Page 64 of The Kingdom of Flames and Ash

“The dragons want Lira to be Pyralis’s wife, so they found a way to make it happen.” Eldrin glanced at the dirty floor puddledwith his blood. “If it weren’t for them, my uncle never would’ve gone mad and tried to blanket the realm in darkness.”

Anger flashed through the bond from Tavish.

I still struggled to make sense of what he’d said. “This all happened because ofme?”

“I’m sure there are a ton of dragons who would be suitable as Pyralis’s mate.” Mother scoffed. “He has to have his story mixed up.”

My hand tightened on the sword hilt, and Eldrin lifted both hands, unable to hold his right hand as high as the left, thanks to where I’d cut his shoulder. “Yes, the prince has a ton of options, but why marry another dragon when he can breed with a fae that controls water?”

“But why does that—” Finnian started, but Caelan cut him off.

“Because any children they have together could be immune to the effects of water. It would be a breed of dragons,royalat that, who would have no weaknesses.”

Bile inched up my throat, and I removed the blade from Eldrin’s back. The thought of having children with Pyralis had been horrible enough, but understanding the reasoning— “They want to control the realm, which could be possible if—” I stopped, unable to finish the sentence.

“They’ve been behind all of this. Manipulating us into a vow to cause the very fate we joined forces with them to prevent? Ardanos isn’t meant to be led by one species. That would cause an imbalance of power,” Father growled so deeply the ground quaked as his earth magic bled out.

“Wait.” Mom cleared her throat. “How did they manage to get the Unseelie king to cloak the realm in darkness and kill himself?”

Eldrin shook his head. “I’ve told you that the dragons tricked you, which voids the agreement. In our realm, no agreement withstands if there is knowledge of manipulation. The rest—”

“You will tell usnow,” Tavish commanded, stepping beside me with his sword in his hand and swinging his blade so it slid right where I’d already begun severing the muscle. He went an inch deeper, blood rushing even faster.

“They gave me a sword to give him.” Eldrin’s voice cracked. He leaned back toward his wing as if that would reattach it. “A sword made of dragon materials, and I glamoured it with Unseelie magic so he couldn’t feel the dragon’s power coming off it.” His gaze landed on Tavish’s sword.

“The sword Tavish has now?” I needed to hear him say the words.

He paused and exhaled. “Yes. Since it holds dragon magic, it amplifies their magic when we’re at our strongest on Unseelie land.”

Tavish took a step back. “Is that why Father began acting strange?”

“The dragon king said it would make him unstable and he wouldn’t be fit to lead.” Sweat beaded Eldrin’s brow. “I didn’t know it would drive him to kill the queen and himself.”

Even though I was certain Father had stopped shaking the ground, it still seemed to move under my feet. “Was that the compensation you received? You made the king unable to lead his people so you could take over?”

“Yes! I should’ve been king, but my father passed before the power transfer, which made King Dunach the next to inherit the crown.” He smacked his chest, his irises darkening. “If Father had just remained alive for ten more years, the crown would’ve been mine. Now it’s Tavish’s when I should be the one in power and taking care of our people.”

“You thornling. Father brought you into our castle and treated you like one of his sons. He protected you, clothed you, and trained you. Everything you wanted or desired, he provided,” Tavish snarled, cutting through the rest of Eldrin’s left wing.

The dark wing dropped, and Eldrin screamed. Blood spurted from the muscle, hitting the wall behind him and coating the floor. Through his cries, he shouted, “I should’ve been the one to care for him. It wasn’t supposed to be that way!”

Tavish’s rage blazed through him, and he lifted the sword to cut off the other wing. However, I caught his arm. There was still one question I needed answered, and slicing off the other wing would prevent him from telling us anything else.

He turned his stormy irises on me, and I linked,Give me one second.

Not waiting for the answer, I looked at Eldrin once again. The agony on his face didn’t stir my empathy. If he died, I wouldn’t shed a tear. “If the sword caused King Dunach to kill himself, why did you give it to Tavish? That makes no sense. If Tavish dies, the magic will go with him.”

“I watched him closely to ensure he didn’t show the same signs as his father.” Eldrin’s body shook. “Tavish never showed signs of losing his mind the same way. In fact, the sword seemed to help him become the type of leader we needed. That is until you came along.”

And that was the last bit of information I needed. Instead of allowing Tavish to take the life of his kin, something that I knew for certain would haunt him eventually, I lunged forward and stabbed Eldrin in the heart.

His eyes widened. “But you said—”

“I never vowed immunity. And I want you to die knowing that I won’t be Pyralis’s and that Tavish and I will rule together with me as queen by his side.” I stared him in the eye, wanting tobe the last thing he ever saw. A ruthlessness I never knew I had surged inside me.

You are so sexy,Tavish connected, looping his arm around me. We both watched Eldrin take his last breath.

The moment seemed to stretch, but the life drained from Eldrin’s eyes. When his heart stopped, I didn’t even bother to remove the sword. Instead, I released my hold, allowing Eldrin to fall forward, the hilt splashing into his blood on the floor. He then dropped to one side, his tunic soaked in it.

---