Chapter 58 #2
“We do not mean you any harm!” I shouted, my voice rising over my sister’s. “The Shadow Fae never meant to harm humans. Their land was cursed by the poisonous shadows. That’s why they needed human brides; only a human from the Earthen Court could break the curse. ”
Orla’s nostrils flared. “How convenient that you just happened to break this alleged curse right when my army is upon your doorstep.”
“It’s not convenient at all to destroy the lives of my people based on false information,” I hissed. “Ask Gerard. His mother was the one who cast the curse.”
Orla opened her mouth to speak, but Varius interjected.
“Gerard is dead.”
I stared at Varius. The darkness in his eyes told me what I needed to know: He had killed Gerard.
Deep down, I had known; the curse could not have been broken without Gerard’s death.
Even so, the truth of that statement jolted through me. Varius uttering it made it all too real.
Gerard was dead.
Shocked murmurs rippled over the humans, and Orla’s face turned ashen. “He—He’s dead ?” she whispered.
My stomach sank. Stones, had she truly cared for him? I assumed she had just married him as a slight to me, but the look of devastation on her face made me believe otherwise.
“He wanted to stop us from breaking the curse,” I said as gently as I could. “He wanted war between our kingdoms. Orla, he wanted the Necro Shadows to get stronger.”
Orla shook her head, her eyes squeezing shut. “Be silent. I don’t want to hear any more of your lies.”
“I cannot lie!”
“I don’t believe you!” she roared, jabbing her sword at me. “You deserve to die along with them. You murdered my husband! And you will pay for it.”
She advanced, teeth bared and hatred burning in her eyes. I stepped away from Varius and drew my dagger, which seemed pitiful in comparison to Orla’s massive sword.
But if she wanted a fight, I would give it to her .
A low growl rumbled from my dragon, and she stomped toward Orla, placing her massive blue-scaled body between us.
“She says if you want to kill Sybelle, you will have to go through her first,” Varius said. “And you will also have to go through me .” His voice was lethal and deadly. When I glanced at him, his teeth were bared, and there was fire in his eyes.
All hesitation and anguish were gone. All that remained was a fierce king, willing to do anything to protect his people.
To protect me .
Suddenly, I registered something. Since when could Varius communicate with Azure? I shot a surprised look at him, and he offered me a half smile.
Orla staggered back a step, glancing between me and Azure. “That’s not—you can’t?—”
“If the rest of you decide to leave peacefully, we will allow it,” I shouted, my voice carrying over the soldiers. “But if you do not, my dragon will attack. And she will not show mercy.”
To prove my point, Azure snarled, revealing her fangs. Her entire body seemed to rumble with a growl. She couldn’t breathe fire—none of her kind could.
But the soldiers didn’t need to know that.
Several of the humans whispered among themselves, backing slowly away from the dragon. When Orla noticed, she screeched, “Stop! You obey my command! And I order you to attack!”
No one moved.
“Attack!” Orla screamed, waving her sword wildly.
Still, her soldiers did not move. Many of them cast uncertain glances at Azure. Others outright glared at Orla, their faces full of distrust.
“I suggest you redirect your efforts to leading your own people,” Varius said loudly, “before you decide to take over mine. It doesn’t seem like your people are willing to follow you into battle, which, in my experience, is not the mark of a good ruler.”
Orla glared at him. “That isn’t your concern, Wraith King.”
“It is when you invade my home and kill my people .” Varius stepped closer to her, his arms rigid at his sides.
He pointed to her soldiers. “Your men are refusing your command. So we will offer you one last opportunity to leave the Shadow Court. If you don’t, I will take advantage of the instability of your army and slaughter anyone who remains here.
I’ll wager many of your soldiers would rather flee than face a dragon, wouldn’t you? ”
Orla’s lips thinned, and she glanced at the soldiers. Already, several of them had started sprinting for the forest. “Shit,” she hissed.
“Orla,” I said, and she swung her head toward me, eyes flashing with fury. “The shadows are gone. You can see it for yourself. There is no reason to wage war.”
“I’ll be the judge of that,” she spat, backing away from Varius and Azure.
She reached her large white horse and grabbed the reins.
“This is not over. Don’t think that just because we share blood that I will forgive what you’ve done, Sybelle.
You are still one of them .” She jerked her sword toward the fae soldiers.
“And it’s because of you that he’s dead. ” Her voice broke on the last word.
Emotion filled my throat. I had no answer for that, because she was right. Gerard had wanted the curse to live on, but he had also come for me . He had made that much clear.
All I could say was, “I’m sorry.”
This only made Orla angrier. Her face twisted into something savage and unrecognizable. This was not my sister. This was a stranger.
She mounted her horse, then jerked on the reins before taking off toward the forest. Slowly, her soldiers followed after. Varius and I stood next to each other, watching as each human retreated. Only after their footsteps faded did we turn to look at each other.
“I could not have done this without you, Sybelle,” he murmured.
“This isn’t over,” I said softly. “She will come back.”
Varius nodded before wrapping his arms around me and cradling my head against his chest. “I know, dannahla . But we will be ready for her when she does.”