Page 164 of A Song of Air
Unseelie Truths
Valerio’s magic lashedout. Bryson didn’t know what it was, not until the tight grasp of mania gripped her mind and threatened to choke it. She screamed and her own magic pushed out, causing a whirlwind through the throne room.
Darkness invaded her mind, and it caused her to drop to her knees. It pushed through her senses, threatening, ready... and then it just... vanished.
The fog on her brain cleared and she looked up through hazy vision. Valerio was no longer before her. Instead, it was the Elementals in her line of sight. Standing between them, holding their magic in the palms of their hands. Fire. Ice. Water. They held it out like shields and barriers between two opposing sides brimming with the promise of war.
“Wait!” Iona ordered. “Everyone just wait a fucking minute!”
There was a single moment of pause. Valerio let out a growl.
“I am the prince...” His voice broke. “And I order you to move aside so I may bring these traitors to justice.”
“I understand,” Iona told him gently. “But there has to be an explanation for this. Give them a chance to explain.”
“What excuse could they possibly have for what they’ve done here?” he spat.
“I promise you there is a very good excuse for what Weylyn did to that monster,” Bryson said. Her every breath was heavy and her heart was pounding a crazy beat against her ribcage.
This wasn’t something she’d ever thought she’d face. Staring down the prince of her people, caught between Elementals in a battle they were sure to lose. But she would stand by Weylyn like no one else had before.
The king deserved what he got and more.
“I am telling you to stand aside, Elemental.” Valerio unsheathed his sword and pointed it in their direction.
“No,” she said firmly. “I won’t.”
Valerio growled and the room grew dark with the use of his magic.
“Valerio, wait.” Clay stepped up beside Valerio and pressed a hand to his shoulder. “Wait one second, cousin.”
“No!” Valerio shouted. “I want his head!”
“You will not have it,” Weylyn said slowly from behind Bryson. “And I will not apologize for what I’ve done. Your father deserved this and more for all the crimes he’s committed.”
“Crimes?” Valerio spat. “Crimes?! You have committed the greatest crime of all. Regicide is punishable by torture and death.”
A fierce wave of protectiveness rose in Bryson. A growl rumbled from her chest, the instinctive urge to protect her mate. To protect Weylyn.
“You can try,” she whispered darkly. “But I won’t let you.”
“Then you will fall too!”
“You would really condemn him for killing the man who murdered his sister in cold blood?”
The entire room fell silent at that. Behind her, Weylyn tensed. They’d never agreed to share this story. It was not even hers to tell, but they deserved to know. It deserved to be heard. Valerio deserved to know what kind of a monster his father truly was.
