Page 109 of Queen of Legends and Lies
My stomach nosedives into my boots. “No, no, no.”
I grip the bars with white knuckles. How could this happen?
Captain Fitz and the three other guards are trying to talk to the drugged men, to get them to respond, but I can’t focus on anything except the horrible realization that she’s escaped.
Sterling pulls me back from the door, hands firm on my shoulders as he spins me around to face him.
His hard, gold-flecked eyes glint with anger. “We’ll find her. She won’t get far.”
I want to believe him, but a sick dread curls in my stomach. Celeste is cunning and ruthless. And now she’s on the loose again.
What new scheme does she have planned?
When I find her, I’m going to send her back to Xenon. One charred piece at a time.
I take a deep breath, pushing down the dread and need for vengeance threatening to overwhelm me. “We have to figure out how Celeste escaped and where she might be headed. But first, let’s see if we can help these guards.”
Sterling nods, his jaw set with determination.
The clank of armor distracts me, and I pivot around to see my guards catching the drugged men as their bodies give way to violent tremors. Their eyes are wild, and sweat drips down their faces. It’s only the iron grips of the four royal guards restraining the two sentries that keep them from battering themselves against the floor and walls.
Death by eyril overdose is a horrible thing. The body rips itself apart as the magic in the blood surges out of control. This usually happens after long years of overuse.
I retrieve my biological mother’s dagger while tears well in my eyes. “Hold out their hands for me.”
“Here, let me help.” Sterling steps around the pile of guards.
He manages to extend the first guard’s arm enough for me to reach his hand. The man’s fingers are curled up, the cramping muscles forcing them into a claw.
More of my tears gather.
I wait for the droplets to fall and splash onto the guard’s skin. Taking the dagger, I slash the back of his hand. The welling blood pinkens as it mingles with my healing sorrow.
Somehow, the bead of liquid does not spill, holding its shape as the hand continues to tremble.
Gods, I hope that’s enough.
But there’s no time for doubt. I move over to treat the second guard the same way. Sterling moves with me, securing the arm so I can make the cut that will allow my tears to reach and cleanse his bloodstream. All of this is just a theory—a hope—I have for the powers in my bloodline that I still don’t fully understand.
Within moments, their thrashing subsides. The crazed look fades from their eyes, replaced by confusion and exhaustion. I keep crying, the healing magic of my tears lessening the effects of the eyril overdose with every drop I add to their wounds.
Finally, the poisoned guards are slumped in the arms of their captors, breathing hard but lucid once more.
“What…? Captain Fitz?” The first guard I cured struggles to sit up before falling back.
“Take their helmets off. Loosen their breastplates,” Fitz snaps at his men, his hands already moving. “Then get back and give them some air.”
“Try not to move. I need some questions answered.” I wipe my face, the last of my tears drying up. “What happened? How did Celeste escape?”
The first guard, a young man with tousled blond hair, lifts his head. “It was Vicar Moise, Your Highness. He came down here offering us drinks. Said we looked parched from standing guard so long.”
The other guard, probably in his fifties judging from the gray streaks in his beard, massages his temples. “We didn’t think anything of it, with him being on the council and a holy man and all. But after we drank, everything went hazy. Next thing we knew, the vicar had the keys and was unlocking the cell, and I just let him. Everything was so bright and confusing. I could tell my water magic was trying to take me over.”
“Yeah, it was all I could do to restrain my wind. It was like a tempest inside my body, then my head. I couldn’t even hear anything except the roaring of the storm building inside.” The blond guard drags a trembling hand over his face. “Even puberty wasn’t this bad.” His laugh comes out as a wet cough.
Sterling kneels next to them, eyes flashing. “You’re certain it was Vicar Moise who drugged you?”
“Yes, Your Highness.” The blond wipes his mouth. “We never would’ve taken anything from someone we didn’t know and trust.”
