Chapter 41
Forty-One
CHERYL
ELLNESARI, PRESENT DAY
T he castle is huge, so this time, we don’t walk the entire way.
Our escorts lead us through twists and turns to a wide hallway where a floating carriage waits for us.
It easily fits four people with two bench seats facing each other.
The translucent outer material looks like stardust trapped in glass, and the seats are covered in a deep blue velvet.
“Where are we going in that?” Ronan asks.
“The Lunarium is on the other side of the palace. It’s a twenty-minute walk,” one of our escorts replies.
“I’m surprised you’re not making us suffer through walking the wind,” I say.
“Walking the wind isn’t allowed inside the palace. Only the royal family can use it.”
“No one ever breaks the rules?” I arch a brow.
The sheer horror sketched on both escorts’ faces is comical. “Never,” they reply in unison.
To hide my amusement, I jump into the carriage first, ignoring help from the escorts.
Ronan follows and sits next to me, making sure our bodies touch.
He rests one hand on my lap, and even though he isn’t touching my skin, electric sparks rush through me.
I turn my face and find him already staring at me with a grin.
Butterflies awaken in my stomach, making me giddy like a teenager.
God, I love him so much. I can hardly believe he’s mine.
My heart seems to transform into a hummingbird, batting its wings at supersonic speed inside my chest.
Our escorts join us in the carriage, and then we’re on the move, going at least thirty miles an hour. This feels like an amusement park ride for kids, but it’s pleasant nonetheless. The wind blows against my face, which works wonders to offset how hot Ronan is making me.
Too bad the trip doesn’t last long. A couple of minutes later, the carriage slows to a stop, and then we’re standing at the entrance to the Lunarium, which is an atrium the size of a baseball field with a domed ceiling made of glass held in a silver metal frame.
Stone tiles in the deepest blue with silver and gold veins cover the entire floor.
It’s so shiny, I can see my reflection on it.
One side of the atrium is made of rows of seats going up at an incline.
I realize then that the Lunarium is actually the stage of an amphitheater, with a bridge leading to a smaller stage closer to the audience.
On that small island, there’s a silver cage, and inside, bound by chains around his wrists and ankles, is Lord Indigo.
His chin is dipped low, and his long white hair is loose, covering his face.
He wears a simple linen tunic and dark pants.
A jolt of pain hits my chest, but it has nothing to do with sympathy for the male.
The sight makes me think of Karl. Even though I didn’t witness his beating, I can imagine how horrifying it must have been to be strapped to a pole and whipped within an inch of his life for a crime he didn’t commit.
Thinking about it makes my blood boil till this day.
Ronan puts his hand on my lower back and asks, “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” I lie, which is silly, because he can sense my inner turmoil. But he doesn’t call me on it. Maybe he can guess where my thoughts went.
King Koran and Queen Endaya are already seated on their respective thrones, wearing the same style of austere clothing that was given to us, save for a jewel-encrusted pin in the shape of a lynx attached to their chests on the left side.
Their respective crowns are silver and bejeweled with stones that resemble stars.
Castiel stands next to his father’s throne, sporting a solemn expression.
His teal-colored hair is pulled back, and he wears a simpler crown, thin and silver without any stones.
He’s a very handsome male, I can’t deny that, and the dark coloring of his clothes makes him look like night itself.
A bout of irritation hits me, and Ronan’s hold on my hand tightens. Crinkling my forehead, I turn to him to find him grinding his teeth hard.
“What’s the matter?” I ask.
“Nothing,” he grits out without meeting my stare.
I’d insist on knowing, but the escorts encourage us to keep walking until they present us to the king and queen.
“Your Majesties, the witnesses have arrived.”
We didn’t bow to the rulers of Lynx before, but here in the Lunarium, in front of their entire court, it isn’t smart to defy protocol. Ronan and I bow, copying our escorts.
“Thank you for coming, Cheryl Eriksson and Ronan McLaren,” the king says in a loud and clear voice that I’m sure can be heard all the way to the last row in the amphitheater. “I wish your visit was under more joyous circumstances.”
“So do we, Your Majesties,” Ronan replies as he stands straight.
“How much contact did you have with my son while he was working with Valkor, the Sea Serpent?”
Sea Serpent? I wonder why the king called Lord Valkor by that name and left the title “lord” out of it.
“I’ve had very few dealings with your son, Your Majesty. I only saw him on the day of the shadowbeasts’ attack,” Ronan replies.
“Lord Indigo was responsible for the female vampires,” I reply in turn. I don’t mention my suspicion about his involvement with Ollie’s mother. I don’t want the king to believe Ollie is Lord Indigo’s daughter, even though the little girl looks nothing like him.
“I see.” King Koran narrows his eyes. “Tell me everything.”
I glance at Ronan, and his encouraging nod gives me strength to talk about my experience in captivity.
I relate all I witnessed while living in Lord Valkor’s manor, including my interactions with Lord Indigo.
When I mention my suspicions that he helped facilitate Lord Valkor’s sex trade, the queen lets out an audible gasp.
I have no idea how my testimony is affecting Lord Indigo, because I’m facing his family and not him.
Once I finish my story, I feel unbearably sad. Those females didn’t deserve to die in that brutal manner. I glare at Castiel, wondering why he didn’t stop his monsters from killing the innocent.
“Thank you, my dear,” Queen Endaya says once I’m done. “I know that must have been hard.”
“Respectfully, Your Majesty, not harder than finding the mangled bodies of my companions.” I make eye contact with Castiel. “Why did you kill them?”
He winces, visibly shaken by my question.
“May I remind you that Castiel is not the one on trial here,” the king retorts, his brows creasing beneath his silver crown.
“Forgive me, Your Majesty, but I can’t help thinking that those deaths were unnecessary. Those females were victims, after all.”
“Permit me to answer, Father,” Castiel interjects.
King Koran shifts forward in his throne to look at his son. He doesn’t speak for several beats while engaged in a staring contest with Castiel, who doesn’t move a muscle. I don’t even think he’s breathing. Finally, the king nods. “Very well. You may answer.”
Castiel takes a deep breath, squaring his shoulders. “I didn’t know what the shadowbeasts would find inside the Sea Serpent’s manor. I had to assume all inside were the enemy besides Cheryl and Ronan; hence, only they were spared along with my brother, who needed to be brought to Lynx for trial.”
Lord Indigo finally signals he’s alive in his cage. His self-deprecating laugh gives me chills. “The lies you tell yourself, brother. You knew that not all who were inside the building were guilty. You simply didn’t care.”
Castiel’s jaw locks tight, and his cheeks hollow. He doesn’t offer his brother a reply, though.
“Silence!” King Koran commands as he stands up.
Ronan grabs my arm and sidesteps, pulling me with him.
He’s apprehensive now, and in protection mode with reason.
Gone is the calm and benevolent aura the king displayed when we first met him.
He looks dangerous and frightening. Shadows gather around his tall frame, and violent winds seem to circle him while his eyes crackle with a menacing power.
He walks across the bridge to the cage holding Lord Indigo, who looks up and cowers.
“Indigo of Lynx, my thirdborn, you’ve been accused of the most heinous crimes against our kingdom. You allied with the foulest creatures in the land and used your gifts to bring shame to our family.”
“You banished me. You gave me no choice!” Lord Indigo cries out.
“I banished you in the hope that you would see the error of your ways, repent, and return a changed male. But you chose to fall even harder into disgrace and conspired with an enemy of the crown. You helped one of the vilest criminals break the Accords and create portals to the mortal lands. You kidnapped vampires and bred them like cattle. Do you deny any of that?”
“Would it make any difference if I did?”
“No. You leave me no choice but to sentence you to die by the Shadow Claw.”
The audience gasps loudly, and sitting on her throne, the queen’s face drains of color. Whatever this death entails, it seems to be horrifying.
The king lifts his hand, signaling for the guards in the vicinity to approach. They open Lord Indigo’s cage and drag him out. The bound male struggles against their tight hold. “No, please, Father, don’t do this.”
The king stares at his son with an unyielding gaze, and even though I’m not on the receiving end of that look, I feel the weight of it nonetheless. Ronan wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me closer to him.
The guards attach the end of Lord Indigo’s chains to silver rings on the floor.
At this point, the male is crying pitifully, his lean body shaking with the violence of his sobs.
My middle is coiled tight, and apprehension makes my pulse accelerate.
I’m grateful for Ronan’s presence more than ever.
I don’t think I’d be able to stomach a public execution otherwise.
King Koran remains stoic, his face like marble and unmoving as he watches his son crumble.
The guards move away from Lord Indigo after they verify his chains are secured.
Silence falls over the audience like the prelude of doom.
In the stillness, the pounding of my accelerated heart sounds too loud.
The king lifts his arms, turning his face up to the sky, and begins chanting in a foreign language.
The floor beneath my feet vibrates, and a mysterious power brushes against my skin, probing and uncomfortable.
I shiver, and Ronan’s fingers flex against my waist. The wind comes next from all directions, converging around King Koran in a maelstrom.
The howling of the vortex muffles Lord Indigo’s whimpers, who’s on his knees with his head down.
I know the worst is yet to come, but I can’t look away.
The wind becomes dark, transforming into shadows.
They funnel above the king, and then they begin to shift.
I watch, transfixed, as the darkness merges into lean haunches and tufted ears, and suddenly, what should have been fur becomes a void in the night sky.
A giant lynx takes shape, but it moves wrong, jerking through space rather than crossing it.
“Holy Mary, Mother of God,” Ronan breathes out.
Lord Indigo’s head snaps up, his pupils shrinking to pinpricks against the blue of his irises as his lips part with a sharp intake of breath that never fully releases. “No…”
Shadow-sinews ripple across phantom muscles as the lynx bends its legs, ready to pounce.
I grab Ronan’s arm, my anxiety reaching sky-high levels.
The lynx growls, a haunting sound that rises from deep in its throat right before it attacks.
Lord Indigo screams at the top of his lungs, the type of outburst that only people in the deepest agony are able to make.
I expect his body to be torn into pieces, and yet he remains intact.
He thrashes on the floor, battling a menace he can’t touch.
The phantom lynx’s attack continues in a vicious manner while King Koran watches impassively.
I glance at the queen and Castiel. At least they aren’t standing there like two emotionless statues.
Despite Queen Endaya’s resigned expression, tears streak her cheeks.
There aren’t any tears on Castiel’s face, but it’s impossible to ignore his crestfallen expression.
His brows are pinched together, and his teal-colored eyes are bright and glimmering with a soul-deep sorrow.
I return my attention to the bridge where Lord Indigo lies.
The lynx’s form scatters and reforms with each strike until Lord Indigo is silent and his body goes still.
The quietness in the amphitheater is absolute.
King Koran raises his right hand, and the lynx he created loses its shape until it’s nothing but dark tendrils of smoke that rush into the king’s open palm and disappear as soon as they connect with him.
The bone-crushing pain that flares up in my chest robs me of air.
Karl is at the forefront of my mind, and the fact that I don’t know his fate is all I can think about.
A wild restlessness takes over my body—it’s my wolf, needing to break free.
I sense the shift coming, and I won’t be able to stop it.
I can’t let it happen here, where everyone’s emotions are on edge.
I step away from Ronan.
“Cher, what’s wrong?” he asks as his gaze searches mine.
“I can’t be here.” I bolt before he can stop me.