Page 49 of Crownless King

He no longer needed me.

The doors to the drawing room were shut, and the guards crossed their spears in front of them, sealing any possibility for me to enter.

Pressing the book to my chest, I tried to ignore the emptiness forming inside me and the burning of the tears welling in my eyes. I turned away, hiding my face from the guards. There was nothing left for me to do but to retreat with dignity. Holding my head up high, I exited into the hallway.

Trying to remember the way back to our rooms, I turned left, then walked down the narrow staircase.

Like in any other palace we’d visited, the stairs here were used primarily by servants. The highborn moved between the floors by simply flying from one open patio to another. There wasn’t even the inner staircase like the grand stairs in Elaros.

I turned into a narrow, dimly lit corridor and went down the stairs when a dark, winged shadow crossed the floor. Rough, strong hands grabbed my shoulders from behind, then jerked to my neck.

“Wha…” I only managed to gasp before the hands closed over my throat.

The hard grip blocked my airway. The person clearly intended to kill me.

Panic speared me.

Horror blanked my vision as I struggled to breathe.

Gripping the book in my hands, I swung it up and whacked my assailant over his head. My mind was already floating into darkness, and the blow wasn’t hard. I barely tapped him. But the book did the rest.

A ball of light exploded. My would-be-killer groaned in pain, letting go of my neck. The invisible force of the magic wards knocked him down to the ground. Like everyone else in this kingdom, my attacker was a fae and couldn’t touch the book without the consequences.

Pressing my weapon to my chest, against my racing heart, I ran back to the stairs. Someone was jogging down them, however. The sound of a sword sliding out of the sheath made me pause.

“Voron?” I called out in hope.

I wished it was him. He was the one whose arms I needed so much to feel around me right now.

Of course, it could also be another attacker, coming to finish me off. I raised the book over my head, getting ready to hit again.

“Lady Sparrow?” Alcon rushed down with the rustling of his wings that he used to practically glide over the stairs. “Are you all right?”

“Alcon.” I leaned with my back against the wall, relief banishing the tension of fear from me. “Someone has just attacked me. There.” I pointed down the corridor.

Alcon dashed in that direction, chasing the retreating footsteps. He returned quickly, however.

“Did he get away?” I asked.

Alcon nodded. “Whoever he is, he knows this palace better than I do. I don’t want to leave you alone now. Come, my lady. I’ll escort you to your bedroom.”

He didn’t put his sword away, holding it ready as he led me down the corridor and into the rooms that were given to Voron and me.

“I’ll stay close until Lord Voron returns,” Alcon assured me.

“When will he be back, you think?”

He shifted to another foot. “Probably not for a while. A lot of details need to be worked out.”

The details that I wasn’t allowed to know or be a part of.

I nodded, doing my best to look unaffected.

“If it’s going to take him that long, why don’t you come and sit inside, then? There is a couch in the front sitting room. You may as well be comfortable while you’re watching over me.”

“As you wish, my lady.”

With Alcon in the sitting room, I took my time in the bathroom, getting ready for the night. I took a bath, washed and brushed my hair, cleaned my teeth and my face, all the while keeping an ear on every sound outside the bedroom door.

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