Page 166 of Crown of Briars
My fists were shaking. I could barely contain my fury. The shock of Gerard’s revelations was wearing off, and in its place was unchecked rage.
For hundreds of years, he’d been plotting. Encouraging this division between the two courts. Hungry forwar.
How many lives had been sacrificed for his efforts? The lives of both the unseelie and the humans… So much anguish and hatred, and Gerard was at the heart of it.
Would we have found peace if he hadn’t been lurking within the Earthen Court with his spies? If Gerard had never settled in my kingdom, would we have enjoyed an alliance with the Shadow Court?
“What happens after?” I whispered. “After the castle is breached and… and Varius is dead, then what?”
A tender look crossed his features, and I realized he was misreading my fear. “You don’t have to worry, Sybelle. I have a plan in place. While I get you to safety, Orla will ensure every last unseelie fae is killed. They will never be able to hurt you again.”
Oh, Stones.My eyes closed, and in my mind, I pictured the sweet face of that fae child crying in the hall. His smile. His wide, doe-like eyes.
That child would be killed.Allthe fae children would be killed. Murdered by my sister. Murdered bymy own people.
Gerard’s revenge went much further than simply punishing the fae royals for what they had done to his mother. He wanted to obliterate an entire race.
Screams echoed in the distance, and an explosion shook theground, making the castle walls rumble. My eyes grew wide as I looked around, waiting for the palace to crumble around us.
“Please,” Gerard hissed, grabbing my wrist. “We have to go.Now.”
It took all my restraint not to jerk my arm out of his grasp, or to twist and break his wrist. Just his fingers on my skin made me want to retch.
“Gerard, I can’t justleave,” I argued, trying to buy myself more time.
“You can’t stay here.” He leveled a hard stare on me. “Don’t you realize the Wraith King is dooming you to die?”
A tendril of icy dread curled in my chest. “What are you talking about?”
“Every human bride gave their lives to stop the deadly shadows.”
I took a hesitant step away from him and shook my head. “No. That—That can’t be right. The shadows only need a little blood.”
He nodded slowly, as if I were daft for not putting the pieces together by now. “Yes. A little blood…at first.They feed on human blood and unseelie blood. And they demand more and more until the king and his bride are sucked dry and wither away into nothingness.”
“No,” I said again, shutting my eyes like I could block his words from reaching my brain.
“Think about it, Sybelle. Has he ever told you you’re safe? Has he ever told youhow much bloodis required?”
I shuddered, hunching over as the truth of his words sank in.
Varius hadn’t been able to promise me my life wasn’t in danger by giving blood.
Because my lifewasin danger.
Once I gave blood, I wouldn’t be able to stop… until I died.
Tonight, I only need a vial,Varius had said.
He had deceived me. Again.
I waited for the betrayal to hit me in full force, to slice through me and destroy the trust we had built together… but it never did.
Because if Varius had asked me if I would give my life to save this kingdom, I would have said yes. Right now, I was willing to bleed every drop of my blood to protect the Shadow Fae.
And that truth stunned me more than anything Gerard had told me.
My eyes snapped open and fixed on Gerard. “How do you know this?”
