Chapter 34
Chapter
Thirty-Four
The king is under attack.
Kaelith’s mental scream slammed into my head like a storm wind. I nearly staggered from the force of it.
Zander was already moving. “Come on.”
We bolted to the castle and through the marble corridors, my boots striking the floor hard enough to echo off the vaulted ceilings. Every guard we passed flinched or stepped aside.
The moment we reached the king’s chambers, I shoved the double doors open, but it was too late.
The assassin was gone. The guards posted nearby looked dazed, one still bleeding from his nose. But what caught my attention first was the magical barrier hovering above the king’s bed.
It pulsed like a sick firefly, it’s light ebbing in erratic, dying beats of amber and violet. Magic sputtered against the velvet canopy in jagged flares.
What is happening?
A spell was used, Kaelith growled in my mind. A dark one. It’s unraveling my protections. I won’t be able to hold this barrier much longer.
“No,” I whispered, stepping closer, my hand outstretched toward the flickering shield. “No, no, no—there has to be something. What if I give him another dose of the fae elixir?”
Zander stiffened behind me. “We don’t have much left. I wanted to save some for Dorian…”
I nodded, heart hammering. “Then we use some of it.”
He didn’t answer, just moved beside me, jaw tight as he looked down at his father—pale, breath shallow, his skin damp with sweat. The king wasn’t just sleeping. He was slipping.
Kaelith’s barrier flared again, then dimmed to a pulse no brighter than dying coals.
Hurry, she said. I will drop the barrier one last time. The next time it falls will be the last.
I pulled the vial from beneath my tunic, the amber glass catching the light like a dying star. My fingers trembled as I unstoppered it. The faint glow of fae magic shimmered inside—this was all that remained.
Drop the barrier, Kaelith.
As you wish, she said, though I felt the strain of it in every syllable.
The flickering shield collapsed in a sigh of magic. I stepped forward and tilted the vial, letting a few drops fall onto the king’s pale lips. The liquid sizzled against his skin and vanished.
I stepped back.
“Why is this the last barrier?” I asked quietly, heart pounding.
Because a stasis spell can only be anchored to the living, Kaelith replied. When that life fades, so does the magic protecting it.
We were out of time. The elixir had bought us a sliver of hope—nothing more.
“Did anyone leave the castle after we entered?” I asked, scanning the room.
No, Kaelith responded. The wards at the gates were intact the moment you crossed them. No one has left since.
“The assassin is still in the castle,” I whispered.
Zander’s jaw tightened as he met my gaze. His voice was low, dangerous. “I know. The person behind this… the attack. Lady Belana’s murder. They live inside these walls.”
And we were trapped with them.
The king’s eyelids fluttered. A thin breath slipped from his cracked lips as his chest rose once, then again, steadier this time.
“Father?” Zander whispered, moving closer, kneeling beside the bed.
Emlem’s eyes opened, clouded but aware, and slowly found Zander’s face. “I am sorry… my son.” His voice was a rasp, dry and full of regret.
The door slammed open behind us. Theron strode into the chamber, flanked by his ever-present guards. Emlem’s gaze shifted to him, a flicker of fire returning to his expression.
“You will step down as prince regent,” the king said, louder now. “Dorian must take the mantle of king.”
Theron’s expression darkened. “You’re weak, Father. Delirious. You—”
Emlem’s body jerked once in the bed, breath hitching, and then he went still, eyes fluttering shut.
“No,” Zander murmured.
Kaelith, now.
The dragon’s magic shimmered across the room like a silk veil unfurling. The barrier reformed around the king’s body, pulsing faintly, fragile but whole.
Theron turned toward us, his face tight. “The king is delirious,” he snapped. “He doesn’t know what he’s saying. I will only step down when Dorian steps up and claims the throne. And we both know he has no intention of doing that.”
He spun on his heel, but Zander caught his arm.
“You will not walk out of here and twist his words,” Zander said, voice low, deadly. “You heard him. You may not like it, but you heard it.”
Theron’s eyes narrowed. “I’ve been running this kingdom since My father got sick.”
“Then perhaps it’s time someone else did,” I said, stepping beside Zander.
Theron shook off Zander’s grip.
Zander stepped into Theron’s path, his voice cutting the air like a blade. “How do you know Dorian won’t return to the castle?”
Theron blinked, too fast. “He would have returned already if he intended to.”
“You seem awfully sure of yourself,” Zander continued, his tone deceptively calm, but I could feel the Dark Fire simmering beneath his skin. “Almost like you’ve made certain of it.”
Theron stiffened, his jaw tightening. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“No,” Zander said, his eyes narrowing. “There’s more to this. What have you done, Theron? Have you actually conspired against your own family? Brought this kingdom to its knees, just because you weren’t chosen? Just because no dragon wanted you?”
The flicker of something in Theron’s expression, rage, shame, was all the confirmation I needed.
I stepped closer. “That’s it, isn’t it? You couldn’t bear to be ordinary in a family of the extraordinary.”
His fists clenched at his sides. “You don’t know what it’s like to be overlooked. To be cast aside for a brother with dragon fire in his blood, and another who isn’t even a true heir.”
“You’re right,” Zander said, voice like thunder, “I don’t. But I would never trade my family for a throne built on betrayal.”
Theron didn’t answer. He just turned and walked away, slower this time. But not before I saw the tremble in his hands.
“How do we stop Theron if he’s undermining the crown?
” I asked as Kaelith’s warning still rang like an echo in my thoughts.
“He has so many supporters, Zander. The guilds are fractured. Iron Fang’s already on Theron’s side.
And if Cade and Perin are proof of anything, it’s that loyalty can be bought. ”
Zander sank into the chair beside the hearth, running a hand through his hair. “If we accuse him without proof, it will tear Warriath apart. But if we do nothing, he’ll bleed this kingdom from the inside out.”
I stepped closer and rested my palm on his chest, just above the steady thrum of his heart. “Then we find proof.”
His hand covered mine. “We will.”
We returned to his bedroom, the fire still flickering low in the hearth, casting gold across the stone walls. Zander unbuckled his belt, and I began unlacing my tunic when the sudden sound of a horn split the stillness.
It blared once. Then twice.
We froze.
Zander grabbed his sword and stalked toward the door, flinging it open. The corridor beyond was chaos—guards running, voices shouting over one another.
He stepped into the hallway, catching a guard by the arm. “What’s going on?”
The soldier’s eyes were wide. “The prince regent. He’s gone. We can’t find him anywhere.”
“Are you sure?”
The guard nodded. “Major Kaler asked us to deliver a message but we couldn’t find him. We searched his room, the court, and the dining hall. We even asked Lady Inderia, but she has no idea where he went.”
Zander’s jaw locked, his eyes narrowing.
Theron had vanished.