Page 60 of Blood King, Part I (Crowns #4)

Chapter forty-six

The sound of insects filled the night. Cyrus should have been in bed, but he knew he wouldn’t sleep.

So instead, he sat in the oversize chair in the oversize royal guest room, mulling the oversize mess of a situation he now found himself in—promising to help this girl when he had no plan how and no resource to do so.

How had he let himself get pulled into this?

He knew how—with her story that rang so similar to his. Her words, her shame, her fear.

And now he was committed.

His council would be disappointed. More than disappointed. But they could add it to the long list of disappointments he was curating for them.

Cyrus pushed out a long breath.

A soft knock on the door tore him from his thoughts.

He jerked his head up. Did he really just hear a knock? It was the middle of the night…

The knock came again.

Cyrus rose, pulling his sword, although he suspected he didn’t need it—he was fairly sure of who might be visiting him at this hour.

And he was right.

As he opened the door, he found the princess staring back at him with a lantern in her hand.

“I couldn’t sleep,” she said, and she brushed past him into the room.

He gave a small snort. “So, you’ll see to it I don’t either?”

She popped around, her eyes wide. “Did I wake you?”

Cyrus leaned his sword back against the wall. “No.”

She smiled as she set the lantern down. “Oh, good. I didn’t think I had. I mean, you don’t look like you sleep.” Her eyes darted over him with a slight flicker of judgment. “Ever.”

That didn’t sound like a compliment.

“I don’t either,” she said, her voice quieter now. She sat on the small settee by the window.

His brow drew down deeper. Make yourself at home. Well, he supposed it was technically her home.

“I can’t sleep when I’m scared,” she chattered on, “which is… most of the time.”

Cyrus felt for her. She really was just a child. “Are you scared now?”

She paused, rolling the cross trim of her dress between her fingers. “Well, not right now, but for what happens after you do whatever it is you’re going to do.”

“You don’t even know what I’m planning.”

“Do you?”

She’d meant it as a genuine question, but it came as a slight insult, because he had no idea what he was going to do yet.

Her eyes stayed on him, probably because no one had ever taught her that it was rude to stare. He didn’t mind, so long as she didn’t try to take her clothes off again.

Cyrus crossed his arms and leaned back against a pillar inset into the wall.

She cocked her head, still studying him. “Amish says you’re a seer.”

“How does Amish know?”

She shrugged. “He knows lots of things. So, are you?”

He was still coming to terms with it. “I suppose I am.”

“What does that mean? What can you do?”

He thought the title was self-explanatory. “I see visions. Of the future.”

She raised a brow. “What’s my future?”

“It doesn’t work like that. I can’t control what I see.”

“So, you just get inundated with random visions of things?”

“Well, not inundated. They come when they want to. Sometimes.” He cleared his throat.

“Oh.” She frowned.

All his life, this curse had been overwhelmingly too much. Now, somehow, it seemed not enough. “I can travel into the minds of others, when my blood touches their skin.”

She leaned forward on the settee, perking up. “Can you take over someone’s mind?”

“Well, no. But I can talk to them and show them the visions I see.”

“The visions that have come only a couple times?”

He wet his bottom lip. Why was this bothering him so much? “Yeah.”

Her nose crinkled slightly. “Is that all?”

“I can take over the minds of animals .” He cursed himself under his breath.

Why did he even share that with her? It wasn’t even his power—it was the power he had access to through Essandra.

He cursed again. He didn’t have to impress this girl.

Although, here he was, feeling pressure to do just that.

Her eyes widened. “Really? Like how? You talk to them?”

“Well, not exactly.”

Her smile faded. “Oh. What, then?”

“With my blood, I can travel into their minds, see through their eyes, and take control.”

“So, what do you make them do?”

He stood, stumped for a moment. “Nothing really. I mean, the only animal I need already obeys me—a horse. What other uses would I have?”

Her mouth popped open as she sat up abruptly and flopped her hands onto her lap. “What uses?” She scoffed. “The possibilities are endless!” She sighed as she sank back against the settee again and smiled dreamily. “You want to know what I would do if I were you?”

He didn’t, but he had a feeling she was going to tell him anyway.

“I’d bewitch the birds.” She stretched her arms out like wings.

“I’ve always wanted to know what it was like to fly.

Can you imagine? If I could see through their eyes, it would be like I was with them, looking down on the world.

Exploring, seeing everything there is to see.

” She gave a small giggle. “Spying, even.”

Cyrus stilled. Birds. He stared at the girl. “That’s… actually a really good idea,” he said finally.

Her eyes widened. “Are you going to try it?”

“I think I will.”

She grinned with a clap of her hands. “I want to see!”

“I’ll think about it.” But he had no intention of thinking about it, because he had no intention of letting her see him try. He didn’t want an audience. It was bad enough to struggle with his ability in front of Essandra. Now a girl? No.

“What else can you do?” she asked.

“That’s it,” he resigned. “The truth is, Essandra is the one with true power.”

She straightened and rocked forward again, her small hands now at her sides with her fingers pinching the edge of the settee cushion. “That’s your witch?”

“I can’t call her mine, but yes.”

“Is she a powerful witch?”

“Very powerful. And beautiful.” He hadn’t meant to add that last part.

Her large eyes didn’t blink. Cyrus suspected this was really what the girl wanted—to hear about someone like her. It was what Cyrus would have wanted, what he did want, and still wanted…

“What can she do?” the girl asked eagerly.

“Well, she has a coven, and they bond their powers so they can share them. This gives her many abilities.”

“Illusion?” She leaned forward even farther. Cyrus half expected her to topple off the seat.

He nodded. “Yes. That’s one.”

“That’s how you figured me out.”

He nodded again. “It is, although, I have to say—you’re quite powerful yourself. How are you able to project so many men, in all their detail?”

The girl beamed. Cyrus was fairly certain she’d never felt her ability appreciated, much less heard it complimented.

“Well, I don’t have to imagine each one,” she told him. “I just imagine a few, then replicate that. And it’s also easier when I have someone to copy. I usually use Amish and whichever guards are with him.”

Cyrus couldn’t help a small smile. How clever.

The girl let herself relax a bit. Then she asked, “Have you decided what we’ll do yet?”

We. Like they were in this together. He supposed they were now, with his commitment. Cyrus sighed. He’d hoped to have had more than a couple of hours to come up with a plan.

“I haven’t figured it all out yet,” he said. “We have to announce your father’s death and see to your coronation. Once you’re queen—”

“Wait… I can’t be queen!” She jumped from the settee as if this were the first time she’d heard of such a concept.

He stared at her with a stitch in his brow. “Well, that’s typically what being a princess leads to.”

“I mean, I’m not ready!”

That, he could relate to. “I don’t think anyone ever is.”

“But I don’t know what I’m doing!”

“I don’t either.”

She stopped and gaped at him in surprise.

“Half the time, I’m struggling just to rebuild the kingdom and feed my people,” he told her, “and the other half, I’m fighting the nobles, who are trying to take back control, or debating with my council, who rarely approve of my decisions.

And I can assure you they certainly won’t approve of what I’m doing here now—committing resources to a kingdom and gaining no army for it. ”

She slowly sank back onto the settee. Her eyes drifted, traveling around her but not actually looking at anything. What he’d said upset her, but it was a harsh truth—

“Your people are hungry?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

That wasn’t what he thought she’d catch on, but perhaps it was a challenge for her as well.

“They are,” he admitted. “Rael doesn’t have the climate for farming.

The coven has hedge witches, which help, but even they have limits on expediting harvest. Then add the challenge of escaped slaves from surrounding kingdoms arriving every day, seeking refuge.

The number of mouths to feed continues to grow, while our provisions… don’t.”

Slowly, her eyes rose to meet his. “We have rice. Lots of it.”

Cyrus stilled. “From the Shadowlands?”

She shook her head. “From the Horseman tribes. They use our ships to trade across the seas and get their heavy stock from the Emerald Isles. In exchange, they give us rice.”

He narrowed his eyes. That didn’t sound right. “The Horsemen breed their own horses.”

“Their standard stock, yes, but not their destriers that they trade with the world.” Her eyes widened, hopeful. “We have more food than we need—you can have it. Will that please your council?”

It wouldn’t displease them, which would be a nice change. And there was something else he could use…

“Would Pryam also welcome slave refugees?” he asked.

“Of course!” Her face sobered. “Many people have left these past several months.”

He nodded slowly as the plan formed. “Then I’ll train men and send them to join your army and your guard. In return, you’ll supply Rael with rice and take some of our refugees.”

“What about the Etrean Union? If they come for me—”

“I told you; I won’t let that happen.”

Relief washed over her face. He almost thought she might hug him, and he shifted away to dissuade her.

“We’ll finalize everything tomorrow,” he said. “But now, we both should get some sleep.”

She nodded, standing, and moved to the door. Turning back, she said, “I know you said you’d make a terrible husband, but I think you make a really good friend.” Then she gave him a soft smile and slipped out of the room.

He wasn’t sure he could afford to be a friend. But what was the worst that could happen?