Page 33 of Till Kingdom Come

The interior, from what I could see of it, was a great deal like I’d heard it would be, with narrow, passage-like streets that led outward to the entire city. These were truly concave or hollowed out mountains, like I’d heard about. The “streets” were made of shiny black stone, and uneven like you might expect of the floors of what was essentially a massive cave. The ceilings were so high in a few places that I couldn’t quite make them out. The only light came from torches on the walls, and there were many of those.

It seemed like a long time passed before I saw Bracca and his two officers returning. He gave some quick orders to one of them and then came directly over to me.

“The king has granted you an audience, and a meeting with him and his advisors.” He drew me closer to him and walked me over to a bend in the wall, trying for a bit of privacy. “Hendris is not happy about you being here, as you can imagine, but he could hardly say no.”

“Does he know who I am?

“No, I thought it best if you tell him yourself. He only knows you’re claiming kinship with his family.”

“Why didn’t you tell him I’m the former king’s son?”

“That’s a sensitive subject at the moment. Something happened quite recently—around the same time you arrived in the Liminal. Now things are worsening by the day.”

“What? But it seems all right to me—what’s going on here?”

“A large crack has appeared in the king’s Blood Throne, and all the gilded walls of the throne room are now turning black. They didn’t want us to know, but one of my captains ‘took a wrong turn,’ or so we claimed. He opened the wrong door, and we saw too much. Hendris talked to me in confidence about it, though he wasn’t at all happy.”

“What? But why is that happening? And do they really call it the Blood Throne?”

“Yes. The throne is actually built over a large, red crystal, a mineral called Painite, as I recall. Very rare and expensive. It’s a huge piece and very ancient and supposed to have a kind of consciousness or awareness about it. Take that with a grain of salt, though. It’s the largest mineral stone ever mined in one piece from these caves, being about the size of a small boulder. The golden throne chair itself is built over it, and the crack appeared around a month ago. It appears to be widening. Meanwhile, as I said, the gilded wood is turning black, as are the walls of the throne room.”

“But what’s happening to it? Was there some kind of earthquake that could have caused the crack? Some mold inside the gilding?”

“Not that they can find. Nothing has been able to clean it away so far. They’re worried, but trying to keep it quiet, so as not to cause any panic with their citizens. Hendris is trying to contain the situation.”

“And then we arrive, right in the middle of his crisis. Good timing. No wonder everyone is on edge around here.”

“You sensed that too? Yes, they’re very uneasy, but we have to go see him. Are you ready?”

“As I’ll ever be, I guess.”

Bracca nodded, whispering to me. “He’s granted us an audience, so we need to make our case to him and his council.”

“Make our case? Do we have a case? All I know is that my mother was married to their king, according to you and your father. She had a child with him and then she ran away and put some kind of glamour on me to hide me for most of my life. I don’t personally have any proof of anything, and neither do you. Did you tell him we were here to take his throne?”

“Keep your voice down. No, of course not. I simply told him who wethinkyou are—kin to him and his family. That you’ve come to meet him, to find out if he might be your long-lost relation.”

“And what was his reaction to that?”

“He was skeptical, as you can well imagine. Or he pretended to be.” He gazed down at me. “But then he hasn’t seen you yet. Come along,” he said, taking my arm. “Let’s not keep him and the council waiting. And no matter what happens, stay close by my side. Don’t let anyone separate us. And keep your hood up. You’re drawing too much attention from the guards.”

And on that ominous note, he took my arm and began to lead me into the interior of the caves.

Chapter Eleven

Bracca

Killian had looked puzzled when I made the remark about the king not having seen him yet, but he hadn’t seen himself either. Killian had grown even more beautiful in just the short time since we’d been on the road here. Hell, he had grown more beautiful just since I left him minutes ago, and I hadn’t thought that possible. Apparently, it started as soon as he walked back into Daeneid, the city where he had been born. His glamour must have completely fallen away at last.

And that left only questions. Who exactly had his mother been to produce someone like Killian? His looks were more subtle and yet more beautiful, in my opinion than any Selkie or Mermaid. Some Selkies were almost that beautiful, but his teeth weren’t sharp like a sea creature, and he had no webbing anywhere. I could attest to that as I had been over every inch of him—quite thoroughly. He was better looking than any Fairy too, and he had a sweetness about him that other Fae creatures lacked.

I kept a tight grip on his arm, as we walked toward the large, richly furnished rooms inside the king’s palace. It was just the same as the interior of my father’s castle in some ways. Soldiers stood by the doors on the outside, and servants stood ready to escort us down a wide corridor made entirely of gleaming black granite. I’d been here years before, and it was just as impressive this time. The courtiers we passed on the way seemed fascinated by Killian and could hardly keep their eyes off him. I couldn’t blame them, but I still didn’t like it much.

He’d removed his hat and gloves, trustingly giving them to me when I held out my hand for them. But he was still wearing his ermine fur that he loved so much, and he left the coat casually unbuttoned. He tossed his long, beautiful hair casually back over his shoulders and I noticed that each and every council member’s eye turned to follow the movement. They all seemed to sit up straighter as we came in, their eyes alight with admiration.

I could see the king on his dais just ahead, looking regal and effortlessly handsome in his white and gold robes, with his jeweled crown banding his forehead. He looked weary, as if he’d already had a long day, and it was indeed getting on toward late afternoon by this time. I wasn’t intimidated by kings, as I was the son of a powerful one, but I could see that Killian was. I could almost hear the thoughts tumbling around in his head—should he even be taking his case before this king? And would Hendris be able to help him if he did?

He waited fretfully beside me for his audience in the corridor outside the king’s throne room, though it hadn’t taken all that long. They wouldn’t dare keep me waiting. When a courtier returned to take us in to see the king, Killian clutched my hand and held on tightly.

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