Page 86 of The Crown of a Fallen Queen
The flames flicker.
The storm outside builds.
And I honestly wonder if he’s teasing…or warning me.
Chapter 26
Visiting Hours
SETH
Letting my cousins imprison me was a mistake. The cell is too quiet. Unrefined lyranthium deposits line the walls, and the reflective stones glimmer with hints of blue and purple, the color of old bruises. Even the bars are threaded with lyranthium, the metal feeding on my magic and draining it to the dregs. There’s no possible escape from this fancy cage dressed down as a drunk tank—not for a Storm Fae.
What is Devi doing? Is she safe?
I see her face behind my closed lids—those striking silver eyes, and the mocking tilt of her mouth when she teases me. The way she gets quiet and bites her cheeks when she’s thinking. The shimmer of her faint scars.
Alaric took her prisoner, and I know he won’t pass up the chance to avenge his wounded pride. The realm is in chaos, and Devi is branded a criminal and a traitor. He’s gotcarte blancheto do whatever he wants to her.
A cold, sinking sense of dread licks my ribs.
Even when we were friends, Alaric was vicious. And he always lusted for what he couldn’t have. The Royal Academy.Being a dual wielder. His father’s love. Whatever Devi is to me now… I shouldn’t have brought her here.
I should’ve known better, but I never imagined Alaric could have already taken his father’s place. My uncle was young and strong, unlikely to die this century.
My hands curl into fists, useless without magic.
Lyranthium saps more than power. It strips away distraction and leaves you alone with your regrets, your mistakes. It takes away your hopes and dreams, and every single one of my doom-laden thoughts leads back to Devi Eros.
If Alaric touches her—if he lays a single hand on her, with that sly, calculating smile—I’ll burn through every layer of this prison to avenge her. Even if it kills me.
The soft flutter of Percy’s wings stirs the air, and my heart booms at the now familiar sound.
I jump to my feet and clutch the metal bars in front of me, my knuckles white at the strain. It was reckless for him to sneak in once, let alone twice. It would only take one flick of a Storm Fae’s wrist to scorch him, and yet, I’m glad to see him. When he’s here, I’m no longer drowning in catastrophic scenarios. I have a thread back to Devi, a chance to warn her, to plan an escape.
“Percy?”
The Faeling wiggles through a narrow crack in the outer wall.
“Urfpth,” he grunts, halfway through. “I should really lose weight.”
I let out a small chuckle, relieved to see his sense of humor is still intact. If he’s making jokes, it means Devi’s safe.
“Is she alright?” I breathe.
“By Eros,” he mutters, “you two sound exactly the same.”
A smile tugs at my lips. “She asked about me?”
He lands on the bracket of the lone torch lighting the prison and fixes his clothes, dusting off grime from his purple tweed jacket and hair. “She’s been summoned to dinner.”
He opens his mouth, then presses his lips together, like he was about to add something and thought better of it.
My brows furrow. “Should you be here, then? Devi might need you if anything happens.”
“I need to know exactly what happened between you and Alaric, why you think he poses a danger, and what kind of man we’re dealing with.”
By the spindle, recounting my twisted history with Ric would take hours.
