Page 31 of The Flame King's Queen

Isavelle reaches up and caresses my cheek. “Is everything all right, Zabriel?”

That thing mentioned my unborn child. We have secured the southern border, but it doesn’t feel like we have won anything.

I hold Isavelle in my arms as my soldiers and riders report about the battle. Wingrunner scouts scour the area, but there’s no sign of Emmeric.

“I wanted him dead. A clean, uncomplicated victory for Maledin.”

Speaking in a soft voice, Isavelle says, “The lich is gone. You have driven him out of Maledin, and all your soldiers and riders will fight to keep the borders secure. You have won today. I feared for my mate’s life, but he stands strong and tall on his own lands, and the enemy is vanquished.”

She’s right, but I still can’t manage to feel victorious. Until Emmeric is dead and that thing inside him has dissolved into nothing or has been trapped forever where it can no longer cause harm, this isn’t over.

12

Isavelle

Afew hours later in Lenhale, my mate is restless. Zabriel paces up and down the War Room, picking up scrolls containing reports and flinging them down again with a snarl. He’s in a more agitated state than he was before the battle. The undead army crumbling to dust and blowing away on the wind was a relief to many, but Zabriel seems to be taking it as a personal insult. Emmeric cheated him out of a true victory and then fled.

Sundra and Ashton are leaning over the map of Maledin and discussing the best plan to protect the southern borders while Zabriel listens in, his arms folded tightly across his chest. His gaze scours the southern mountains on the other side of the border, and I know he’s wondering whether his enemy fled back into the mountains where he, Emmeric, Mirelle, Onderz, and Stesha first encountered it. Mountains must feel safe and familiar to the undead sorcerer.

There are voices in the corridor, and then in walks Zenevieve, her cheeks tearstained and her face pale. Stesha is just behind her, his expression grave.

I hurry forward and take Zenevieve’s hands in mine. Her flesh is ice cold.

“He’s dead,” she chokes out.

“Who is dead?” I ask her.

“Shar.”

Amid my concern for Zabriel, I had forgotten about Zenevieve and Stesha’s mission to rescue Emmeric’s dragon. I watched Nilak fling boulders at the stone tower until it toppled to the ground, but then the wounded were brought out to us and my attention was all on bandages, blood, and burns.

Zenevieve is crying so hard, she seems incapable of speaking, so I put my arms around her and lead her to a wooden bench.

Zabriel looks to Stesha for an explanation.

“The tower came down easily, and Zen and I were able to reach Shar,” Stesha says, his eyes on Zenevieve. “He was as Lady Isavelle described him, unconscious and manacled, only he wasn’t alone. When we reached him, Emmeric was standing over him with a knife.”

Zabriel’s folded arms loosen in shock. “You actually saw Emmeric? I did not lay eyes on him the entire battle.”

“Saw and spoke with him,” Stesha says, his eyes narrowing with malice. “He was there to kill Shar.”

“But why kill Shar after all this time?” I ask.

“He didn’t want to,” Zenevieve says thickly, brushing tears from her cheeks. “Emmeric was very cruel toward his dragon, but he didn’t want to kill him.”

Zabriel looks to Stesha again for further information.

It takes a long time for the dragonmaster to speak. “Emmeric and that thing inside him seemed to be fighting over it. We wondered if the lich used Shar’s magic somehow, and that’s why the dragon was alive. Maybe it no longer needed his magic, so Shar had to die. I feel like it was testing Emmeric’s loyalty.”

I recall how strangely protective Emmeric was when I discovered the chained dragon. “But Emmeric conceded? He killed Shar?”

Stesha shakes his head. “I drove Emmeric away. The magic in the manacles holding Shar dissipated, but…” Stesha trails off, his lips pressing together as Zenevieve starts to sob. “Shar had been a prisoner too long. All his strength was gone, and we couldn’t save him.”

Zenevieve buries her face in her hands. I stroke her hair, pain in my heart. She was longing to rescue Shar and bring him home where he could be free, and she might have become his new rider. “Zenevieve, I’m so sorry.”

“There’s more,” Zenevieve says through tears. “Seeing Emmeric standing over Shar with a knife in his hand brought back my memories from all those centuries ago. Emmeric killed Minta. He tore her soul core out right in front of me. I felt her die, and it was so horrific that I fell apart. Emmeric put me somewhere in a dark place. Later he woke me up to spy on you all. He cast some kind of spell on me and made me believe I was someone else, and it was easy for him to do because I was so weak and broken.”

As she’s been talking, Stesha has come over to us, and he stands over Zenevieve with a look of pain on his face. The dragonmaster reaches out and touches her hair, but Zenevieve gets to her feet and runs from the room. The strands slip between his fingers, and he’s left staring after her.

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