Page 46 of A Crown of Tears and Treason (The Curse of Silver Secrets and Cruel Shadows #1)

Chapter

Forty-Six

EVIE

I had a million spiders crawling through my veins, trying to tear me up from the inside.

It was the only explanation for this agony that threatened to burst me open.

“ Kneel ,” hundreds of voices murmured in my mind. Softly. Calmly. Like they were giving me the best advice in all of Malhaven. “ The pain will stop .”

Lies , I roared in my mind, but it only came out as a whimper.

Everywhere I looked, everywhere I turned, all I could see were tall, dark walls dripping with blood. Caging, threatening to drown me.

“ It’s so easy ,” the voices went on, as if whispering from the blood itself. “ Do it and this stops .”

No . Not when I had an entire Clan who valued strength above all else looking at me, waiting for the Protectorate brat to fail.

The pain burned. Gods, it hurt so bad, ripping me apart. That was my blood rushing at my feet, it had to be.

“ Kneel ,” the chorus gained momentum, the word echoing on repeat so that it didn’t end.

It would never end.

This agony was endless. Boundless, shredding me from the inside out.

“ You will die ,” the voices shrieked viciously.

Death meant I would no longer hurt. Death meant seeing grandpa Constantine and my parents again. Uncle Alaric?—

“ But you will lose someone else ,” the voices howled.

More pitiful lies , my thoughts countered.

A cackle ripped itself from my throat. It came from some part of me I didn’t recognize. A resilient side, that knew a truth I couldn’t even begin to unravel.

In the midst of the darkness, a glistening golden dragon appeared. It snarled at the blood, threatening to destroy the walls.

Its great gleaming wings swooped down behind me, sending a warm gust of wind my way.

It gave me even more force.

Then we will reunite when he crosses as well , that same resilience from deep inside me spoke. Death is inevitable .

“ Stubborn girl ,” the voices screeched. The ferocity of them would tear me to pieces. “ KNEEL! ”

No .

If this was truly my time, I was going to meet grandpa Constantine with my head held high.

“Enough,” a command sliced through the bloody whirlwind in my mind, just as the walls crumbled.

I blinked back to reality. It was as if not a moment had passed.

My body didn’t feel a lick of pain, and the Oracle’s bony hand was still falling to her side after thumbing the blood on my forehead. It had felt like an eternity of torture inside.

The only ones who had noticed something amiss were the Oracle, whose thin lips tightened, and Zandyr, who was so close to snarling, the bottom of his teeth showed.

I’m alright , I wanted to shout at him.

He didn’t relax.

But I felt triumphant. My knees were the slightest bit bent, yet I hadn’t kneeled.

The Oracle swooped her hands up, her thick robe snapping a gust of air so powerful my eyes watered. The Senate members cowered closer together, and Zavoya tucked her face in the crook of Eldryan’s neck, who placed a protective palm over the back of her head.

“I see all.” The Oracle’s otherworldly tone weaved through the air, the echo of the vicious chorus in my mind blending in. Her words carried the weight of eons, mesmerizing and frightening. “Nothing can hide from me, past, present, and future.”

She blinked fast, the crimson of her eyes seeping into the raised veins of her face.

“And I have seen your soul and secrets, Blue Queen. One who does not fear her own death is powerful indeed.” She loomed over me, an ancient being that seemed to have been ripped from the shadows themselves. “You have suffered. You will suffer more.”

More ? A numbness settled over me, rooting me to the spot.

“The Vegheara blood is forceful in you. You will spill it to defend this Clan. You will sit on its throne.” The words shook the temple around us; small pebbles danced with the Oracle’s might as her eyes glowed darker. “When your blood will be spilled and the continent will be reformed, you will name your heir. It shall come from a traitor’s blood. She will be magnificent and lead us into a new era. She will lower the spears and create one tapestry that will sew silver, gold, and green together.”

A girl. A magnificent little girl, that I will thankfully wait a long time for. But…a traitor’s blood?

The Oracle leaned lower, bending at the waist with a crack, so that her face was level with mine. All my senses told me to recoil, but I held firm, even as the ground around me shook. The golden beams of the temple creaked.

Down below, the crowd gasped and squealed as a great big wind cocooned me and the Oracle. The rest were pushed and pelted away from us.

“For your kind, brave heart, I have a word of caution, Blue Queen. One decision will send you to an early grave,” the Oracle hummed. “Not all is how it appears. You shall be betrayed by your closest. Love will be dangerous, but not here in the Blood Brotherhood. You will proudly wear a crown of tears and treason. Learn to see clearly and you shall prevail. The decision rests on your shoulders alone.”

My blood crawled underneath my skin, as if summoned to the surface by her words.

The Oracle snapped back to her full, imperious height. The crimson receded to her eyes as her hands lowered.

“The Blood Brotherhood has no reason to fear her,” she announced in an imperious tone. The king and queen’s obvious sigh of relief smarted. “She will protect you with her life.”

Judging from the scowls the advisors sent my way, I could only imagine what Banu and Valuta must have slithering in Zavoya and Eldryan’s ears.

Zandyr looked at me with nothing but triumph in his eyes.

“ Turn ,” he mouthed.

I did. With all the grace and authority grandpa Constantine had taught me.

I faced the crowd watching me with bated breath, their shocked faces flickering in the fire of their torches.

“The true Queen has arrived!” the Oracle bellowed.

I felt taller and prouder than ever.

Despite it all, a ripple of alarm drummed through me. I felt the advisors’ beady eyes boring into my back like knives.

Whatever spectacle they had wanted to achieve with the Oracle hadn’t succeeded.

I’d defeated their plans today, but they would strike again. And next time, they’d make sure I never awoke again.