Page 205 of Brimstone

“Have youjustlearned this lesson, half-breed? Kingfisher is already mine to command. You may as well join him.” The king moved to pull Nimerelle from his stomach, but he had nothing to hold her hilt with.

I left him where he knelt and made for the dryad. Only Fisher’s face was visible now. Soon, it would be gone.“Unless . . .” I said under my breath. The wording was important. I had to get it right.

“What do you mean,unless?”

“Names hold meaning in this place. There is no power in this realm or any other that can supersede an order given using someone’s true name. A true name can undo oaths. It can open doors.” I pressed my hand against the dryad’s trunk, and I felt him for the first time. Fisherwasin there. And he could hear me.

Saeris . . .

The sound of his voice inside my head, weak though it was, filled me with courage. I steeled myself and spoke in a loud, steady voice, for all the realm to hear. This was a tricky maneuver. One thathadto pay off. I crossed my fingers and prayed. “Kingfisher of the Ajun Gate, I hereby call you by your true name. I declare all oaths you have sworn null and void. Rise,Khydan Graystar Finvarra, in honor of the name you were given at birth! Rise up andfight!”

48

FOLLY

KINGFISHER (Khydan Graystar Finvarra)

THE ENDLESS DARKshattered.

As it did, the lump of ice in my chest thawed and exploded like a newly formed star taking its place among the celestial sphere. Time contracted, and as I opened my eyes, the wood surrounding me came into brilliant focus.

Many new pieces of information took root in my mind at once.

I had beeninsidethe shadow gate.

I’d heard Belikon’s voice. I’d registered his command to come to him . . . and I’d been powerless to refuse. Things were blurry after that.

I knew precisely where I was now, though, and my mate’s cry was still ringing in my ears like a desperate call to arms.

Rise, Khydan Graystar Finvarra, in honor of the name you were given at birth!Rise up and fight!

The name resonated in my chest, triggering something fundamental, deep within the foundations of my soul. Iknewthe name. Knew it like I knew the sky was blue and which way was up. It was a part of me—hadalwaysbeen a part of me—and now it had settled on me like a perfectly tailored cloak.

The command that came along with my name set my soul alight, but it was darkness and vengeance that poured out of me as I obeyed it. My magic thrummed, soaring up from the well of power faster than it ever had before. Glittering and furious, it slammed out of me in every direction, obliterating the cage that held me.

Not a cage. Anoubliette.

Shards of decaying wood fired through the air like shrapnel. The air filled with smoke . . .

. . . and when it cleared, the first thing to emerge from the destruction was my mate. Was I really seeing this? She’d come for me?By herself?

Her hair was wild, her blue eyes wide as saucers, full of defiance and shock. Her mouth and jaw were painted red with blood. The front of her fighting leathers, too. When she saw my growing panic, she shook her head, running to close the last few feet between us. “It’s okay. It’s nothing. I’m fine. Belikon—”

Oh, I’d already seenhim.

The bastard was kneeling in the churned-up snow with not one but two god swords spearing him through the chest. They weren’t enough to kill him, but the iron in Nimerelle was leaching his power. That alone was keeping him on his knees. He was dressed as if for a great celebration. His thick, chocolate-brown ermine cloak was of the highest quality, though obviously ruined now thanks to the god swords. Atop his head, he wore an elaborate crown I hadn’t seen before, far more ostentatious than the humble winter laurel he had stolen from Rurik Daianthus. Blood trickled from his mouth and down his narrow chin. He laughed when he saw me stalking toward him through the snow.

“If you want your sword back, you’re going to have to pull it out of me. And trust me when I say you don’t want to do that.”

I kicked him square in the face as hard as I could, and the king sprawled on his ass in the snow. The obnoxious jeweled crown fell from his brow and went rolling off into the wood.

“I’ve been waiting a long time to dothat.” My voice was raw. I had screamed plenty in the hellish landscape the dryad had created for me, and it felt like I’d done all that screaming out loud.

The king lay on his side, unable to roll onto his back thanks to the swords impaling him. I had questions about how Nimerelle had become wedged between the asshole’s ribs, but I was a patient male. They could wait.

“My guards are posted throughout this wood. You’ll never get past them all,” Belikon said.

I cocked my head, considering him. “Won’t we?”