Page 24 of The Uncrowned King (The Bastard Duology #2)

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Freedom. Miena stood at the edge of the lake and watched the soft ripples as fat raindrops splashed into the water. In all the endless years she had wandered the vast universe visiting different realms, she had never been afraid, had never feared. She had only known certainty and might. Being a Star Person meant that everything was there for the taking.

But to have what she coveted, she had to be intrepid and bold. It was something Miena had learned early in life surrounded by so many siblings. Especially when each tried to outdo the other. There had been no mother, no father, no elders to guide or teach. They had learned as they went. And destroyed many worlds in the process.

Zora was meant to be different. It was meant to be hers.

But she had been betrayed.

It galled Miena that she hadn’t anticipated Villette’s move. Little, annoying, never-bright-enough-to-think-up-her-own-plan Villette had bested her. Locked away in that room, wearing the same dress, staring at the same walls, surrounded by the insufferable heat, Miena had imagined all the ways she would retaliate against her sister. Her anger had festered, and her indignation had chafed. Rankled.

Miena prided herself on always being several steps ahead of others. And when she wasn’t, she went her own way until she was the brightest and quickest. The cleverest. It was why she had chosen Villette to partner with. She had believed with absolute conviction that her little sister would never attempt to betray her.

She looked down at her wrists, rubbing them. She could still feel the weight of the manacles. It infuriated her that Villette had duped her, but along with her outrage was humiliation. To add insult to injury, none of her siblings had come to free her. Not a single one. It proved what she had always feared: She could only count on herself. Never again would she align with another. Never again would she trust.

The rain beat a slow, steady rhythm upon the lake. She tilted her head back and closed her eyes as the water pelted her face. She had hurriedly escaped the rain so many times, but that was before her imprisonment. After yearning to feel something different for thousands of years, she now greeted the change in weather with open arms. She didn’t even care that her gown was getting drenched.

Miena lowered her head and walked along the shore, her shoes dangling from her fingers. The sand eagerly soaked up the rain, turning it from dark gold to bronze. Her feet sank gently into the sodden shoreline, the grains greedily clutching at her bare toes. A blaze of fiery red was cast upon the shore by the sinking sun hanging between the two mountains.

But she didn’t pay attention to the sunset. She was plotting. The talk with Villette and Lotti had gone exactly as she had predicted. Miena was still peeved at Kora for getting the cuff off Merrill. He would’ve been a great asset to have. Not only had Gordon not killed Kora, but Miena didn’t have Merrill under her control. That had been a double blow, but she had adjusted accordingly.

It had been a simple enough feat to get Derek to target Kora. She wanted to be there when he tracked her down, but Miena had other adversaries to deal with. Kora’s death would be nothing compared to what was coming.

Derek had been Miena’s prized possession. Bryok had been a close second, but Derek was special. He had been her first creation. He was also her greatest accomplishment—and he would give her dominion over Zora in epic fashion and make her siblings take notice.

The rain tapered to a light mist. Miena’s hair was wet and stuck to her face, but she loved the way it felt. The crispness in the air made chills race over her skin. Temperatures barely registered for Star People, and only occasionally did they react. But when it happened, it was glorious. She stopped and soaked in the sensation before it faded.

When she opened her eyes, she found herself staring into a face she had thought never to see again. “Eurielle.”

“Hello, sister.”

Her straight, dark hair was gathered high on the back of her head with strategically placed gold fasteners down the length to create the illusion that her hair was bubbling. Gray eyes watched Miena with wariness. Eyes that had always seen too much. Miena had hated that about Eurielle. That and the fact her older sister had always thought herself better than the rest of the family.

Miena was the one who told their siblings about Eurielle’s intention to keep Zora—and the dragons—a secret. The result had been Eurielle’s punishment to remain on Zora indefinitely. Even now, after such a sentence, she stood defiant. The sinking sun created a halo behind Eurielle, setting her dark hair alight and outlining her silhouette in gold.

Eurielle had always had a quiet, still beauty about her. One Miena was embarrassed to admit she envied. Eurielle hadn’t wanted to be the best or the bravest. She had simply wanted to be . Only once had Eurielle interfered on a realm, and she had felt so bad about it that she’d retreated deeper into herself.

Miena had assumed she would go off into a cave somewhere and hide away. But that meek, disgraced woman wasn’t who stood before her now. Her elder sister had changed. There was a toughness about her now, a sense of uncompromising resilience that hadn’t been there before. Maybe it was in the cut of her attire. The dark mauve gown with its long sleeves and high neck contoured to her upper body. The shoulder points stretched past her shoulders with silver flower embroidery that reminded Miena of armor. The front laced down the middle with string of the same color, and her waist was cinched tight. The skirt fell softly to her calves to reveal her knee-high boots. Yes, her sister had definitely changed.

But then, so had she.

“This is a surprise,” Miena stated.

A gently arched dark brow rose on Eurielle’s forehead. “It shouldn’t be.” Her face slackened as if something had just occurred to her. “You must not have spoken to the others.”

“I’ve been otherwise occupied.” Miena didn’t have time for her siblings. Any of them. And that included Eurielle.

“Then let me warn you. Leave Zora. Right now.”

Too bad Eurielle hadn’t shown this side of herself long ago. “I don’t think so.”

“This realm has been claimed.”

“By you?” Miena asked with a bark of laughter. “I took it from you easily before. I’ll do it again.”

Eurielle’s smile was slow, amusement lighting her gray eyes. “You never change, do you?”

“But you have.”

“Perhaps.”

“You still don’t have the power to take me on.” At least Miena didn’t think she did. That was part of the problem in not interacting with the others. Eurielle’s confidence gave her pause, but Miena had never backed down from anything. She wasn’t about to start now.

Eurielle tucked an errant strand of hair behind her ear. “You won’t win this time. Leave. Find someplace else to play your games.”

“Are you attempting to save Villette?”

Eurielle laughed. “She can take care of herself.”

“Then why the urging to leave?”

“Maybe I’m trying to save you.”

It was Miena’s turn to laugh. “You don’t seriously think I’ll believe that, do you?”

“Perhaps you could try.”

“Did you come get me out of the prison Villette put me in?”

Eurielle blew out a breath. “I did not.”

“Then I have no reason to believe anything you say,” Miena stated.

Eurielle shrugged. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” She started to turn away before she paused and met Miena’s gaze once more. “How are things going with your new plan?”

Miena didn’t have a chance to respond before Eurielle vanished. Her sister’s words caused disquiet to slither through her. She had been so lost in her thoughts that she hadn’t realized how long it had been since she’d last tried to contact Derek. He hadn’t responded then, but she had assumed he was in battle since he hadn’t replied. She had seen him when he crossed onto the dragons’ land. Nothing would deter him from his mission.

“Derek,” she called through their mental link.

The silence that followed made her agitation grow.

“Derek! Answer now!”

Still nothing. He would answer if he could. Had the Kings killed him? If they had, he hadn’t gone down alone. She should’ve been there to see it. She should’ve stayed in contact with him. Because, as powerful as he was, and as deep as she had dug into his mind, she hadn’t been able to get rid of everything that made him who he was. If she had, it would have ended him. So she’d had no choice but to leave some. She had thought she’d only left enough, but what if she had left too much?

Miena teleported to the border at the start of Raynia Canyon and looked across to the countryside. The dragons steered clear of the barrier since it was so close to Stonemore. Just thinking of the city she had taken back from Villette made her grin. But this wasn’t about her sister. It was about Derek.

She walked the last few steps to the concealed barrier and moved to cross it when she was thrown backward, landing unceremoniously on her butt. Miena clenched her jaw and got to her feet. She tried to dust herself off, but the dirt clung to her wet clothes. With a wave of her hand, she traded them for a three-quarter-length-sleeve teal velvet wrap gown, then tried to cross again.

Miena was prepared when she was thrown back this time. She stayed on her feet but only just. Dragon magic couldn’t keep her from crossing. Could it? Had the former slaves developed more potent abilities during their time on Earth? She hadn’t asked Villette if she had crossed the border. Miena just assumed she had. There was no reason her younger sister wouldn’t.

Unless she couldn’t.

Magic from another of her kind could keep her out. Eurielle’s warning came to mind. Perhaps Miena had been wrong to disregard it. She hadn’t thought Eurielle’s power was that strong, but she had been away for a very long time.

“Not even you can protect the dragons, Eurielle,” Miena said aloud.

She had wanted to make them suffer and have some fun before creating more like Derek, but Eurielle had ruined it. So, she would wreck things for her sister once more. Miena snapped her fingers, a move meant to wipe out all dragons—even Derek, if he was still alive. She didn’t have to worry about Gordon since he lived because of star magic.

“Same old Miena.”

She whirled around to find Eurielle. “You should know better than to try and keep me from crossing the border.”

“Oh, that wasn’t me.”

Miena was ready to call her a liar, but something in her sister’s gray eyes made her stomach drop to her feet. “Who?”

“I could tell you, but what would be the fun in that?”

“I’m not in the mood for games,” Miena replied tersely.

Eurielle grinned. “Everything is a game to you.”

“It doesn’t matter. The dragons are gone.”

“Hardly.”

Miena knew the extent of her powers. The dragons were dead.

“Look behind you,” Eurielle said as she pointed over Miena’s shoulder.

Miena didn’t want to do it, but she turned and saw the distinct silhouette of a dragon in the distance. Her gaze swung back to Eurielle. “Tell me who is doing this? Which of our siblings dares to interfere?”

“You mean like you’ve meddled so many times before?”

“Who?” she bellowed.

Eurielle ignored her outburst. “Last warning. Leave Zora. It is protected. The dragons are protected.”

“Then how has Villette been killing them?”

“That was then.”

Miena didn’t believe a word of what she was hearing. “This is you, Eurielle. I know it.”

“We’ve done enough to the dragons. Our brother freed them and gave them a home. Villette ruined it. Zora became their second home, and I won’t allow either of you to do more damage.”

“It is you.” Miena couldn’t believe her mild-mannered sister had developed such audacity.

Maybe more had changed than Miena had first thought. She wasn’t used to being defeated. She needed to regroup and reevaluate. More importantly, she needed to boost her magic. She had gorged herself when she first got free, but there was no such thing as too much.

“You can’t protect them forever,” Miena taunted.

Eurielle didn’t take the bait. “Get used to losing, sister.”

Miena shot her a glare, but a thought took root. Eurielle might have won this round, but Miena didn’t intend to lose any more. And she knew just what to do.

Eurielle’s knees gave out a heartbeat after Miena left. She caught herself with her hands and let her head hang. It had taken everything she had to create the bubble around Miena to keep her from killing the dragons. Keeping her out of their territory had taken much more than Eurielle had estimated. She had goaded Miena here, but it wouldn’t work a second time. Eurielle should’ve stayed hidden. Miena might have believed herself inferior and left the dragons alone.

Eurielle shook her head at the thought. Miena would never give up. It wasn’t in her nature. But people changed. She had. No more standing in the background watching. No more slights of hand in hopes her siblings didn’t notice. She wouldn’t hide anymore. She had taken a stand, and she didn’t care who knew it.