Fraleigh’s eyes widened as she slowly stepped back from General Hyton’s horse. The army rumbled with cheers but Riyan’s face fell. Tension built in the mist. Thunder rolled in the distance.
Derrick turned his horse to General Hyton, but then a soldier ran up and sliced a sword at its back leg. The horse screamed and reared up, throwing Derrick off before it ran.
Derrick landed in the grass with a hard thud. He lifted his face off the grass with a wince and my heart ached.
He was hurt.
General Hyton’s horse trotted over to him. He pointed Traitor’s Bane down at Derrick. “This is where my brother’s line ended up! Weak! Powerless!”
“Hear, hear!” Baron Elvar cried. The other Barons cheered in agreement.
Like a wolf in the bushes, Ragnar had waited decades for his perfect opportunity. The path to the Lycaster crown had fallen into place—support of the Barons, a sorceress bound to his blood heir, and Fraleigh ready to perform her famous bow, solidifying him as her owner.
I looked for Fraleigh amongst the crowd, but I could not find any sign of her Hyton Blue robes or golden eyes.
I had not seen Daigen all morning, either.
General Hyton pointed up at Brietta. “His Duchess ran from him. Evenshesensed his weakness!”
His arm trembled and he quickly lowered Traitor’s Bane. How was a man with his amount of strength struggling with the weight of his sword?
General Hyton dismounted his horse. He walked to the line of Barons just as two soldiers forced a struggling cloaked figure next to him.
“My brother had the same weakness, letting women run all over him…and it led to his downfall.” His sneer smoothed into a cold smile as his eyes swept over the line of Barons. “A traitor is in our midst…”
General Hyton tore away the cloak and my heart dropped. Mother fell to her knees in the grass, bound and gagged while the other Barons jeered.
I held out my hands and awoke the magic in the air. Maybe I could pull myself through the air, maybe I could save her.
Just as I nearly stepped off the battlement, Mother’s emerald eyes found me. White light gleamed between her furious eyebrows and the sound of pine needles on a forest floor rustled in my mind. I sent out a small tether and her mind screamed one word:
“Wait.”
Derrick pushed himself up from the grass with gritted teeth, but he still clung to his shield and spear. My heart nearly pounded out of my chest as I watched him struggle.
General Hyton glared at Derrick. “He may dress himself in our relics, but he never had the spirit of the Conqueror.” His eyes flicked up to the Barons. “And neither did his father.”
The crash of a wave breaking pulsed through my mind as Riyan’s hand gripped mine. If Ragnar was claiminghehad the spirit of the Conqueror all along, why had he not just taken the crown? He already had everything lined up…
General Hyton turned to a cart covered in canvas. “The impostor in the grass wasted his time with his lover, wasted his body with faerie dust and spirits, and nearly wasted our great Hyton Palace, but under my rule…”
He reached into the cart. “…we shall have the entire world on bended knee!”
He yanked out a brown-headed woman with her hands tied. Amethyst. “Austland!”
He threw her to the ground and pulled out another woman. Rubia. “Latimus!” Then Garnet. “Rokuhama!”
One by one, he threw each of the bound Hyton sisters to the ground in a heap. They cried behind their gags and tried to get to their knees.
A chill like snow ran down my back as I watched the princesses struggle. The Hyton sisters were mean, but they wereinnocent.
“And most importantly…” he yanked out Sapphira by her hair. “The Sudrian empire!”
The army cheered as Sapphira struggled under his hold like a feral cat.
Derrick inched closer to General Hyton in the grass and murder gleamed in his mad eyes. Mother’s wide eyes followed him as she shook her head and curled her fists into a white-knuckled grip.
General Hyton dropped Sapphira into the heap. “We will hold each for ransom. If their countries do not give into our demands, we lop off their heads, sending their blood-bonded rulers to their graves!”
