Page 19 of Vicious Is My Throne

“I do,” I whispered. “I do. But this entire realm is at risk from a threat that can’t be combated by military force or steel. They’ll need magic to hold Corvus off.”

“Well, it’s a good thing Solarys has magic now, isn’t it?” He tugged me closer so we were pressed into each other. “Let your fears go. For one night, let them go.” He rested his forehead against mine, our breath mingling together.

Everything he said was true, and yet, I couldn’t stop thinking of Tempeste. I’d killed two kings and freed two realms from oppression. Yet one lay in ruins and the other was well on its way to destruction if we didn’t stop Corvus.

“You recovered faster than Raz and Zor did today, and Dane expects it will be a day before they’re ready to travel.” I paused, cursed myself for a coward, then asked, “Is that because you were in your wyvern form?”

“Partly,” he hedged, nestling even closer until there wasn’t an inch of space between us. Blood rushed to my face at how tightly we were pressed together, yet all he did was sigh in contentment.

“And partly because I’m older than the rest of you. Let’s just say my advanced age gives me a measure of strength that helps in situations like these.”

“Really? How much older?” I asked breathlessly, staring deep into those amazing eyes. “How old are you, Tristan?”

“Old enough to know when to stop answering questions.” He nipped my nose with a faint smile. “Go to sleep, ’Naria, and let me hold you,” he murmured, his arm tightening around me, his breathing evening out until he finally gave into exhaustion.

I took the rare opportunity to trace the sculptured details of Tristan’s face. I examined the healing scars still marring one side and the scorched patches of hair that were growing out, a shade darker than the longer locks around them.

Older than the rest of us, but how old? I wondered since he didn’t look a day over thirty.

I lifted my hand to examine the mark on his chest, the one that he’d hidden from me, probably because it showed exactly what he was. His heart beat slower than any Fae’s, his body a furnace I gratefully snuggled up against.

But even here wrapped in Tristan’s arms, with all his lovely heat sinking into me, didn’t stop my shiver.

I’d had a terrible revelation tonight—in between fetching blankets and water and firewood and worrying about whether or not the ward around Nightcairn would hold for the night.

I’d locked the Oracle away inside her dreams.

Now Corvus was here, poisoning this realm. Had Gelvira kept her brother’s corruption at bay for all these millennia? Had the Oracle, in her own way, been protecting these realms from an even worse threat than herself?

No matter how many times I thought this through, I came up with the same answer.

Yes. That was exactly what happened.

This insidious corruption was no accident and not a coincidence. I’d released this blight into Solarys, and the only way to stop the infestation was to either free the Oracle or kill Corvus.

More bad choices, it seemed, were about to be made.

The next morning, I found an exhausted Dane and Tavion sipping coffee in the kitchen with bleary eyes. “Is the ward still secure?” I asked, hunting through the pantry, finding a dozen eggs and enough bread to cobble together a half-assed breakfast.

“As of an hour ago, yes,” Dane muttered into his cup.

I cracked the eggs into the pan and started beating them smooth. “And right now?”

“The blight stops at the edge of our lands, but we had to reinforce the magic in a few areas where the black slime was working its way through. Montgomery magic will hold, though, it always does.”

“If the darkness breaks through the ward, how much time would we have to evacuate?”

“A few hours.” Tavion’s eyes met mine, his shining with despair. “We’d have two choices, the way Dane and I see it. Go north into the High Barrens or take the tunnels into Caladrius. But like Dane said, our wards will hold.”

I immersed the bread into the beaten eggs then set the pan on the warmer over the fire. “We’d better get everyone up. Raz needs to heal Zor and Lucius, then we have an hour to decide where we go next.”

Dane bristled. “Our magic has held for a thousand years, and that ward will hold today.”

“I’m not doubting the strength of your magic, Dane. That is Corvus out there and he’s coming after us. He knows we’re here,” I told them quietly, taking the half-full coffee cup from Tavion and tipping it to my lips.

“He can’t leave his little cave, but he’s powerful enough to send his magic this far south. Your wards kept him at bay last night, but he’ll find a way through, and when he does, we’d better be gone.”

Dane set his cup down with a thump. “What do you know that we don’t?”

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