Chapter 79 #2
Felk and Lilik tightened their grips, their nails digging into the king in a way that likely roused him more than held him down.
Wasting no more time, Gaeren sliced at the brand on his father’s palm, bringing the king fully awake.
Gaeren winced, trying to block out his father’s raving insults and threats until the skin was finally gone and his father went limp in Felk’s and Lilik’s grasp.
His father’s face had grown deathly pale, making Gaeren wonder if the intensity of it all had been too much.
But shallow breaths made the king’s chest rise and fall, and to Gaeren’s surprise, he felt a sense of relief.
His parents both looked even older than they had the last time he’d seen them lost in their remorse.
“Thank you,” Gaeren said to Felk and Lilik, gently tugging their hands from his father’s arms. They resisted for a moment, but then they released their hold and slunk to the side of the room, crouching together in a strange huddle with the rest of their clan.
“You’re too weak to fight Mayvus,” Gaeren said. “I need to get you and Enla out of here.”
“We should have handed our rule to Enla long ago,” his father murmured.
Gaeren couldn’t argue, especially since the last time they’d said that, Gaeren had been the one to refuse taking on the throne warden role.
“Can you make it to the hidden pass?”
His father shook his head. “Even if I could, your mother never would, and I doubt Enla would be willing to leave.”
Gaeren frowned, glancing back at his sister’s still form. “Riveran, can you get her awake?”
Riveran bent over and jostled her shoulders before shaking his head. “I’ve never seen her like this. I’m scared waking her could be dangerous. It might be something she needs to choose to come out of on her own.”
“Where is Croft?” Gaeren grumbled.
“He and Danton are organizing the troops,” his father said, then hesitated, as if unable to trust his memory from his time under the brand.
“I think Danton might be working with the Recreants. Mayvus seemed to want me watching him. Whereas Croft was too gullible and malleable to concern her.” His face twisted in a scowl usually reserved for Gaeren.
“I don’t think he’s branded, but perhaps that’s worse. ”
“You think he’s working with Mayvus?”
The king hesitated. “I instructed him to let Mayvus and her army in the palace walls and he obeyed without question.”
Gaeren winced. “How long ago was that?”
The king’s confidence faded. “Too long ago. Our troops won’t resist her people. They consider them allies at this point.”
As if to prove his words, Gaeren heard shouts from beyond the council room, and he rushed to the nearest window, angling his head to see beyond the courtyard to the palace walls.
Their home wasn’t as secure as the fortress in the Myndren Mountains, and it wasn’t the first time he’d wished they had enough humility to heighten their security.
But their rule had remained uncontested for nearly a thousand years, outside of the rogue Wyndrens attempting to take what they thought was their rightful place.
Even the Recreants hadn’t been enough of a threat for his parents to prioritize a stronger perimeter.
Hordes of Ahmranans approached, like a sea of half-lights riding a wave to the shore. Even if their father had attempted to defend the palace, it would have been futile against so many soldiers.
Had Mayvus brought all of the Ahmranans over?
He ran back to Enla, slapping her cheeks despite Riveran’s protests. “Please, Enla, I need you awake. I need you to tell me what to do.”
A soft moan escaped her lips, bringing him hope that maybe she could still hear him.
“Enla, how many Stars are there? Count them with me.”
Her eyelids flickered, like when someone transitioned out of a deep sleep.
“I told you fifty-two, but I was wrong. Did you ever think I would admit that?” He chuckled even though he grew more tense as the outside crowd’s murmur grew louder and the Ahmranans drew closer.
“There were a hundred, Enla. Can you believe it? Orra—no, Sheen—told me herself. Did you know I’ve been spending time with a Star? One of the most important in history.”
Her eyelids ceased their rapid movement, forming a slit as her weary gaze seemed to settle on him.
“Now only ninety-seven can take to the skies. That means I missed forty-five every time I counted.”
Her lips moved slightly, and he had to bend his ear toward her mouth to catch the question she gasped out. “What about…the other three?”
Relief at her words and focus made him giddy, and a grin split his face.
“Lucien was killed, and Orra—or Sheen—was grounded…” He trailed off, distracted as he pulled her to a sitting position to test her strength, which was utterly lacking.
The answer he’d just discovered had actually been there all along if he’d bother to do the math.
“The third one is Bryton, Orra’s other half—someone who’d been more than a bondmate. ”
“What happened?” She fought to stand, but he shook his head.
“It sounds like Bryton… well, I think he’ll take to the skies again when Orra reunites the starbridges.”
The clink of gates rising outside brought a new sense of panic that overrode Gaeren’s curiosity.
Enla couldn’t be moved, even if they had time to escape.
His parents could never make it to the secret pass, and Mayvus would have no qualms about killing them all, considering they’d evaded her brands twice now.
“The starbridges,” he murmured, reaching into his pocket to feel the warm, vibrating metal of the golden arrow.
He’d promised to protect it for Orra, but he hadn’t promised he’d never use it again.
And he hadn’t promised that he wouldn’t give that task to someone else.
He couldn’t have promised that. Not when he’d known his time was likely limited.
Instead, he could make good on his promise to the Recreants. He could send his family to a place where they couldn’t return to the throne.
Saving Enla with the starbridge could very well get him killed. But hadn’t he always known that was the likeliest outcome? He laid her back down on the table, then leaned over the tug Riveran closer.
“I need you to promise me something.” He pressed the arrow into his friend’s palm, wrapping Riveran’s fingers around its shaft. “When you come back, you need to give this arrow to Orra.”
“When he comes back?” Enla’s voice came out groggy, and her gaze clouded over once more. “There’s only one path…in the future. So…much…death. It’s the only path that takes us through.”
The eerie finality of her voice sent a shiver down Gaeren’s spine. He returned his focus to Riveran. “Can you take them?”
He fed the memory of Cyrus reciting the words through to Riveran, who scowled. “What about you?”
“I have to find Aeliana,” he said. “I can’t let her face Mayvus alone.”
“And what if she’s already gone? Then you’ll face Mayvus alone.”
Gaeren shook his head. “She wouldn’t leave her mother, and her mother will gladly prepare to sacrifice herself for the Vendaran people. They’re still here.”
Riveran hesitated.
“We’ve always known this was in my future,” Gaeren whispered. He didn’t need to feed the memory to Riveran for the other man to know he spoke of the sprite’s prediction.
“I promised her I wouldn’t let it happen,” Riveran admitted, his gaze falling back on Enla, who once again seemed lost in time.
“I promised to let her take the fall.” The love in his eyes was painful to see, compounded by the realization that the two of them had been conspiring against Gaeren.
Maybe for his good, but still behind his back.
“We can’t keep all of our promises,” Gaeren said. “Not when we’re making impossible ones.”
Riveran stood a little taller, masking his face once more. “Which is why you ask the impossible of me.” He whistled, and Gullet flew to his shoulder. “I’ll take them, but I expect you here when I return.”
Gaeren nodded slowly. “Should I make that a promise?”
Riveran snorted.
Gaeren let go of Riveran’s hand, feeling a sense of loss as he gave up contact with both the starbridge and his friend. Then he pulled his parents over to Riveran and Enla, instructing them all to hold each other tightly.
“Try not to throw up on my sister when you land.” He grinned at Riveran, who couldn’t seem to return the smile as he swallowed hard and nodded.
Riveran would take care of Enla no matter what happened to Gaeren. He knew that, and not just because Lady Merinnia had seen a path where things played out that way. It was just who Riveran was.
Gaeren stepped back, but before Riveran could recite the words, the doors flew open hard enough to hit the walls and pop off their hinges, sending dust and debris flying through the room.
Riveran ducked while bracing himself over Enla, but Gaeren’s parents fell back to the stone floor with groans, a cut blooming blood on the king’s face.
Gaeren tugged on their arms, attempting to pull them back to Riveran and Enla, but his mother cried out, favoring her left wrist and ankle.
The winex snarled, forming a protective ring, but boots stomped on the floor as the strange people with darker skin, golden tattoos, and piercings at their collar bones surrounded them, making the dust pick up even more.
“Gaeren?” Riveran called out before coughing. “Do I wait?”
“You need to go,” Gaeren hissed at his mother as the room filled with Ahmranans. “Now!”
Her cries turned to sobs and she reached for her husband, who cradled her in his arms, where Gaeren noticed another cut bleeding heavily.
“I don’t want to hide anymore.” His father’s voice held regal pride despite his humble position. “I would rather she killed me than made me her brand again.”
Gaeren swore and pulled on his father harder. “She’ll do exactly that. I’m the throne warden. My role is to protect the throne. There’s no throne without you in it.” But the stubborn man stayed put with his wife, their strangely calm acceptance of their fate making Gaeren more panicked.
But then his father smiled and placed a hand on Gaeren, feeding him energy he didn’t know the old man had in his reserves. “You’re Enla’s throne warden, not mine.” His voice grew ragged. “Protect her.”
Gaeren hesitated for a breath to let the peace on his parents’ faces drill into his memory, then he turned his back on them.
“Take her, Riveran! Now!”
Riveran recited the words on the arrow, and bright white light enveloped the two of them just as Mayvus entered the room.