52. Chapter 52
Chapter 52
T he icy wind tore at Aurelia's face, tears freezing against her skin as they left the Crystal City. But she refused to bow her head in shame. And Ven—Fate bless him—did not do her the dishonor of consoling her while the Triarchy still watched.
The silver cloaks of the Allokin sentries snapped in the breeze as they crossed the bridge. Not a farewell—but to make sure they weren’t a threat.
It was only a moment before Ven’s shadows wrapped around them, buffering her from the worst of the chill as their boots hit the hard, snow-covered ground outside the black gates of Ravenstone.
Back in the safety of their home, amongst their own people, he crushed her to his chest, and she let the tears fall freely.
“Fucking cowards,” he murmured against her hair.
“Can you blame them?” she asked, angrily wiping at her face. “ I am the cause of this. I am the one bringing destruction in my wake—”
“And where were you three hundred years ago when the King of the Void swept over every kingdom?” He cut off her words, fingers tangling in the chestnut waves of her hair as he pulled her into him once more. “You did not control his actions then, just as you do not control them now. A threat against one of us is a threat against all," he said darky. "The Allokin seem to have forgotten that, but the Blood Folk remember.”
“They won’t even send reinforcements?” Nira asked, fury blazing behind her ancient eyes.
Ven gave a single shake of his head as Karro softly swore from where he paced at the edge of the room.
“The Lords of the Western Ridge haven’t deigned to send a response either, so we should assume they won’t be coming,” Ven added.
“I’d be happy to handle them for you, Your Grace,” Seth uttered quietly.
A chill snaked down Aurelia’s spine at the deadly calm in those few words. How, exactly , the Wraith would handle the rebellion . . . she could only imagine.
“They’ll reap the consequences of their inaction when this is over,” Ven responded, and something nearing disappointment flashed across Seth’s expression.
Nira crossed lean arms over her chest, standing before the roaring fire in the council room, her sheet of black hair turning red and indigo. “Five hundred against thousands,” she murmured, gazing into the flames.
“I personally like those odds.” Karro grinned at Aurelia, but all she could muster in return was a weak smile.
“War will be on every kingdom’s doorstep if we do not cut off his grip in this world before he can regain his power.” Seth said from where he stood at the edge of the room, idly twirling a black-bladed knife between his fingers.
“The scouts I’ve sent out haven’t been able to find his host.” Nira stepped forward, her gaze falling on the open space etched between the borders. “But there must have been thousands when we found you in the Shades.”
“It’s impossible to say how many demons he will have in his thrall by the time he comes,” Ven murmured.
“He is not the only threat we need to consider,” Nira added, sharing a meaningful look with Ven.
“Thankfully my father didn’t realize what kind of power you possessed while we were in his grasp.” He splayed his hands on the moonstone table, lifting his eyes to Aurelia. “But I think we should assume he knows now—or will soon.”
“And Valea?” Nira asked, her tone carefully even.
Aurelia had noted how all of them were distant, if tolerant, of the Nostari princess. The most telling sign—the fact that she wasn’t in the room with them.
They didn’t trust her—not yet. And Valea seemed well-aware of it, choosing to remain in whatever underground chambers she had claimed for herself.
The female hadn’t been banned from any place in the fortress outright, but she was cunning enough to know not to push her luck too much, too soon. If she ever explored the mountain keep, she did so in the safety of night, with fewer watchful eyes upon her.
“I don’t know where her loyalties lie,” Ven considered. Spoken like a true leader—objective and logical.
Karro’s pacing stopped abruptly at the comment. “She nearly died saving me—Maloch’s blade had been meant for me, and she threw herself in front of it!” Indignation blazed behind his eyes as he took a step toward Ven. “And she dug herself into deep enough shit helping all of us escape that if she’d been caught, the Nostari would not have been merciful—king’s daughter or not,” he added.
“And she was also the one who brought us to my father.” Ven countered, the two males staring down their noses at each other, eyes clashing. “We cannot afford any weaknesses within our own walls if we are to defend against an army ten times our number.”
“She gave us a chance at escape,” Aurelia broke in. “She could have let Karro die and continued to stand at your father’s side, but she chose to fight her own people to free us.”
Karro's eyes slid to hers, gratitude softening his expression as he offered her an imperceptible dip of his chin.
“Regardless, she knows the kind of magick Aurelia wields,” Ven continued, his voice detached as he took a step back from Karro to study the map once more. “And she’s smart enough that she’s probably guessed by now why the demons were swarming us.”
“If she knows—" Nira placed her palms on the milky stone, "it’s a question of whether we invite her into this room or whether she’s a liability.”
Karro turned on Nira then, fangs exposed in a tightly-controlled threat as he uttered, “Say what you mean plainly.”
Nira didn’t flinch, didn’t move from the male that towered over her.
“Either she gives us useful information on her father’s court—or we kill her and tie up a loose end.” She looked up to where Ven stood across the table. “She needs to decide which court she belongs to—here. Now.”
Silence stretched, until Ven finally spoke. “Nira is right.”
The muscles of Karro’s square jaw ticked, anger flaring behind his scarlet eyes as he gave a stubborn nod.
The windows in the council room were covered with heavy drapes, the fabric so thick that it was nearly pitch black save for the flickering torchlight along the walls and the pale silvery glow of the moonstone table at its center.
It didn’t take long for the Wraiths to find Valea and bring her to the chamber, every inch of her pale skin covered with a heavy cloak, the large hood pulled so far down over her face that Aurelia wondered if she'd seen anything more than her boots as she’d been led here.
Red-gloved hands pulled the hood away from the strikingly beautiful face as Ven invited her to take a seat at the milky slab of stone.
Valea did as commanded, her shoulders squared as she marked every face at the table—her eyes landing on Seth.
“The Death Dealer,” Valea whispered, almost reverently if it hadn’t been for the sneer that tugged at the corner of her full lips. “They still tell tales of you in our kingdom. Of how you killed a dozen warriors, half-starved with your bare hands.”
Nira snarled a warning across the table as her twin remained silent, unmoving, ruby eyes locked on the enemy princess.
“It’s a compliment,” Valea answered insolently, her gaze flicking to Nira for only a moment before it landed back on Seth. “Is it true?” Her lips curved, carnelian eyes sparkling as she uttered, “They whisper that you see death before it happens.”
Ven tensed, and Aurelia saw how Karro braced himself—but his eyes were marking Nira and Ven, as if they were the threat.
Seth’s expression was a mask of indifference, so still he looked like one of reliefs carved into Ravenstone’s black walls.
“It is,” he answered simply. His voice that quiet calm that Aurelia had come to know was far more dangerous. A knife in the dark that was far deadlier than the blade brazenly flashed.
Valea arched a platinum brow. “And what did you see when you were trapped in that dark, silent place.”
“Not my own.”
The air in the room seemed to disappear as every one of the Wraiths marked the tension. A keg full of powder just waiting for the smallest spark.
Valea’s mouth sharpened into a grin, but whatever was on her tongue was cut off as Nira barked, “Enough!” impatience thinning the Wraith’s lips into a tight line. “You are here at the pleasure of the King, and you would do well to show some respect.”
“Apologies,” Valea drawled, her eyes sliding to where Ven stood.
“You were content to sit at our father’s side for decades, centuries, why leave now?” he asked.
The smirk fell from Valea’s face. “Ask your question plainly,” she ground out.
Ven braced his palms against the silvery-white stone of the table, leaning toward her. “You were a traitor to your king, your people, your kingdom—why should I trust you not to be a traitor in mine?”
Mine.
They all heard the tone he used. The Blood King spoke now—not Ven. Not Valea’s half-brother. Not their father’s son.
A leader in his own right, protecting his own people.
“He may be your father—but you were not raised by his hand,” Valea whispered, her voice cold as she locked eyes with Ven. “You think you know the monster he is, but you have no idea. The only people left in his court are sycophants and those too cowardly to defy him—”
“Like yourself?” Nira uttered from where she stood to Ven’s right.
“She did defy him,” Karro growled. “None of us would be here if it hadn’t been for her.”
Valea’s mouth tightened into a thin line of fury, but surprise flashed behind her eyes as they flicked to Karro for just an instant.
“And she waited centuries to do it,” Nira replied.
Aurelia had to admire the fact that the female was willing to sit through their interrogations to prove her intent. She wasn’t sure she would have had the nerve to do the same. Not with centuries-old warriors famed for their deadliness; the twins in particular.
“I attempted to flee that place more times than I can count,” Valea answered. “You think it’s a burden to be his rightful heir—” she spat, looking toward Ven. “Try being his prized breeding mare. He only grew more paranoid since the war. And rightfully so. He dangled me in front of countless males. Promising them a chance to claim me if they remained loyal—if they were his eyes and ears.”
The column of Valea’s white throat bobbed. “So I became more valuable to him as his spy. His justice. His weapon—so that the thought of losing me to one of his powerful courtiers would seem disadvantageous.”
Valea’s eyes slid to Ven once more. “Becoming indispensable to our father was my way out—my only grasp at freedom.” Her voice was soft, ragged, but there was no weakness in it as she uttered, “The only time I could escape his watch was when I would join my sentries on patrol." Emotion clouded her vermillion eyes before she blinked it away. Possibly the only crack in her tough exterior that Aurelia had witnessed. "But there was no escaping him —not truly. Not when it meant death at the hands of another kingdom. So I used my eyes and my ears to find the powerful families within his court who wished for change.”
Her gaze was unflinching as it met Ven’s across the table. “Roheer was only one of many in the Court of Flame who were displeased with the state of the Nostari Kingdom. There were a handful of the nobility that sought to reach out a hand and expand our territory. They thought your kingdom weak with your dwindling numbers, but I advised against such a move. We have spies as well, you know—”
“Oh, we’re aware,” Nira replied with a predatory smile. “I’ve had the pleasure of killing them.”
Valea glanced at Nira. “Such was the reasoning for my caution.” She looked back to Ven. “Our father listened. His other advisors were hungry for the power that our— their kingdom once had. The fear that the Court of Flame once inspired.” Her bright red eyes slid to Nira once more. “True, their intent was conquest—but it was a chance for change. A chance to remove that damned crown from his fucking head.”
She straightened her spine, the thick braids of silvery white hair swaying down her back with the movement. “I sent out my own scouts to learn of the world beyond those tunnels. To learn if the rival kingdom I had been taught to hate was truly the enemy—except I think you know what happened to anyone who managed to get too close . . .”
The arrogant look on Nira’s face fell just a fraction at the implication. “Why not kill the bastard, yourself” she asked, arching a dark, groomed brow. “He trusted you, seems it would have been easy.”
Valea gave a mirthless laugh. “You know nothing of the power the blood crown grants him—forcing others to bend to his will. It would have been suicide.” She lifted her chin, her stare unwavering as it clashed with Nira’s. “But still—there were many days I considered it. Many days I dreamed of it . . . but I knew that even if I managed to kill him, the rebels would be more than happy to throw me in one of those cells in the belly of the mountain and forget about me as they fought over the scraps of his kingdom.”
“So when the perfect opportunity presented itself to you—” Nira hedged.
“The chance to prove your intentions to an enemy court,” Seth finished. "A bartering chip."
Valea's eyes met the Wraith's. "A way out."
A dark lock of hair fell across Ven’s brow as he lifted his gaze from the map. “And what are your intentions? You wish to live here? To be a member of the Court of Shadow?”
“I wish—” For a moment, Valea looked so . . . vulnerable. So much younger than her eyes belied. “Never to go back to that place,” she finally answered. “Even if it means facing death.”
Karro stilled at the words.
The grit, the determination with which the female spoke—Aurelia knew there was no deception in her words. Even if she didn’t have loyalty to them, she would never return to her father’s court. She’d sealed her fate as a traitor. Betrayed the only people and the only home she’d ever known. There was no going back for her.
She had given up everything to help them escape. And while her motives may have been self-interested, it didn’t change the fact that she had burned her old life to the ground.
Ravenstone was the only place she could remain.
Valea knew it. They knew it.
Ven uncrossed his arms, placing his palms on the table between them as he looked his half-sister in the eye. “Unrest is a useful tool and I think your insight could be valuable—if you are willing to offer it.”
All of them seemed to be holding their breath.
The expression on Nira’s face darkened, her slender fingers restless along the jeweled hilts of the twin daggers strapped to either side of her chest—as if she hoped Valea declined so she might have the chance to end her.
Valea’s eyes were wary as she glanced toward Nira and Seth. Seeming to make an effort not to look at Karro as she stood up, spine straight and regal as she offered Ven a single nod.
Adjusting the blood-red velvet hood over her quicksilver hair, she disappeared into shadow once more and left the room.
Ven turned, looking each of the Wraiths in the eye before his gaze finally met hers. “We prepare to fight alone.”