It was like he was checking all the boxes that needed to be checked to appear as though he wasn't a threat. I couldn't put my finger on the exact reason why, but something about it rang false. And it wasn't just in my head alone. I'd found Reelin and Amna almost on top of me as they ordered the other guards in a tight formation around me, even while we were simply walking down an open street in the city that was slowly being rebuilt.
They must have noticed the tails that had been put on us from the moment we'd touched down. An escort for visitors wasn't out of the norm. It was actually to be expected. But it was usually out in the open. And it wasn't nearly so many people.
We were watched the entire time we were there, by multiple pairs of eyes. I hadn't even had a chance to be alone with Ruth. I got the feeling Lawrence was keeping Ruth close for now but that he was going to replace her role high up in the flock soon. Maybe he wanted to mollify the part of the flock that didn't want him to lead by keeping some of the old guard. I didn't know. All I knew was that Ruth had discreetly shaken her head when I'd looked over at her to talk.
When Lawrence had insisted we stay the night before we moved on to the next flock, Ruth had locked eyes with me. There had been a warning in her eyes. One I wasn't going to dismiss. I didn't know the specifics, but I'd made a quick, calculated decision then and there. I'd told Lawrence we were visiting a nearby flock and that we'd be back to stay the night. A lie, but that itch at the back of my neck had become a full-blown gut feeling that was screaming at me to leave.
Lawrence hadn't been happy about it.
"We will see you tonight," he'd reiterated, smiling at me, though it hadn't reached his cool eyes.
"Yes, and thank you for the invitation," I'd responded politely, giving him a smile that was equally insincere. "We appreciate the hospitality."
He'd given me a slight nod of his head, stepping back and watching as we all changed into our phoenix forms and launched ourselves into the air.
I couldn't fly off fast enough. I got the feeling that he'd had to hold back on the urge to keep us there forcibly. For what end, I still didn't know. All I did know was that if he wanted us to stay that badly, I wanted to leave just as badly.
Needless to say, that visit had left me more worried rather than reassured by the state of affairs. Something was wrong. More wrong than I'd even suspected before.
"We aren't going back there," Reelin said clearly, squatting down beside me. He looked ready to argue with me.
"Of course not," I agreed, taking the wind out of his sails. "I was just trying to get us out of there. He seemed like he was flirting with using a more forcible method of keeping us there. This way, I can just make an excuse as to why we weren't able to fly back tonight."
Reelin looked a little surprised, but then nodded slowly. "Yes. It didn't feel safe to stay there."
"Agreed," Amna added, dropping down beside us as well. "Gave me the creeps. I hope the rest of the rounds aren't like that."
"If the next place has the same feel to it, we're going to cut this trip short," I informed them, taking a sip of water. "There's no reason to play with our safety. We'll have our answer."
I had no desire to play with fire in that way.
"Good," Reelin said, obviously relieved.
Amna added her own approval of that plan.
I queued up the route we'd mapped out to hit the most flocks in the least amount of time. I was already considering cutting out a couple—
My head jerked up as the high-pitched beeping of an incoming call hit all of our devices at once.
"It's from the palace. The emergency line," Reelin observed, frowning.
Emergency line? It was supposed to be used by the Phoenix King only in the case of a true emergency...
I swallowed hard, my heartbeat already increasing. I tapped on my watch as everyone around me did the same. What I saw didn't allay my fears at all. My stomach dropped as I stared at the all-too-familiar doughy face, the slicked-back dark hair.
My guards started cursing around me.
"What the fuck?"
"How did he get on this channel?"
"Was it hacked?"
But I saw something they didn't see. There was a section of the palace behind him, clear as day. A section I saw almost daily. He was at the capital. At the palace. And he was using the emergency channel reserved for the Phoenix King.
None of that boded well for the future of the phoenixes. I watched, my hand closing into a fist that really wanted to punch that smug expression off his stupid face.
"What have you done now, you bastard?" I muttered under my breath, my stomach turning over.
"Hello everyone!" he started, a shit-eating grin on his face. He was enjoying this. "I know a lot of you have been looking for me, so I thought it was only decent of me to stop your worrying." He chuckled, looking much too gleeful for my peace of mind. "I know many of you were also wondering why I would be so rash as to kidnap the Phoenix King's own Consort." He paused there, preening, as though he liked being at the center of speculation and gossip. He continued after shooting the camera a coy look. I wanted to throw up. "Well, I am glad to tell you today that it was no rash effort—in fact, her blood has yielded exactly the result that we hoped it would. Many of you will be glad to see that it did." He looked off camera. "I would like to introduce...the Phoenix King." He smiled slyly at the camera and stepped out of frame.
Another man stepped in, taller and less heavy-set, though he was sturdy. Silver-streaked dark hair, a distinctive dark beard with a stripe of white right down the center, an embroidered tunic set.
The camera focused on his face as he turned fully towards it.
I felt the bottom drop out from under my world.
Emberich smiled at the camera.
Chapter Seven
"Hello everyone." His smile turned sharp. "As you can all see, I am alive and well. Despite the betrayal of those closest to me."
Anger tightened Emberich's face. His gaze shifted from looking directly at the camera to somewhere just off to the side. His mouth went a little slack, but then tightened as his gaze shifted back to the camera and he continued. What was that about?
"I am the rightful Phoenix King, and as such, I will eliminate anyone who attempts to stand in my way. And I will not hold back."
As he continued, I heard the beep of an incoming message. And then another and another. Too many to ignore. I pulled them up and opened the first one. It was from Ruth.
Lawrence has ordered us to attack our neighboring flock, circumventing the process set into place to vote on a measure like this...
I moved onto the next, my blood turning to ice in my veins.
...we are under attack!...
And the third one.
We've spotted forces coming our way and are readying ourselves for the fight...
I closed the messages. I didn't know what to say yet.
There were no coincidences here. This was a planned, organized attack on Sven as the Phoenix King and his supporters. Emberich was instigating another civil war so he could take the throne back.
Eli was an idiot. Did he really think this would turn out well for anyone? Did he not remember how close we'd come to destroying ourselves as a race with Emberich at the helm? The fact that he used my blood to do this...the thought made me sick to my stomach, but I couldn't undo that.
My mind was fluttering from one thing to another in a whirl. I needed to come down to earth, to think logically and concentrate. What did the numbers look like?
Counting the new anti-Sven Chieftains and those that had already been in place, we were looking at just over a third of the flocks turning against us, assuming they all decided to throw their hats in the ring with Emberich.
"...as you can see, I've rightfully taken back my city." The camera shifted away from Emberich to focus on the city and the palace behind him. I could see bodies in the background, bright red blood streaked across the floor.
I clenched my jaw. Those were peop
le I saw every day. People who didn't deserve anything like this. People who'd just been going about their jobs.
I couldn't let myself think of Sven and where he was. If I did, I wouldn't be able to function. And I had to function right now. People were counting on me.
"And I have deposed the pretender to the throne," he added.
My heart clenched as the camera panned once again. I didn't know what I would see. Perhaps I should have looked away, allowed someone else to tell me. I couldn't.
In the middle of the front courtyard, they'd erected a square canopy. I didn't understand why until my eye was naturally drawn to the shaded space just underneath it. A hoarse sound escaped me, unbidden.
Sven hung underneath the canopy, thick manacles around each wrist, his feet barely touching the ground. His blond hair obscured his face, but his torso was bare and covered in bruises and cuts that bled sluggishly. Now I knew why the canopy was erected. Having him outside but unable to bask in the sun was just one more way to torture the man Emberich saw as the usurper of his throne.
Assuming he was...
I stared hard at Sven's chest. Come on...please, my love. Finally, I saw the slight shift of his ribcage as he took a breath, and I shut my eyes tight, looking away for a moment.
I loosened the hard grip I had on my watch. He was alive. Sven was alive.
I was the one who needed to deal with this. He was counting on me to deal with this.
"As you can all see, he was weak," Emberich continued idly. "Not worthy of the title." The camera turned back to him. "All of you have one choice and one choice only now—surrender or die."
His eyes looked almost anticipatory, like he was looking forward to the fight.
And then he put the damn cherry on the sundae.
"I also want to announce a bounty I am offering for the Royal Consort, Adara Ilma. As I am the King, she is now mine." He smiled thinly. I shuddered at the malice that burned behind his eyes. "I want her delivered to me."
My guards shifted uneasily around me as they heard that bit but I just sat there frozen in a state of shock. How had my world been turned so completely upside down in the matter of minutes?
And what the hell was I going to do about it?
Chapter Eight
Sven
"I want her delivered to me."
I tugged at the manacles on my wrists, the urge to kill Emberich with my bare hands riding me hard. He should have been dead. He'd stolen back his life from Adara.
I kept myself limp, apart from the unthinking tug on the manacles, watching through a veil of my own hair. I didn't want to draw any more attention to myself than necessary.
Emberich had already spent some time working me over with his fists—once I was safely restrained. He was never one to play with his own safety. Just everyone else's.
If I wanted to get out of here, getting hurt more wouldn't help me. It was difficult to stay still with rage and helplessness combining in a volatile mix inside me.
The only thing that kept me grounded, helped me tuck all of that away, was the fact that Adara was still out there. He hadn't gotten her if he was putting a bounty on her head. Good job, Adara.
I watched through narrowed eyes as Eli stood to the side, looking as smug, as always. The idiot didn't even know what he'd done—or maybe he did. Maybe he would rather watch everything burn than have even an ounce of his own power and wealth taken from him. I consoled myself with the reality that he was a dead man. He'd already signed his own death warrant when he'd taken Adara. It was just a matter of time. I needed to be patient.
My eyes flicked over to Emberich as I heard him end the broadcast. He looked like he always had in life, which was difficult to wrap my head around. Adara had been gone for only days. Emberich had been dead for...months. It was difficult to adjust to the fact that he was right here in front of me now. Like a nightmare come to life.
As I watched, his attention turned to me. Not what I wanted. I forced myself to stay loose, stay limp as he walked over to me.
"You are done," Emberich said in a pleasant voice, his eyes on my face. "And soon, I'll have my wayward Internal Liaison as well. Nobody will be able to do what you did to me again. Not with her blood in constant supply." I took a deep breath, gritting my teeth. There was so much I wanted to say, but I needed to be smart. He chuckled, leaning in. "Don't like that, do you?" he murmured, his eyes meeting mine, the glittering sheen to them belying his almost calm voice. "I have to hand it to you, Sven—taking the last person who has the Original Blood coursing through her veins as Consort was very smart." He leaned in even closer, until I could feel his hot breath against the side of my face. "Too bad you couldn't keep her safe and to yourself, hmm?"
Without warning, he punched me in my unprotected stomach.
I tensed my muscles to absorb the blow a split second before contact, but there was no stopping the pain, a dull throb that joined all the rest of my aches. Then he hit me again. And again.
His frustration grew at my lack of response.
"You are nothing!" he yelled, his faux-calm demeanor finally breaking, spittle flying out of his mouth as his face turned red. I wondered idly if he was going to lose all control and beat me to death here and now. "Do you hear me? Nothing! Hanging here, helpless to even get into the sun! Out here in the open, where the entire city can witness your shame, your weakness!"
He gestured to the city below us before winding up once again and backhanding me across the face, hard enough that my vision flickered for a moment. I blinked, focusing again on his face.
A small, satisfied smile sat on his lips, like he was enjoying every minute of this—not completely out of character. He enjoyed lording his power over people, or at least he always had. But there was something.... There was an odd sheen to his eyes, a strange skittering behind them that made me wonder if he was actually all there.
So far, he'd been hitting me periodically, seemingly enjoying having me as a punching bag enough not to end things like he could. It also had the added benefit of sending a message to everyone. Psychological manipulation. He was good at it.
But if I were Emberich, I would never keep my enemy alive for this long, long enough to perhaps regroup. Maybe escape. It wasn't logical. Not that the last part of Emberich's rule had been a study in reasoned, measured thought.
Now I supposed that might not have been the last part of his rule. The thought sent a chill down my spine. I couldn't let that happen.
I knew if Emberich succeeded in regaining power, he would be the death of us. The death of the phoenixes as a race. He would kill all of his opposition. I didn't know if he would even stop there.
"You will pay..." he muttered, his smile widening as he pulled back one meaty fist again.
"Excuse me, my King? We have a matter that needs your attention?" The thin, nervous voice felt completely out of place in the tableau between us.
Emberich froze with his fist cocked, breathing hard. Was he going to stop? Or had he gone past the point of return? I could see the struggle in his eyes. He fought the violent rage back, the effort painful to watch. He slowly lowered his fist and turned to the man who had interrupted him, his face still not looking quite right.
My inadvertent savior was slight, with narrow shoulders and a pronounced Adam's apple that bobbed as he swallowed. Marreck. He worked as a distance scout, checking beyond our borders for any possible dangers approaching. He was fast, with sharp eyes.
I'd trusted him.
The betrayal stung, a familiar pain after today, but it made sense that he would be involved in this. Emberich and his crew had to have bypassed multiple security measures somehow. I hadn't factored in collusion from the inside in case of a possible attack. I'd thought being fair and honest in my dealings would circumvent something like this. I'd been naive. Power is always sought after. I would not make the same mistake again if I lived through this.
Emberich regarded the young man with narrowed eyes, his face still flushed. I could see Marreck's
nerves in the sweat on his upper lip, in the way his gaze kept wanting to look away from his chosen king.
"Do you now?" Emberich said silkily, the tone not matching his expression. "By all means—please lead the way," he continued politely.
I wouldn't trust that tone. Or that look.
Marreck swallowed again, hesitating a moment. He obviously had the same impression. But he resolutely turned to lead the way, his back tense at having Emberich behind him. He was right to be worried. The thin veneer of control Emberich had at one point during life seemed to have thinned even more, perhaps to a point where it was non-existent. I feared Marreck was going to learn a hard lesson here, one that he might not survive.
I watched as Emberich stalked after the smaller man, leaving me hanging under the canopy, where I couldn't even absorb the comfort and energy of the sun. I stared at the crisp line dividing the shade from the sunlight that shone on the ground only feet in front of me. Just out of reach.
I closed my eyes to block out the sight, attempting to center myself mentally. I needed to stay focused. If an opportunity presented itself, I needed to be ready to take it.
Stay safe, Adara.
Stay safe.
Chapter Nine
I sat there, trying to get myself together, trying to formulate some kind of plan. It felt like my brain was moving at a quarter of its usual speed, like I was trying to fight through a layer of thick cotton to get through to any semblance of thought.
My watch dinged with another incoming message. It was Aaden.
Adara—don't come here. I wish I could offer you a haven, but we are under attack even as I write this.
This is no place for you right now. I would advise you to stay away from the other flocks as well. If they are not in support of Emberich they are all under attack as well. Many have already fallen, weak and ill-prepared for another attack so soon. And with the capital already taken...
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