Page 97 of The Curse of Golden Blood
I kept my eyes fixed on the horizon, tracking storm clouds that gathered with unnatural speed. The weather responded to my emotional state more than usual lately. Another symptom of the rot's progression.
"You are no king if you let a woman's death undo you," Gryven continued, frustration sharpening his words.
I turned to face him, keeping the railing between us like a protective barrier. "Is that your assessment? That romantic attachment has compromised my judgment?"
"What else could explain this madness? You've known her for mere months, yet you're prepared to watch thousands die to preserve her life?"
"I'm prepared to find a way without this foolishness."
"There are no other solutions!" He stepped closer, and I had to resist the urge to retreat. "We've explored every possibility. Her death represents the only remaining path forward."
"Theonlypath? Gryven. This path is but a guess. Why is it so hard to carve a new, more certain path?"
Gryven shook his head, expression mixing pity with exasperation. "You're not reasoning clearly. This obsession with the human girl has distorted your priorities beyond recognition. Never have you disregarded our counsel before. "
"My priorities remain exactly where they should be."
"Your priorities should align with your people. With the realm you've sworn to protect. Not with some mortal girl who—"
"Enough." The word carried layers of power, authority that could bring lesser fae to their knees in submission. But Gryven had known me too long to be cowed by such displays.
Instead, he moved closer, his hand reaching toward my arm in a gesture of old friendship. "Zy, listen to reason—"
Instinct overwhelmed strategy. Lightning erupted from my skin in a defensive barrier, crackling energy that forced Gryven back several paces.
"What in the seven realms?" Gryven stared at me with widening eyes, his hand still extended toward empty space.
Too late, I realized my mistake. The sudden burst of protective magic had pulled my shirt tight against my chest, revealing the dark veins that now spread from my heart toward my throat. In the moonlight, they resembled black lightning frozen beneath my skin.
Gryven's expression shifted from confusion to dawning horror. "No. My Lord. The Rot has taken you."
I adjusted my shirt, attempting to conceal the evidence, but the damage was complete. "It's nothing."
"Nothing? " he echoed, jaw dropping. "By the Mother, how long have you been hiding this?"
"The situation remains under control."
"Under control?" Gryven laughed, but no humor touched the sound. Only bitter recognition of irony. "You're infected with a plague that's consumed thousands, and you consider it controlled?"
"I can manage the progression."
"For how long? Days? Hours?" He ran both hands through his hair, pacing the balcony's length. Then his eyes narrowed and he shot me an accusing glare. "You’ve been hiding this,because you know that this changes everything. Not just for the realm, but for you specifically. You knew that if it was revealed that you had the Rot, the girl’s life would be forfeit.."
"I will not trade her life for mine."
"Then you're a fool of the highest order." He whirled to face me, eyes blazing with desperate determination. "That's settled, then. I'm informing the council about your condition. You have no choice but to authorize the procedure. We are not allowing you to die."
"Gryven—"
He ignored me and started toward the door, moving with the purposeful stride of a man who'd found unshakeable resolve.
Above us, the sky suddenly split open.
A crack of brilliant white light tore across the heavens, accompanied by thunder that shook the palace's very foundations. But this wasn't natural storm magic. This was something else entirely.
The illumination originated from the direction of the Storm Leaping chamber.
For a few moments the light dazed me, political machinations momentarily forgotten in the face of this new impossibility. Then suddenly, I knew what had happened, I felt it in my gut and a curl of desperation unfurled within me.
