The Blood Crown (The Blood Folk #2)

61. Chapter 61

Chapter 61

T he night was frigid as Ven’s shadows dispersed around her, blocking the worst of the biting wind as he cast them to the patch of forest just outside of the wards.

Around them, the darkened canopy of pines were dusted with snow, the space eerily hushed from the Allokin’s barrier of spells that had been put in place to hide the host of Wraiths and soldiers from view.

Nira’s voice carried over the crowd as she shouted commands, and Aurelia caught the familiar flash of auburn as Asher stepped forward, Seth, a shadow beside him.

Before them was the shimmering portal.

Asher’s steps were cautious as he approached, but determination glimmered in the green of his eyes as he removed a blade from his gear, slicing his palm and placing it on the quicksilver surface.

The Capitol had been thrown into chaos.

Dark plumes of shadow hit the ground of the courtyard, scattering the blue cloaks nearby as they ran to take up their positions atop the wall. Men, women, and children from the Capitol were already pouring through the gates.

“Halt!”

A tall figure pushed through the crowd.

“Asher—” Wellan uttered, disbelief written across her oldest brother’s face—a murmur rising through the ranks of the Blue Guard. “Aurelia?” His green eyes studied her face, the shadowskin, his golden brows furrowing.

And then his gaze lifted to the male beside her, the Wraiths behind them.

Wellan's eyes narrowed, his voice low as he took a hesitant step back. “ You do not belong here.”

Aurelia stepped forward. “I can explain who they are—”

“I know exactly what they are,” Wellan uttered, hatred lacing his words, fear glimmering in his eyes. “Old Ones,” he spat the name like a curse.

The blue cloaks surrounding him raised their blades, the bitter tang of terror permeating the air between them.

The look of shock was evident on their faces, and yet Wellan seemed to have expected this . . .

“You knew?” Aurelia whispered, betrayal hardening her words.

“Of course I know,” he bit out, his eyes never leaving Ven, “as every Councilor knows when they take their family’s seat.”

“But father—” Asher pushed.

“Warned us,” Wellan supplied, finally tearing his eyes away from Ven to look at her. “And we’ve been preparing since.” His gaze traveled the length of her boots, snagging on the gleaming blades strapped to her body, along the dark gear she wore. Wellan’s expression was one she remembered clearly—one she’d seen thousands of times as his younger sister.

Disdain. Disappointment.

Nira stepped beside her, Seth angling himself between their oldest brother and Asher—noting the threat in Wellan’s words.

Aurelia straightened her spine, her voice unwavering as she said, “These are my people—and we’ve come to offer help.” No longer Wellan's little sister. No longer just the daughter of a powerful family. She was a leader. An equal.

Shock widened her brother's green eyes, and maybe it was the panic around them, the realization that they needed all the help they could get—and Wellan was pragmatic above all else. But his expression softened just a fraction as his gaze lifted to her face once more. And he said with something that sounded like relief, “It’s good to see you, Ari.”

Every torch in the Capitol blazed high above their heads, the sounds of shouts and muffled screams from far off at the edges of the city.

Blue cloaks were ushering in panicked people by the dozens. Trying to round up as many as possible and get them safely behind the gates. The Wraiths' appearance had been noticed immediately, but they’d been deemed allies as they walked the perimeter atop the palace walls with Asher and Wellan.

Asher had been gone for months, but his men clasped his arm in warm greeting as they murmured their relief at seeing him again. She could only guess where they thought he’d gone and what to make of his return, but at least they welcomed them now.

The Wraiths received wary looks as they stalked the top of the wall; she’d gotten so used to them that she forgot how they appeared to everyone else. Standing a good six inches taller than most of the men, and solid walls of muscle.

None of them were sure what to make of Nira, but they knew well enough to keep their thoughts to themselves as she shouted orders to the Wraiths and dispatched them at intervals between the blue cloaks.

The night hid most of the defining features of the Blood Folk and the Allokin that had joined their ranks. The blue-grey skin of Prince Agius’ archers could almost pass for pale porcelain in the moonlight, and the deep red eyes of the Blood Folk were no more than rich brown. But Valea—with her milk white skin and her moonstone hair—there was no confusing her for anything other than an immortal.

The men seemed equal parts terrified and enthralled by her, giving her a wide berth as she stalked to her position at the wall, slinging the bow from her shoulder and nocking a black-tipped arrow.

Aurelia got more than a few curious glances—not only because she was on the battlement with the men, but because the dark gear she wore was so out of place here. Some of them didn’t even seem to recognize her without the brightly colored gowns.

Asher pulled Seth and Ven aside, “My men have steel blades, steel tipped arrows—am I sending them out to their death?” he quietly asked.

“Steel and iron will slow them down, but to kill them you’ll need to remove the head,” Seth answered. “A ring of salt will keep the lesser demons at bay. Fire and ravenstone will end them quickest.”

“We’ll spare as many blades and arrows as we can,” Ven offered.

Asher gave a nod of understanding, shouting, “Dodge! Ned!”

Two of the men detached themselves from the wall. “Captain Norrick,” they answered, seeming to shake off the shock of seeing him returned.

Asher grabbed the older man by the shoulder. “There’s a cache of old weapons in the back rooms off the training pits. Take ten men with you and carry as many as you can to the courtyard. We need iron—as much as you can find.”

Ned nodded his head once, voice barking into the night as men peeled away from the wall to help him.

It was so strange to see her brother this way—not the joking, charming Asher she knew, but serious. Decisive. His men trusted him, and it seemed he’d earned it.

“Dodge, we need a bucket of tar and a torch for every archer.” Asher clapped the man on the shoulder. “Go!” He turned toward the courtyard below, palms landing on the rough stone of the wall as he called down, “Find me the head cook!”

Three young men scrambled at the order, dashing into the palace as someone barked from behind them, “What is this?”

Dread pooled in her gut at the familiar voice.

She slowly turned, already knowing who she would see.

Bastien stood a dozen feet away, but it was as if he’d been physically struck, stumbling back a step when her eyes slid to where he stood.

Whatever he remembered of their last encounter seemed to be at war with the vision before him now. And she wondered for a fleeting moment what he thought as he looked at her.

A warrior, a fighter. A queen.

“Aurelia—” he began, his expression some mixture of shock and disgust as his ice blue eyes took in the clothing she wore. Then his gaze travelled behind her.

She could already feel the heat pouring off Ven as he towered over her shoulder, the reassuring feel of his hard chest brushing against her back. And even though she couldn’t see his face, she could imagine the look he was giving Bastien now.

Whatever questions were on Bastien’s tongue, he bit them off, choosing instead to glance at Asher once more, indignation in the set of his shoulders as he squared them again. “You can’t just show up here after months of being gone and start giving orders!”

“Like hell, I can’t,” Asher barked, taking two strides toward him. He lifted the edge of the cerulean blue cloak pinned to Bastien’s shoulder, letting it fall again with thinly veiled disgust. “You have a lot of fucking nerve wearing these colors.”

“Speak plainly,” Bastien demanded, eyes wild as he tried to take in the scene before him. Making Aurelia wonder for a moment if he really didn’t remember what happened; what he’d done.

She’d compelled him to forget that night, if only to preserve the secrecy of the Blood Folk and her own abilities, but she wondered exactly how much of his mind she’d taken.

“I mean—” Asher said with deathly quiet, taking another step forward that brought his nose an inch away from Bastien’s, “you plotted with the First Brother to assassinate Councilors.” He shoved a finger into his oldest friend’s chest. “You elevated your own station and gained a title by killing your uncle.” His green eyes dripped with venom as they bored into Bastien’s. “You locked up my little sister. Offered her up for your scheming.”

The blue cloaks nearby put hands on their hilts, glancing between Asher and Bastien—unsure whose orders to follow.

Bastien’s eyes dropped to where Aurelia stood. “She—” His bronze brows furrowed, as if he was struggling to grasp the memory. And then they widened, seizing it—remembering the last words they’d spoken to each other before he’d locked her up in her chambers.

I can fix you.

A wall of Wraiths rose up behind her. A low rumble came from Karro, the corner of Nira’s lip lifted in a snarl, and the blue cloaks blanched at the sound.

“You did what? ” Ven’s voice was deadly calm, malice pouring off him like the shadows that pooled at their feet.

Something like regret softened Bastien’s expression for a fleeting moment as his gaze lingered on her, gone just as quickly as he directed his attention to Asher again.

They were wasting what little precious moments they had left to defend this place. She didn’t want to put him down, but if he stood in her way—she’d do it.

Lightning flared in the distance, answering her call as her magick flooded her veins.

But Asher stepped forward—

Landing a solid punch on Bastien’s jaw that cracked through the silence.

Seth stepped beside her brother, facing down the row of blue cloaks that seemed at a loss as to how to deal with their Captain knocking a Councilor out cold. Then Nira took a step forward, and that seemed to tip the scales in their favor as the blue cloaks backed away with a dip of their chins to Asher.

“Right,” Asher said, shaking out his knuckles, “let’s get back to it.”

Karro clapped her brother on the back. “I knew I liked you.”

Aurelia caught the fleeing smirk that graced Seth’s chiseled features as he shouted to the dozens of Wraiths behind him, “Positions!”