Chapter 12 The King’s Mark
The King’s Mark
“They call it a blessing, the King’s Mark. But to those who know of the Crown’s darker dealings, it is proof of the Lyons’ own trespass.”
— Lyonsblood Legends and More, by Kade Greer
My entire existence shattered.
Clarke carried on as if it were any other tale.
“If my father knew your mother was a Blackheart, he never let on. When you were born, eyes dark as night, poison seeped out of your tiny fingers.” He paused for a moment. “The handmaidens tried their best to soothe you. My father was petrified when the first one dropped dead.”
Clarke coughed, choking on his words and shaking his head.
“I didn’t understand at the time. My father was so in love one moment, but the next he was yelling, ‘Save the boy. Get the Blackhearts out of my sight’.
I stayed hidden while they forced your mother out of bed, begging to stay with both children.
My father—our father’s order did not waver.
You and your mother were sent into the streets. ”
My hands twitched, torturous pain cutting through my soul and identity, but even more so, my heart, black as it may be.
“Is this some sick joke? To punish me for being a Blackheart? To make me sound mad when I go back to the Waywards?” The first tear rolled down my face. I hadn’t been upset enough to truly cry since my mother left.
To think of her, the woman who was kind when she did not have to be, and always brave when no one asked her to be, being thrown to the streets minutes after her labor…
I was going to vomit.
“You are not Elora Amona, and have never been. You are Lady Elorengail Steele, sister to King Clarke of Drakington, and twin to Lord Xavian Steele, Keeper of Castivian, and you will never return to the Waywards. I cannot protect you there anymore. The Sapphire attack proved that, and still they are not your greatest enemy.”
I shot to my feet, backing away. I had spent twenty-three winters not privy to my own name.
“Protect me? You knew who I was all these years, but still left me in a cage! You say you want to know what it's been like? We’re starving! Freezing! We have no medicine! No healers!”
“The council has not made it easy to protect the Dark Natured.”
“You are a spineless coward!” I spat. The king of all people, blaming the goddamn council for a decision he had made.
Clarke sat up, grimacing and hollow. “Perhaps I have been. Perhaps I should have done more. But you do not yet understand the pressure of the world's opinions on your shoulders. The council and my own wife called for the eradication of the Dark Natured, but I saw you as my people. I thought I could appease everyone without so much death. I was wrong. I’m sorry that I have not been a good brother to you.”
I clenched my fist, explosive rage building from my core.
“That’s all you have to say? That you’re sorry?” Hot tears raced down my cheeks. He had been so kind, so easy to talk to. But twenty-three winters of hardship while he lived in luxury were not forgivable.
He coughed again, forcing out his words. “I have something to give you.”
“I want nothing from you.”
Riven cleared his throat. “Your Grace, there are reports of Sapphires.”
Clarke sighed, as if he already knew. “Elora, I’m sending you to Castivian.”
“Oh, so I can meet my other piece of shit brother? No. Put me back in the Waywards. Eat your guilt, King.”
“Rest assured, I will die drowning in the guilt of my failures,” he raised his voice for the first time. Then he stood, pulling a letter out from behind his pillow.
“I have no interest in whatever that is.”
I did not have much in this cruel life, but dammit, I had my dignity, and not even a king could buy it.
Riven gave me a longing glance. A plea to listen. With my lips in a tight frown, I grandly gestured for Clarke to say his piece.
"They say I have little time left, and while I cannot change the past, there is one thing I can still do. For you, for Xavian, for the Dark Natured."
For the Dark Natured.
He raised the letter, sealed with the golden falcon emblem.
“This,” he said, “is the deed to Castivian. Signed by me, to release the bastard kingdom from Drakington’s rule.
Get this to our brother, and the Dark Natured will have somewhere to seek refuge.
The council has made it impossible for me to pass any last-minute laws here, but they cannot stop what has already been done once this is in Xavian’s hands. ”
“Your wife is to be queen here, is she not?” I argued. “Would she not do as you wish if you want the Dark Natured to be free?”
“I’m afraid not.” He coughed, glancing back into the room at the poisoned princess. My niece.
It was that simple. Queen Delaina would never forgive the Dark Natured.
“You’re telling me that I am of royal lineage, twin to Lord Xavian Steele, and I’m supposed to travel across the Sea of Blades to deliver a deed to make him king of his lands, so that the Dark Natured have somewhere to flee?” I asked matter-of-factly.
“If the deed is not delivered, the council will seize his lands and demand that the free Dark Natured be executed. Xavian is not the type to obey such an order. If Castivian is declared its own kingdom, the council and the queen cannot touch those lands. It is all I can do with what little time I have left to protect you both.”
All he could do? “You’re the king!”
“One they already consider dead.”
The pounding of marching steps grew nearer. It was still dark, nothing visible except the snow-capped buildings across the capital.
“What is that sound?” I gritted out. Someone had to know, if anyone, the king should.
A horn blared. Once. Twice.
“Sapphires!” a voice yelled from somewhere below.
“They’re storming the capital,” Riven said, reaching for his sword.
Clarke did not cower. “In this, you will find the deeds to Castivian and Moonhill. It’s a newly developing hold in Castivian. A home for you, and if you’re able to bring the Dark Natured over one day, you’ll have the land for them.”
Fire. There were flames below as the Sapphires entered the capital, flames engulfing buildings at the bottom of the hill.
“Elora, we must go if I am to keep my promise to you,” Riven warned, eyes darting to the approaching army.
My heart raced. Leaving my brother here didn’t feel right. Learning that the king was my half-brother didn’t feel real.
Clarke held the letter out. “Go. Our bloodline and the Dark Natured are depending on it. Sir Riven will escort you there. Don’t let anyone take this from you.”
Our bloodline.
Castivian becoming its own kingdom would mean my twin would be the first king. It would be our blood upon which the royal line was built. Clarke’s ended here in Drakington.
Everyone knew his heir was never going to wake.
Another horn sounded, and screams suffocated the streets as Drakers and Sapphires met each other's blades.
“You will need one more thing if your lineage is to be believed,” Clarke said.
I wasn’t ready. My throat was tight, dizziness setting in. I needed a minute to process. “I’m not sure I believe—”
Clarke grabbed my forearm with surprising strength, pressing his palm, his Nature searing my skin. I gasped and yanked my arm away.
“I hope it was painless,” Clarke said.
I held my hand skyward, eyes widening at what had been left on my skin.
The King's Mark.
It could only be used once per king, and most saved it for their children. There were many rumours of what a King's Mark could do, from enhancing your Nature to bringing good luck. One thing was for certain, though: a King's Mark could only be passed to someone in his own bloodline.
Just like in the tales, it was a golden outline of the sun, sparkling on my skin.
Clarke held the sealed letter out. “Leave,” he urged. “Go to Castivian. Find Xavian.”
Riven marched over, snatching the letter from Clarke and grabbing me by the arm. “Welcome to being an heir,” he said, pulling me towards the exit.
I resisted, but he did not flinch, my feet dragging along the floor.
“Wait!”
I still had questions.
Clarke watched with solemn eyes as Riven pulled me through Clayvarie’s room.
“Please, wait!” I screamed.
“We cannot,” Riven argued.
Clarke began to close the balcony door. “Goodbye, Elorengail.”
He pulled the doors shut.
That was it. There was no going back. No more answers. No more stories.
Riven held my arm as he led us back down the stairs and out the door, his horse still waiting as flames and golden sparks of Lyonheart Nature painted the smoky skies.
“Get on,” he ordered.
I couldn’t do this. Not this fast. It felt hard to breathe. The air was escaping too quickly. I ran along the side of the castle, desperate to find somewhere to be alone, for just a moment.
An explosive rumble shook the ground. Across the city, the clock tower was in flames, as if the Sapphires were here to stop time itself. The poison within me swirled, teasing me. Calling to me.
Riven cursed as another explosion sent clouds of smoke billowing into the horizon.
A high-pitched whoosh flew past my head, knocking into the side of the castle. An arrow.
Riven sprang forward, yanking me off the ground and throwing me onto the horse with ease. I scrambled to jump down, but he was already behind me.
“I fucking dare you to get off this horse,” he hissed in my ear, grabbing the reins.
Another arrow soared overhead. Thunder rumbled, and a lightning bolt struck in the distance.
We took off, belting down the clean stone streets for the woodline. We passed companies of Drakers moving through the capital, hunting for Sapphires while citizens peeked out their windows. This could have been the last time I saw the capital or anyone Drakish. Too much was happening too fast.
"I need to be alone," I gritted out, grabbing the reins. Riven braced me between his arms, his chest locked against my back. The horse reeled as I pulled and leaned my body weight towards the castle.
Riven yanked the reins from my grasp, whipping us back toward the woods.
If he wanted the reins so badly, he could have them.
I pushed away from Riven’s hold and threw myself off the stallion.
I hit the ground, the pain laughable in the wake of everything else I had been through in the last few days.
Anger rose like bile in my chest as I forced myself up, heaving through the heartache.
Riven quickly made his way back to me. “Move!”
A buzzing sound came flying toward me, piercing directly through my thigh.