Page 169 of The Throne's Undoing

The girl, after all, was slow to perform the experiments, her power not strong enough.

Although, now that she had escaped with the young king, Kage wished they had been able to retrieve more vials of her blood.

He would need to accelerate his plans even more, it seemed.

"What has Dr. Thorne said of his injuries?" Kage asked, returning his attention to the guard.

Metal creaked as the guard shifted on his feet. "The healer was killed in the escape," Kolen admitted quietly.

"Has this been confirmed?" the king asked, his words clipped.

"Yes, Your Majesty. Although his apprentice is still assessing the damage."

Kage hummed. "I will confirm this myself."

"Of course, My King."

"Has the apprentice looked at the boy?"

"The guards have brought his body down to the cells for him to look at, but he has not offered his assessment yet."

Kage nodded. "Very well," he said with a flick of his hand, dismissing the guard.

Kolen hesitated for a second before bowing low and taking his leave.

When the guard disappeared down the hall, his footsteps no longer audible, Lundril stepped closer.

"What would you like to do, Your Majesty?"

Kage rolled his hands around the railing, his grip tightening around it as he shifted his weight forward and peered down.

Below, rows of bodies stood in perfect formation. Several higher-ranked soldiers moved through the rows, some awkwardly maneuvering around the glorious wings of the men in the front rows. Their torches cast light on the faces of the new additions to his ranks. Not a trace of fear shone within their blood-red eyes.

And as the king marveled at their beauty, the wings of the beasts fluttering and the power reverberating among them, Kage couldn't help but smile.

"We continue as planned, Lundril."

Soon, he would unleash them.

Soon, the seven kingdoms would be his.

Then, he would at last prove to the world what true power was.

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