Page 62 of Crown of Briars
Please write back quickly. If you are close to achieving your goal, I can send word and delay the army.
All my love,
G
Nausea churned in my gut as I set the parchment on my lap, struggling to calm my breathing. Stones, this was an utter and complete mess.
I raised my hand to my forehead, my pulse jumping so violently I thought I might faint. If Ramia hadn’t brought me food, I most likely would have.
Gerard still wanted me. And Father planned to invade the Shadow Court.
What in thehellwas he thinking? He was no match for the Shadow Fae. It was why he hadn’t been able to do anything all this time. What had changed? I was his secret weapon. All those years and all that time invested in creating the perfect spy… Why would he throw all of that away now? It had only been a week since I had left.
None of this was right. Gerard should not be pining for me. And Father should not be making a move against my husband’s kingdom.
Terror seeped into my bones as I stood, pacing the length ofthe library while I considered what to do. Unfortunately, I wasnotany closer to finding the enchanted rose. It was very possible the flower did not exist at all and Gerard had been right to scoff at me.
But I had to write him back, or else Father would risk the safety of my home by attacking a kingdom he did not have the power to defeat.
Using the quill and parchment on the table, I hastily scrawled a response to Gerard. I begged him to give me more time and told him I had come across some interesting information that might lead me to the rose.
It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t a truth, either. I had uncovered lots of interesting tidbits. But I was no closer to finding the rose.
It was a deception. And it made me even more desperate to find the truth.
Footsteps sounded nearby, and I jumped. With shaking hands, I folded up the two letters and tucked them into my bodice, along with the notes I had taken during my studies. I was terrified someone would walk in and discover the damning evidence of my betrayal.
After smoothing my hands on my skirts a few times, I took a deep breath and left the library, my heart skittering uncontrollably at the thought of my father invading and igniting a war between the two courts.
A war my people would most certainly lose.
I grippedthe reins tightly as Zorben, my alpora, tore through the sky. Wind whipped at my face, stinging my eyes, and making my hair fly wildly behind me.
Alporas were slightly larger than horses, and far faster, even on land. I didn’t often use the alporas for flying; the Necro Shadows made them far too skittish to fly that high. But Zorben was fearless, and the urgent missive from General Forsenn could not be ignored. On foot, Zorben would have taken half a day to reach the lower towns.
I couldn’t wait that long.
With each beat of Zorben’s wings, his muscles flexed underneath my thighs. It was certainly not a comfortable ride. The skeletal beasts had hardly any fat surrounding their bones, which meant I felt every single movement acutely.
The moisture of the clouds tickled my arms, and I kept a careful eye on the Necro Shadows, which hovered close by. Zorben flew lower, giving us more space from those deadly shadows. The Lumen from my own shadow magic only extended as far as the Agnarr Castle. I wasn’t powerful enough to stretch beyond that; otherwise, I would use it to protect the entire kingdom.
Zorben unleashed a screech that pierced the air, making my ears throb. I gritted my teeth, tugging on the reinsas we made our descent. The alpora’s black wings were massive, large enough to span ten soldiers when fully flexed. My own wings were powerful, but I could only glide with them, and using them significantly drained my magic.
I was also keen to ignore just how much the curse had claimed me already. It wasn’t long after my father’s wings appeared that he lost his life. Some naïve part of me thought that if I used my wings as little as possible, I could slow the effects of the curse.
Foolish indeed.
Zorben arced lower, gliding between the trees and landing just east of a gravel path leading into the village. His hooves hit the ground hard, the muscles of his four legs jostling me as he pumped furiously. I jolted in the saddle and grunted from the impact, but Zorben continued at a gallop, shifting effortlessly from flying to running. Shadows swirled around us, but Zorben recognized it as the Umbra Mist that protected us. Even so, I shot a wary glance toward the sky, noting the darkened mist of the Necro Shadows that floated in the air like storm clouds. They were thicker here, nearly blocking out the sun entirely.
And straight ahead, right where the village rested, was a massive plume of Necro Shadows, swirling like an intense funnel cloud.
With a shout, I jerked on Zorben’s reins, bringing him to an abrupt halt. My eyes traveled up the height of the shadow pillar, my heart seizing in my chest.
I had no idea the situation was this dire. I had certainly believed Forsenn when he’d told me the shadows had reached the village.
Butthis? This was volatile and menacing. This was as if the shadows had developed a mind of their own, collecting together to form a unique entity that could swallow the court entirely.
“Mother of Shade help us,” I whispered as I stared at the raging tornado in horror. Zorben snorted, huffing in discomfort,his hooves digging into the gravel at his feet. I patted the side of his neck, my fingers meeting the thin black skin that barely covered the bones jutting out from his body.
