Page 145 of Shadows of Ruin

“Someone you can never defeat.” The king laughed mirthlessly.

My eyes flicked over the king’s shoulders to Storm. He hadn’t been in the training ring when we relayed what Cassandra told us earlier. “Thames is trapped.”

A sly smile spread over the king’s face as he watched me argue. “Ah,” he chuckled, “you know about Thames, Princess? But what you obviously don’t know is there is indeed a way to set him free. There is always a counterspell.”

I didn’t dare say a word. I refused to reveal anything in case my knowledge would help the king. Even if I barely possessed any about this threat.

The king stood and walked to his desk. He ran his hands over the candelabra, stroking it with his fingers like a pet. “Even a sorceress cannot defy the Fates, Illiana Dresden. Thames told me all about a sorceress’s attempt to interfere with fate’s calling. She may be powerful, may have trapped him temporarily. Yes.” He hummed. “Despite her meddling, her time is coming to an end. Her hold over this kingdom. This world. It will soon be over.

“Imagine my reward when I find her after I free him. Deliver him the sorceress who trapped him all these years.” King Dargan spoke almost to himself.

He had no idea Cassandra was the sorceress. I held on to hope that his desire to free Thames was just that: a fool’s yearning for power.

Storm groaned and looked like he struggled to maintain consciousness. His body beaten to a pulp. “Stay with me, Storm,” I begged quietly. “You can do this. Fight.”

“You can save him, you know,” the king sang.

I snapped my attention away from Storm over to the king.

“All of this can be over in a matter of minutes. You have the power to choose, Illiana. You have the power to save your—” He spat at the ground near Storm’s feet. “Friend. All I need is your blood. Offer me your blood willingly, and all of this can be forgotten. You can take him and go.”

I sat there in shock, trying to remember anything about blood in Cassandra’s words. “My blood?”

My heart rate increased, wondering if there was something we missed.

King Dargan slammed the candelabra into Storm’s gut. He shouted, crying out in pain for the first time.

“No,” I cried. My eyes watered, shedding tears for the warrior who had become a friend.

King Dargan approached my chair again, gripping his makeshift weapon. He ran a hand over my hair and licked his lips. “All I need is your blood and I promise not to touch Storm again.”

“What could my blood do?” I asked, trying frantically to move his hands off me.

“Though locked away a thousand turns, the final battle has yet to burn. When light and dark unite, prepare—freedom is granted with the willing blood of two heirs,” the king chanted prophetically.

I dragged in a shaky breath. That sounded too close to a prophecy. But how? Cassandra hadn’t told us of a prophecy about Thames being freed.

The king smiled, as if he could taste my panic. “If you don’t want to see Storm die a slow, excruciatingly painful death, you will hand over your blood.” He brought my facecloser to his and he whispered in my ear, “The choice is up to you.”

“Do not break, Lana,” Storm muttered. “This world can survive without me, but it cannot survive without you.”

Vivienne’s wild ramblings at The Knotted Willow replayed through my mind. She knew. She had a vision and knew my blood was needed. Those exact words, “blood of the heirs,” had spilled from Vivienne’s lips. They were also written on the wall in Cassandra’s room.

Ourblood. Kade’s and mine. What did the king say though?

Willingly.

That was the key. If we refused to give our blood willingly, Thames would never be free. He needed the two heirs to make their own sacrifices in order to be free.

Deep lines formed between my brows. “I willnevergive you my blood.” I prayed the king didn’t hear the tremble in my voice. I wasn’t sure I could watch him kill Storm and not succumb. I had to try though.

King Dargan chuckled, barely audible. “I think you will.”

He threw out his hands, fire spurting from his palms. He had the power of too many elements. Wielding magic that couldn’t all be his, just like Andras.

He sent his flames to Storm’s body, and although he maintained his composure at first, the pain eventually became too much and Storm cursed, spewing at the king.

“Do not say anything, Lana,” he shouted through his agony.

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