Page 102 of The Blood Crown

She already knew what they saw. A female who did not belong to any kingdom. A newcomer in this world they had all occupied for centuries—millennia. She was no one.

The queen’s mouth lifted in a cruel smile as she looked down the narrow bridge of her nose.

“You?” She leaned back in her chair once more. “We are to send our forces to Ravenstone—leave our own city with less protection—to defendyou?”

Prince Celius chortled, a murmur rising up through the rest of the Allokin nobility as they tittered behind blue-grey hands.

They thought her delusional. It was apparent in every smirk.

Her blood simmered with rage as she swallowed back the bitter taste of frustration in her mouth.

Prince Agius was the only one whose expression remained unreadable as he looked between her and his parents.

“What is so special about you that we are to believe the King of the Void is attempting to break free of his confines to find you?” the queen asked, thinly veiled derision lacing her voice.

Dark clouds gathered outside the windows spanning the throne room.

Thunder shook the palace as white heat coursed through Aurelia's veins, singing and winding through her body until she was inseparable from her magick.

White and gold flashed.

And every gleaming, beautiful window in the Triarchy's throne room shattered in an explosion of glass.

A chorus of shrieks and cries rose as fragments rained down on the court.

The blinding haze cleared, debris settling on the destroyed throne room and revealing the Allokin nobility huddled at its edges.

"My magick can kill a prince of the Void," Aurelia uttered, lifting her eyes to the queen. "I intend to kill the rest, including their king—but I need the relic in your possession to do so."

Quartz-colored eyes watched Aurelia warily.

Fury leaked from the queen’s expression as she picked a fleck of glass from her skin. Prince Celius scrabbled to find his footingonce more, eyes wide as if he’d cornered a housecat only to discover it was a lion.

This had been a mistake—the entire thing. And her temper had probably just cost them the alliance they so desperately needed.

She glanced beside her to where Ven stood tall and proud—he hadn’t moved an inch, never flinching from her power.

And as his gaze met hers—it was not disappointment that shone in his eyes.

It was pride.

Darkness fell across the hushed room, darkening the pale crystal floors to storm gray. Aurelia turned toward the shattered windows as the sun was covered once more—but not from the lightning she’d conjured—not from Ven’s shadows.

A swirling mass of black descended upon Eisenea. The cacophony of croaks and caws so loud that the Allokin nobility were crouching in their silks and satins, covering their ears from the deafening sound.

A heavy weight alighted on Aurelia’s shoulder, the sharp sting of talons—and she choked back her sob of relief at seeing the familiar scarred face.

The beast knew how to make an entrance.

She scratched Cog's black feathered neck as he gave her a playful nudge with his beak in return, a low purr rumbling through her chest as she turned to look at the Triarchy once more.

Fear—true terror—was behind their eyes as they beheld the ravens, lining every roof of their sparkling city until every bit of sunlight had been blotted out.

“We call on you for aid,” Ven’s words rang through the hall, its gleaming floors now littered with splinters of glass. “Will you answer?”

“We will do what we must to protect our own people,” the red queen responded. "Our forces will remain here—" She didn't deign to look at Aurelia. "As will the relic."

“Hide behind your wards, your walls—but eventually the Dark King's eye will turn to the Crystal City." Ven uttered. "And there will be no one left to stand between him and your people.”

---