Page 128 of Cursed Crowns

The wind faltered. The glass hovered in midair, casting tiny rainbows along the ivory walls.

“It’s you,” said Alarik. “You’re making the storm.”

Wren stared down at her fists. She uncurled them, and the wind died. The glass fell, and all was still. “Oh,” she whispered, swaying on her feet. “That’s new.”

This time, when she passed out, the king caught her.

48

Rose

Rose stood on the banks of the Silvertongue, watching Ortha Starcrest circle her sister, Oonagh. The air rang with the sound of their anger. When Oonagh raised her finger to cast her curse, Rose felt the words guttering through her soul. She cried out, begging to be free of this strange nightmare, but it pulled her closer, until she was standing on the edge of the river, watching blood pour from Oonagh’s mouth.

Ortha lunged, shoving her sister. Oonagh screamed as she fell, pulling Rose down with her. And yet, in those endless seconds before she hit the water, Rose could have sworn it was Wren who had gripped her skirts and dragged her down, down, down, into that unforgiving darkness...

“Rose, love? Can you hear me?”

Rose woke with a gasp. She blinked, trying to remember where she was. Her heart was hammering in her throat, but she was safe in her bed at Anadawn Palace, cast in a warm shaft of morning sunlight.

Thea was sitting beside her, a gentle hand resting on her arm. “You were crying in your sleep.”

“It’s Wren.” Rose winced as she sat up. Her head was throbbing awfully. She reached for the hand mirror under her pillow, but thesapphires were dim. There was still no sign of her sister. “I think she’s in trouble.”

Rose couldn’t make sense of the rest of the nightmare, but the part about her sister was so troubling, soreal, that she was sure it must be a sign. An ill omen.

Thea grimaced. “I’m afraid we can’t worry about Wren right now, Rose.” She looked to the window. “Barron’s army has reached Eshlinn sooner than expected.”

“Goodness.” Rose threw off the covers and ran to the window. Beyond the golden gates, half the Eshlinn woods had been reduced to blackened stumps. But the air was still hazy, fresh smoke blowing in from across the Silvertongue. She stuck her head out, a cry gathering in her chest when she saw that the streets of Eshlinn were lit up in an amber blaze.

“What on earth is Barron doing?”

“He’s laying siege to the capital,” said Thea, coming to her side. “And punishing anyone who doesn’t join his cause.”

The distant sound of screaming reached them on the wind. The ordinary people of Eshlinn were fleeing their homes in terror. Rose drew back from her window and bolted across the room. She slung on her dressing gown before wrenching the door open. She took the stairwell two steps at a time, shouting for her soldiers, her witches.

Chapman met her in the hallway. His hair was mussed, and his eyes were glazed as though he, too, had just been startled from sleep.

“Call the tempests! Send them down to the river, at once. Eshlinn is burning!” said Rose in a bluster. “And where on earth is Captain Davers? Tell him to evacuate the city at once, to bring as many people as hecan to Anadawn. They may shelter here while we mount our defense of the palace.”

She spun around, her eyes wild and darting. The hallway was full of guards, rushing to and fro. “Wake the witches!” she shouted, scattering them in every direction. “Wake everyone!”

“Rose, love.” Thea tugged her aside, her voice low and urgent. “You should send word to Shen Lo. We don’t know how many Arrows Barron has tempted to his cause, but we do know they do not fight fairly. We must use every soldier and witch at our disposal to make sure Anadawn doesn’t fall.”

Rose was already shaking her head. “Shen won’t make his people fight, Thea. And I won’t ask him to. And besides, he has his own battle to fight back in the Sunkissed Kingdom.”

A battle that Shen might well have lost. Rose pushed that worry from her mind. She couldn’t afford to think of Shen or Wren right now. Not while Eshlinn was burning under her watch.

Thea frowned. “He would want to know about this.”

“I can’t think about what Shen Lo wants right now,” said Rose, stepping away from her. “I have to defend my kingdom.”

Already the screams from Eshlinn were getting louder, each one burrowing into her heart. Rose’s magic flared, thrumming like a drumbeat inside her. She wished her healing power was strong enough to reach across the river and blanket the entire city, to protect all those terrified people as they fled their homes. But the fire raged on, and all Rose could do was watch her city burn, as Barron and his Arrows drew ever closer.

49

Wren

When Wren awoke, scared and shivering in Alarik Felsing’s arms, she desperately wished she could go back to sleep. In the darkness, there had been no pain, no memory of what had happened in Grinstad Palace or what she had lost in the mountain underneath it. Now she was back in the atrium, surrounded by shards of broken glass, and staring up at the king of Gevra.

---