Page 104 of Crownless King

The blue light solidified, turning black and taking the shape of two great wings. They spread over the stairs of the throne dais, their glossy feathers so black they shimmered with indigo.

I halted my breath in awe as Voron spread them out. Strong and beautiful, the wings loomed over the room.

With me by his side, Voron was finally whole. Complete. The king had been fulfilled. And so was the prophecy.

ChapterTwenty-Seven

SPARROW

Voron had earned the crown and won his rightful place in the kingdom without any wings. He didn’t need them to succeed. But here they were—his reward.

The room stilled in awe at the miracle happening right in front of their eyes. Thousands of people fell silent as one.

Voron lifted his head, looking up at me with a smile so bright, it lit up the entire room, the entire kingdom, too, as the clouds above parted.

In the complete stillness, a thud sounded. Voron’s body jerked against mine. His smile dimmed.

Worry lanced through my heart.

“Voron?” I cupped his face. A menacing golden glow crackled around my fingers touching his skin. “What’s happening?”

A black crossbow bolt pierced his left wing to the throne dais behind him. The foreign golden-yellow magic of the World of Under sizzled and popped around it, spreading over the ink-black feathers.

“The king was shot!” someone shouted.

“No. Voron, please,” I begged, tears burning my eyes.

He struggled to his feet, staggering back a step. His head lolled to the side, and his eyes closed.

“No!” I held on to him as if I could hold his soul as easily as I could hold on to his body.

The vines of the throne shifted and moved, unraveling. They curled around him like snakes, growing and multiplying.

“Voron, stay! Please stay with me.”

I grabbed for his hands and his clothes, trying to pull him back to me. But the vines were relentless. They spiraled all around him, then yanked him back, molding him into the throne. Wrapping tightly around him, they hid everything. Not a shred of his clothes could be seen, not a feather of his new, magnificent wings, not a glimmer of his skin.

The king was gone. Only a wide pillar of interwoven vines remained where his throne used to stand.

“Voron!” I flung myself at it, clawing at the vines.

The room erupted in the screams of terror and anguish.

“Lady Sparrow.” Alcon placed his hands on my shoulders, gently moving me away from the throne pillar. “We need to get you out of here.”

“No!” I batted his hands away, but he grabbed my shoulders again.

“Come.” He wrapped his arm around my middle. His wings beat the air, lifting us both up.

“Let me go!” I fought him, not afraid to fall. There were worse things in life, I’d learned, far greater plummets than this could ever be. “I have to be with him.”

The guards ushered people out of the room. Those who had no wings rushed the doors. The highborn took to the air, leaving through the open ceiling.

“The palace is unprotected.” Alcon held me tighter, taking me higher. “You’re in danger here.”

He whisked me around the palace and toward another tall tower. Flying through the open window of the wide patio, he brought me into the royal bedroom.

It took me a moment to recognize it. The round skylight was still in the middle of the ceiling, but everything else had changed.

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