Page 105 of Crownless King

Most of the glistening gold trimmings were gone. The white, round cloud bed was replaced with a square one with four posts of spiraling vines that merged with the ceiling up above.

Covered with a royal-blue spread richly embroidered with gold and silver, the bed was edged with a fringe of tiny crystals that cascaded down to the floor like a wall of rain.

Alcon deposited me in front of the bed.

“Stay here, my lady. It’s the safest room in the palace. It’s thoroughly warded, both doors and windows. Only the king’s trusted men can enter here.”

Magnus greeted me with a caw from a branch mounted into a dark marble stand by the entrance to one of the sitting rooms. A silver chain dangled from the ring around the bird’s ankle. He was chained to his perch.

Voron clearly didn’t want his beloved pet to follow him to the Throne Room today. Because he didn’t feel it was safe. He’d been ready for malice to arrive from both inside and outside of the palace. Yet the danger still found him.

I couldn’t rest. I couldn’t even stand still. My heart thundered wildly. The mark on my skin throbbed, urging me to go back to the Throne Room. To Voron.

I went for the door, but Alcon blocked my way.

“Alcon, please, I need to go,” I begged. “You don’t understand. I need to be with him.”

His brow furrowed. He didn’t budge.

“I do understand, my lady. More than you know. I was here while you were gone. Do you know how many times I had to lock the king in this very room to stop him from riding to the Cloud River?”

“Voron wanted to go there? Why?”

“To hurl himself into the River of Mists because he deliriously believed he’d have a chance to find you. He preferred that one in a million chance rather than live in the world without you.”

I stepped back, searching for support. My hand found the bedpost, and I leaned my shoulder against it, wrapping my hand around the cluster of warm, living vines.

Their life pulsed under my fingers. My skin tingled with power I never knew before. But there was something familiar in the gentle touch reaching for me. It felt comforting, and I reached behind me, splaying my second hand on the vines too.

“I didn’t let Voron bring any harm to himself,” Alcon continued. “And I won’t let you hurt yourself either, my lady. Let Farion do his job in the Throne Room. He’s the High General now. His people will find whoever shot the crossbow at the king. Meanwhile, it’s best for you to stay here, because I fear the attack on the king was just the first step.”

“The first step of what?” My voice trembled with worry.

“Of taking over Elaros. If they are to attack us, without the king, we can’t even secure the palace. All patios are open, as are many roofs and windows. We’ll have to send the court down to the lower floors to barricade in with the servants and hope that the palace guards can hold off the attack until more of the royal armies arrive.” He inhaled deeply, looking somber. “With the king now gone—”

I shook my head, stopping him. “He isn’t gone.”

Almost everyone in the palace had seen what happened to the king. But I didn’t think anyone knew what I sensed—Voron was alive. I felt his presence through thelilialavines of the palace. His magic ran through them like blood through veins. I closed my eyes, reaching for it with my mind.

Deeper and deeper the magic ran, and I was able to follow it from the tallest turrets down to their very roots. In my mind, I saw the entire system of the vines, running through every room and every floor of the palace.

The Throne Room was in the heart of it. And in the middle, Voron’s heart beat steadily.

“The king is alive, Alcon. He’s just…trapped.”

The councilor nodded, not looking much relieved.

“The magic of the World of Under is holding him,” he muttered under his breath.

The sinister magic had turned King Tiane into a living, breathing corpse. Was that Voron’s fate, too?

Horror chilled me.

“I won’t let it happen,” I whispered, barely able to move my lips from dread. “I’ll find a way to bring him back.”

Queen Pavline spent weeks trying to reunite King Tiane’s body with his spirit. She’d had help from the most powerful hags and every priest and priestess in the kingdom. And still, she failed.

But Pavline didn’t feel for Tiane what I felt for Voron. For me, Voron was irreplaceable, and giving up was not an option.

---