Page 42 of The Dark Rises
“I am,” Madoc admits in an arrogant tone. “I was to inherit the crown after my father passed, but the night before the coronation, Leandra stole the power from me and gifted it to Denir.”
Fear rises inside me. “Are you telling us Meri somehow picked up this power from Denir? Is she mimicking it?”
Madoc’s jaw clenches. “It can’t be replicated in any way. Only those with Konnyr’s blood can wield it. My guess is Leandra accidentally or hell, purposely, took that power from Denir when she created Meri. It’s why they’re both after her.”
Theron whistles. “And time is running out,” he continues to explain for the rest of us. “To keep the crown, the dark Fae ruler must show his continued ability to wield this power every thousand years on the anniversary of his coronation, which for Denir is in less than two months.”
“Meri’s nine hundred and ninety-three years old. Leandra must have stolen the power right after the last anniversary and created Meri,” I tell them, rubbing my thumb across the delicate bones in her hand.
My mind latches on the explanation Madoc gave to Lucifer. “Why didn’t she kill you instead of dumping you in The Below?”
“She couldn’t take the chance my death would cause the power—and subsequently, the crown—to search for a ruler with the strongest bloodline. It would not have been Denir. He only has a drop of Konnyr in him.” Madoc sneers. “Enough to wield the power for the coronation ceremony, but like Meri, he doesn’t have enough of the bloodline to wield it in times of war—the purpose for which it was created.”
It hits me. “Lucifer knew, didn’t he? Or at least, he figured out some of it out.” The smug bastard is going to hold this over me forever.
Madoc’s lips twitch when he sees the irritated look on my face. “It felt good to be recognized by another ruler.”
Rivan raises his head and looks at me in utter horror. “Meri has to die to release the power, doesn’t she?”
Everyone starts talking at once. I place my fingers under my tongue and whistle like my sister taught me to do long ago. They instantly stop. “Madoc?”
He shrugs. “Leandra took the power from me, and I’m still here. I’m guessing she can do the same for Meri, but will she? She constantly threatens to unmake Meri, yet she kept her alive all those years. I think she intends to use her as a tool of revenge against Denir. How? I don’t know. Placing Meri on the throne will never work.”
He’s silent for a minute as he thinks it through. “She made her with both Nyssa’s and Denir’s essence. There must be a tie between them.”
Solandis slips past Madoc to go to Meri’s side. Her graceful features twisted in anger. “I refuse to let that happen. We need to kill Leandra before she unmakes Meri.” Her turquoise eyes assess me closely. “Tell me what you’ve done to find her.”
“Very little,” I return with a frustrated sigh. “The amulet prevents her enemies from finding her. We were visiting pastplaces they lived in hopes of finding an item of Leandra’s to use in a hunt.”
“What’s the origin of the amulet? How did Leandra get it?” Arden asks with a frown. “We might be able to use blood magic to trace it.”
I shake my head. “My guess is blood was used to create the spell to hide its wearer from their enemies.” When everyone looks hopeful, I scan the crowd, landing on Daire. “Evren made it.”
Daire, Arden, Vargas, and Callyx exchange hopeless glances. “I see.”
Rivan, who met Evren and helped her defeat the brùid, locks eyes with me. “I’m sure you’ve exhausted every other avenue. We don’t have a choice. We need to ask Evren.”
“Right now, we need to wait for Meri to wake,” I tell him, unwilling to leave her side. I watch Solandis press her hand to Meri’s forehead.
Madoc comes to stand beside me. “Meri will be out of it for at least three days. We know Leandra was warned last night. We don’t have much time.” He presses a hand to my shoulder. “We won’t leave her alone for one second. I swear.”
Rivan comes up to us both. “If you want, I’ll go with you.”
I tear my eyes from her to look at Rivan. “I’d rather you stay here. Keep training. We’re going to need you at full strength.” It’s the truth, but it’s not the sole reason I said it. He needs to snap out of this destructive phase and focus on the bigger picture. “If Leandra manages to unmake Meri, you’re going to have to step in and bring her back to us. So, train. Do whatever you have to do to prepare, but you might be the only reason she survives.”
Rivan’s at his finest under pressure. I plan to keep reminding him of his role.
Daire glides over to us. “You’re going to need back-up. I’ll go with you.” His bright blue eyes hold a hint of worry in them. “We should bring Vargas, too.”
Vargas walks over to us. “His favorite son and favorite commander.” He motions to Daire and himself. “And the biggest pain in his ass.” He dips his head toward me and laughs. “At least we know who he’ll kill first.”
Daire chuckles. “Hopefully that means I’ll make it out of there alive.”
We joke, but asking Lucifer and Evren for her blood is the scariest fucking thing I’ve done in a long time.
“Swearto me you will have someone by her side at all times,” I order Madoc.
Dark, angry brows draw together in irritation. “I already swore to you. Take my fucking word for it and get into the damn portal. We’ve got this.”
