Page 133 of Kingdom of Crowns and Daggers

I’m not so sure about that, asshole.

Joha chuckles, and although I can see a slight tremor in his hand, he does a good job of hiding it. “Do you think I would only bring two others with me? I brought a couple of friends who will be here soon.”

As if on cue, a guard runs into the room, his appearance dishevelled and face red with exertion. I spin, ready to attack, but it quickly becomes clear that is not needed. “Sir! There is a riot on the grounds, and they are making their way towards the palace.”

Panic flickers on Atlas’s face, quickly morphing into rage. Slamming his fists down onto the desk, he pushes up from the chair, a vein pulsing in his forehead.

“Shit!” His shout makes the guards flinch, which only makes me wonder what it has been like here the last two weeks with him in charge.

“Kill these three and then deal with the peasants outside.” He spins on his heel to stare out the window. It’s obvious he expects his orders to be carried out without delay. This is not what happens though. The guards turn to Orion, looking for guidance, and I know the tides have turned.

Stepping forward, I pass Orion and the king, placing myself in front of them as I stare at the back of a killer. My heart was previously racing in my chest, but now it settles. I know exactly what I need to do next and how this is going to go. For Alyx, it is all worth it.

“You killed your own sister. Do you really think the guards will be loyal to you?” My question makes Atlas freeze. I hit a nerve. Perhaps he does have a heart after all. Is it the fact he killed Alyx that is hurting him or the knowledge that no one is following his orders?

“Enough,” he hisses, looking at me over his shoulder. “Kill them now!”

Again, the guards flinch and shift their weight from foot to foot as they continue to look to Orion for guidance. We have their support, and Atlas is only making things worse for himself. A grim sense of excitement moves through me as I realise that the moment I have been waiting for the last two weeks has finally arrived. I am going to kill him.

I will wear his blood like a mark of honour as I go to my grave with her.

I reach for my dagger, anticipation thrumming through me as I stare into the eyes of the man who killed the woman I love.

“You started a rebellion without me?”

The sarcastic words fall into the tight silence of the room.

That voice. I know it like I know the sound of my own, but it can’t be. She’s dead. It’s my mind playing tricks on me, it has to be, but that doesn’t stop me from spinning, my breath catching as I find a figure framed in the open doorway. Guards reach for their weapons, unsure who is a threat, but all I see is her.

“Alyx.” Her name is a strangled whisper, and my knees threaten to give out. From the corner of my eye, I see Joha and Orion staring at her in shock, attempting to deal with this huge revelation.

She’s here. She’s alive.

She’s real.

Stepping into the room as though she owns it, she tilts her head in that familiar way as a wicked smile tilts up her lips. She looks the same, with her long red hair plaited back and pale skin touched by freckles. I’m silent, staring at her as she heads our way. Her familiar scent wraps around me like a promise and an apology. She brushes a hand over my shoulder in reassurance as she passes. The physical contact is almost my undoing. I nearly crumple before her, everything else forgotten, but her eyes are for her brother. No matter the joy in my heart or the ground moving under my feet at her sudden appearance, I have to keep it together. We’re about to engage in a fight to the death, but damn does she have good timing.

Walking up to the desk, she places her palms down on the surface and leans forward with a quirk of her lips, looking as though she is about to tell a secret. Everyone else in the room is forgotten as she peers at the remaining member of her family.

“You did not really think you could kill me that easily, did you, brother?”

Chapter

Seventy-One

ALYX

His eyes are wide, filled with horror and shock and maybe a dash of relief as he stares back at me.

My brother, the boy I loved more than anything in this entire world.

He’s the man I grieved for years, dreamed of, loved, and sought revenge for, and here he stands behind my lover’s desk—no, behind my king’s desk, Joha’s crown on his head. He stands in Joha’s palace like he owns it, as though he deserves it after spilling my blood to get it.

Me, his sister.

“How?” His whisper fills the room, and I know my men are wondering the same. I can feel their eyes on me, but I cannot bring myself to look or I will break.

I have missed them so much, and even though my chest aches with the healing wound, I knew I had to be here when I heard of Crux’s movements.

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