A Soul Like Glass (Kingdom of Betrayal #4)

Chapter 27

Chapter 27

P etra raises her crossbow again. “Like fuck he will.”

Despite being the first to step between me and the riders, she hasn’t looked at me until now.

The turn of her head reveals what I couldn’t see before.

A savage cut extends all the way down the left side of her face, from her temple to her jaw. It’s been stitched up, but it was undoubtedly made by a blade.

My anger rises to see it. I want to ask her what happened, but again, I still my tongue.

She has control of this situation, and I respect that.

“The Vandawolf stays with us,” she says.

“No,” Catalina snaps. “And before you object again, know this: I will fight you for him.”

Petra gives Catalina her full attention again. “Try it. You’ll enjoy a fiery death.”

Catalina’s lips rise into a smile. “Oh, sweet girl, you seem to be missing a spark.”

Catalina has a point. None of the city’s women appear to be carrying any kind of flint. Nothing to light their coal—if, indeed, that’s what’s in the pouches.

Petra gives a chilling smile as she very slowly extends her left leg, turning it slightly so that the side of her knee-high boot is visible.

It’s covered in some sort of abrasive material.

“All it takes is a scratch,” Petra says, her voice low and soft and completely in control. “And boom . Up you go.”

She steps toward Catalina, who—wisely—takes a step back.

“My father didn’t believe I’d do it either, but trust me,” Petra says, “I’ve burned down whole buildings filled with assholes, and I will not hesitate to set fire to anyone who thinks he—or she —can take away my choices.”

Her eyes brim with angry tears. The crossbow wavers in her hands, but it only serves to make the situation more volatile.

Once again, I nearly step forward.

It isn’t worth her life to try to defend me, but then, with sudden clarity, it dawns on me that it might not be me she’s doing this for.

She was there when my brother died. She formed a bond with him. She and I were never friends, never even allies, but she stayed close to me over the years.

I suspected it was because she was feeding information back to her father, but now…

My chest hurts again. Not the sharp pain I experienced before, but it smarts all the same.

“You will release the Vandawolf to us,” Petra says. “Right fucking now. He may be a beast, but he was never a tyrant.”

Her expression softens when she glances my way, her gaze passing rapidly across my face but pausing on the left side. That’s where my eye was once amber, and a single tooth used to protrude between my lips.

“Actually,” she says, “he may not be a beast anymore.”

Catalina gives a snarl, but Graviter Rex finally speaks up, his voice muffled from behind his paw. “Let him go.”

“But—”

Graviter raises his head so suddenly that Catalina jumps.

“Let the Vandawolf go!” Graviter roars, startling every rider. But not the city’s women. They don’t budge or flinch and again, I wonder what could have happened that they are acting as if they have nothing left to lose.

“You cannot make him fight for you, Catalina Shield,” Graviter continues to snarl. “He answers only to his own conscience.”

Catalina’s jaw clenches and she replies through gritted teeth. “We need the Einherjar. He can get them for us.”

I’m surprised by her admission.

Moments ago, she whispered with her comrades that they needed more fighters, but they must be in a dire situation if they want help from the northern clans.

Graviter raises himself further upward. “You’ve spent too long holding back the darkness, Catalina Shield, trying to counter the manipulations of the Fae Queen. You would try to coerce the Vandawolf to join your cause because you have forgotten how to ask for help.”

“Nobody helps!” Catalina shouts back at Graviter. “Not unless they’re forced to. Not until their homes are threatened. Or their children die. Or they have nowhere else to turn.”

She may have jumped back from Graviter before, but now she storms toward him, even though her dragon lurches after her.

“No, Catalina,” he says, but she doesn’t stop.

“We are holding back the horde!” she screams at Graviter. “The fae want us dead. And nobody . Fucking . Helps !”

Graviter stares her down, a hint of gold returning to his scales. His response to her anger is a stern silence that extends for a long minute, stretching into the silence, and seems to subdue her more effectively than a verbal rebuke.

Her shoulders gradually slump, and the anger fades from her face. “Nobody helps unless we make them.”

Behind her, the other riders are nodding, and their dragons appear grim. Catalina’s dragon has hunched to the ground.

Graviter’s hard expression softens.

He nudges his head toward Catalina’s chest, his voice a low murmur. “Catalina Shield. Bright Heart. I think, perhaps, in this situation, you could give these courageous women the benefit of the doubt. You could try telling them the truth. And then maybe they, and perhaps even the Vandawolf, will understand why you need them.”

Catalina shakes her head, but it’s a slow movement until she turns back to the city’s women, who are all watching her with growing concern, their foreheads puckered and lips pursed, not in anger but with clear worry.

Even Petra has finally lowered her weapon. “Try us,” she says.

Catalina swallows visibly, chews her lip, and then says, “What I’m about to tell you must not spread to your people. We’ve managed to keep it quiet, although the truth will come out eventually.”

She closes her eyes for a long moment, making herself completely vulnerable to attack, but none of the city’s women makes a move.

Catalina opens her eyes. “Our Queen is dead.”

Mother Solas gives a cry, her free hand flying over her mouth. “How?”

“I… can’t…” Catalina exhales a shaky breath, at which the blonde-haired rider steps up beside her.

“The fae lured us to what was supposed to be a negotiation for a peace treaty,” the blonde-haired rider says. “The moment our guard was down, their Queen killed ours.”

My jaw clenches as my anger rises. When I was in the fae castle, Queen Karasi spun a tale that the human Queen refused to agree to a peace treaty. Her voice reeked of insincerity, but I didn’t guess the extent of her lie.

Tears spill down Catalina’s cheeks as she speaks up again. “The fae are fleeing the darkness in the east. Their homes are gone. Their children are dying. Isabella wanted to help them. She didn’t want a war between us. But she underestimated how far their Queen would go for power.”

“Their Queen is what is called a Solstice fae,” the blonde-haired rider explains. “She has power over sunlight, which means she can create fire—and then control the fire she created. She blasted a hole through Isabella’s beautiful heart.”

“I failed to protect my Queen,” Catalina says. “Now that Thaden Kane has betrayed us, we’ve lost Lysander Rex, and Milena is dead… the fae have started conducting targeted attacks, destroying human villages, and gaining control of our outposts. We no longer have the numbers to oppose them. I don’t know where to turn.”

The other dragon riders all abandon their posts, stepping up behind Catalina, each of them reaching in to press one of their palms to her back and shoulders as if to give her strength.

“We’re here,” the blonde-haired woman says. “You have us.”

Catalina takes a deep breath and raises her head, facing the city’s women again. “I know you have questions. You’ve been isolated here for a long time, but I wasn’t lying about the monsters. This land is poisonous now. There was an intense influx of magic, and it’s triggered an unstoppable change.

“I know I haven’t done anything to deserve your trust, but I can offer you safe passage away from here. These riders are fearless.” She inclines her head at the group standing at her back. “We can keep you safe on your journey. Wherever you decide to go.”

Mother Solas maneuvers around behind Rachel to reach Petra. “Dearest, it’s time to put away our weapons. These people won’t harm us.”

“How can you be sure?” Petra asks, distrust written in the tense lines around her eyes and mouth. Her weapon remains lowered, but she could just as quickly raise it again.

“Because Rachel is now the last of both royal human lines,” Mother Solas says. “And these dragon riders? Well, they answer to Rachel now.”

Mother Solas turns from Petra to Catalina with a stern declaration. “The northern army is now Rachel’s to command. Is it not, Catalina Shield?”

Catalina’s face floods with relief, all of the tension fading from her forehead and mouth. “It is. Yes. If she’s willing to claim it.”

At that, she takes a knee. Each of the dragon riders does the same.

Rachel’s eyes are wide, and her lips part. She glances at her grandmother, who gives her a firm nod.

“I am,” Rachel says.

“We have our Queen!” Catalina announces, at which the other riders thump their chests.

Rachel doesn’t waste a moment. “You will help us leave,” she says to Catalina. “And we will…” She turns to the other women, who all give her nods until she gets to Petra. “Petra?”

Petra points her crossbow at the ash at her feet, disengages the bolt, and rams the bolt’s point into the dirt, where it can’t harm anyone.

She raises herself upright and says quietly, “We will make a new home.”

Rachel gives Petra a smile before turning back to Catalina. “A home we will fight for as hard as we fought for this one.”