“What’s the point?” she said softly. “We both know what I’ve done.”
The king of the gods stood and slowly walked down the steps of the dais towards her. His bare feet dipped in the blood, and Sora’s head grew light. She ignored the feeling, even as Kronos yanked her left hand up and stared at the wedding band, eyes glowing with pure power.
He had no single power as king. He was the culmination of all of them. Sora knew in her heart she had no chance.
“Disobedient,” he spat, and she gasped in pain as he ripped the ring from her finger and hurled it across the room. “Bring him in!”
Sora braced herself, but nothing kept her from falling to her knees as Kronos’ guards dragged Vane into the room. They dropped him to the floor, his eyes meeting hers, his split lips forming her name.
“Please,” she gasped.
Kronos let out a crazed laugh and reared his foot back. She screamed as he kicked Vane’s stomach, and he coughed up blood. She summoned Night and Death, but Kronos merely flicked his fingers to null it. Even her power could not reach him.
Ana held her as Kronos hit Vane again and again. Still, her husband reached for her. Through every blow, his steady gaze never left hers.
But only when Kronos turned to her did true fear enter Vane’s eyes.
Chapter 29
Soren was strappedto a wooden chair when she came to, a gag in her mouth. She blinked a few times, finding herself in a nondescript tent, empty aside from the chair facing her. She screamed once into the gag, letting the sound echo down the pathway in her mind that connected to Vane, Thessa, and Heles.
You are breathing.She swore there was relief in Thessa’s voice.
Soren tried to focus on taking slow inhales and exhales around the gag.Where is Vane?
We cannot reach him. Moments ago, you were dark too. We are being kept with the other dragons. They sense something is amiss.
Thessa’s voice grew fainter until Soren could no longer hear her at all. She reached for the dragons, for Vane…
Only swirling, opaque shadows greeted her. There had been a space inside her that had always felt empty and lost. Finding Vane and the dragons after so many years had finally shown her what she had been searching for. But now, the space was empty again, or perhaps blocked somehow. Even her magic felt faint, and she had an inkling that though she might still be able to weaken someone, she could not slip them into Death’s grasp.
The flap to the tent opened, and King Johannas and Commander Eton entered, trailed by Cion. The princess looked freshly washed, dressed in clean flight wear, but her face was lined with uncertainty as the commander approached Soren, a tiny dagger in his hand.
“You should have followed orders,” Commander Eton said, cocking his head at her, a slant to his brow. “We can still work together, you know. You and Evva just need to cooperate, and no one has to get hurt any more than they already have.”
Soren struggled in the chair. What had they done to him? She had no idea how much time had passed since she had lost consciousness. Based on the lack of light beyond the tent, it could have been minutes or hours.
“Remove the gag,” Johannas ordered.
The commander raised a brow but obeyed. Soren gasped, sucking down the air greedily. It hadn’t exactly been easy to breathe around the cloth.
“Where is he?” she snarled.
“Alive.”
Both men looked to the corner where Cion stood, hands folded in front of her.
Her expression didn’t change, not even when her father narrowed his eyes on her. “Watch and observe, Cion. Do not speak to the prisoner.”
“Ah, so I’m a spectacle now?” Soren challenged.
The king moved towards her, a slow smile spreading over his face. “You once tried so hard to blend in amongst the other slaves in my palace. You never succeeded, though, and not just because of your appearance. My wife sensed your power, though she did not understand it, and used it to her advantage. That should have been my first clue. But she has picked up many talented assassins over the years, so I chose to ignore it. The moment I let you taste what power could look like, though, Ibegan to wonder. I may not have magic, but my father and his father before him did. That kind of power leaves an imprint…a feeling. And when yours rose, I sensed it.”
“The day you told the princess she would marry Prince Kellmere.” Soren met his hooded eyes. “You looked at me in the council chambers.”
“Observant,” the king mused. “I told you, Eton.”
The commander bowed his head. “I picked up on as much over the past month.”
