretchedRoyalline.”
“Stop!”Theron’svoice cracks like a whip.“Atleast don’t kill theOldKing,” he says, his tone rough, almost breaking.“Don’tkill…don’t kill my grandfather.”
The word hangs in the air.Grandfather.
I can feel the grief pouring off him—raw and new and overwhelming, even as the old man himself stands frozen just a few steps away.
Grizalyn laughs softly.
“Oh, never fear, my dearPrince,” she says.“Iwon’t touch a hair on his royal head.Iwon’t have to.”
Her smile turns cruel.
“He’ll die of grief when he realizes his long-lost grandson returned to him…only to be struck dead the very next minute.”
“No!”Iexclaim.“Youcan’t?—”
But she’s already lifting her hand and pointing one perfectly manicured finger atTheron.
“Heart that beats with dragon’s flame,
Answer now your deathless claim.
Life be stilled and fire undone,
Fall, lostPrince—the curse has won.”
“No!”Iscream, lunging forward.ButIslam into something invisible.
It’s like hitting a wall of glass—solid, unyielding, and humming with magic.Ipush against it, claw at it, try to go around it, through it—anything—but it won’t let me pass.
“Theron!”Icry.
But as the last echoing word of the witch’s spell falls silent, he drops.
His eyes roll back, his massive body collapsing like a puppet with its strings cut, hitting the stone floor with a sickening thud.
“No!”Icry for a third time, and something gives in the magic shield keeping me from him.
