Page 29 of Forged By Heart and Claws
I pursed my lips. “And then what?”
“I took advantage of the confusion that followed your disappearance. The High Council, along with the joint council between the Shadow and Aureline, was in disarray. Most of the council members were too shaken by the signs to take clear action. Two council members came to me in private to ensure that Calla Lily was named officially. The collapse during the third bridal trial only deepened the confusion.”
Vad shifted suddenly. “If I’d known picking Briar would cause the loss of magic?—”
“You wouldn’t have picked her,” Many-Greats interrupted flatly.
Vad’s anger flared hot. His lips curled into a snarl as he took a step forward. “Don’t you dare presume I’d ever choose anything over Briar. I would give up the crown, my realm, and my magic for her. There isno oneelse for me.”
The air crackled. Even Vyraetos froze, the bandage in his hands forgotten.
Many-Greats shook his head, like he didn’t believe Vad.
Vad’s voice dropped, low and lethal. “I would burn this realm to ash before letting her go. The fact that you thought otherwise says more about you than me.”
Emotion flooded through the bond like a raw, unshakable devotion.
Some of the weight lifted from my chest. I hadn’t realized I had needed to hear him say that, no matter what, he chose me. And somehow, someway, I fell even harder for him.I love you.
Love isn’t strong enough to describe what I feel for you.
Blinking, Many-Greats cleared his throat. “I stand corrected.”
Vad cleared his throat, and some of his anger eased. “Who were the council members who approached you? Was one of them about so tall—” he lifted a hand “—with light-blue eyesand freckles? Perhaps in league with someone on the Shadow Council?”
Many-Great’s brow pinched, and his lip curled. “Yes. Bram. I suspected him already. He and three others had been behaving oddly, speaking in hushed circles about the instability of the current system. Some believe Fate’s ways are obsolete. That it’s time for a drastic change.”
His voice dropped lower. “There are whispers of removing all the kings and queens and installing one single ruler for the entire realm.”
Vyraetos clicked his tongue with disapproval. “I have heard similar rumors. Some of our council members were compromised as well. I suspect that this mutinous horde believes they can justify this coup by claiming Fate has allowed it and use that lie to crown themselves.”
Silus stood beside Elara again. “And they knew that this union would end our magic?” His tone was clipped but calm.
“No. No one knew what Briar was except me,” Many-Greats said sternly. “If they had known, they would have tried even harder to kill her. And not only them, but others as well. I did send Briar away. I had this handled.” His eyes narrowed at Vad. “You vowed to send her home.”
“She is the one who decided her home is with me,” Vad said coldly. “I kept my vow.” He stepped closer, smoothing his tunic with one hand. “You should have told us more, given the threat was that serious.”
“What could or could not have been said is now irrelevant.” Many-Greats narrowed his eyes, and the wrinkles in his face deepened. “I warned you as best as I could without putting lives in more danger. I would have said more at the coronation, but your purple-haired friend?—”
“Don’t speak ill of Velessa.” Quen balled her fists. “If you hadn’t been acting like a creepy old bastard trying to keep ourfriend from being queen, she wouldn’t have had to silence you. You think we don’t know that Briar and Vad are meant to be? That there wouldn’t be consequences for what you did?”
Many-Greats opened his mouth, but I cut in, “That’s enough. What’s done is done.” I turned toward him. “As far as Calla Lily goes, do we know how she got the daggers into everyone’s pockets? You said she planted one in my room. Did she break into theirs too?”
Did we need to search for more? My hand slid tentatively to the pocket in my dress, even though I knew nothing was there. But if she’d gotten into everyone’s room, then who knew what else she had done? The timeline mattered as well.
“We were all in my room, getting ready for the wedding,” Thalira said, her voice strained. She gasped every few words. “She came in to wish us luck. Hugged Myantha, Yuki, Velessa, and me. Maybe she slipped them in then.”
My stomach turned. I remembered Yuki and Velessa mentioning those hugs. It had meant something to them. Now I saw it for what it was—another layer of Calla Lily’s cruelty.
“So we still don’t know whether she was a vile opportunist or part of a larger plan,” Rhielle muttered. She crouched beside Thalira and reached into her pocket. Her expression twisted as she removed a blade smeared with the same iridescent green substance. “Fecking void.”
My shoulders tightened. A cap covered the blade’s tip, keeping it from piercing anything easily, but the sides would’ve easily nicked skin.
Veralt swore under his breath. “Brutal bitch.”
Thalen stood next to Myantha now, his hand cradling hers. They exchanged glances, and there was concern in his eyes.
“None on Quen, or you, Rhielle?” Vad reached into one of the boxes higher on the shelf and removed two sheathed daggers. Hepassed one to me. The smooth leather sheath had a button-on strap that allowed it to be fastened to a belt or sash.
