Page 20 of Crown of Wrath

The easy part is done. Casimir Cyrus sits in a chair in a perfect replica of his cell in the Keep of Steel. The Shade looks exhausted. Darian and Lee are both barely standing. The steel room is exactly what we need. It’s been inspected again since we came back to be sure that there weren’t any changes.

Casimir looks the same. A little less filthy after being carried several hundred miles through the air by Darian, but otherwise unchanged. Other than the black lines that weave their way over his face, of course.

His poisoned blood threatens him with death at any moment, but unlike the stupid Wyrdling that nearly killed her cousin, there’s no fear of losing control now. I nod to the three people in the room, and they leave.

A bowl of stew and a roll sit on the table, neither of which is even warm. It’s probably better than he’s used to, but it’s been three days since he’s eaten, since any of us have eaten.

I take a deep breath and, with peace flowing through me, I touch Casimir’s temples. The angry poison throbs in his mind, and I pull it out. It doesn’t flow as easily as stone. This poison wants to cause pain and suffering. Stone doesn’t care where it is, but poison craves pain.

Casimir shakes below me as I draw the black sludge out of his body, and the black lines that had covered his face disappear. The poison is as black as shadows, but it’s viscous like curdled milk. It sticks to my fingers, and the smell is near enough to a rotten and bloated animal.

When the last drop flows out of his temples, he slumps in the chair, finally relaxed. I immediately move to the door, and by the time the door shuts, he’s stirring. The poison falls to the ground outside the door, and I push it into the stone.

Everyone around, King Aric included, watches me. No one really understands the powers of the House of Earth. They aren’t as simple.

“Do I need to worry about someone stepping there?” King Aric asks.

I shake my head. “No, earth becomes earth. There’s nothing left of the poison now. It’s just as much a part of the walls as the mortar.”

Aric frowns, but I don’t explain any more than that. “Who would have interrogated Casimir?” I ask the three Immortals.

“Rhion or Gethin,” the Shade says without hesitation. “No one else would be allowed to speak to Casimir.”

Darian nods. “He was very confused when I showed up as Jasper.”

“Which one of you wants to play the part of Rhion or Gethin?” I ask the twins, and they glance at each other.

“I can be Rhion,” Darian says.

Lee shrugs. “It’s hard to pretend to be a male. Their brains don’t work the same as ours.”

I nod. It’s not surprising. “Darian, we don’t have any specific goals with Casimir. Just talk to him. Be… attentive. From what I remember about him, he likes to talk and rant. So let him rant. Don’t let him realize that you’re you, though.”

“You… want me to talk to him?” Darian asks. “Not torture him? Not try to get information out of him? He’s an Immortal, so it’s not like he won’t heal.”

I smile, not considering Cole’s thoughts at all. “The House of Flames does not bow to pain. They… embrace it.” The thoughts are strange. Like they’re coming from somewhere else. “What the House of Flames does not do well with is keeping secrets. They need to talk, to share. Casimir will know not to tell you anything, but he’ll be compelled to. The…” My mind doesn’t know where these thoughts are coming from.

Only the strongest shall wear the Crown. Only the strongest will be the tie to hold our magic to this world. Four sacrifices to save the many. Only they, of all the immortal Fae, shall fade in mind and body.

The words flash through my mind unbidden. A memory from the book that Vesta always read to me. But are they from the book? Or from somewhere else?

“Casimir will talk. It may take a while, but just sit with him. Talk to him about the weather. Tell him you prefer the House of Flames gambesons versus the chain mail of the House of Steel. Tell him whatever you want, but just talk to him. He’ll break faster like this than any other way. And then tell me what he says.”

Darian looks confused, but from the way the Shade is standing, I know that he’s in agreement. And the Shade would know better than any.

A flash of Cole’s face moves through my mind, and I shake my head. No. Not now. I have to stay focused, and every time I think of Cole, I feel myself falling apart. There’s no battle to throw myself into right now. There are too many decisions to be made.

And the Shade, Darian, and Lee aren’t making them.

I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. Everyone’s eyes are on me, King Aric’s included, and I smile. “For now, though, let him wait. I don’t think he knows what happened. I doubt he’s ever been the recipient of Earth’s poison before. Tomorrow you can begin interrogating him.”

Darian nods. “Is there anything in particular you want me to push him to talk about?”

“How are he and Gethin planning to save Nyth after two Houses have been shattered? The longer I’ve worn this Crown, the more apparent it’s become that they had to have a plan for what to do after the wars. Even Gethin knows that the world is crumbling. At least Gethin had a plan, and we need to know what it is.”

I leave them in silence. There’s nothing else to say, and today, the Crown is weighing heavily on me. Everything inside me wants to escape their presence. The looks and expectations are more difficult to be around than in the past.

More than that, I know that I’m not ready to make all these decisions. I’m not a thousand year old Immortal like the Shade,Darian, or Lee. I’m twenty-three. I know that I’m the Queen, and it’s my responsibility to choose our course… but I don’t know if I have the experience to make the right choices.

---