Page 91 of Scourged

“Has she been coronated? Do we have a new queen?” the woman interrupted her husband, suspicion flashing through her eyes.

Sebastian narrowed his. “No. Not yet. But she will be, any day now. And even still, she is Onita’s Queen, in all the ways that matter.” He gestured with his chin. “You can return home now. Dawn is approaching soon, and the city is safe.”

The couple eyed him again, that unnerving suspicion still rife in their stares, before nodding and retreating down the street.

Sebastian released an exhale, running a hand through his hair.

He hated that suspicion, that distrust these people carried. Not for him—he could stomach that, considering how much he deserved it—but for Mariah. She’d only been back for three daysand needed a chance to recover and heal. But the people needed a queen, if only for the sense of stability it offered.

Sebastian’s stomach knotted with worry. The way Mariah had looked when they’d found her in those cold castle gardens—clothes torn and tattered, hair hanging in clumps down her back, frame starved and weak—haunted his sleepless nights. He knew she’d immediately started training with Trefor, which he didn’t particularly like, but he understood her reasoning.

She just looked so …weak. Sebastian wished she would focus on resting and recovering, but supposed she, too, had her own demons she needed to fight.

He’d also heard from Quentin that Andrian had crossed paths with her in the hall outside of her suites as he was grabbing some of his belongings. Sebastian ground his teeth as he watched more city-folk meander back to their homes, staring blearily up at the illuminated street lamps.

Gods, it made him fuckingangry. He’d given Andrian one instruction: stay away from Mariah. And not only had Andrian broken that his second day back, but he’d thenquestionedher.

As if he had any fucking right to her thoughts or experiences. Not when he was the reason she looked so changed and broken.

The fact that Andrian had since committed to holing up in his rooms ever since was the only good to come from any of it.

“Seb, we should head back.” Drystan appeared on the other side of Sebastian’s horse, blond hair hanging around his face. “I think things have calmed down. Sunrise isn’t far off, and I’d like to at least get a little more sleep.”

Sebastian sighed and nodded. “Yeah, you’re right.” He turned, tightening his saddle.

As he was about to swing up into the seat, a figure strode into the street.

It wasn’t that there was a person still out at that hour that made Sebastian pause. It was the strange red cloak thefigure wore, the color of a blood-stained sunset, and the way it completely concealed the stranger’s face.

Sebastian held himself utterly still as the man walked straight for him, not stopping until he stood so close that he shared Sebastian’s breath. The man appeared unarmed, but Sebastian’s hand tightened around his sword tucked beneath his saddle.

The man leaned in closer, and Sebastian glimpsed his eyes beneath the hood. They were fevered and wild as if struck with some insanity.

“Tonight was just the beginning,” the man whispered roughly, voice like ground coals. “The moons are setting, and the sun will soon rise.”

Sebastian stumbled back, pulling his blade from its sheath in a single, smooth movement. He leveled it at the stranger, just as a manic grin spread on his face beneath the hood.

“What did you say?”

But the man was already backing away, eyes still gleaming with madness. He turned, raising his arms to the street.

“The sun will rise!” he shouted into the pre-dawn air, the few people still lingering on the streets turning with curiosity before he sprinted down the nearest alley.

“Oh, fuck this—” Quentin lunged past Sebastian, about to pursue the stranger into the belly of the city. But Sebastian caught his arm, hauling him back.

“No, Quentin. Let him go.”

Quentin whirled. “What? He’smad. What the fuck was that about?”

“Exactly.” Sebastian glanced down the alley where the man had vanished. “He’s mad. Let it be. The last thing we need is for a member of Mariah’s Armature to be seen dragging an unarmed civilian through the street. You saw how they were tonight.”

Quentin growled, green eyes flashing, but dropped his hand from his baldric. “Fine. What did he even say to you? Before he shouted the sun thing.”

Sebastian glanced away again, inspecting a crack in the cobblestones beneath them.

The moons are setting, and the sun will soon rise.

“Nothing,” he said finally, turning to his horse. He could feel Quentin’s eyes on him still but did his best to shrug it off. “It was gibberish, nonsensical. Like you said, he was obviously mad. Or just had a too-late night at a tavern nearby.”

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