Page 123 of Wingless Crow: Part 1

“Rest now.” He drew me closer, allowing me to lean my head against his chest. “For I’m not stopping for any more naps, little vixen.”

ChapterThirty-One

VORON

He stormed into his rooms the day after he’d brought Sparrow back to Elaros. His blood was boiling with rage at the news he’d just received.

Sparrow was sent to the dungeon on the queen’s orders.

She was supposed to be held in her bedroom at the palace for the duration of the investigation and trial. When and why that decision was overturned, he had no idea. But he was going to find out right now.

“Alcon, get the men ready.”

The Head of the Guard rose from his comfy chair by the fire in Voron’s receiving room.

“Are we going into battle, my general?” he asked jokingly.

Alcon’s merry mood fizzled out, however, the moment he caught Voron’s stern look.

“We’re going to see the queen,” Voron bit out.

Alcon jumped to attention. “Yes, High General.”

The queen hadn’t summoned him. On the contrary, ever since they came back, she had refused all his requests for an audience.

And now he could guess why. Apparently, Sparrow had been in the dungeon under the palace since yesterday morning. She was sent there just a few hours after setting foot back in Elaros. And no one, not one fucking idiot in this entire place, notified him when that happened.

The answer to that was most likely because the queen didn’t want him notified. As far as he knew, there were no preparations for the trial, either. And again, he’d received no explanations as to why.

Queen Pavline chose to exclude him from her plans for Sparrow. She actively avoided him, hiding behind an army of guards placed at the entrance to the king’s rooms.

Well, maybe Alcon was right after all, and he had to lead his men into battle to storm the king’s chambers.

As he and his men appeared at the doors, two of the guards crossed their spears in his face.

“Queen Pavline asked not to be disturbed while delivering her prayers for the king.”

He tilted his head. “She’s praying?”

“Yes, she’s asking Aithen, the God of Death, to walk King Tiane back to us.”

“Sure she is.”

Knowing the queen, she’d be likely celebrating the good fortune of the Sky Crown landing in her lap so unexpectedly, not begging for the return of the husband she had no relationship with beyond mutual tolerance.

The guards shifted on their feet uneasily, obviously torn between their sworn loyalty to the crown and their High General, who had earned their respect. He knew that feeling well and sympathized with the guards, but he also needed to see the queen, whether she wished it or not.

“Alcon.” He gave the man a signal.

Like a well-tuned clock, his team moved into action. Alcon grabbed the spear from one of the guards, Farion wrenched the spear from the other. Yallar, Raine, and Zinfir slid their swords out, getting into formation to keep the rest of the guards at bay as Voron shoved the doors open.

“You’re breaking royal orders, High General,” one of the spear-less guards warned.

“Those orders were for you, not for me,” Voron tossed over his shoulder, entering the king’s rooms.

As he marched into the bedroom, he spotted at least a dozen priests and priestesses keeping vigil by the king’s bed. Kneeling or sitting low on theirsnakanatails, their robes pooling like melted gold on the marble floor around them, they muttered prayers to the winged God of Death to spare their mighty king.

Voron averted his eyes from the bed, refusing to look at King Tiane. After what the royal prick did to Sparrow, it was all Voron could do not to charge the bed to strangle him with his own hands.

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