Page 246 of The Call of Crimson
Pained groans echo through the room, the sound of bodies hitting the floor somewhere in the background. I lose the battle to stand, falling to my knees with them.
“I can’t hear her,” I cry.
Ayden grasps my shoulder, and for the first time, I notice the blood streaming down from his eyes and nose. “Aurelius, you must stop. You’re killing everyone in this room.”
A quick glance around proves his words true. Every guard is doubled over in pain, blood draining out from every orifice.
Icy indifference settles over me. “Good.”
“Aurelius, I know you don’t mean that,” Ayden tries to reason, the whites of his eyes now fully red. “These are good people. They don’t deserve to die.”
“Nothing matters if she’s dead,” I mumble.
“She’s not dead, she’s just not on the same continent. We can still find her. We’ll bring her back,” Ayden pleads. “You would know if she were truly gone.”
Somewhere behind me, a female screams. It’s not the queen. Ayden turns his gaze to the sound, horror crossing his face. There’s a conversation between them, but I don’t understand any of the words said.
The world around me blurs in and out of focus, the power in my veins growing steadily stronger.
It’s still silent, so silent where I should hear Breyla.
Delicate fingers splay across my temples, and the female, Rowina, I realize now, leans into my ear and whispers, “Sleep, brother.”
Exhaustion, drowsiness like I’ve never known, wraps around me. I lose the fight to stay conscious, darkness overtaking me in a matter of seconds.
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
AYDEN
“Guard this door closely. Lord Aurelius is not to leave under any circumstances,” I instruct the guards carrying his unconscious body to the bed. Dried blood cakes all our faces, but by the grace of the gods, we’re all alive. Rowina arrived at precisely the right moment.
“What should we do if he wakes and becomes violent again?” one of the guards asks.
“Princess Rowina will remain close by. If she needs to, she can put him back to sleep.”
The guard nods but doesn’t look confident in my plan. It was the best we had at the moment.
The door clicks shut, the lock sliding into place. Two of our strongest palace guards post themselves on either side of the door, with three more stationed farther down the hall. Fear and uncertainty linger in every face that was present for his outburst.
I’ve watched Aurelius for years, but never has he lost complete and utter control like that. It was as terrifying as it was impressive.
What have you done, brother?
“He belongs in the dungeon,” my mother says, her jaw ticking.
“And the same could be argued for you, Mother.”
“I’m the queen,” she says like it’s some explanation that justifies her actions. “I acted in defense of your life and the kingdom’s well-being.”
I rub my temples, trying to lessen the ache growing behind my eyes. “Keep telling yourself what you must to rationalize the havoc you have brought upon Prudia.”
She huffs. “I’m not rationalizing anything, son. It’s the truth.”
“No. The truth is that you withheld pertinent information from me, and it has cost countless people their lives.” I meet her eyes, my gaze hardening. “Over half of Inasvine lies dead, waiting to burn.”
Her throat bobs as she gulps, the gravity of her actions finally sinking in. “I never intended for that to happen, I had no way of knowing?—”
“Your intentions don’t mean shit. They’redead. Breyla and Darian are missing, likely next to lose their lives, or have you forgotten what they did to Malcom?”
