Page 67 of Prisoner of Darkness and Dreams
I stop the thought short, only to find a new thought lighting up my awareness.
You have no reason to be afraid.
It calms me, allowing me to spot the shape of her outlined by a silvery glow at the center of the chamber. I run toward her, flooded with giddy relief when she turns her head and smiles at me.
“My love,” I say as I kneel beside her. She sheds a few tears that I wipe gently away with my thumb. “It’s okay,” I say. “Whatever it is, we’ll make it better.”
It’s then I see how she’s holding her leg strangely, the angle of it off.
“Where’s the mortifus?” I ask, brushing her hair back, trying to soothe her pain.
“There.” She points to a pile of ashes on the floor.
“Your Highness!” Diomi calls before I can ask her anything else. He strides across the chamber, bringing the rest of the council trailing behind him.
Now that I’m no longer filled with worry for Ana’s safety, I have room for the dark, jagged rage that blooms inside me. Perhaps killing every single one of them now would secure my reputation as a monster for the rest of history, perhaps it would start a war, but at least justice would be done.
Someone let that animal in.
I study their expressions, looking past the alarm and shock to spot the glint of hate beneath. Ana puts a hand to my chest, trying to calm whatever fury is rolling off me. But that just reminds me how close I came to losing her, and there’s steel in my voice with my next words as I stand up.
“Which one of you did this?” I snarl. “Which of you decided to murder us in the council’s own headquarters?”
Most of the council look genuinely sick at the thought. The woman with dreadlocks makes a choking noise.
“You don’t really think we’re responsible for this?” she gasps.
“One of you drew that thing here. Or do you expect me to believe you have mortifus roaming your corridors every day?”
Silence from the council as I kick at the pile of ash at our feet.
“I heard Etusca say you can commune with the Miravow. My guess is one of you called it here. You won’t commit violence, but it seems you’re quite happy to let the forest do your dirty work for you.”
If I wasn’t holding Ana up, I’d draw my sword now, let them see the flash of my blade.
“Or maybe it wasn’t just one of you,” I lower my voice. “Maybe all of you voted to execute the foreign royals you wish hadn’t crossed your borders.”
“No!” Diomi cries, appalled at the thought. “Whoever did this acted alone.”
“So you admit that itwasone of you then?” I demand.
“We were the only ones who knew where you were in the building,” Diomi says miserably. “We received no reports of the mortifus crossing paths with anyone else on its way in—it came straight for you. Therefore, it must’ve been one of our number who let it in.”
I nod in agreement with his logic, then crouch back down beside Ana, checking her face for signs of pain.
“We need to get you somewhere you can heal and rest,” I say, noting the paleness of her complexion.
“No,” she says. “It’s alright. I want to hear this.” She leans up on her elbows, wincing with pain as she addresses Diomi. “Who doyouthink it could be? Who’s the most likely candidate?”
Several of them instantly turn to the short dryad who had so much attitude before.
He takes a step back, eyes wide. “Me? I’d never! It’s against our vows!”
“There’s a loophole, Letrium, and you know it. There’s nothing stopping you from knowingly letting harm befall a person as long as you don’t commit the act of violence yourself. You have also been the most vocal against the presence of our guests,” says the woman with dreadlocks.
“Yes, but that doesn’t mean I’d do something like this,” he says. “It’s an abomination!”
“Stop.”
