Page 22 of Vicious Is My Throne

Zor”s dark eyes glimmered as if he was running every possible scenario through his head right now and making some hard decisions. “One hour, then we meet back here. How many horses are here?”

Dane shifted his feet. “I sent the staff off as soon as we saw the threat. Only three are left and one is a pack mule, no saddle.”

“You and Lucius take the two horses with saddles; we’ll take the pack mule since we’re on foot.”

“You can make the portal in two days,” Dane said confidently. “If the creek was as swollen as you say, then most of the snowpack has already melted off. With the swell in temperature from the magic, there won’t be any snow in the high country. We’ll reach Stormfall in five days if the way is clear.”

Raz climbed to his feet and held out his hand. “We meet out front in an hour.” I slid my hand into his, confidence swelling inside me as soon as our palms met.

“Are you sure about this, Anaria?” Raz murmured when we were upstairs, away from everyone else. “We’ll be on foot. Which means we’ll be vulnerable to attack. Slow, in case those…what did you call them? Night Crawlers? If they attack again, we’ll be vulnerable.”

“I have my magic and so do you. We have a wolf and a wyvern and Zorander Vayle. I worry for anyone stupid enough to attack us.”

Raziel smiled softly. “I like your confidence, princess. Now let’s figure out how to kill an Old God without all of us dying in the process.”

We were dressed and packed when Dane returned from his final check of the ward, his face a white mask as he raced out of the forest toward the castle. “The blight is through the ward and it’s moving faster than anything I’ve ever seen. That fucking darkness will reach the castle in a few minutes.”

Right behind him, as if carried the wind, came the faint echo of Corvus’s voice. A princess with no kingdom, a thief with no morals, when I find you, I will devour you whole.

I shivered against the reeking wind, against the threat that no one but me seemed to hear.

Lucius was already mounted, bundled in layers of wool and thick furs, Tavion turning his father’s horse around as Dane flung himself onto his own horse, kicking the beast into motion. Lucius paused long enough to clasp Tavion’s hand.

“When will I see you again, son?”

Tavion’s eyes swung to mine, then he shook his head. “Don’t know, but as soon as we can manage. If we find our answers in the tunnels, then it’s still a hard ride across the Pale to the Hammer. From there…” Tavion shrugged. “Hard to tell.”

“Be careful,” Lucius warned. “Those tunnels hold secrets even your uncle doesn’t know about. As far as the blood oath”—he glanced between us, his face somber—“I will find you the answer you need, Anaria. And figure out some way to get the information to you.”

“You didn’t see what’s coming. We have to get moving,” Dane shouted, stopped at the mouth of the narrow hunting trail leading into the mountains. “We don’t have time for pleasantries, Lucius.”

“Oh, we know what’s coming,” Tavion muttered before he grasped his father’s hand. “Ride fast for Stormfall and stay ahead of that.” He jerked his head to the darkening woods, that deep encroaching silence that wasn’t at all natural. “Stay well ahead of that.”

“We will, trust me.” Dane bared his teeth in a fearsome grin. “See you the next time we meet.”

They galloped off, and no sooner were out of sight than black tendrils crept out of the forest, the next gust of wind bringing that reeking scent and a shower of curled, blighted leaves. A ripple of stillness followed, the kind of silence that meant only one thing.

Death.

Anaria, that darkness seemed to call.

“Let’s go.” Tristan led the pack mule, and we hurried around the castle, following the well-worn road until we reached the tunnel entrance, Raziel picking up a torch, Zorander stowing every extra one into the mule’s pack. “We conserve everything. Fire. Magic. Torches. We move fast but take breaks when we must.”

I nodded, grateful Zor was taking over, then took one final look over my shoulder before the tunnel engulfed us in darkness.

The elegant spires of Nightcairn were already turning black, slime dripping down the leaded glass windows as if the stones were being swallowed by a nightmare. A pang went through me as they disappeared beneath a layer of sludge. I was so pissed I couldn’t stop this, so fucking angry I was about to lose this beautiful, magical place which was as close to home as any I’d ever had.

Tavion didn’t look back at all.

“This isn’t over. We’ll be back, ’Naria.” Tristan touched my shoulder. “When this is over, when they’re both dead, we’ll come back and make this place whole again.” His hazel eyes gleamed with understanding. “If this is where you want to live, then this could be our home.”

We didn’t have time for this, not really, and yet I couldn’t stop myself from asking. “You’d be happy here, if we decided to stay?”

He pulled me against him and ran his nose up my throat, breathing deeply, an echo of his wyvern’s purr rumbling in his chest before he pulled away with a grin. “Anywhere you are will always be home to me, ’Naria.”

White teeth flashed against the darkness of the tunnel.

I took one last look at Corvus’s festering rot devouring Nightcairn’s regal beauty as his corruption ruined yet another thing I loved, my shiver of anger lasting long after I ducked into the darkness and followed the others toward whatever secrets waited for us down here.

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