Page 9

Decades have passed since the infection started, and we still have no idea how it started, how to cure it, or how to cleanse it from our kingdom.

“You two, stand guard. If anything shows up, deal with it. The rest of you are with Kylo and me. We’ll make this quick.”

Kylo, the guards, and I push deeper into the grove. Kylo glances at me. “Same as usual?”

I smile. He hates getting too close to the bushes. “Yeah.” I turn to the two guards. “Chop them down, and I’ll use my shadows to move the cuttings to Kylo for burning.”

Kylo’s fire magic is powerful—stronger than most. He’s an Infinity, like me. Our kind always has the strongest abilities, which is why we lead the royal guard. We accept others with regular magic, but never those with lesser magic—or Nomatrabs. They’d only slow us down and be a liability, putting the rest of us at risk.

I stroll over to the far end of the grove and admire the deadly roses. Exquisite. Beautifully menacing. Then we get to work.

“You look tired, Prince Lukene!” Kylo shouts with a grin.

Beads of sweat form on my brow from the heat of the fire. I wipe my forehead with the corner of my cape as I toss the last of the cursed bushes into the flames.

“Barely broke a sweat,” I say with a smirk. “But you look drenched. Need a break for those delicate hands?”

Kylo’s laugh echoes through the grove. I return his grin, but the moment is shattered by a guard’s sudden cry.

“No! No! No! No!” the guard shouts, clutching his arm.

Kylo and I rush to him. Damn it.

I grab the arm he’s holding. “Was it a thorn?” I ask, creasing my brows.

“I... I don’t know, Your Majesty. It might’ve been.”

I rip the sleeve of his tunic, revealing a scratch—and beneath it, black spidery veins already beginning to spread.

“Shit.”

I sigh, meeting the guard’s gaze. “We still have time. Would you like me to take you back so you can say goodbye to your family? You have a few days at best.”

He shakes his head. “No, Your Majesty. Just do it. I don’t want to drag this out. I don’t want to feel myself slipping away and turning into a Necrum.”

I hold his gaze for a moment. I hate this for him. He has a new wife and a baby on the way, but I understand. It’s better this way. I will do it for him. Killing doesn’t bother me, but I won’t enjoy it this time.

To save my men from going through the heinous transformation of becoming a literal monster, I offer them dignity in their death. With a swift swipe of my sharp blade, I spare them. They can cross over to the next life knowing they won’t infect any of their loved ones.

“Very well.” I nod. “Thank you for your service to the kingdom,” I say as I draw my sword from its sheath on my belt. The noise as it slides free seems to be amplified in the quiet of the moment. The moonlight glints off my cool, killing steel like an aura of death coming to claim its victim.

The guard gives me a nod. Fear shines bright in his eyes, yet his mouth never trembles.

I lean in close so only he can hear my words. “I will make sure your wife and babe are taken care of. I give my word,” I whisper.

He slowly sucks in a deep breath while he closes his eyes for a long moment. When he opens them, the fear is gone. My promise has given him the peace he needs to let go.

I step back and raise my sword. “May the Mother of gods and goddesses cradle you, comfort you, and welcome you home to the eternal land of milk and honey when you are veiled in the shadows.”

“May the Mother,” my guards echo solemnly.

And with that, I swing my sword at his neck in one clean swipe, removing his head. Warm, thick blood sprays across my cold face and chest. His head thuds to the ground and rolls to the side before his body crumples next to it.

We load his body into the carriage to return him to his family.

A piercing screech shatters the silence. Kylo and I freeze.

Far above Serpent’s Reach, wings beat against the night sky, disappearing behind jagged rocks.