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Chapter Seven

RUNA

“Well, this is a fine mess,” Drazen huffed, slumping deeper onto the bench of the enclosed wagon.

Custodis sat beside him, with Kronk resting next to me.

While the vampire was still in his original manacles, the rest of us had our hands cuffed behind our backs.

Like the leech’s restraints, ours were crafted from enchanted metal that suppressed magic, making them unbreakable, even for Kronk.

“Flark Vex and his vile deception,” I cursed. “We do not have time for another delay. White Bridge only has nine spans remaining before collection day.”

“Yeah,” Drazen agreed. “And I doubt our little visit to the dungeons will cause the collectors to cut them some slack.”

I stared out the bar-covered window, fighting the molten wave of panic that threatened to destroy me.

We were on our way to the false king. To him .

I hadn’t seen the false king since he’d destroyed my family and village.

The horrifying stench of burning flesh and terror filled my senses.

An image of my sister took shape in my mind.

Her lilac eyes were wild as she turned to me, her sweaty hand in mine, the portal at our backs.

My mother lay next to us, blood spreading across her chest. Her pale lips parted, revealing her final words, “ Runa, don’t let go.

” While she’d made the ultimate sacrifice to save us, I had failed in my duty to her. To the kingdom.

“I do not understand,” Kronk said, drawing my thoughts out of the past, forcing me to face the impending doom headed our way. “Yaga consulted the fates.”

“She did,” I agreed, a tingle of unease testing my faith in the woman who had raised us.

“This does not feel like the path to freedom,” he continued.

“No, it doesn’t,” Drazen added, a matching frown on his face. “Perhaps there’s something we missed.”

Yaga had never led us astray before.

“It’s possible the fates are angry with us,” Kronk grumbled.

“You get anything from the guards?” Drazen asked, his voice a low whisper so the men who drove the wagon couldn’t hear.

“A little.” When a rough-handed guard grabbed my arms before clapping me in manacles, I’d done a bit of mystical recon, stealing images from his mind. “For starters, the captain received an anonymous tip that we’d be at the tavern. From Vex, no doubt.”

“We should have known this pathetic leech wouldn’t be enough to appease his anger,” Drazen snarled, sending Victor a disgusted glare.

“Apologies that my capture and attempted sale was a dismal failure,” Custodis said. His words sliced like daggers, drawing blood.

“Before the ambush, Vex confessed the deity we lost was his former mate,” Kronk added. “He’d intended to resurrect her.”

“Which is why he sold us out,” I groaned. Even among thieves, matters involving mates trumped business deals—most of the time.

Custodis snorted. “Any fool could have spotted that setup from a mile away.”

I shot him a glare. “You believe you’re so superior to us, and yet, here you are, captured by the king’s guards. Headed the same place we are.”

“Due to the foolishness of others.” His penetrating stare bore holes into me, leaving no doubt about whom he considered the fool.

“That makes two of us, seeing as you’re the reason I’m here,” I snarled through gritted teeth. “Don’t for one second think I’ve forgotten about that little stunt you pulled with the cape.”

“Most women do find me unforgettable,” Custodis intoned.

The audacity of the male. A red haze filled my vision. My head pounded as though it might explode. “You are the most arrogant, insufferable, egotistical—”

“Guys! Guys!” Drazen interrupted my tirade. “Can’t believe I’m the one saying this, but we need to concentrate. What’s our plan here?”

I closed my eyes, heaving a deep breath.

Once my pulse slowed, I shoved my expression into what I hoped was a collected mask.

“From what I gleaned from the guard’s mind, when prisoners first arrive, they’re placed in a minimum-security holding cell for processing.

There, we’ll receive a torque that will suppress our individual gifts. ”

Drazen wrinkled his nose in disgust. “You mean the king has some kind of collar capable of snuffing out my fire?”

“Sounds like it. Good news is we did a job for one of the grunts who works in holding not long ago. Remember the one who had us steal back his mate’s heirloom necklace when the soldiers confiscated it during the last tax collection?”

“I remember.” Drazen snorted. “Thing was butt ugly. Why they’d want it so bad is beyond me.”

“Yeah, well, he never paid us. So, the plan is, after we’re processed, we’ll convince him to deactivate our torques. That way, Kronk can break us out before they move us somewhere more secure. Once we’re free, we’ll head for the mountains where we can lay low while things cool off.”

I dared to glance in the vampire’s direction, waiting for his reaction. Ha! Take that for a team of incompetent thieves.

Rather than comment, Custodis rested with his eyes closed and his head pressed back against the wall, a soft smirk on his arrogant face. The bastard almost looked bored.

I kicked his foot, and he cracked one eye open.

“Enjoying the ride?”

“Except for the incessant chatter,” he dared to taunt.

“Why aren’t you more concerned?”

“Because I’m not going to prison like the rest of you.”

Kronk heaved a massive sigh. “And they claim I’m thick headed.”

“Do tell us, oh great master of denial,” I said, “why are you not going to prison?”

“Because, unlike you peasants, I am valuable.”

I was beginning to think Custodis enjoyed my reactions to his ridiculous statements. There was no other explanation for the crap that spewed from his lips. I schooled my expression, refusing to give him what he desired.

“How so?” I asked.

“I am Victor Custodis, Clan Leader of the Eastern Realm. A legend in my world. I’ve centuries of experience in leading armies. Oversaw the rise and fall of dozens of kingdoms. Guided many infamous rulers to victory.”

Goodbye composure. Fury rushed my veins so fast I feared my brain would explode. “You intend to offer your services to the false king? To aid his cause?”

Of all the things the leech had said and done, this one hit its mark, slashing at me with claws and fangs.

“Runa,” Kronk said softly as though he feared anything more may set me off .

“And you believe we are the fools,” I said in a voice so icy even Drazen shivered.

“You have no idea the crimes the false king has committed—the destruction he has caused both to the realm and those seated before you. But, by all means, if you desire to pledge your loyalty to him, do so. The two of you deserve each other.”

For once, the vampire fell silent, seeming to ponder my words.

“If this is not my best course of action, then educate me,” he demanded in that annoying way of his. “I am a reasonable male, after all.”

“Reasonable. Ha!” I narrowed my gaze at him.

I was growing familiar with his ways. He wanted information, but instead of asking, he tried to manipulate me into telling him. Still, I conceded, curious about his reaction.

“Very well. The throne of Carcerem is carved into the base of one of five sacred arbors. Millennia ago, the great goddess Hathor gifted each of her favorite kingdoms one of these trees. Sadly, due to war, neglect, and greed, only a few remain. Those kingdoms that were able to protect these sacred treasures were blessed with magic in the form of obsidian. Carcerem’s tree is the heart and soul of our kingdom.

An organ pumping life into everything it touches.

Those who sit upon these thrones are tasked with regulating that power.

Only a child touched by the divine can handle such a monumental task. ”

“A descendant of the gods?”

“That’s right. Only one who is god-touched can claim the throne. Lesser beings cannot control the immense flow of power and are incinerated by its strength.”

“And the current king?”

“While Idris has the blood of the gods in his veins, he is the worst of all the kings before him. His body may be strong, but his mind is diseased. When his father died, he inherited the throne. From the moment of his coronation, those of us who were connected to the land knew he was a false king. When the sacred arbor rejected him, Idris retaliated, finding a way to steal what he desired, sucking the life from our great arbor’s roots.

That deficit affects all of us. Crops wither, animals sicken, rivers run dry. ”

“So, with this magical throne comes immense power.”

I clenched my jaw. “Is this all you took from my explanation?”

“Yes. Yes.” Custodis fluttered his manacled hands. “So, your crops are diseased, and your oxen lean. Nature has a way of weeding out the weak.”

Surely, even Victor Custodis could not be this callous.

“Those who defied the false king were made an example. Families were murdered, children orphaned, and entire villages were burned to the ground. If that wasn’t bad enough, those who survived had their free will stolen.

The milky eyes you see on the guards? The false king uses his gifts to exert his will on his followers, making them his adoring slaves. ”

Custodis’s brow furrowed, and his expression turned condescending. “These matters involving monarchy are rarely personal. For a new king to come to power, there are those who must fall.”

Furious tears stung my eyes. “You would not be so cocky if it were your family, your village, your sister .”

“Runa,” Drazen entreated. “The leech isn’t worth it. Don’t waste your breath on him.”

I inched forward on my seat, peering into the vampire’s heartless visage. “Perhaps this is why you yourself were kicked out of your world. Because you were the weak, insignificant thing that stood in the way of the new king.”

To my delight, Custodis’s disdainful expression slid from his face.

“You know nothing,” he snarled.

Ah, I’d hit a nerve. “Don’t I? Explain to me again how you were banished, oh, great one.”

At my taunt, Custodis lurched forward, baring fangs.

I welcomed the battle, hissing in retaliation. Come and get me, asshole. Finally, I’d fractured the vampire’s stony composure.

Kronk thrust his booted foot into Victor’s chest, slamming him back into his seat, causing the wagon to wobble. The vampire wheezed, his sternum cracking.

“Hey! Settle down back there,” the driver barked.

“Enough,” Drazen growled. “Both of you. Before you call the guards down on our heads.”

Kronk released the leech with an antagonistic snarl while I preened, leaning into Kronk’s mighty arm. That’s right, vampire. My big brother was big , and he had my back. Always.

The vampire’s pale eyes darted between the two of us, then narrowed with some strange emotion I didn’t care to analyze.

We continued our journey in silence, alone with our dark thoughts.

Too soon, the foliage became sparse. What was left of the vegetation slumped with exhaustion, withering with decay.

Black craters scarred the ground like some beast with many tentacles had a grip on the land.

Stark trees, void of leaves, lined the road, and a sense of foreboding crept down my spine.

The state of the kingdom was so much worse near the source of the darkness.

It wasn’t long until Slyborn Castle came into view, situated atop a rocky hill with its high walls, toothy battlements, and rounded towers.

Over the massive structure, dark clouds loomed like a burial shroud.

Dozens of purple flags bearing the king’s image flapped around the structure, slashing the sky.

Like the gallspawn creature, it seemed the stone walls contained a hundred eyeballs, the narrow windows peering down on us in judgment.

The captain of the guard rode ahead, signaling to a soldier in the guardhouse.

Massive gates made of enchanted metal creaked on their hinges, allowing our party to enter.

Inside the lower bailey, merchants in small booths hocked their wares.

Through our barred windows, a mixture of scents wafted in the air, some savory, some sweet, though my stomach rebelled at the thought of food.

Our driver steered us onto a narrow side road, traveling around the crowded bailey to a smaller pair of doors set into the rocky foundation of the keep’s many towers.

“Guess we’re not getting the red-carpet treatment, seeing as how they’re sneaking us in the back door,” Drazen muttered.

“We’ll be lucky if they don’t feed us straight to the hellhounds,” Kronk answered.

Rather than deposit us outside, our driver took us into the building, horses, wagon, and all. Behind us, the heavy doors slammed shut, trapping us inside.

Synchronized boots struck the stone floor, marching in unison. Approximately a dozen soldiers entered the space. One by one, they peeled off, forming a circle around our carriage, swords at the ready.

“What the flark is going on?” I whispered. “This isn’t their procedure for handling prisoners.”

Where was the stock yard? The other inmates? The low security pen we could easily escape.

“Perhaps they have heard of our awesome prowess and many accomplishments,” Kronk offered.

“Or perhaps they know when a noble leader is in their midst,” Victor contributed.

I fought an eyeroll. I truly was surrounded by idiots.

At last, the captain swung our door open. “Lucky you. Our noble king has taken a personal interest in your crimes and will hear your case immediately.”

Dread washed over me in a flood. Luck had little to do with this. There was definitely a darker power at work. One I feared I knew all too well.