Page 35 of Crown of Betrayal and Blood (Dragons of Tirene #3)

Chapter Thirty-Five

Agnar spares me only a glance before sprinting toward the open window. He jumps out, wings snapping open.

When he returns minutes later, I’ve managed to pick my aching body off of the floor.

“He’s gone. And the guard outside is dead. Throat slit.” His face is grim. “What the hells happened?”

“We were…” Tears blur my vision, and I can’t finish my sentence. “Sorry…I just…”

His face softens as he strides across the room. “I’m the one who’s sorry. Fuck.” He gently lifts my chin, frowning as he examines my throat. “He hurt you.”

I stumble back. “It’s nothing. He wasn’t himself.”

“It’s not nothing.” Agnar skims two fingers over my throat, and I wince. “Are those teeth marks?”

Embarrassment warms my face. “Yeah. Things got a little rough there for a minute, but I’ve fared worse during training.”

My attempt to lighten the mood falls flat.

The guilt on his face clenches my heart. “I never should have left you alone with him. After Leesa, I should’ve known it was only a matter of time before the corruption took hold.”

“It’s okay.” I squeeze his arm. “We’re all still learning how this corruption works. Never in a million years did I think Sterling would go batshit on me. One minute, he was kissing me and asking me about the trip, and the next, he was slamming me into the wall.”

He flinches and runs a hand through his hair. “Yeah, I caught the aftermath. Did he say anything about his plans? About the drachen?”

“Some.” I recount what little Sterling told me.

“If we can find him, what are the odds you can heal him?” His voice is tentative, hopeful against all odds.

“I’m not sure exactly how it works yet, but I think I might actually be able to.” I struggle not to wince as I touch the side of my head that hit the wall. “Leesa. I need to try to heal her first. And then we can figure out what to do about Sterling.”

“First, you need to sit down.” Agnar takes my arm and guides me to a couch in Sterling’s sitting room. “I’ll send a healer to check out your injuries, and then I need to speak with the dowager queen, the council, the soldiers. Send guards to locate Sterling. There’s a lot to be done.”

“Of course. Go do what you need to do.” I shoot him a grateful look. “And thank you. If you hadn’t come when you did…”

My lip trembles, and I can’t stop the tear from escaping.

He sits on the couch beside me and pats my hand. “We’re going to get him back, Lark. Don’t lose hope.”

“I’m trying not to.”

Agnar’s chest lifts and lowers as he studies the marks Sterling left on my skin. “Can I ask…why didn’t you summon the dragons for help? They would have come, right?”

I can’t meet his eyes. “I was afraid they’d hurt him,” I whisper.

Several beats of silence follow my words, and then Agnar uses his fingers to lift my chin. “Look at me.” His other hand cradles my cheeks, and there’s a dawning wonder and warmth in his expression that I’ve never seen him direct at me before. “That was incredibly stupid of you…but I can’t lie and say I’m sorry you did it. You’re a brave woman, Lark, and for the record, I’m sorry I ever doubted you. It will be my absolute honor to see you sit at Knox’s side and call you my queen.”

Agnar presses a gentle kiss on my cheek and leaves before I dissolve into a sobbing mess.

Within a few minutes, a healer visits to tend to my injuries. She tells me to rest before I do anything else and places an herbal drink in my hands before departing.

Alone in Sterling’s chambers once again, I drop my dampening shield completely.

The night’s events play back in my head, over and over.

What could I have done differently? If Agnar had been with me to begin with, could we have subdued Sterling long enough for me to attempt to heal his corruption? Would we have succeeded? Where is Sterling now? Is he going to be all right?

“Excuse me, Lady Lark?” A voice cuts through the disquiet of my mind, and I glance up to see a guard entering the chamber. “Her highness the queen is here to see you. We’ll be in the hall if you need us.” After gesturing to a second guard beyond the doorway, he sees himself out.

Before I can muster a response, another presence fills the doorway, one that squeezes the air from my lungs. Queen Alannah stands there, a portrait of sorrow wrapped in her sleeping robe, frailty clinging to her like a second skin.

My heart aches for her, for the tears carving silent, well-worn paths down her cheeks. “Your Majesty.” I bow my head in respect.

“Tell me, what has become of my son?” Despite her grief, the queen’s voice is strong.

I swallow past the lump in my throat. “Tonight, the drachen fully claimed him.”

Her brows raise in a silent question.

“Like possession.” I’m the center of attention as more nobles gather. “The healers say it’s akin to when a deity temporarily inhabits a mortal vessel. Only this is no god. It’s the drachen using him to spread their darkness.”

“Then they are intelligent? Not the mindless beasts we feared?” Queen Alannah sinks onto the couch beside me.

“Sterling was able to tell me that it spoke to him. Convinced him to do the things he did. When he attacked me, he said the world will know peace through bloodshed, and this time they can’t be stopped. He made it sound like they had plans.”

“Plans?” She crosses her ankles, her hands clasped in her lap.

“Conquest. Kingdom after kingdom, life after life. They don’t just want to feed. They want to rule. I don’t know who controls them, whether it’s Xenon, or someone else. All of this has happened so fast.”

She pales, silent for a beat before leaning close to me. “I know of your journey to find phoenix tears. It’s a lot to ask, but do you think you can end this corruption?”

“I hope so. But I haven’t tried it. There’s no guarantee it will work, and anything could go wrong. If it works on my sister…”

“I have faith in you.” She grasps my hand in her delicate ones. “You’ve had a trying day, I know. But I don’t think you should wait any longer to visit Leesa. Take guards trained against mental attacks. There are several in the hallway.”

The queen is right. Time is not on our side. “Of course, Your Majesty. I will do my best.”

With a nod, I rise, spurred into action by the queen’s unyielding spirit.

As I exit, I hear Alannah’s voice, steady and commanding as she dictates orders to royal guards. “Rescind Prince Knox’s orders from today, gather all documents he’s signed this past week, and bring them to me. And someone light the fire. It’s getting cold.”

The clatter of armor echoes in the halls as I lead the way to the dungeons, flanked by four guards. Each step is heavier than the last, my mind racing with doubts and fears. What if Leesa is beyond saving? What if it’s just a drachen puppeteering her corpse?

Can the corruption even be reversed?

Up ahead in the corridor, Agnar spots me and hurries to meet us.

His wings fold neatly as he joins our somber procession. “We couldn’t find him. But I’m here now for whatever you need.” He shoots a dubious glance at my throat. “You doing okay?”

“I’m still alive, and for now, I’m calling that a win.” I offer him a tight smile. “The healer checked me over, and then I spoke with the queen. She wants me to attempt to heal Leesa tonight.”

“Makes sense.” He falls into step beside me. “That way, you’ll know what you’re up against when we do find Sterling. And hopefully,” his voice softens, “you’ll have your sister back. Do you want me to have Bastian roused?”

I shake my head. “No. If shit goes wrong, he doesn’t need to witness it. But if this works, he can see Leesa afterward.”

We continue down several corridors, each one smaller than the last until we reach a heavyset door with two guards and four soldiers standing watch.

“By order of the queen, Lady Lark is to be admitted,” one of the guards behind me calls out.

With a clank of heels, the men standing guard move aside. The last two open the heavy door for us to enter.

The dirt cell is nearly identical to the one King Jasper threw me in not so long ago.

My sister sits on the floor in the corner, chains biting into her wrists. The sharp smile on her face is so unlike the sister I know, and her black eyes glint with something feral. She’s a nightmare made flesh, and I swallow down the bile that threatens to rise at the sight.

“Hey, sis.” Her lips stretch even wider in a mockery of a grin. “Did you come to play?”

“Leesa.” Her name catches in my throat as I draw closer.

“You cutting me off from the rest of my kind changes nothing. I know what must be done.” The words slither out of Leesa’s mouth in a taunting singsong, and a chill runs down my spine. “It’s almost time, dear little sister. How does the story go? Buried alive, unearthed only to die?”

I can’t help but shudder. The way she says it, it’s like she’s tasting each syllable, savoring them as if they were her last meal. But they’re not hers. The voice may sound like Leesa’s, but the malice dripping from it is all wrong.

My gaze locks onto hers, searching for something familiar, but I only find darkness. An abyss where my sister used to be. “What is it that you know?”

She tilts her head, a puppet on unseen strings, and giggles. “Soon the true king will rise, and your flame will be snuffed out. Then nothing will stand in our way.” Her tongue trails over her lips, and I remember the expression on her face when she licked Blair’s blood off the knife.

Each words is a blade twisting in my chest. Leesa is still in there somewhere. She has to be.

Tears spill down my cheeks unchecked. “Is that really such a smart idea? Making me cry?”

Her black eyes dart to mine. For the first time, I note a glimmer of real fear in them.

“Let’s see if this works.” I swipe at my damp cheeks before stepping closer to where the cold iron keeps Leesa captive.

I draw in a steadying breath, then press my palm—wet with tears—against the bare skin of her throat.

Her body recoils from my touch. She hisses—a feral sound—but the chains hold her fast. “Fuck! That burns! How could you do this to your own sister?”

Leesa screeches and twists, head thrashing and grimy curls flying as her entire body shakes. Chains rattle and guards brace themselves as her body contorts as far as the restraints will reach.

I flinch back, praying to all the gods that my strong-willed sister can survive this. If she can’t, then I doubt anyone else will be able to.

What’s the point of removing the corruption if it kills the victims regardless?

Her crazed eyes widen.

That’s the only warning I have before she twists her head, teeth snapping for my flesh. I jerk my hand back, barely in time.

She laughs, eyes rolling forward in her head. “Is this your grand plan? How pathetic. Your family seems to have grown weak, while I have recovered and grow more powerful with every passing day.”

Agnar draws up beside me and speaks low in my ear. “I don’t know much about phoenixes or tears. But I do know that if skin heals over an infection, healers have to lance the skin in order to truly cure it.”

“That makes perfect sense.” I reach inside my boot, drawing out the dagger from Eldor. “Here goes everything.”

Carefully, I scrape a tear from my cheek with the blade’s edge. With a steady hand, I press the point against Leesa’s skin.

She scoffs, displaying a brash mask of bravado. Blood blooms around the sharp point as it pierces her skin. A strangled choke cuts off her laughter, the noise clawing at my ears like a caged beast desperate for escape.

Leesa’s raw, agonizing screams pierce the air. There’s no faking this as her spine curls backward, forcing her chest out and her head back. She strains against the chains, muscles taut as sweat beads on her forehead.

She coughs, sudden and violent. Black ichor oozes out of her mouth, hitting the dirt with a wet smack.

I slap a hand over my mouth, fighting the urge to dry heave because what the actual fuck was that?

Guards rush in the cell, their weapons drawn.

“No!” I throw out a hand, conjuring a wall of flame between us and the guards. “Don’t hurt her. Stay back!”

Her head snaps forward, and her body goes limp.

Air leaves my lungs as I fall to my knees.

Did I just kill my sister?