I called for the princes again. "Rylan! Kael!"
The man tutted and slid the door open. He mocked my failed attempt to call for them.
Something hard zipped right past me, grazing my cheek. A sharp sensation caught my skin, right where the object touched. I spun around. A dagger jutted out of Bianca’s bed.
My sister shrieked and jolted backward.
"Pick it up," I told her. It'd be good if she had a weapon to defend herself with. She was a drerkyn, which meant she should have better physical dexterity; but she had none of the training to back it up. I summoned my barrier spell over us, using up half of a bead. Bianca rushed to her bed and plucked the weapon from her sheets. She didn't even know how to hold it properly.
"Thanks for the dagger," I said to the assassin.
The assassin growled. "My employer told me you'd have safeguards." He muttered something beneath his breath. Magic emerged from his fingertips. Sensing this strange, revolting magic made me nauseous. It dripped with vile wrongness and poisoned the air.
The barrier. It would hold up. It’d keep us safe—
The ethereal power that emerged from our assailant's hands ate up my spell, leaving Bianca and me exposed.
My jaw slackened. How had he done that?
"Black magic," he said. I'd heard black magic often made its bearer mad. Was that why this man's voice was so repulsive?
Another dagger shot straight at me. I ducked down and pushed Bianca to the ground, too. I blocked her with my body, but luckily, nothing hit me.
"Who hired you?" I asked, trying to distract the assailant. He seemed to like taunting. I prepared another spell at the tip of my tongue.
He twirled another dagger with his index finger, biding his time like a cat with its prey. His daggers weren't long like Kael but were akin to throwing knifes—with the perfect length and sharpness for its user to aim and toss, jagged at the side for maximal damage when it lodged into its victim’s skin. He tilted his head. The dim candles caught the insides of his cowl, exposing his face partially. He had beady, hollow eyes, and a huge scar running from his right temple to his chin. His tongue darted out to lick his upper lip and he reminded me of a lizard. "My employer? He is just as crazy as me. Scars on his chest that he likes to peel open.”
Gaean? He mentioned not being able to affect the actions of others, but what if he gave an incentive like money? He did want to be rid of me. Then, Aereala wouldn't be able to come and take me. He’d have free rein with his plans.
I summoned an ice spell and aimed it at the assassin’s chest. He drew a barrier over himself, similar to the one I had, but his glowed with a reddish crack-like pattern when my magic impacted it. I threw more ice spells at him, muttering the spells as quickly as I could. Was I wasting my magic? He kept his barrier steady, disallowing me from catching him off-guard.
Black magic was far stronger than what I'd assumed it be. The accounts from the old tales were right.
Bianca held my forearm. She shook behind me.
She was depending on her big sister to protect her.
But I was terrified.
Micah’s words echoed in my mind—You’re not a coward because you’re scared. You’re one if you refuse to face your fears.
The assassin smiled. His features lit with the excitement of a madman. He raised another knife and prepared to toss it, but this time, instead of dodging it, I surprised him by running straight at him. I let the rush of adrenaline numb me to the sting as his dagger shot up and dug into the right of my abdomen. I hissed out pain and backed off, angling my body so the weapon would slide out my flesh.
Another bite of pain sliced through me as the weapon left my stomach. I winced.
My body fought to keep me still, but I fought back. I ducked under his arm and held my hands over him. I uttered a strength spell to give me temporary brute force.
The man was too stunned to react. "W-what?"
"Bianca!"
I was afraid Bianca might be too slow and hesitate; the pain in my abdomen would be for naught. But her resolve flared at the direst of moments and she leapt to her feet. Loosing a battle cry from her lungs, she lodged the assassin's own dagger into his throat, giving him the same death he had dealt against the guard, Jordy.
My limbs turned to mush as soon as I saw the weapon sink home. I released him and he flopped to the ground. He looked up with hollow eyes and pawed at his neck, making a larger mess of himself and smearing the blood all around his face and neck.
"Wow," I said. I stumbled backward and sank against the wall. Cursed Gaean. My stomach hurt, and I already felt the blood staining the fabric of my robe. The redness of my life force spread through my clothing, coloring the blues of my robe an ugly purple.
"S-Sera?" Bianca said. She had splatters of blood over her cheeks and hair. The cell was a gruesome mess.
I chuckled, which sent another spike of pain through me, so I quickly shut my mouth again. "Still alive."
"You're bleeding." She crouched beside me and picked a rag from her art supplies. It was covered in paint, but it was better than nothing. She helped me press it against my wound. A sharp hiss pulled from between my teeth.
“Am I hurting you?” she asked, inching back.
“No,” I said. Well, she was, but she was also making sure I didn’t bleed to death. “Keep doing what you’re doing.”
“Okay.” She resumed, adding more pressure on my wound.
I heard the slamming of a door from above with footsteps following. The outlines of the princes formed sharp shadows on the wall.
“Where were you guys?” I asked the princes, keeping a nonchalant tone. Would it help to ignore the pain? It hurt to talk so maybe I should shut up. My voice started to come out raspy.
Together, their faces paled when they saw my crumpled form.
They rushed down the steps.
"What happened?" Rylan asked. His usually smooth voice had a rough edge to it.
Bianca started explaining but before she could finish, Gaius pushed her away. He wasn't careful with her, and she yelped a little.
"I-I'm fine," I said. It didn't seem like any vital organs were affected. I hoped none were. I did angle my body to the side before rushing to the assassin. The pain was really bad, however. Who knew that getting stabbed would be this discomforting?
"Shut up," Gaius said. "You're not fine." He tore my hand back, the rag along with it, to inspect the wound. I glanced down at my stomach and regretted immediately. There was a hole in my gut. Crap. It should be hurting more than it did now because it looked terrible.
Bianca's gaze flicked between the guard and me. Jordy was dead. Completely. Just like with the mercenary that lay three feet away from me. Kael kicked the corpse of the assassin aside to make more space for him and his brothers.
I wondered if Jordy had a wife. A girlfriend, perhaps? Maybe he was about to be wed. Children? Sisters and brothers? I hadn't known him for a long time, but he seemed like a nice man. My heart had space to mourn for Jordy.
Micah knelt down beside Gaius. He watched me with a calculating expression from underneath his red hair. He rubbed my cheek, and a worried look melted across his face. "How is it?"'
"It's not that deep," Gaius said. His scowl deepened. He muttered a healing spell. The remaining souls from my beads pulled from them and hovered over my injury. It provided a temporary cooling sensation, calming the searing of pain.
Kael took out his anger on the dead assassin. He unsheathed a dagger and ran it through the man's skull. I nearly balked at his sudden aggression; Kael wasn't the type to act out like that. There were, perhaps, just too many terrible things weighing us down.
"Kael," Rylan said. "Now's not the time. You're scaring Sera."
I wasn't too afraid since I knew Kael wouldn't hurt me. Bianca, however, had frozen in place.
"It's all r-right," I said. "He's just—"
"I asked you to shut up," Gaius said. "You're going to aggravate it."
"Fucker didn't let
us open the door," Kael said. "It wouldn't budge and I heard Sera screaming and . . . fuck."
Rylan gripped Kael's shoulder. "She's okay."
Kael brushed his hand through his hair. "Yeah. For now." He looked at me, as if he were looking at a corpse, and all the life and sparkle he often wore in his expression was now vacant.
My chest hurt, and not from the wound. What had I done to Kael?
"I'm going to lift you up now," Gaius said. "This might hurt."
I nodded. Apparently, Gaius had something against me saying anything. He cradled me in his arms. I gritted my jaw and held onto him tightly.
The princes left the cell and closed the door behind him.
I gaped at Bianca. They were going to leave her in here? The place was a bloody mess, and she was surrounded by two corpses.
Rylan glanced back. "Micah, could you?"
He looked between Bianca and me. "I want to be with Sera."
“P-please,” I said. “Take care of her.”
Rylan growled. “You can't leave her in here. Give Bianca new accommodations while I send for someone else to clean up this place.”
Micah sighed exasperatedly. He tracked back and reopened the cell, before grabbing a quivering Bianca by her wrist. "Come on."
She looked like a frightened mouse, trapped in a cage.
I had to save her.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
My sleep was dreamless, although not smooth. It kept being briefly interrupted by the quarreling of the princes as they tried to make sure I was fine. I remembered opening my eyes to my mural of draeroses before returning back to slumber again. It was wonderful being surrounded by people who loved me when I was this distraught.
"She can't go!" Kael shouted.
I was woken by his voice.
Rylan sighed. "The people are angry."
"So? Let them be."
"We don't need to put Sera in the middle of this all," Micah said.
Gaius released a frustrated snarl. "But they're protesting about her."
"Not just her," Rylan said.
I wasn't certain how many hours had passed. I remembered Gaius bringing me to the healers, and by that point, enough blood loss had occurred to make me unable to concentrate. All the princes were with me the entire ordeal, saying soothing words, giving me light caresses, ensuring that everything was going to be okay. And then I fell asleep as I felt the healers working their magic over me.
From the sounds of it, things weren't okay.
I placed my hand on my abdomen, feeling for the wound. The pain was gone, mostly. Using soul magic definitely sped up the process.
"Good morning," Gaius said, smiling at me. He ran a thumb over my temple. There were loud noises flittering through the balcony. Chaotic shouting. How large had the horde in front of the palace grown?
"What are you guys arguing about?" I could talk without it hurting now.
Rylan flicked away my comment, gesturing with two fingers. "It's nothing."
I looked at the balcony, where yelling streamed in through the curtains. "It doesn't sound like nothing to me."
Gaius brushed his touch across my cheek.
He looked at me like I was a delicate draerose. I wanted to remind him I was not. Had the princes forgotten that I'd just help kill a crazy assassin?
"You're not fully healed yet," Gaius said. "The healers weren't used to tending to humans, and even though we had the spells, there seems to be something blocking soul magic. It's not effective currently."
I frowned. "It might have to do with Aereala gathering her power."
Crestfallen expressions appeared the moment I mentioned Aereala.
"Yeah," Rylan said. He projected the posture of the Brooder. It was a statue residing in the Council of Intelligence and also a nickname Frederick gave me whenever I got too sulky. If there was a competition for best impersonator for the statue, Rylan should win it.
I pinched my brow tight. “You guys haven't answered my question."
"Down with the new king!" A collective shout came from the balcony.
My frown deepened. "What was that?"
Rylan squared his shoulders and dragged a tired hand across his face. "They're getting restless."
Kael drew back the curtain and looked out of the window. He rested a hand on his dagger. "Peace has spoiled these people too much. I feel like flipping them off and asking them to fuck off."
Micah thinned his mouth. "And that's why you're not the reigning monarch. Constanria would be bloodied with war and bloodshed if you were."
Kael shook his head and sighed. “Most of these people deserve a couple daggers in them, anyway."
"They're restless," Rylan said, "because they keep looking for answers regarding the red sky and dead crops. They're afraid. And the officials have turned against us. They're spreading lies. Vancel and Gaean in the city probably aren't helping, either." Rylan buried his face into his hands. He looked like he had aged years into only a week. “They’re not only after Bianca. They’re after the royal family. Your sister is just something for them to focus on until their anger spreads.”
I sat up. The pain had lessened into a thrumming ache, but I compared it to cramps I got with my period, so it wasn't unmanageable. "So," I said. "You want me to use Aereala's last spell to appease them?"
Rylan's eyes flickered to yellow, then back to their usual blue. Was he angry? "That would be best."
"Sera just got stabbed!" Kael said, growling.
“Down with the new king! Down with him!”
The shouting grew louder. They were asking for Rylan’s downfall so much I really wanted to shove something up their asses. All of them. Never mind it would take me the rest of a hidrae’s lifetime.
I swept the quilt off my body and moved to the edge of the bed. "All right. Let's do it."
Gaius snarled. "You're resting."
"I can't rest if they knock down the gates and start a rampage," I said.
"We'll protect you," Kael said. He straightened his posture and swelled with manly testosterone. It was attractive but stupid. Stupidly attractive.
His statement deserved an eye-roll. "Not without making a huge ruckus. And then I’d have to wake up anyway because how are you going to stop an entire horde of angry dragon-kind silently?“
Kael shrugged. “Use my mastery with daggers?”
I summoned my mask of bravado and stalked toward the door. The mask was quickly torn away when my cramp ticked up in intensity, and I had to bend over and wince.
Two muscular arms were by my side, helping me up. They belonged to Kael and Micah.
"I'm not an old lady, guys," I said. "I can walk by myself."
"You looked like you were going to trip over," Kael replied. His grip was tight over my shoulder. Micah had his arm clasped around my back. "And then you'd ruin your pretty face."
"I'm glad that you like my face so much. Thank Aereala you have your priorities in order.”
"I'm still not sure about this," Micah said. “Shouldn’t you be resting?”
"I'm wide awake," I told him. "Besides, it's good to get some exercise while healing, right? Keeps the muscles from sleeping."
Gaius snorted. "Only you would call giving a speech to an entire nation 'exercise.'"
I made a kissy face at him. "And that's why you love me."
"That's one reason."
I knew my decision put them all on edge. Their eyes kept flicking into dragon slits and back.
Before we stalked out the door, Rylan released a heavy breath and said, "I'm not certain if fighting for the Everborne throne is worth it anymore. I wanted to become king because it was my family's legacy, but Aereala is stealing my chance at building a family from me."
One of my biggest regrets was not being able to give any of them a child.
"Oh, stop being so solemn," I said. "You still have your brothers."
"Yeah," Rylan said. There was no resolve behind his agreement.
My nerves were getting the better of me.
I tried pretending to address the council. I'd done that plenty of times before for reports and general briefings. It was difficult to visualize a bloodthirsty mob as a bunch of gentile, scholarly folk. Some threw horrible things that smelled foul at me, but the soldiers, some in dragon form and clad in armor, formed a protective boundary with their shields, and it stopped them from hitting me with anything.
The pain from my abdomen didn't make it any easier.
Gaius, in dragon form, roared. It stilled the yelling of the crowd for a brief instant. There were so many angry faces. I searched through the mass of people for a friendly one when I spotted a young woman carrying her child. She wasn’t angry. She looked terrified.
I checked my satchel for my soul beads. Another fortune lay at my hip, although the royal treasury was running out of soul magic due to my constant use and the lack of livestock to harvest it from. I had to start using them more sparingly.
Aura and her brothers growled behind me. This gathering could probably rip them apart if they swarmed my ingorias, but my canines were fearless.
I whispered a voice projection spell, so most of them would hear me loud and clear.
“We want answers!” a man shouted, before tossing a heap of brown substance at a guard’s shield.
I ignored him and sucked in a deep breath. I perched over the crowd on a domed stage.
“Where is the Red Wench!”
I clapped my hands together, the motion making a sound like thunder reverberate through the conglomeration. “People of Constanria. It’s come to my understanding that you have become impatient. You’re afraid. You want answers. Your fears are unfounded. The goddess has yet to forsake us. She has yet to forsake me.”
“Prove it!”
“I will. Aereala has invested in me more power, and she wishes that I bring the fields back to life. She hasn’t yet given me a solution for the red skies, but perhaps we can view it as a change of scenery.” I smirked, but none of the crowd laughed at my joke. “If you would follow me to Aere Grove, I will demonstrate there is no need to worry.” Reports had stated the fields died there, too, and my hometown had the closest plantation to the city.
Fall of Dragons (Sera's Curse Book 3) Page 24
