Page 67 of Poisoned Kingdom (Secrets of Dagome #1)

Reynard

T he door bounced off the wall of my office as Riordan burst in, Tova in tow. ‘You must stop them. That bloody healer’s lost his mind, hiding this from me!’

Distracted by the sudden interruption, my hand shook, and a massive drop of ink fell from the quill onto the trade agreement with Lumivitae, the light fae kingdom. I hastily threw blotting sand on it, hoping to salvage the document, before looking at the two expectant lunatics standing before me.

‘Could you spare me the hysterics and explain what’s going on?’ I said, wondering what had prompted their dramatic entrance.

‘They arrested Sana and took her to the mages, so shift your royal arse and get her out of there!’ the dwarf shouted.

‘What are you talking about? Who took her?’ I frowned, questioning whether I'd understood him.

Sana has been worried about the consequences of losing control in Ostrava, but I hadn’t thought the council would do anything with Ciesko pushing so hard for her geas trial.

‘The council decided to take action after the Ostrava incident,’ Riordan replied.

‘They’re putting her on trial! I’ve already sent for my grandfather, but only you can contest the verdict.

Gods, you knew she was a vivamancer, and you didn't tell me?’ He gave me such an accusatory glare that I nearly shrank back.

‘Rey, if they see her as a threat, they’re going to kill her. ’

The rustling of a piece of parchment falling on the floor was the only sound as I rose from my chair, hands crushing the precious document I’d tried salvaging a moment ago. My lips curled in a snarl so vicious that the two men took a step back.

‘What . . . the fuck are you talking about? What trial?’ I carefully enunciated every word, holding back the berserker’s rage by the thinnest of threads.

If I went there now, I would kill every soul blocking my path and let the necromancers ask questions later.

‘Explain. Clearly . Before I drown that wretched council in molten srebrec.’

Riordan’s eyes widened as he took another step back, and I scowled at his flinch when I reached for my sword and buckler. I shouted to the guard manning the door, my voice echoing as I methodically fastened my weapons, ‘Tell the stables to saddle three horses!’

‘Rey, you can’t storm over like this. You can’t attack the council,’ he started, but I raised my hand, silencing him while reaching for a set of daggers.

‘No, Ri, if there’s one thing I can’t do, it’s lose her,’ I said.

‘Everything else can burn.’ A threat to Sana’s life from the people supposedly helping her was my breaking point in this political death trap I’d found myself in.

‘I’m done doing my damnedest for all these people who think they can rule this kingdom better than me.

I’m the War King of Dagome, and if they won’t bend to my will, I’ll enjoy watching them break. ’

‘Fucking finally,’ Tova muttered, and when I looked at the dwarf standing quietly by the door, he had a hand on his axe and an eager expression on his face that didn’t bode well for those threatening his drah’sa.

Riordan looked at me in horror. ‘Rey, don’t let your the wild—’

I thrust a half-filled goblet of wine into my flustered friend’s hands.

‘This isn’t the berserker speaking, it is the king.

A king who wanted to be loved, not feared—but as I can’t achieve the first, I’ll excel in the latter.

Now tell me all you know, and start making sense, or I swear I’ll punch you. ’

‘Yes, sire.’ Riordan bowed, then drank the wine while I drafted an order.

Send the garrison to the city. Surround the Court of Aether.

A few simple words to the captain of the guard, ensuring the mages understood me.

As we walked out of my office, I passed my orders to the guard before gesturing to Ri.

‘Talk.’

‘Vivamancers have always been treated like abominations despite their magic being rooted in life. There are rules—laws that forbid the creation of new life, but no one has seen a vivamancer in centuries,’ he said, his robes rustling with each step he took as he rushed to keep up with me.

‘You should have told me as soon as you knew. Those old pricks are out of their depth, and I don’t know what they'll do.’

I tightened my fists at Ri’s quiet rebuke, briefly pausing on the stairs to look at him.

‘How the fuck could I have told you if I only learned about it in Ostrava myself? It was past midnight when we got back, and I thought it could wait until the morning.’ My jaw flexed at my lapse in judgement.

‘Besides, Sana told me the geas would help. She wanted reassurance . . . I thought Ciesko had set everything up for her.’

‘When did she tell you that?’ Tova asked, taking the stairs two at the time to keep up with my pace as I rushed towards the courtyard.

‘On the journey home. Discussion can wait. I need information,’ I said, and he dared to roll his eyes at me.

‘Of course. You talked while Irsha and I inhaled road dust at the rear,’ he grunted. ‘That’s why she didn’t fight them . . .’ He shook his head. ‘I should have stopped them. She told me not to, but I should’ve ignored her.’ The guilt in the dwarf’s voice echoed my own.

‘That’s not the point,’ Riordan said. ‘She’s a vivamancer!

Even with my grandfather and Ciesko there, those arseholes could still execute her.

Or she could kill them . . .’ He trailed off as we walked through the courtyard.

‘Gods, what else don’t we know? What if she’s a chaos mage?

She could destroy the fucking city or turn it into a primaeval forest if we torture her for her geas,’ he muttered to himself as we reached the horses.

My stallion’s forehoof dug into the courtyard, the large iron horseshoe striking sparks as it hit the granite stone. He stopped when I put my foot in the stirrup. Before I could mount, Riordan’s hand landed on my shoulder.

‘If, for even a moment, they think she’s a chaos mage, your authority might not be enough to save her,’ he said. ‘If that happens, I’ll set up a ward so you can take her out of Dagome. Maybe she’ll be safe at your brother’s court.’

‘They’ll shackle you in augurec if you take the side of the king against your kin,’ I said. We both knew that was true. They would place him in a collar that would cut him off from the aether, condemning him—a high mage—to a life worse than death.

‘I’m not siding with the king. I’m siding with a friend and the woman he loves. You would do the same for me.’

‘It won’t happen,’ I said. ‘Besides, chaos mages don’t exist anymore.’

But what if . . .

A sudden wave of fear washed over me, making me stumble back until I grasped the pommel of the saddle.

Fuck, what if I’m already too late?

Even during the war, I hadn’t felt such fear. My hands shook violently before tightening into fists. My mind blanked, and for a split second, I felt as if I was seeing my city from above, my focus centring on the white ornate building of the Court of Aether.

No. I shook my head. Whatever this strange feeling was, I couldn’t allow the berserker to take control, not now. I was surely going insane because I felt something ancient sweep through me, dissipating as quickly as it came, but with its passing, I was once more in full control.

In the blink of an eye, I was on the horse, surging forward into a gallop while those in my way jumped to the side. I didn’t look behind to check if anyone followed.

I needed to get to Roksana. They would not strip me of the only light in my life. I swore to the gods right then and there.

If they hurt my Sanika, I would bathe this city in blood.

The sleek fae arches and opulence of the Court of Aether passed by unnoticed as my instincts guided me onwards.

When I heard the screams, my legs were already propelling me from the saddle, the impact as I hit the ground nothing compared to the pain I heard in each agonised cry.

My snarling face emptied the corridors as I rushed towards the sounds until Riordan caught up and guided me in the right direction.

‘ Where is she?! ’ My roar fused with the torment in Roksana’s voice and the thunder that rumbled through the sky as a dragon’s shadow swept overhead.

Her voice, so clear even through the thick walls, unravelled my sanity. We practically flew, jumping down several steps in our desperate rush into the bowels of the building until Ciesko blocked my way, pacing back and forth with a worried expression.

‘You’ll pay for this,’ I growled, grasping the collar of his robe and dragging him up into the air.

‘It was the only way, sire.’ He didn’t fight me, his face filled with regret and sorrow. But even my rage at his betrayal wasn’t enough to snap the neck of the defenceless old man.

My gaze drifted to the door. I dropped the healer to the ground and reached for the brass handle, yanking on it.

‘The doors are sealed by magic. None can enter until it’s done. Trust me, Your Majesty. Roksana will survive. She must,’ Ciesko babbled as my fists hammered against the solid wood, hoping the pain would ground me enough to remove even a fraction of my fear.

Another torturous scream shattered the silence.

‘Trust you? You’ve lied to me for weeks. All this time, you knew the council would seek her life!’

‘But they didn’t,’ he said. ‘I gave us the time to build a defence and demonstrate her principles. Once we gain her geas, no one can touch her. The council—well, the majority—voted to let her live.’

Instead of calming me, his statement angered me even more.

‘If anyone has shown their principles, it’s you and that damn council,’ I snapped at him, pushing against the door before I hammered my fist on it. ‘Open it! In the name of the king, open the bloody door!’

Nothing happened. The screams only intensified, followed by sobs.