Page 108 of Atop the Faerie Throne
“We’re bards, son. Our loyalty is to the hand that feeds. You know that Eero has always paid best.”
And there it is, the sickening reality that’s always underlined everything. The difference between us laid bare.
Every performance I played was about the music, the art, but for him, it was the money. Always the fucking money.
“Well, I wouldn’t count on any more gold flowing your way from Eero,” I gloat, smirking, not because the summer king is likely dead, but because I’ve finally calmed enough to find a loophole in his command.
Torrance said to stay here; he never said anything about moving my hands or summoning my animals.
Glamouring myself to hide the motion, I pull Espen from my forearm. It takes a lot of work to hide a giant snake, but he works fast, slinking into the shadows as he makes for the mouth of the alley.
My father shrugs, turning on his heel. “Then Aiyana will pay just as much for information that will protect her from your mate’s wrath. Even she knows her reckoning is coming.”
“Coward!” I blow another wave of sound his way, hoping to hit the real Torrance.
His illusion grunts, staggering convincingly into the side of a wagon, but doesn’t flicker like it might if he was caught in the blast.
“Don’t be a hypocrite, Bricriu. You’re better at this job than I am, skulking in the shadows and listening to every whispered word. What do you think you’ll be doing for your Nicnevin in a few decades, huh? You can only warm her bed for so long before you’ll have to make yourself useful.”
He scoffs, righting himself. “Meanwhile, I’ll revive the Lyarthorn name. Maybe I’ll pick up one of your half-siblings on the way to Pavellen and train them up in your place.”
So he can use and discard them the same way he did me?
Oof. A force shoves into me from behind, breaking the charm that held me in place. My feet start moving as soon as I’m free, and I shoot a grateful glance at Mab as we both sprint after him.
Dragging as much magic from my bond to Rose as I can, I release a blast of sound at the same time that Mab’s lightning arcs past me.
It’s more magic than we should use this close to civilians. Combined, the sheer amount of power makes the fur on my ears stand on end. It should be impossible to dodge.
The glamoured version of him waves, winks, and then dissipates before the magic collides at his feet. So smug in his belief that he’s done it again.
All of that destructive energy ricochets against the cobbles with aBOOMthat shoves me back three paces.
The walls on either side of the alley shake, then collapse. Brick tumbles down in a deafening cataclysm of rubble and tile. Shit!
Dust fills the air, choking me and making my eyes burn. I flap my wings, desperately seeking the safety of the sky. The distraction is enough that I accidentally drop the glamour on my nathair. The alley is eclipsed by his silhouette, which takes up the entrance.
In my haste to catch my father, I almost buried myself alive.
I pray desperately that my plan worked as the trembles slow, and I lower myself back to the destroyed street.
Espen’s huge serpentine body blocks the way to the main road, and the last pieces of rubble bounce harmlessly off his scales as he protects the crowd beyond. His great head flicks from side to side across the wreckage, tongue tasting the air.
“Did we…?”
My snake bends and noses away a large chunk of plaster, revealing Torrance’s broken, brightly clothed form.
I scramble up the pile of debris towards him, needing to see for myself that it’s done. It’s over.
As I reach his side, he coughs and shoves himself up onto his elbows. No. No way. My throat seizes, like someone is crushing my windpipe. I snatch up one of the fallen hunks of stone, raise it high, and bring it down sharply.
I smash that hunk of rock into his head again, and again, and again. His skull cracks like an egg. Blood and brains spray everywhere.
Yet his fingers still twitch.
I grip my weapon in both hands and bring it down even harder.
“You. Will.Never. Charm. Me. Again.” I punctuate each word with a splattering crack of brick on bone. “Justdie. Die and take your stupid Lyarthorn name with you.”
