It bloody wrecked him. His temper had burned hot as he’d spat hateful things. Things he couldn’t take back.
“Maybe,” Briar drew out the word. Her fingers fidgeted nervously at her sides. “But maybe we need to leave her be, Ves.”
His jaw clenched. “What about the prophecy? This fucking fever.”
“Is it even true? How would we know?” She shrugged. “It could be some made up nonsense, like so many of these gods-driven agendas.”
“I told you what Zyphira said. She sought me out specifically. Put me on my path—”
“Yeah, and how is that going?” The regret in her eyes told him she wished she could take the biting words back.
Vesper didn’t speak, just sat down on his bed. She was right, but he didn’t know how to fix any of it. A throbbing pain sang through his eye and into his skull. He buried his face in his hands.
When he looked up again, Briar stood in the doorway, her face grave. “You’re not the only one who's lost someone, Ves. I miss Izzy and Malachi, too.” She lingered there. Waited for him to say what he couldn’t get out. They both knew how much he had fucked up. "And I don't want to lose you too. Not again."
“Bri,” he croaked. His chest tightened to the point of pain. “What did the letter from the Council say?” Though he feared he already knew.
She stared at the floor as she spoke. “They’re overriding Destonne’s rule.”
His heart stopped. And his world turned upside down as she said three words that changed everything.
“They’re reclaiming Ellynne.”
CHAPTER FIVE
EMMERY
Later that day, after Brennen escorted Emmery back to her chambers, company arrived. Whenever visitors came to Blackdawn, they hid her away and told her to keep quiet like a good little prisoner. She had heard “the Council” whispered like a curse among the castle staff, which only piqued her curiosity. So, today, she’d snuck from her room and pressed her back against the wall as she eavesdropped on the meeting. She heard Destonne’s lazy voice first.
“What do you propose we do?” She could practically see him slouched in that high-back white chair, his cheek propped onhis hand, and that bored expression he always wore levelling his mouth.
Heart racing, Emmery pressed her ear to the door.
“Your quota must be met,” a voice responded, one she didn’t recognize. It sent a chill skittering down her spine, simultaneously too sweet and moulded by nightmares. “The means by which you do this do not matter, but you have a week.”
A brief, eerie silence dominated the room and sank into Emmery’s bones. What she would give for the briefest glimpse into that room to see with her own eyes who that voice belonged to. Its power seemed to echo off the castle walls, claiming each brick and tile as its own. She’d never heard anything like it.
“You’re ordering children into the mines,” the King replied, strained, as if pinched between clenched teeth. “They’rejuveniles.”
“They are uncleansed. Their lives mean little. If the mines do not claim them, the fever will.” Sugared talons raked Emmery’s ears with each word from the higher pitched voice. “Youwilldo it.”
A fist thumped the table chased by the King’s clipped words. “Though you know how I cherish our monthly heart to hearts, I’m a very busy man. Is there anything else before I take my leave? A puppy you wish me to kick? Elderly women to torment? Children’s candy to steal?”
“We have received word that your supply shipments have been raided on their way to the north. It seems your problem with thievery has only grown. Those goods are owed, and we anticipate you will replace the pilfered items,” the higher voice said, this time not honeyed, but molten. Burnt.
In the pin-drop quiet of the room, Destonne’s clothes rustled as he shifted. His voice rose and she pictured him leaning forward to close the distance in a power move she’d seen himmake. One he’d used on her. “I have already sent my Justice to investigate this. We have no replacement goods.”
His Justice? Was that what Cyrilla was?
“I suggest you act quickly. It’s not only us growing impatient. The northern patrons are displeased their trade lines have been dishonoured, especially after years of delayed goods. I’m sure you understand how this looks. How doubt is festering as to whether you will keep your promises. We anticipate you will deal with this or you will force our hand.”
Emmery’s breath caught at the thinly veiled threat.
The King cleared his throat. “Very well.”
Emmery clenched her jaw at the utter spinelessness of the reclusive King. He was sending children to their deaths, starving his people, only to lounge in his castle, safe and well-fed.Coward.
Footsteps neared the hall and Emmery narrowly ducked behind the door before it swung open. The handle missed her by a mere whisper.