Chapter Forty Seven #2
Kyra instinctively made to move to him, but Kawai glared her down, standing loyally at his brother’s shoulder as if to say don’t you fucking dare.
She stayed put.
Desperately trying not to sway, or blink too much, Kyra said quietly, ‘What happened?’
Naal looked up from a small black box she’d been turning over in her hands, and her voice was low and dull as she said, ‘After we left them in Wehyna, Akraia and her sister were caught by Lorosi authorities. They were brought before the king, and both given the choice to swear fealty to him, forgoing their loyalty to Merking Cyraneous, or be put to the sword. They both chose the former.’ Naal paused, her lips a thin line.
‘But when a fleet arrived flying Zarynth’s colours, Prince Sekun heading the flagship, Akraia abandoned Blythtrie and fled to Phaenon, to warn us of the invasion. ’
Kyra stared at the young nymph, barely older than Kano, and a lump swelled in her throat at the sheer bravery she’d shown. ‘How did she die?’
‘He killed her.’
Every head turned to look at Kano. All of the inner-circle were there, and Gedeon and Sunsi too, sitting on chairs pulled away from the table, or leaning against the walls. Only Kano was right by Akraia’s body. Pity shone on Naal’s face as she said, ‘She killed herself, Kano.’
‘Because he made her,’ he replied blankly, gaze unmoving from the dead girl’s face.
‘I’ve seen this before. I know what he does to people who betray him.
Makes it seem like suicide. He keeps his own hands clean that way.
’ He looked up at Naal. ‘As soon as she told you of the invasion, she went silent, didn’t she?
Then she took her dagger out and plunged it into her heart without a word, or explanation. Didn’t she?’
The pain in his voice pierced Kyra’s soul. It was difficult to look at him, at the heartbreak that was plastered over every inch of his young face.
Naal gave a slow, sedate nod. ‘If we were unsure if King Therion was imperi… now we know for certain. A secret well kept. It is no wonder Azar fought to ally with him.’ Bitterness laced her tone.
‘Ruven, transfer Akraia to the crypts. It would be an insult to speak of war over her resting body.’ She peered at the Water Warden.
‘In due course, you should be the one to decide how we honour her life, Kano.’
Kano had sat down. He didn’t respond, but more tears streamed down his cheeks. He seemed unable to keep his eyes from Akraia’s face. Kawai’s hand was tight on his shoulder.
Quietly, Ruven covered the nymph with a sheet, then scooped her up like an infant, her long blue legs limp over his thick arms, and disappeared from the room. Kano’s gaze stayed on the door long after she had gone.
‘I will not stand before you and pretend that this news is not a devastating blow,’ Naal said, rising from her seat.
‘King Therion’s supposed neutrality was a problem in itself, but his allegiance with Empress Azar is, for obvious reasons, much worse.
With this knowledge, I do not believe Prince Sekun’s invasion of Blythtrie to be an invasion at all, but rather the joining of two nations. ’
Without moving from her leaned position on the wall, her arms crossed tight over her chest, Nysari asked Kawai, ‘Will the people rebel against Zarynth’s presence?’
He said darkly, ‘The fae definitely won’t. It’s just a shift from one tyrant to another. They won’t give a shit as long as they stay on top.’
‘And the humans?’
‘The raiders might have rebelled if their numbers were large enough… but that’s not likely. I doubt the humans in the city would risk it either. Our parents certainly wouldn’t.’
‘But we cannot ignore it,’ Zuriel said passionately, standing as she did. ‘Akraia’s sacrifice has given us the upper hand. King Therion will not see an attack coming if he thinks we are in the dark about his alliance with the Fire Queen.’
‘Steady, Zuriel,’ Naal cautioned. ‘We cannot just fly off to Blythtrie and hope for the best. It will need careful planning, without reckless haste. What is a sure thing, is that this bold move was made to draw us out of the shadows. To force our swords into this war once and for all. The Empress plays on our empathy for freedom… we must be vigilant in how we respond.’
Zuriel bowed her head in understanding.
‘Kyra.’ A chill skittered over Kyra’s skin at the change in Naal’s intonation, from commanding to wary. ‘This box is addressed to you.’
Kyra blinked. ‘To me? What is it?’
‘I do not know. I have not opened it.’
Perhaps it was from Oslan? He’d known where she was going. Maybe it was a gift from Taru? A letter from him and Rosary? A sign that he’d arrived there safely.
Intrigue moved her forward as she took the small black box from Naal’s hands and placed it on the stone table. The words EARTH WARDEN had been intricately carved on its top. Her fingers traced the lettering, but with that soft touch, she knew it hadn’t been Oslan who’d sent it.
It was cold, exuding a bleakness that had her wanting to vomit up all the acidic liquid swilling around in her stomach.
A firm hand came down on top of the box, covering the words. She knew whose hand it was before looking up. Gedeon towered above her, eyes full of caution. ‘Don’t open it. It won’t be a pleasant gift.’
She stared at him for a moment, hands turning clammy with cold sweat, but despite his warning, she pushed his hand aside and lifted the lid.
Alone in the centre of the box, sat a severed, bloodied human ear.
And there, pierced horribly at the top of the cartilage, was a singular golden hoop.
Kyra’s mouth turned bone dry.
She could not speak. Could not think. Could not do anything but look at that hoop, covered in dried blood.
Someone tried to gently close the box, but she held onto the lid with a steadfast hand. The wood splintered beneath her fingers.
The quiet in the room was torturous. The quiet in her head was worse.
‘Kyra.’
‘She has her,’ she heard herself say, separate from her body. Someone lightly touched her shoulder. ‘Don’t touch me!’
The hand disappeared.
Her vision was blurring. Her hands were trembling. And in the depths of her soul, that slumbering, terrible force began to stir.
Naal’s voice cut through the air like a blade. ‘Everyone out. Now.’
‘Naal-’
‘Everyone, Gedeon. Go.’
Feet shuffled, the door slammed shut. The very air had turned to ice.
Kyra slammed the lid and glared at the EARTH WARDEN engravement, her chest rapidly rising and falling. ‘I have to go.’
‘Kyra, no. That is exactly what Azar wants you to do.’
Naal didn’t understand. Rosary had been punished, had been maimed because… because of her. Because of who she was. ‘You cannot keep me here. I will not stay here, Naal.’ Her voice trembled. ‘Not while Rosary is in the hands of that sadistic cunt.’
‘The arrival of this box and the attack on Blythtrie is no coincidental synchronicity,’ Naal implored.
‘Azar is attempting to split us up. By now she will know that all four Wardens are together once more. If you go to Zarynth, you walk right into the trap that she has laid for us. I am sorry, Kyra. I know what Rosary means to you. But if you run off to save her, you sacrifice yourself. And I cannot allow that to happen. We need you. Droria needs you.’ Naal’s cool grey eyes were deep with regret.
Kyra couldn’t have given less of a fuck.
‘She needs me!’ she roared. Her skin was rapidly beginning to glow. ‘It’s because of me that Azar has her!’
‘Kyra, please calm down.’
With a thunderous, growling scream, Kyra launched the box at the wall. It shattered on impact, splintered wood cascading to the ground. She didn’t watch to see where the ear fell and stalked to the door, but within a second, Naal was blocking her path, her great wings splayed wide.
‘Move,’ Kyra snarled.
‘For once, I am asking you to think about your actions,’ said Naal desperately. ‘I am begging you to control your emotions, to dampen your impulses-’
‘Move!’ Her fists balled at her sides as power rumbled within her.
‘Think, Kyra! Please! Shut off your emotions and please try to think. This is more, far more than the death of one woman-’
‘MOVE!’
The ground shuddered as the mountain itself responded to her fury.
Before she could blindly unleash herself upon Naal, before she could blast her way to a clear path to Rosary, a gale of wind hit her so hard it lifted her off her feet, slamming her hard into the wall behind.
Dust sprinkled down from the cracks in the slate stones and landed atop her shoulders, her head, her arms.
Hot blood coated her tongue, thick and fast. Her teeth had bitten through it. She spat a mouthful of it on the ground, then looked up.
Naal was halfway through the door when she turned back, the sparkling silver of her eyes emphasized by unshed tears as she said, ‘I’m sorry, Kyra. Truly… I am so sorry.’
Then she locked the door behind her.