Page 118 of To Bleed A Kingdom

His sapphire and starlight jewels suddenly illuminate and he tosses up a barrier of air with shimmering blue hands.

My lips tip into a vicious smirk at his weak display of power. Allowing my flames to sputter out, I summon air to my palms, forming two solid spheres as dense as granite. When I'm only a few paces away, I flick my hands and the orbs spear towards Aerin, blasting holes through his barrier and punching him in the chest, flinging him off his feet to crash through the door.

Queen Celene and King Luthais bolt out of their chairs, staring wide-eyed at the unconscious male sprawled out on the floor mere steps away. Only my mother remains seated as I step through the hole where the door once stood.

An ice-cold blizzard brews within Queen Adelphia’s gaze. Her fingers whiten as she clutches the armrests of the massive crystal throne raised up on the dais, several steps above the solid slab of stone centered within the room.

Carved from the Mandala Mountains, the ancient stone table is all jagged peaks and pitted divots, veined with serpentine threads of crushed starlight and royal blue sapphires, glinting beneath the shimmering crystal walls and the Gods Light sconces arrayed throughout the room. The jewels' luster is only slightly diminished by the half a dozen royal blue tapestries decorating the walls of the Queen's private meeting room, a smaller version of the throne room located stories below.

“Darius, what is the meaning of this?” Adelphia demands.

Once seeing me, Queen Celene seats herself beside an already seated King Luthais as I round the table.

Unperturbed by my mother’s wrath, I speak directly to her. “There’s been a Gods Cursed attack.”

Adelphia’s face pales. “Where?”

“Outside the wall,” I reply. “During patrol.”

“Urielle’s Light,” Celene breathes. Cupping her mouth, she shakes her head, the tail of her bound, black hair swaying with the movement.

“How many died?” Adelphia asks.

“Eight,” I hiss through clenched teeth, sorrow and guilt rearing its head to blend with my anger, heightening it.

Adelphia squeezes her eyes shut and drops her head back against her throne, her chest expanding with quickened breaths.

“You can’t possibly believe this,” Luthais says, his incredulous gaze darting between Adelphia and Celene. “It was a Soulless attack, nothing more. What’s more likely, as I've mentioned before, is that this is a security issue on your part, Adelphia.”

My mother’s eyes snap open, her queenly mask hardening her features as she slowly swivels her head in Luthais’ direction. “Nothing breached our walls, therefore there is no security issue.”

Luthais says nothing. Lounging in his chair, he shakes his head and offers a condescending smirk.

“It wasn’t a Soulless attack. It was the Gods Cursed, just as I warned you it would be,” I retort bitterly, eyes bouncing from one royal to the next, meeting each of their gazes with my accusing one.

“Darius,” Luthais sighs dramatically, “I humored you before. You may be a bastard, but you are the Queen's bastard, which affords you some respect.” He rolls his eyes, his lack of respect obvious despite his words. “But this is absurd.”

“I have a witness.”

“If it was a Cursed attack, there would be no witnesses.” Clasping his hands over his abdomen, the King of Raetia chuckles. “I doubt your people are even dead. I imagine if you searched the whorehouse, you'd find these so-called dead males buried headfirst between a pretty female's thighs.”

Adelphia and Celene relax into their seats, both visibly relieved by Luthais’ distorted interpretation of the attack, disregarding me just as they did during the last Kings Council meeting.

Frustrated and feeling that I’m losing ground on this front, I decide to attack on another. “And where are your people, Luthais?”

Dropping his gaze from mine, Luthais smooths a palm across his golden stitched vest. “I'm not sure what you speak of.”

“Lies.” Flattening my hands on the table, the jagged stone bites into my palms. “Your people are missing, yet you refuse to acknowledge them.” Cocking my head to the side, I ask, “Why is that?”

“There are no missing people in my kingdom,” he replies stoically, his cultured voice devoid of any emotion.

“I've heard differently,” I argue. “The Gods Cursed could be the cause of the disappearances, although that’s doubtful. You wouldn’t dismiss me so easily if that were the case. What’s more likely,” I sneer, using his own words against him, “is that you're the reason your people are missing.”

“Darius, hold your tongue!” Adelphia orders, but I ignore her. My gaze remains locked on Luthais as I wait for his response.

Arching an unrepentant brow, he watches me for a long moment. “I've never hid my particular taste in punishment. I've killed many people and I will continue to do so. Why would I hide this?”

“That's the question, isn't it?”

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