Page 20 of Ties of Death

Iwake to pounding on the door. I am only groggily opening my eyes when I hear Daenn’s feet thud on the floor. He’s up and across the room in seconds, his hair mussed from sleep, but he’s alert, tense, apparently in his role of gryphon clans’ king from the moment he opened his eyes.

Lars waits on the other side.

“Your Majesty,” he greets Daenn with a fist to his chest. “Healer Annika sent me. Kettil is gone, and two more have fallen into the magic sleep.”

And suddenly I’m as awake as Daenn, jolting upright in bed.

“Who?” Daenn asks. The only sign he has feelings about Kettil’s passing is the way his knuckles turn white in their grip of the door handle, something Lars can’t see but I can.

Lars’ gaze slides to the side—slides toward me—before jerking back to Daenn. “Bjorn and Elder Toric.”

Bjorn. The other guard who escorted me to the feast yesterday. And Elder Toric... he was one of the men we talked to at the feast. I don’t know the man well, but he was memorable because he outright smiled at Daenn, looking at him like a proud grandfather.

Daenn’s hand flexes on the door handle again. “Are the preparations for our departure ready?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. The men you requested are saddling the gryphons now.”

Daenn is shaking his head before Lars finishes speaking. “Have them saddle mine and Emana’s, but not the others. We’ll go alone.”

Lars’ eyes widen. “King Daenn, the jungle...”

“I know, but anyone who lingers near us is at risk, and should any of you fall comatose, you will be unable to fly. I won’t strand my people.”

“It’s our duty—our honor—to take that risk, Your Majesty.” Lars leans forward with the intensity of his words. “Don’t put yourself in more danger to protect us. That is our role.”

But as one who rarely won an argument once Daenn set his jaw the way he has now, I already know what Daenn will say before he speaks.

“And I thank you and the other warriors for being willing to take that risk, but my order remains the same.”

Lars’ jaw clenches, but he snaps off a nod.

Daenn lowers his voice as he continues. “I need you here. With Eskil and Bjorn both comatose, I wouldn’t put it past Viggo to try to seize more than is his by right. I’d order him from the clan if I didn’t think he’d just return as soon as I fly out of sight.”

Lars’ entire expression hardens. “We’ll be ready if he tries anything, Your Majesty.”

My brows rise. It seems the feud between Daenn and Viggo extended beyond their personal disagreements as they grew older if even Daenn’s warriors distrust him so thoroughly. Maybe Viggo is more like his father than I know.

Daenn’s only response is a small nod, and then he’s shutting the door and turning back to me. He stops when he sees me awake.

“I apologize. I was hoping to answer it before it woke you. You used to be a—” He cuts himself off, but I know what he was about to say. I used to be a heavy sleeper, before I had a husband who would prowl to my room at night when he was drunk. And Daenn knows my former sleeping habits becauseweused to be close, but I can’t focus on that.

“Kettil’s dead?” My voice breaks a little. “I killed him.”

“No.” Daenn says the words with a quiet intensity. “No, I killed him. My magic is deadly. Yours... yours only delayed the inevitable.”

I want to believe him. It would be easy to believe him, and yet I can’t. Kettil had been with me. I’m the fool who tried snuffing out Daenn’s magic and caused our magics to intertwine. Kettil is dead because of me. Daenn too, yes, but I played my role. It’s only a matter of time before the same happens to Eskil. Bjorn. Elder Toric. The woman—I wish I had learned her name.

“I’m glad the guards aren’t going with us,” I say, my voice warbling. It’s terrifying going into the jungle with only Daenn, but Daenn is formidable. I can’t bear to put more people at risk. I flip the covers off myself and stand. “When do we leave?”

“As soon as you have packed and eaten,” Daenn says. “I have a few things to take care of before we go. I’ll send Sigrid with your breakfast.”

He’s pulling on a fresh shirt, so he doesn’t see my nod, but I don’t bother amending it with words. There are too many knots in my belly at the thought of Sigrid coming anywhere near me again. It’s a blessing that she hasn’t been taken by this curse already.

Once I’ve eaten and packed, I go to visit Zephyr before we leave. The gryphon meets me at the entrance to her nest, curling her head around my shoulder and ushering me into the cozy space. She circles a few times, casting a critical eye over me.

“I’m fine, Zephyr,” I say, laughing a little. “Truly. The same can’t be said for my victims.”

Zephyr gives a little squawk before ruffling her feathers and settling down next to her sleeping babies.

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