Page 10 of The Night Prince 3
Part of him wanted to grab Declan by the scruff of the neck and toss him back into the middle of the party with Finley. After all, Declan was supposed to be pretending to be human. But it would have been no use. Declan would not have stayed there. And part of him wondered if he would be strong enough to keep the young man from doing anything he wanted to do.
Could he be Vex’s son? Gods, no, let that not be true. For if that is true…
His mind boggled at the possibilities of it. Vex having a son–an heir–was something he never thought his uncle would produce. Too dangerous in so many ways. First, any child of Vex could have his father’s magical strength and the mother’s line too. So that child could become a threat in his own right. But also there would be those who would seek to use such a child against Vex. If he was fond of the child, to threaten that child’s life to get Vex to do what they wanted. Or fill that child’s head with ambitions to succeed and surpass his father.
I would have bet everything on Vex killing any child born of him. Yet Declan lives.
“What is Declan doing now?” Aquilan’s voice rose in alarm.
Rhalyf’s head shot towards where Declan was crouched. The young man straightened and then dashed out of sight around the corner of an intersecting hallway. Aquilan stiffened as blue-white light suddenly flashed like lightning strikes in the dark illuminating the whole end of the hallway. Without a word, both he and the Sun King sprinted after the young man. Rhalyf put more speed into his legs, using magic to augment his quickness even more than usual. He had to get there ahead of Aquilan in case of… what? Declan killing Leviathan? Declan performing magic?
This is insane! What is he doing? He’s going to reveal it all and that I will be unmasked and… gods damn you, Declan Wilde!
Rhalyf skidded around the corner just ahead of Aquilan. He sent streaks of blue-white lightning to match the color of the already existing magic into the corridor. It was blinding and meant to be. Aquilan lifted up an arm to shield his eyes.
“Rhalyf, what are you–”
“Sorry! Wrong–wrong spell,” Rhalyf lied.
Gods, did I just say that? He’s not going to believe that!
But Aquilan was more concerned about Declan. He blinked his eyes furiously to adjust them to the blue-white light that remained, illuminating the air ahead of them. Having already cast protection spells against light on himself, he could see perfectly well while the Sun King was blinded. So he was the first to spot Declan.
Declan was about fifty feet down the corridor from them. He stood with his back towards them, hood still up, and body loose. Dozens of fangs littered the ground around Declan’s feet and more were scattered along the corridor, some still rolling along the floor as if they had just dropped.
You fool! You bloody fool! You killed Leviathan?! Humans can’t bloody do that! And how many? And in thirty seconds? How? Oh…
It was then that Rhalyf saw the longsword held in Declan’s right hand. The tip was pointed towards the floor and blood dripped down the blade. It was a graceful, wicked weapon. The beauty of it–and its power–was unmistakable. Rhalyf’s mouth went dry as the desert.
It was a Niri blade: Ardreth, Sorrow’s End.
One of the most storied blades that Vex had ever forged. It absorbed the life force of whatever it killed, storing that power in the ruby at the hilt. That stored power could be used later to generate a devastating wave of magic that disintegrated everything in its wake.
Vex had wielded it against the Nhagzad, an ally turned enemy of the Kindreth. With a single sweep of his blade, he had cut through huge swaths of the lizard queen’s army. Then he had cut off the queen’s head and lifted it up on the tip of Ardreth. With almost indifference, Vex had shown it to the rest of her people. They’d dropped to their knees, begging for mercy, but Vex had slaughtered them all anyway.
Betrayal was never forgiven.
There were no second chances.
How does he have Ardreth? His head swung back to where the blade had just been seemingly left leaning against the wall. Who put it there?
The Niri blades had been entombed in Illithor. Could a Leviathan have somehow found them and brought one here? Just dropped Sorrow’s End casually on the floor of the Pedway where–just coincidentally!--a Kindreth who could wield it came upon it? That idea was so absurd he couldn’t even hold onto it for long. The thought tore apart like wet tissue paper in his mind.
Only one person could have left Ardreth here.
And he must have done so specifically for Declan to find.
Vex.
The Night King.
He was here.
Is he here now?
For not just any Kindreth could wield Sorrow’s End. That Kindreth would–at a minimum–have to be of the Vex bloodline. But, more than that, they would have to be incredibly powerful otherwise the blade would have devoured them. But Declan stood, still and unconcerned, down the hallway, none the worse for wear, with his foes dead all around him.
Oh, Declan, you’re bloody family! Of course, you are. And what damnation have you brought with you?
