Page 43 of The Blood Crown

She’d grown so used to the heavy weight of it against her that she hadn’t realized what it felt like to be away from it again.

Loosing a shaky breath, she followed its call.

The beating drew her away from the guards, away from the dungeons and into an empty tunnel. It led her to a pair of unremarkable doors, only one guard standing outside.

There was no hesitation this time as she ordered, “Open the door.” Her voice clear, her mind clearer as she gave the command.

The male’s gaze went vacant as he complied. The pounding in her veins only increased as he pushed the door open, as if the ring were whisperinghere, here, here.

On a desk, in plain view—as if the king couldn’t fathom anyone ever taking it from him—sat the relic, the ruby glinting dully in the torchlight like dried blood.

It filled her gut with lead at its very proximity—she didn’t understand how the First Brother could stand to wear it. She'd seen what the King of the Void had been able to accomplish using him as a conduit—but ithadoffered him something in return . . .

She glanced down at her cuffed wrists.

What had it taken from the First Brother as its price? His sanity, maybe. His soul, certainly.

Was the risk worth it?

Oily revulsion curled around her as she reached for it.

Goosebumps broke out across her skin as the cold metal bit into her very bones, a chill spreading across her chest as sheslid the ring over the knuckle of her finger. Like she'd been submerged in a frozen lake.

A voice slithered across her mind. Cold and cruel as it whispered through her thoughts.

Hello, child . . .

She gritted her teeth against the presence in her head, reaching for her own white-gold light as a tether to herself.

Her blood heated, saturated with her power, sputtering and flickering as it was stifled beneath the shackles, but she pulled on the thread, ignoring that dark, cunning voice crawling inside her mind, searching for her power and reaching for the lightning that lay dormant in her body. Chasing the hum of simmering energy as it drowned out the chilling voice.

A metallic ring echoed through the room as the cuffs at her wrists snapped and fell away.

She rubbed at her skin, a disbelieving breath escaping her lips as she looked down at the twisted metal. Raising her hand, crackling white light danced between her fingertips—untamed and unfettered once more.

She didn’t bother hiding her approach as she stalked down the tunnel toward the two guards standing watch. They’d been so shocked by her appearance that they hadn’t even reached for their blades.

And why would they? She was a half-breed. Powerless.

Lightning erupted from her fingertips with a single thought. She’d never felt this kind of control over her magick, but the ring honed her power like a whetstone to the blade—a rush of adrenaline following its wake as the white heat receded.

Power slithered up her spine, winding its way through her body as she walked past the charred husks of their bodies.

The carved stone stairs ahead disappeared into pitch black, but she didn’t need her eyesight. A rough floor greeted her feet as she found the bottom, there was no sound here save for a slowdrip, drip, drip.

There was a reason she’d come down here . . . but with magick surging wildly through her veins, she couldn’t remember why she risked staying when she could easily leave. With the way the ring amplified her power, no one could stand in her way if she chose to walkout the front door.

Cold metal slid from her finger, clinking heavily on the stone floor. She bent to pick up the ring, her mind clearing of the fog it had been in, the deep voice that she’d been so desperately trying to mute—gone in an instant.

Her eyes adjusted, piercing through the gloom.

“Karro,” she breathed.

Her memory was a floodgate, reminding her of why she was fighting to leave, who she was fighting for.

Iron bars lined a large cell at the far end of the room, and in the dimness, she saw him—just a heap huddled in the corner.

He couldn’t be dead—not now. Not after everything they’d survived.

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