Page 6 of A Bond of Ice and Glass (Crowned By Wings #2)

KING ERAX

“ Y our Majesty, your invited guest is here,” my messenger nervously offers from ten feet away. The rest of my staff are either dead or hiding because they’re scared of me.

They should be.

This world should be shaking because my wife has been taken from me, and right now she could be hurt.

They could be doing anything to her. If I had bothered to eat this morning or last night, that thought alone would have me emptying the contents of my stomach.

I’ve failed my wife. I swore to protect her and keep her safe from harm, and I’ve failed her.

I’m a fuckup. I’ve always been one. But I’ve never let someone I love down like this.

The throne room is the last place in the castle that is still in one piece, that isn’t covered in burn marks and shattered glass, stone and broken expensive ornaments. I couldn’t bring myself to lose control in this room, not when I designed it for her.

I glance at the thrones she never saw—the ones I had built for her as a surprise after the ceremony.

The tall, rose-gold chairs that have dragons of both ice and fire carved into the wood, now stand alone and vacant.

The giant stone wall behind the thrones holds a large tapestry, one I also had commissioned as a gift to her.

It’s of us, standing on top of this castle, with our dragons flying high across a peaceful realm.

It almost seems like a giant joke now that she isn’t here. Like the gods are just laughing at me. I lost my wife. I lost my closest friend and advisor… and I nearly lost my life.

I wanted to give up for a second. Just for a second, and I might have done if I hadn’t met Maelena.

If I hadn’t tasted my queen and known I’d fight a million enemies just to touch her one more time.

I fought to stay here, to find her, even if I’m just able to chase her in her dreams at the moment.

Dreams where she doesn’t have a clue who I am, and she thinks I’m the enemy.

She will remember once I get her to safety.

Once I find her, I can use my plan.

The first part of my plan is inviting my long-standing enemy into my castle for a talk.

“Send the witch in.”

I stand by the window, choosing not to sit on my throne.

It feels empty, pointless without her here, and even now as I stare out the window across my kingdom, I want absolutely fucking none of it when I don’t know where my wife is.

Fire burns around my hands, almost dancing like it’s mocking me, and I struggle to get it under control.

I crack my neck and refocus. Now is not the moment to lose control.

Mist needs me. Even if she might hate me for what I’ve become to find her again.

The shadow powers I get from Cyrsí took me many years to fully control, but this is worse.

These fire skills are powerful, and it’s so easy to slip, to let my anger fuel the fire.

Even my reflection is mocking me, my now white hair a very reminder of the price I paid to the dragons for them to save me.

My grandmother, Zepheira, said it was the only way…

and fate was singing to my soul. My soul belongs to my queen.

That’s the only truth I know for certain.

Without her here, it’s like I’m half a man. Half a king.

Flashbacks of that day are hard to ignore as I watch the messenger scurry to get the witch. Running away just like Noble did with my queen. The pain of all those arrows hitting me was nothing in comparison to the pain I felt when I knew she was gone.

Death was stealing me from this world and taking me from her, and all I could think was how fucking dare the gods think they can take me from my queen.

One more breath, a few more drops of blood, and I would have been gone.

At least, Zaal told me this because I remember nothing more than pain and seeing Maelena being taken away.

And yet, the dragons decided that my fate in this world was not over.

They gave me a gift, something they had not done for a mortal in a very long time.

But the price may yet prove to be too great.

It may be something I end up regretting.

But today is not the time to work out whether that is true.

Heels click across the room, one by one, and I turn to face the witch who’s walking into my throne room.

A room in a castle where witches have never been welcome.

She has very long black hair braided together in a custom fashion for the witches that hangs to her ankles, along with gold markings all over her face and her arms that are visible.

The rest of her is in leather up to her neck, tight, with several skirts flowing out from her waist, and thigh-high boots.

No weapons. Interesting. She must think she is powerful enough not to need a weapon on her. Or my men removed them from her.

Her eyes are a piercing blue, a sharp contrast to her tan skin. Like most witches, she has an eerie, otherworldly quality about her. I’ve been told she’s the one we can trust. But I don’t trust witches as far as I could throw them.

“That’s far enough,” I command. My voice is gruff from screaming and shouting. “If you are of no use to me, I’ll kill you and send you back as bones.”

“That would be an honour for the return of my bones, Your Majesty. You are more generous than they say.” Sarcasm lines her tone.

She is cocky even now. If I wasn’t so angry and distrustful of her kind, I’d almost like her.

“I’m sure my nonexistent family would bury them.

Perhaps.” She smiles, revealing sharp canines with gold-metal tips.

There are also several piercings through her tongue.

“My name is Kymera. I am the chief emissary of the witches. Our queen wishes for our kind to live long and successful lives, and peace with many allies is the key to that plan. She agreed I could come here to negotiate a deal, and part of the deal will be your free passage and safety with your wife to meet with her in the future.”

Burning them all would help too.

“We do not want war,” she continues, “and your kingdom is beginning to understand that war is not beneficial to anyone. You’ve lost your own wife and queen in the process of the rebellion of your people.”

Fire burns in my eyes, and shadows dance up the walls, blocking out the light.

I’m glad it’s not my firepower that came out. I really don’t want to fuck this room up. Maelena will come back, and she needs to see it.

Kymera doesn’t so much as flinch.

“Careful, Kymera, when you speak of my wife.”

“You cannot scare me. I accepted death the moment I walked into your kingdom, let alone your castle and throne room. You are not known for being reasonable, Your Majesty. In fact, reasonable is the opposite of what you are well known for.” She stands still in the darkness.

“I know what it is like to lose someone you deeply care for and be powerless to get them back.” Her eyes look down, as if something on the floor has caught her eye.

“I was angry, violent and vengeful in the years to follow. I see where you are, and I am offering to help.”

I hate to admit it, but I need her help. Witches are the only ones capable of using ether , and it’s through that they can track anything. It was used to track and bind dragons to them against their will. Something I vowed to hate them for forever. But now I need it.

“You will find me extremely unreasonable at all times, except when it comes to the return of my wife; therefore, I am listening.” I watch her shoulders drop slightly.

“If I find the witches have taken her, which I don’t suspect your queen is brave enough to do, then your kingdom will burn.

I’ve burnt kingdoms before; don’t test that I will not burn another for my wife.

” She nods once. I’ve never thought the witches were responsible for Noble taking Maelena.

My wife is alive; I can feel it, and the witches would have killed her by now. “Talk.”

“We did not take your queen, nor do we want war. I came to you in peace,” she begins.

I let the shadows drop just slightly, just enough to let a bit of light into the room.

“I am powerful, and I believe I can find your wife. This will be a trade between you and me. I cannot offer you peace negotiations between our races, so do not ask for this. You and my queen have a lot of unfinished business that will need far more negotiations than we can do right now. But I can offer you a trade for my help, significant help. I can see and sense that you have dragon magic, so the dragons have found you worthy. For me alone, that is enough to trust you because I trust them. They are wise, ancient beings with shared memories of all time. They have seen all of time before and after, and they know they would not trust you with this kind of power unwisely.”

“And what do you know of my power, witch?” I growl.

“That you are extremely dangerous, King Erax, but power like yours is not given to the unworthy. You are history in the making, and alongside your queen, there may be hope for our realm yet.” She bows her head once. “Will you consider a deal between us?”

She could be lying and not be able to find my wife. But at this rate, I’ll do anything to get her back. Apparently, Kymera is the strongest of her kind, second only to her queen.

“Why do you think you can find Queen Maelena?”

“Dragon magic is the strongest power in this world, but every magic has a counter or a weakness. It cannot go unchecked, and for dragon magic, witch blood magic is the counter weakness.”

I’ve never heard that claim before.