Page 59

Chapter Forty

RUNA

Idris, assured of his victory, grinned down at me and Victor, his eyes glinting with cruel satisfaction. “Do it, my love,” he purred to Raelynn. “Open the—”

“Sire!” One of the king’s soldiers stumbled through the front door, a crimson stream trickling down his face.

“Not now!” Idris barked, gleaming eyes locked on his sibling.

“But, sire! It’s the villagers. They’re here.”

Idris blinked, finally shifting his focus to the shaken soldier. “What? How many?”

“All of them, sire,” the panicked man squawked. “They’re attacking the castle. And they’ve brought reinforcements.”

Hope surged within me. The villagers had finally joined the rebellion. Nothing short of a miracle could have accomplished such a task. A miracle or a lost vampire king.

Idris’s face darkened. “What kind of reinforcements?”

A shadow stretched across the windows. Shouts rang out from the courtyard. The scent of brimstone thickened the air. My breath caught as the horrifying memory of my final moments in the pit twisted through me.

No. It couldn’t be.

Flashing flames and a gust of wind roared in the entryway. The terrified messenger glanced over his shoulder, uttered a shout of fright, and bolted. Smoke swirled in his wake, clearing enough to reveal a familiar fire-breathing figure standing in the doorway.

Cocky grin. Sparkling blue eyes.

Thorne.

“Hey there, beautiful. Miss me?” The shifter winked, standing with his hands on his hips and legs braced like he captained some great ship. His eyes flicked toward Victor. “You started a war without me? I’m hurt.”

“You,” Idris roared, thrusting out his arm. “You’re the one who stole my dragon.”

Thorne’s grin widened. “And you’re the one who dared to enslave him.” His voice dropped to a threatening purr. “You should know, he’s rather vexed with you.”

He cast a quick glance over the room. “Flark. Civilians. That could pose a problem. Nothing we can do about that now, though. Hard to stop him when he has his mind set on something.”

His attention swung upward toward my unconscious brothers, and he winced, eyes flicking back to mine. “Shit, wasn’t expecting that. Figured they be in the dungeon. If I remember correctly, your brothers are both fireproof, right?”

Not waiting for my answer, he shoved those standing closest to the main isle. “Idiots. Why are you still here? Run! All of you, take cover!

I sank my fingers into Victor’s arm. “No. He wouldn’t, would he?”

“It’s Thorne,” Victor said by way of explanation.

“Everyone, clear out!” I shouted as Victor’s palms shimmered, casting a protective barrier around me.

Screams echoed. People ran for cover, diving under benches.

Heavy swoops pounded the walls, the colossal hammering of wings stirring the air. Emerald scales flashed outside the window. Then, a single reptilian eyeball appeared, followed by a set of bone-crushing teeth. The teeth parted, red embers glowing deep in the beast’s gullet.

Not again.

The window exploded, launching shards of glass. Fire roared into the room in a narrow stream.

“Raelynn! Run!” I shouted, some deep-seated instinct overriding my hatred. The fiery blast struck Idris dead center.

My sister’s high-pitched scream sliced through the madness.

“Argh!” Idris bellowed, throwing up his glowing palms. Flames detonated against the base of the sacred tree. The explosion tossed me like a ragdoll, ripping me from Victor’s embrace.

Pain jolted through my hip and spine, my body colliding with the floor. Smoke scorched my lungs. My arms shook as I shoved myself up, coughing through the haze. “Victor?” I croaked.

A ragged groan answered from across the chamber. “Flarking dragon.”

Relief crashed into me. My mate was alive.

Victor pushed himself up, golden energy flickering around his hands. His gaze found mine, sharp and commanding even through the chaos.

“Go, Runa,” he rasped. “Help your people.” His eyes snapped back to Idris, who was already rising, fire licking at his robes. “Idris is mine.”

Before I could voice a protest, two bodies plummeted from the heavens, slamming to the ground with a sickening crack of bone and a string of muttered curses.

I jerked around, my breath hitching as I took in the groaning figures. “Kronk? Drazen? ”

If they were free, Idris must truly be injured—giving Victor another chance to end this.

Scrambling to my feet, I rushed to my brothers’ sides, my pulse hammering. Both were awake, shifting gingerly but alive. Thank the goddess—because there was no way I could carry them.

Drazen’s ruddy face was drawn with exhaustion and streaked with bruises. “How do I look? They didn’t damage my best feature, did they?” He glided a blood-crusted hand along one of his horns.

“Like bula dung,” I said, bottom lip wavering, attempting to smile.

Kronk groaned, scrubbing a hand over his face and wincing. Across his forehead was a spiderwebbed crack. “Flark, but that hurts. Bastards tried to split my skull open. Almost succeeded.” Despite his injuries, he was lucid—and would heal. Relief flooded my chest.

“I could have told them that was impossible.” I grazed my fingers along his granite jaw. “Your head is too thick.”

A thunderous roar split the air, shaking the walls. Idris’s battle cry was a sound I knew too well, one that clawed its way from the darkest corners of my past—the same cry he’d unleashed the night he murdered my parents and stole my sister away.

Dread twisted in my gut as my gaze snapped back to where the false king had fallen. Idris was on his feet once more. His clothing was scorched. Blisters bubbled over his exposed skin, and yet his eyes burned with relentless fury.

Victor stood opposite him, bloodied and bruised but unbroken. Golden eyes blazing, Carcerem’s rightful ruler bared his fangs in defiance. A shiver ran down my spine as he threw back his head and roared—a primal, earth-shaking challenge that sent a pulse of power rippling through the air.

Then, with predatory resolve, he charged .

The two collided, locked in a storm of blows, each strike splitting the air and shaking the castle’s foundations.

Every impact reverberated like a thunderclap, their movements a clash of raw, unrelenting power.

Idris, realizing he was losing his advantage, fought with the fury of a raging tempest—wild, relentless, and unyielding.

Meanwhile, Victor countered with razor-sharp precision, weaving through attacks and striking fast and true, like wind slicing through steel.

The brothers fought to the death. Only one would emerge from this battle. It was a fight I longed to watch but didn’t dare let distract me.

“Let’s get out of here before they bring the place down on us,” Drazen groaned.

Claws raked at my center, tugging. I glanced at the sacred arbor. Bronze leaves dropped from its trembling limbs in a cascade. Their intricate webbing caught fire, turning into glowing embers and floating away. The craggy roots trembled below the mighty trunk, pulsing, then fading. Pulsing. Fading.

This wasn’t Idris’s doing. Something was seriously wrong with the tree.

I patted Drazen’s chest. “You and Kronk, help the villagers if you’re able. There’s something I need to do.”

Drazen frowned but knew better than to waste his breath arguing with me. “Fine, but keep your head down.”

Raelynn . I’d had little time to warn her before the dragon struck. Where was she?

I scrambled up the side of the dais, crawling over the pulsing roots on my stomach lest a stray blast from the battling kings take my head off. On the backside of the arbor, I spotted a ragged scrap of lace.

“Raelynn!”

I scrambled to where she rested, her limbs splayed at odd angles. Smoke wafted from her scorched dress and blistered skin. She’d taken a deadly hit from the dragon’s furious blast .

I carefully grasped her hand, and she peered up at me, scanning my visage.

She snorted a derisive huff. “Custodis protected you.”

Surprisingly, I was uninjured, other than a few bumps and bruises. The golden light Victor had wrapped me in saved me from the blast. Idris hadn’t done the same for his queen.

“It was the same with Momma and Poppa. You were always their favorite. The one they looked after first.”

“Is that why you did it?” I couldn’t resist asking, despite her obvious pain. “Why you left me and sided with Idris? Out of jealousy?”

“That day at the portal,” she said, her voice rasping, “I saw an opportunity and seized it.”

I shook my head. “For turns, I blamed myself for letting you go—for not trying harder to stop you. I became a thief, stealing for the people of Carcerem, to atone for the chain of events my failure set off. It took a long time for me to realize that it wasn’t my fault.

” I released the hand I’d clasped so carefully, letting it flop against her chest. “Guilt is a fallacy. It tricks you into believing you had control over something that was completely out of your hands. You’re the one who created this mess, Raelynn.

You. It was your decision that brought you to this place. ”

Tears filled my sister’s eyes, and she choked on a sob. “You’re right. I’ve made so many mistakes. Because I was a delusional little girl who believed she could have it all.”

Whether she was remorseful for her actions or not, I couldn’t tell.

Regardless, I wouldn’t humor her after what she’d done to the kingdom—the lives she’d cost. “What matters now is what you do with that knowledge. Repair the damage you’ve caused.

Relinquish the hold you gave Idris on Carcerem. Help us defeat him.”

Tears streamed down Raelynn’s blistered cheeks.

“I can’t. When I realized he intended to replace me with you, I tried to close the gateway between him and the arbor.

And failed. It’s too late, and there is no turning back.

Idris, the tree, and I are intertwined. The floodgates are open, and I am nothing but a conduit.

I haven’t had control over the connection I created for quite some time. ”

Explosions crashed at the front of the room. A ball of golden energy whizzed over us, slamming into the wall. I winced, covering my head. The fight between Victor and Idris had escalated. Fates save us, I prayed my mate was unharmed.

“There must be a way to fix this. Maybe if we tried to close it together.”

“Do you remember that lake Momma and Poppa used to take us to?” Raelynn asked.

“What? What are you talking about?” This was not the time for reminiscing.

“It was so beautiful there. I’d set my dolls along the bank and pretend I was their queen and they my royal subjects. It was such a pretty fantasy.”

Angry shouts filled the air, and another explosion of power prickled my skin. I didn’t dare look to see if Victor was wounded. Instead, I focused on my sister.

“Yes. It was pretty. And then I would sneak up and steal one of your subjects, pretending to be an ogre.”

“You were such a brat,” she choked out. “You threw my favorite into the lake. I waded in to save her, ruining my dress. When I yelled at you, you said, ‘A good queen must make sacrifices.’”

Idris’s infuriated shot rang out, “Custodis, you bastard. The throne will never be yours.” Yet another explosion rattled the walls.

In the chaos, my sister whispered, “I’d like my funeral pyre there. Next to that lake.”

“Raelynn, what do you mean?” Her burns, while extensive, would heal with the right care .

“I’ve considered all the options. There is only one way to make him pay for what he’s done.”

Before I processed her intent, Raelynn raised the knife she’d hidden and plunged it into her chest.

“Raelynn, no!” I grasped her wrist. Too late. The blade pierced deep into her heart. Blood gushed across her pristine gown, and she uttered a mournful groan.

“What have you done?” I cried.

My sister stared up at me. “A good queen”—she sputtered a mouthful of blood—“makes sacrifices. Tell Idris I’ll see him in hell.”

The light faded from her eyes, and her hand fell limp.

“Raelynn.” I clutched her shoulders, shaking her. “Raelynn, no. Not like this.” Tears soaked my cheeks, and a sob rattled my frame.

Beneath me, the floor rumbled. The tree’s blackened roots throbbed like an oozing wound.

Idris’s bellow whipped my head around. Victor lay on the ground before him, forearm braced over his face as though prepared to block a blow that did not land. Instead, Idris flung back his arms, his chest bowing.

“Raelynn, you deceitful bitch!” Spasms shook his body; black veins crawled up his neck.

Victor met my wide-eyed gaze and roared, “Runa, no! Idris first. Raelynn must not die.”

I gaped down at my sister. Now he tells me.

Golden light flashed behind her eyes. The ground cracked below her, traveling across the marble floor and straight up the trunk of the tree.

At her center, a sinister, pulsating glow appeared.

That blazing light spread, growing larger until it had consumed Raelynn’s whole body. I shielded my eyes from the glare.

“Runa, get back,” Victor shouted. “Get away from her.”

For once, I did as he ordered, scrambling over the writhing floor to him. He wrapped me in his embrace, and we both turned to Idris.

The false king retreated toward the throne, belting out a laugh born of insanity. “She’s ruined everything.” He glanced down at his body. From deep within his core, a blinding light glowed, similar to the one Raelynn displayed.

Menacing sparks flared in his palms. “Ah, do you feel it? Hathor’s divine essence. Pure and unrestrained. Flark, but it’s so good. Too good.” He gritted his teeth, clenching his fists at his sides as if to contain the flood. “The dam is broken. Raelynn’s cursed us all.”

His legs gave out, and he collapsed onto the throne. Above him, the tree rumbled and swayed. Wood cracked like a fractured bone. Gilded energy exploded from the split in the trunk. The leaves above became fiery embers, floating off the tree before raining down.

Idris sat on his stolen throne. His skin charred, and fragments of it flaked off, like the glowing embers of the tree. The unchecked flow of power was tearing him apart.

He sneered at Victor, his tone gravelly. “What do you know? The prophecy was true, except the translation was wrong. You’re not the realm’s salvation. You’re its destruction.”

Pieces of his destroyed body floated in the air. He watched them drift away with a bemused expression. “You’re too late, lost king. The kingdom bleeds and will never recover.”

Thunder cracked. The ground trembled. Idris’s body came apart in an explosion of crimson and gold sparks. Victor wrapped his body around me as energy buffeted our frames. Pinpricks of fire pierced my flesh. The sting made me groan. I dared to lift my head and glance at the tree.

Idris was right. The kingdom bled.

I peered into Victor’s glowing eyes. “We have to find a way to stop it.”