Page 58 of Crown of Briars
A lump formed in my throat. How could I refuse his request, when I knew innocent people were dying?
I wrung my hands together, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. I was here to kill the king—to eradicate his shadow magic completely.
But speaking with him now, knowing he was trying toprotect his people—that he had even stood in the path of the poisonous shadows—made it extremely difficult. Inwardly, I felt my resolve cracking.
Could I really go through with this?
I cleared my throat. “You said it was temporary. What would be a permanent solution?”
“I—there is—” His mouth clamped shut, and a muscle feathered in his jaw. His nostrils flared as he gave me a frustrated look. “I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?”
“Will you stop repeating what I say?” he snapped.
“I will when you start making sense!”
He pinched the bridge of his nose and expelled a harsh breath. “There are things I cannot tell you, Sybelle. There is magic binding me, preventing me from doing so. Iwantyou to know more. But I cannot say.”
A cold chill skittered over me, making my bones tremble. I suppressed a shudder and wrapped my arms around my chest. “Is my life in danger?” The words came out in a whisper.
Varius looked at me for a long moment, his expression inscrutable. Finally, he said, “Right now? No.”
My eyes closed. “Stones, that isnotcomforting.”
“Would you prefer I lie?”
“You can’t lie,” I said with a snort.
“I am trying to be as forthcoming as I can with you.” He spread his hands as if to placate me. “I was hoping to avoid deceiving you by giving you all the information I could. My council… suggested I ignore your wishes and take what I needed, but I refused.”
“Am I supposed to show gratitude for that?” I choked on an incredulous laugh. “Oh thank you, kind and magnanimous King Varius, for not tying me to a chair and extracting my blood by force. Thank you for telling meup frontthat I might die to save your people.”
“I said nothing of the sort,” he growled. “Do not put words in my mouth.”
“Do not patronize me by withholding truths!”
“I am telling you all that I can!”
“That’s bullshit!” I shouted, hands curled into fists at my side. “Tell me plainly, is it at all possible that giving you my blood to stop these shadows will cost me my life?”
A tense silence fell between us as we stared each other down. His spine was rigid, and dark shadows pooled on the floor by his feet, inching toward me. Fury rippled off him in waves, but I continued to glare at him, waiting.
At long last, he spoke.
“Yes.”
I huffed a harsh laugh, turning away from him with one hand on my hip and the other on my forehead. My skull was throbbing from the monumental revelations he had just divulged.
He could not control the shadows.
They were deadly to the unseelie.
Only human blood could stop them.
It was very possible I could die by giving up my blood to save his kingdom.
I had a very strong suspicion thatthiswas why the Shadow Court continuously asked for human brides. And when each human’s blood ran out, Varius was forced to send for another.
