Page 2 of The King’s Man (The Kingdom of the Krow #3)

~ JANN ~

The shock of learning that my eyes hadn’t changed turned quickly to panic.

Diadre hated me. She’d tell them I was a traitor.

I rushed back to the tents to tell Melek everything—to show him my eyes, assure him of my loyalty, fight to prove it if necessary, so he’d let me stand with him for the crowning… But I entered the King’s tent to a cloud of tension.

Most of the servants and advisors huddled outside, whispering and throwing glances back at the tent. One of the guards blocked my way and I snarled, not really thinking, only knowing I had to get in and reassure my brother. Something was clearly wrong. Diadre must have already told them. Fuck!

I shoved through the tent flap with a snap, words of self-defense on the tip of my tongue—and stopped just inside.

Yilan sat in a chair, pale-faced and wringing her hands, staring at Melek who crouched in front of her, both of them wide-eyed and whispering desperately.

I didn’t even greet them, just called across the space rudely. “What is it? What did she say? You can’t listen, Melek—you must know—”

Melek turned to look at me as Yilan dropped her face into her hands. My brother looked… white. Not angry. Not wary. Not stern.

He looked terrified.

“It’s Gall. And Istral,” Melek said hoarsely.

Oh shit. “What? What happened?”

Forgetting everything else, I rushed towards them. Melek pushed to his feet to face me as Yilan bent forward and sobbed into her palms.

“We don’t know,” he said, his voice low and hoarse.

“The messenger found them, said Gall was nervous, but that’s to be expected.

He was healthy and fine and assured him that he’d be right behind him.

No doubt he was hiding Istral. You were here when the messenger told us.

There was nothing to worry about! But he hasn’t shown up and we sent another runner.

Then a tracker. There’s no trace of them, Jann.

Not… not a footstep, not a hair. Not even a sign of their horses. They’re just gone.”

A tiny, broken sob rose from Yilan and my heart pinched.

“How… they must have missed something. There has to be a sign—”

Melek shook his head, but Yilan jumped out of the chair, eyes red and shining with tears. “Someone took them. One of your fucked up predatory bastards found her and fought Gall and—”

Melek caught her as she passed him, coming straight for me, spitting and weeping. He pulled her into his chest, holding her even when she struggled, murmuring to her, forcing her to look up at him when she wanted to keep coming at me.

“Love, breathe,” he murmured. His face was tight and pale, his hands shaking as he held her. But he didn’t waver. “If there’d been a fight—and we know Gall would have fought—there would be signs of that. This… isn’t that,” he ended grimly.

Grimly, because he and I both knew that if it wasn’t that, then the alternative was far worse. But there didn’t seem much point in saying that out loud when Yilan was already in pieces.

“I’ll go look,” I said as calmly as I could. “Maybe… maybe the messenger went to the wrong place. Maybe the trackers did too. Maybe they were mixed up—”

Yilan looked at me, hope suddenly light in her eyes.

Melek shook his head. “No, they didn’t,” he said quietly. “I’ve already asked them—they all accurately described that little nook in the hillside… they went to the right place.”

Shit. Shit.

The Fallen.

Only they could have defeated Gall and taken Istral without leaving signs any skilled tracker would find.

Unaware of my thoughts, Yilan fell into Melek’s chest again. As he held her, stroking her back, he turned his head to meet my gaze and locked in, his expression leaving no room for question. Don’t say it. Don’t say it. Don’t say it.

But she needed to know. If the Fallen had taken Istral—

“Stop staring past me like I’m a child, I know what this means,” Yilan spat, pulling out of Melek’s chest and glaring at me even through her tears.

Then she turned back to Melek. “Lucifer warned me! He told me he’d do this and I was so fucking arrogant!

So sure we’d won. I should have known. He was here—he spoke to me.

Melek, he must have her. There’s no other explanation!

” she wailed with such heartbroken force, something twisted in my gut.

“It’s my fault,” she whispered. “He warned me to listen and I didn’t. And now— oh God.”

Yilan jerked out of Melek’s arms, clapping a hand to her mouth, then rushed to the corner where a bucket had been left for food scraps and rubbish. Bending at the waist, she vomited loudly into it.

Uncertain what was the best thing to do, I looked to Melek, to find him staring at her, so pained, so tortured.

“She knows?” I murmured.

Melek nodded. “Lucifer came to her. Twice. More if you count the dreams.”

“He what?! You said he’d threatened you, but I thought—”

“He’s tried to convince Yilan to let him breed her. She’s refused, of course, but he threatened… he said he’d overlooked the Fetch females. And if she didn’t comply, he wouldn’t do that again. But we never imagined… Istral? ”

“It’s my fault,” Yilan gasped, still holding onto that bucket and retching. “He told me there was only one way to protect the others and I didn’t listen—”

“Don’t you dare,” Melek growled, stalking across the tent to her side. “Yilan, if we blame ourselves for every fucked up thing the Fallen attempt, then we are the evil in this world. And we are not. We are not the reason this world is evil—we are the ones who need salvation from it!”

Still hunched over that bucket she stared up at him, her eyes pleading, lashes stuck together with the tears pouring down her face. “Salvation? It’s already too late. Istral doesn’t know… she doesn’t understand— not really. If he’s got her, she’ll try to placate him and—”

“Hush,” Melek said, pulling her into his chest again, shaking his head. “Don’t torture yourself. We’ll find her. We’ll find both of them.”

I doubt it. I didn’t say it though. If Lucifer really had taken Istral, he would have had to remove her from Gall. Something he was more than strong enough to do. But Gall would have fought to the death to save her. There was no question.

My head spun. What could I do? How could I help?

How the fuck did we fight an immortal?

Resist.

But there was no resisting when the thing was already done!

“Melek, I—”

“What’s happened?” Diadre rushed into the tent, running straight to Yilan’s side, her voice tight and stern. “What the fuck did you bastards do?”

“It wasn’t us. !” I growled.

Yilan shook her head and pulled out of Melek’s arms to grab her friend, and the whole conversation began again.

Gall didn’t return after the messenger.

Istral hasn’t been seen.

No sign now of either of them.

The Fallen.

I wasn’t aware of moving, but at some point I’d approached the three of them, because I found myself standing at Diadre’s back, scowling at the tent wall, shaking my head.

What kind of fucked up God let the Fallen even exist, let alone gave them free rein among us?

And how the hell were we supposed to take revenge on an immortal?

My mind filled with the darkness and power of that fucking fog around the mountains here and I blinked. Yilan continued hissing at Diadre, who held her, nodding and shaking her head, but not commenting.

I caught Melek’s eyes over their shoulders and he frowned. “What is it?”

“Can Istral walk the Shadows?” I asked.

Melek looked straight to the women. They both nodded.

“She can, but she’s not skilled. She can’t maintain it outside of real darkness. And she’s very fearful. She wouldn’t have done that unless—” Yilan looked at Diadre, her eyes widening. “Not unless she was really afraid.”

Diadre nodded, looking solemn. “It’s definitely possible.”

Yilan straightened, then slumped. “But… but it wouldn’t matter if she did. He can see us. He saw me in my dream and he said… he said… It doesn’t matter.”

“He’s a liar, Yilan,” Melek interjected quietly. “The truth you hear is not the truth you think you hear. Have caution about believing anything that comes from his mouth.”

“So, it’s possible she walked the shadows to escape—which would be why she left no trail?” I pressed.

Yilan stared at Melek, so Diadre answered me. “It’s possible. Definitely possible.”

“Where would she go if she had?”

“There’s no way—even if he couldn’t see her, she couldn’t sustain that kind of power for long enough to get home. And I suspect she would have come for me.”

“You can’t know though,” Diadre said. “If she was panicked, and especially if Gall… was hurt, she might have instinctively run for home.”

Yilan sucked in a breath. “I did tell her if anything happened to run to the troops in the Shadows.” I saw the hope come alive in her eyes—and watched her quickly stifle it. Too scared to think it might be true.

Her throat bobbed, then she looked up at Melek. “It’s possible,” she breathed.

He nodded, but his expression was pained.

Yilan leaned closer to him. “We have to find out, Melek. We have to know if—”

“Yilan… we can’t leave.” He shook his head, his eyes pleading and determined in the same breath.

Her forehead pinched and her hands clamped into fists. “She’s my sister—and he’s your son!”

“And we have an entire nation of Nephilim who just waged battle and now face future that is very different than they ever imagined. I have to take control—even without Gall, I can’t leave the throne empty. Not if we’re to have any chance of establishing peace. That’s what we came here for.”

“We have to know if they’re okay!” she said her voice shrill and desperate. “Melek, she’s so young—”

“I’ll go,” I said. “I’ll go back. Turo knows me. Jhonas, too. He’s leading the troops into the fog, right? She might have found them—”

“Thank you, Jann,” Melek said, nodding, and taking his mate’s hand, pulling her close. “Please—go. Go find out if they’ve seen her. Or if she’s made it back to Theynor. We’ll handle things here—”

“He can’t go alone into the mists,” Diadre pointed out hurriedly. I frowned, but it was Yilan who jumped on that.

“She’s right. I’ll go with him. I have to—we can’t let him get hurt. And we can’t let Jhonas or Turo think that you’ve hurt me and it’s a ruse.”

“Yilan, no,” Melek growled. “You’re not leaving me. And I’m not leaving you. We’re weaker apart. Besides, we have to consolidate the Nephilim behind you as well. You saw what happened.”

“But—”

“I’ll take him,” Diadre said quickly.

I startled.

She licked her lips and stared at Yilan, ignoring me completely. “Jhonas will trust me, obviously, and so will Turo. I’ll keep Jann safe from the fog. And I’ll find her if she’s there.”

I stiffened.

Those men might trust her. But I didn’t.

But Melek, knowing me almost as well as I know myself, looked at me, his gaze pleading.

I looked at Diadre from the side. Was this a trick? Some plot to assassinate me?

She caught me staring and met my gaze, her jaw set and folding her arms.

“This isn’t a scheme,” I said flatly. “I don’t go for any purpose other than to see if we can find Gall and Istral. I’ll be traveling quickly—flying when the fog allows. And returning here with news as soon as I possess it.”

“With no nefarious purposes, you won’t mind having eyes on your back at all times, then,” she said darkly.

“I don’t care what you think you know, but — ”

Melek growled. “You are both our most trusted allies. The next best people for this since we can’t do it ourselves.

You both claim to acknowledge me as King, so hear this as servants of the crown,” he glowered.

“Put whatever hostilities you hold for each other aside until this is done. Short of our establishing the thrones, this is the single most important task in both Kingdoms. Istral could be used against Yilan as Theynor’s Queen, and Gall can be used as leverage against me.

We all know it, so let’s not pretend otherwise.

Finding them is critical. Do not let your petty grievances thwart a mission that is crucial to the health and wellbeing of both our nations. ”

Diadre looked offended, but I raised my chin and took it, because I had just been reminded that my best friend and chosen brother was indeed, also my King.

“You have my word,” I said to Melek, nodding once and saluting.

He nodded in return, then looked to Diadre.

Her lips tightened, but when she looked at Yilan—whose eyes were huge, pleading, and shining with tears—she nodded as well.

“You’re right, Sire,” she said tightly to Melek. “I will… set aside my personal misgivings . Istral is more important than any grievance, petty or otherwise.” Then she shot me a look of pure, unadulterated challenge.

I ignored it. “Melek, do you consider my promotion already in effect?” I asked him casually. “If so, I’ll need to set up my replacement and ensure the lines of reporting are established before we leave. It shouldn’t take more than an hour or two.”

Melek nodded, missing the moment Diadre stiffened. Because she knew, as I did, that if I outranked her under our shared King, then I was in charge when we left the camp.

God, I wanted to laugh in her face. If things hadn’t been so dire, I would have given in to the petty grievance and done it.

“Do what you need to do. I’ll tell the servants to organize your things and help with running messages.

Diadre, Yilan will need to put messages in your hands in case you go all the way to Theynor.

We need to fill Turo in on the status here as well.

In fact, if you do find Istral with the troops, make certain a trusted runner takes these notes for you. ”

Diadre nodded, but I could see her mentally scrambling, looking for a way to ask for command of the mission. But as long as I was trusted by Melek, there was no recourse, and she knew it.

“Sounds like we have a plan,” I said with a smirk.

Lines of tension appeared at the sides of Diadre’s mouth, but she nodded again. “Sounds like we do,” she said tightly.