Page 129 of Kingdom of Crowns and Daggers

I stumble back another step, my body turning cold and weak as the backs of my feet touch the edge of the dock. I glance back to see the crashing waves before I turn my head to see him once more. He’s tracking me with his head tilted as he watches. I feel my organs shutting down, my body giving up to the blood loss as it puddles below me.

So much blood.

The knife is still in my chest, and my lungs are not getting enough air. My head is turning fuzzy, and my ears ring as more fireworks explode overhead. I jerk in shock.

“Goodbye, Alyx,” he says, waving with his fingers.

My body gives in, and I stumble from the dock.

My arms spread as I plummet, tumbling and crashing into the turbulent waves below before they swallow me. They close above me, my blood turning the water red as I sink, my gaze on the figure standing at the surface, watching me.

My eyes close as the darkness claims me.

My last thought is of them, of Joha, Orion, and Crux.

I love you.

I hope I haunt them. I hope they know I love them with everything in me.

I hope they know this is not their fault.

Chapter

Sixty-Nine

One week later

ORION

Iam worried about the king.

Something inside him broke, leaving him silent and hurting, and I find myself with nothing to do but hover around him like an anxious nanny. This is what my life has boiled down to—worrying and planning for the worst. All my years of training and working my way to the top mean nothing now that we are on the run.

That awful night just seven days ago, although it feels like a lifetime since it transpired, changed our lives completely. Alyx is dead, and Joha was chased from the palace. These are facts, but even thinking them leaves me panting in agony.

Atlas has taken over, claiming an old rule that means he should be the rightful ruler. He took the throne by force, and now the king is hiding in the maze of tunnels under the city like a criminal. If he were to step outside and be recognised, he would be killed on the spot.

Everything we have worked for is gone, but worse yet, so is Alyx.

Alyx . . . Even her name makes the broken shards of my heart rip into my chest until I can taste blood. The only thing keeping me together is my need to protect my best friend and Crux, knowing that is what she would want.

I am organised and logical, making sure I have contingency plans in case something doesn’t work. This, however . . . I never expected anything like this.

The former Queen Mother ordered the deaths of Alyx’s family, and now Alyx’s brother, who was believed to be dead, appeared from nowhere, apparently the mastermind behind the plot to kill the king. He was working with the very person who killed his family and took everything from him. It makes no sense. Then, he killed his sister and took the throne.

My throat tightens up at the thought, and I have to cough to clear it, moving away from the open doorway to sip a glass of water. The cool liquid helps wash away the pain and focus my mind on my purpose—keeping Joha safe and returning him to his rightful place on the throne.

I cannot afford to break now, not until everything is right. I will shatter into a million pieces and allow myself to grieve, but until then, I have work to do.

The restless anxiety that has become my almost constant companion twists in my chest, and I return to the doorway, leaning against the wood and staring into the room. It’s small, only just fitting two single beds and a tiny wooden table holding a lantern, but it is safe, and that is what matters most.

Lying on one of the beds, Joha stares up at the ceiling. As soon as I see him, some of that anxiety in me eases, helping me breathe and stay focused. It has been like this since that awful day, this compulsion to make sure I know where the king is at all times, meaning I am by his side constantly. If I am away for even a couple of minutes, that terrible feeling takes over again.

I cannot lose anyone else. I would not survive it.

It’s strange because while I am relieved to see Joha, looking at the shell of the man he has become makes my heart hurt. He has not left the underground series of rooms that we now call home in a week. In fact, ever since we moved to this safe house, he has hardly left the room the two of us share—although calling this place a home is a bit of a stretch, considering it feels more like a series of interconnecting burrows, much like the ones the rabbits behind the palace like to dig.

This is one of Crux’s hideouts, and he has been moving us around to keep us safe. Apparently, he has several throughout the city, the locations of each only known to a select few. It is much better than some of the hovels we were initially hiding in, yet it is still not ideal. The lack of windows and fresh air is getting to me, and I can almost feel the weight of the earth above us pressing down on me. Even so, I ignore those feelings, as I know we are safest here. This current location is only known by one other person—was known. Alyx knew.

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