Page 75 of Crown of Wrath

The first is putting my ability to tell a lie from a truth to the test. The lock clicks under my fingers, and Casimir’s collar fallsto the steel floor with a clang. He runs his fingers over his neck, over the worn skin that’s been rubbed raw. I watch as the tiny cuts heal as soon as the steel is away from him, and he smiles at me.

“You don’t know how annoying it is to have a cut that won’t heal for months,” he says. I don’t respond, instead looking to Cole who’s standing by the door. There’s no sympathy in his eyes as he stares at his father.

Casimir doesn’t seem to be surprised. When I hand him the two small swords that matched Cole’s description of the weapons Casimir would normally use, his smile gets wider. “Do you know how long it’s been since I took to the field?” He says it to me, but I know that he’s talking to Cole.

Because Cole is the one who answers him. “Before I was born,” he says with venom in his voice. “You refused to take part in the only war that’s been fought, instead sending your son and your armies to slaughter the House of Shadows.”

Casimir completely ignores Cole. “It’s been almost two thousand years since we warred with humans. I hope I remember what I’m doing.”

I blink at him in surprise. We’re about to fight for our lives, and he’s making jokes? It feels so unlike the man that burned his son to a crisp the night I met him. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was a Steel soldier pretending to be Casimir Cyrus. That’s not possible, is it?

As if he’s reading my mind, flames flicker along his fingertips and move along his arms, not singeing the bright red military coat and pants he’s wearing. The gold buttons that run up his chest gleam in the firelight, and it’s like he’s coming alive.

I saw the way he’d smiled the night before he punished Cole. It was a different kind of smile. This is one of lightness and freedom, as though the fear and worry have been stripped fromhim. It’s the smile of a bird stepping out of its cage for the first time in years.

“Oh yes,” he says softly. “I’ve missed this. Son, it’s good that you get to see me take the field at least once in your lifetime before it’s time for me to go. You may hate me, and I may be the worst father you could ever imagine, but today, you’re going to see me do the one thing I know I’m the best at.”

Cole smirks at his father, and I know what’s going through his mind even without the bond tying us together. He thinks he’s stronger than his father, that he could win a battle with him. My stomach drops as I see the reality. Casimir Cyrus knows exactly how much stronger he is than his son.

“We’ll see, Father. I hope you can keep up. As you said, it’s been two thousand years since you’ve seen battle.”

A light of competition sparks in Casimir’s eyes, and I step back as he walks toward his son. Part of me wants to pull him back, to protect Cole from his father, but there’s no hint of fear in Cole. And no hint of animosity in Casimir.

“Once upon a time, the dragons named the Houses. My mother taught me this when I was young. The House of Shadows was the House of Darkness, named after Vyran. The House of Steel was the House of Strength, named after Sidon, and the House of Flames was the House of Destruction. Count your kills, son, and we’ll see if the Prince of Destruction can compare to the King.”

Cole only smiles as his father turns toward me. “Queen Maeve, are you ready to take us to the battle?” There’s not a single hint of sarcasm in his voice when he addresses me with my title, and I nod to him. I put one hand out to him, and my other toward Cole. Cole glares at his father, but he pushes off from the wall and walks toward me. Casimir waits until his son takes my hand, and then he takes my left.

I step into revulsion shadows and pull all three of us through the world. Casimir doesn’t show any kind of fear when we cross into the void. His hand doesn’t tighten around mine, and his body doesn’t tense as Darian and Lee did. He’s obviously familiar with shadow walking, which is good because it takes a few moments to find the correct place to pull us to. I’ve never been to this part of the world, so I have to estimate how far it would be.

I find it, though. A shadow coming from an old oak tree looks out at a soldier wearing steel armor. I can feel the metal, and there’s no question of whether it’s an Immortal soldier based on the scent that flows into the shadow.

Moving just a little further away from him, I pull us out of the void and appear on a hillside next to a boulder. Looking down from the hill, it’s obvious that we’re in the right place. Tents cover the grassy valley below, and dozens of flags flying the House of Steel emblem wave in the morning air.

“Oh, this is going to be fun,” Casimir says with what can only be described as glee in his voice as I let go of his hand. “A real army and no need to hold back or worry about my safety. Oh, I’ve missed this feeling.”

Reaching out through my bond with Cole, I ask, “Why is your father acting like this?”

“I have no idea,” he replies silently. “It’s unnerving to see him this happy. Watch your back, Maeve. I don’t understand what’s going on, but something is different.”

I nod to him, and Casimir ignores us, running down the hill. No planning. No thought. Just an old man who wants to try to destroy a small army.

Cole sighs and follows after him. I don’t, knowing that my body is still weaker than I’d like from the atrophy. Yes, I’ll be able to fight, but running down a hill is a waste of energy when I could shadow walk.

I don’t want to get there first, so I wait and watch. When father and son are about halfway to the tents, a soldier yells, and suddenly, every tent in the camp is on fire. I’ve never seen Cole control that much fire at once, and I wonder which one of them did it. I know that I still haven’t seen the extent of Cole’s power with flames, but no one knows how strong Casimir is.

Flames spring up everywhere. Everything that’s flammable is suddenly a bright white that makes the entire scene hard to look at. Soldiers in steel armor rush to put out some of the fires, but as soon as they stop stomping on them, they spring back to life.

I realize I won’t be able to shadow walk anywhere near them.

“Well, that’s annoying,” I mutter. I shadow walk about halfway down the hill, coming out as Cole slams into the first soldier, his attack knocking him to the ground. Casimir leaps into the air, flames sprouting from his feet and propelling him over the growing line of soldiers.

I reach into the earth and draw stone over their boots as I have so many times in the past, and once again, it throws off the entire line. Instead of creating a shadow spear that will just burn away as soon as I’m close to those fires, I decide to watch Cole and Casimir’s backs. The biggest danger in this battle is a surprise bolt in the back, and I can make sure that doesn’t happen.

Casimir’s body is propelled by flames. Each strike has him trailing fire behind him, and his swords smash into armor again and again, each one leaving dents in helmets and breastplates so deep that they must have crushed bones.

Cole is playing a much more finessed game. His sword slips between the connections at the throat and finding the slits where pieces of the armor would move. The thighs and sides that shift so that the soldiers can grow.

One of Casimir’s swords shatters as he hits a soldier squarely in the face, and he drops the sword only to pick up a longer one without missing a beat. It’s seamless. Flawless motion thatgoes from one death to the next. It’s a brutal and unflinching symphony of a battlefield. Cole’s light touch is like woodwinds and Casimir’s reckless destruction is like drums. Everywhere they move, bodies fall, never to get up, and today, even Lysara would be proud.

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