Page 99 of Oath of War
The portal’s surface flickered, distorting as it spit out an unidentified form onto the floor. The chancellor and several Moroi generals followed before the Lich King emerged, and only Cahyon remained standing as the black surface collapsed behind him. The blast of his power swept through the room, sending everyone to the ground and scattering the tables and food that had been prepared for his celebration.
My unrestrained laughter caught Cahyon’s attention, a rage that promised suffering burning in his eyes. But the longer he stared at me, the calmer he became—as if having a witness to his failure was offensive enough without him showing how it affected him.
After a moment, he grunted some orders, and his court scattered to fulfil them.
‘Care to explain yourself?’ he snapped at Rowena. ‘You said she was incapacitated. That you controlled her power. Or was it another conduit mage that just decimated my army? Oh, and care to explain how thefuckshe used necromancy?’
My laughter grew louder when he grabbed a filigree cup from a nearby table and hurled it in Rowena’s direction. My sister ducked, the missile smashing against the wall.
‘I don’t know. There was something ...’ she stuttered. ‘She was protected. She burned me, and I had to withdraw—’
‘You stupid bitch! And you wanted to rule by my side?You?A little pain and you tucked your tail and ran like a rat.’
Cahyon was seething, and even knowing it would hurt, I just couldn’t help myself.
‘You thought you had a chance against my domina? The woman who made a bargain with a goddess. How does it feel to taste defeat, to see your precious army scattered by her spells?’
Rowena hissed, rushing towards me and backhanding me so hard my head smacked the wall painfully.
‘Silence!’ she snapped as I glared at her, spitting blood onto her boots. ‘No one asked your opinion.’
Cahyon’s gaze bore into me, wearing my father’s face like a grotesque mask. I despised the sight of it. Yet despite the loathing that burned in my chest, I could read his expressions clearly—anger and disdain, emotions I knew well. But beneath them lingered something foreign: fear. I knew Ani had used necromancy; I felt it in the gentle tug on our Anchor bond as I willingly opened my mind and soul to her. It seemed my domina had used it well.
The Lich King approached, calculation replacing the uncertainty before the corner of his mouth lifted into a smile. I cursed silently. We both knew I was the only thing that could force Annika’s compliance. Escape was impossible, so I had to force him to kill me before he could use me as a bargaining chip.
‘You’ve experienced a taste of her power now. Are you ready to face Annika face-to-face? As long as I live, her necromancy will outstrip yours. I will sacrifice every ounce of strength, of power, to see her rip that army from your control and destroy you with it,’ I sneered, my manic grin expressing the truth in my words. ‘When she’ll come Katrass, you will kneel at her feet like the beaten cur you are.’
‘You think I’ve lost, foolish boy? I still have you, don’t I? I wanted a thriving kingdom, and Iwillhave it. She won’t stop me.’
‘How naïve of you to believe you still have a chance’ I said. ‘She whipped your arse, didn’t she?’
He raised his fist, struggling to control himself, and I wondered if he was going to end me now, but I wasn’t so lucky.
‘Collar him and drop him in the oubliette,’ Cahyon commanded before he grasped my chin, forcing me to look at him. ‘She won the battle, but I will win the war. She levelled themountain, mourning some woman; for you, she will offer me her magic and Dagome on a silver platter.’
‘What did you do?’ I hissed, shocked by the revelation. I gaped at him, not reacting when his golems grabbed me from behind and snapped a cold metal collar around my neck. It burned, extinguishing my magic, and I clawed at my throat as the constructs dragged me to the dungeons.
When they pushed me through a small hatch in the floor, I fell, landing on a pile of bones that scraped my skin. It reminded me so much of the Dark Mother’s Grotto of Dreamers that I was almost grateful that the collar throttled my magic, preventing me from drowning in the whispers of the forgotten dead.
I stared at the ceiling, studying the hatch far beyond my reach, the glow at its edges my only light in the overwhelming darkness.
I needed a plan. Sooner or later, Cahyon’s golems would come for me, and if I was still here when Reynard’s forces reached Katrass, I needed a way to die to stop the bastard from using me against Annika.
‘Hrae, what did they do that hurt you so, love?’ I murmured.
Ani was a caring woman, but she hadn’t made many friends at Varta. There was her maid, Agnes, who had made a strong impression in a short time. Bryna, who, despite her gruff and coarse nature, loved fiercely. And Katja, the herbalist whose quiet strength kept those around her calm even when the world went to shit.
‘He said Ani levelled a mountain. If he hurt one of her family, they’re lucky she didn’t burn the world to ash,’ I said into the darkness.
I knew Cahyon had wanted to win the war in one fell sweep, one grand battle that would break his enemies. My sister had explained it in great detail as we waited. What I didn’t know was what he planned to do now.
I whispered a quick prayer to the Dark Mother. All I needed was a little luck, a hint of a miracle, a crack in my collar, an unexpected guest ... justsomethingI could twist in my favour.
I lost track of time, but it felt like days had passed. As weariness burned my eyes, something caught my attention: a noise, a quiet but unmistakable shuffling of feet, before a light blinded me and something fell onto my stomach, winding me.
‘Eat, fae. I will return, but you must build up your strength. Your domina will be here soon.’ I wasn’t sure, but it sounded like the reluctant healer who’d saved me after my capture.
‘Wait! Tell me what’s going on,’ I shouted, but she was already walking away. I scratched around for the package, trying to grasp it before the light disappeared completely.
