Page 106 of Crownless King

Deep concern was etched on the councilor’s face.

“I must leave you, my lady. You will be safe here.”

Safe. Until the palace comes under attack, then all of us would be in peril.

I grabbed his hand. “Take me to the Throne Room, Alcon.”

His brow furrowed deeper with worry. “My lady, it’s not—”

“Please. Just for a few minutes. I need to try something. I may be able to make it safer for all of us.”

* * *

The Throne Room looked eerily deserted. It was so strange to see it empty when just a little while ago, it was so crowded with people.

The wind tossed a few old leaves around the marble floor littered with things people had dropped in a hurry to get out. Torn off buttons, dropped handkerchiefs, and even a few gems had been left behind by those rushing to leave the room where their king was shot in front of their eyes.

“We shouldn’t be here, Lady Sparrow,” Alcon warned, scanning the sky through the open ceiling.

“Just a minute, Alcon. Please.”

My necklace glistened in a pile of litter by the throne platform where Voron had dropped it. I picked it up and adjusted the clasp that had been bent. Once I put it back around my neck, the chaotic twister of emotions inside my chest slowed down.

Things had been happening at a breakneck speed, leaving me no time to process anything. I needed to focus on one thing at a time to make sense of it all.

“One thing at a time,” I whispered, looking up at the dais.

A single wide pillar of intertwinedlilialavines rose from the center. It had absorbed both the throne and the king. Ascending the stairs of the dais, I splayed my hands on the vines’ warm, uneven surface. I pressed my forehead to them and listened.

The pillar pulsed with magic from both Voron and the bolt embedded in his wing. I focused on Elaros magic, ignoring the foreign power from the World of Under.

This time, I paid attention only to the Throne Room, to this wide pillar that rose to the open ceiling, and to the vines that ran all along the walls.

“Move,” I commanded, willing the magic to go in one direction—up.

And the vines shifted.

With my eyes closed, I didn’t see them move, but I heard the soft cracking as their branches extended. They grew thicker, taller, unraveling the woven pattern around the opening in the ceiling, then reaching across toward each other, and bridging the open space above. Their ends intertwined and knitted together, sealing the opening. Closing off the sky.

From one end of the room to the other, the vines crisscrossed and interwove with each other until not a speck of the gray skies could be seen through them.

I didn’t stop there. Emboldened by my newly found power, I reached further, beyond the Throne Room, and all the way down to the roots of the vines that were buried deep in the ground under the palace. From there, I went up. Floor by floor, room by room, I made the vines straighten and grow, weaving their pattern over the windows, doors, and balconies. It was a slow process for me. Maybe Voron would’ve done it faster. But Elaros didn’t have Voron right now. All it had was me.

Sealing the palace slowly had its advantage. It gave people who wanted to leave a chance to get out, and those who wished to hide inside, a chance to get in.

I moved the vines, grew, twisted, and bent them, until the entire palace, with all its floors and towers was enclosed into a safe, dark cocoon of magical vines.

The only vines I couldn’t move were those around the royal throne. They kept Voron away from me.

My fingers trembled on the pillar. My muscles ached. I bent my knees, sliding down to the floor, then sat with my back leaning against the throne pillar.

Alcon gaped at me from the bottom step of the dais.

“How did you do that?” he gasped, his mouth hanging open.

My throat was too dry to answer. I didn’t have enough strength left to even think about forming words. Instead I untied my cloak, then lowered my dress off my shoulder, exposing the top of my breast.

The mark had grown more prominent by now. The letters V and S glowed brightly surrounded by an intricate design of twisted thorns and golden flowers. Over both letters, a golden crown shone.

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