Page 30 of Queen of Thorns
“Caelynn,” Rev warns.
“What is that?” Rai asks, spinning to give us his full attention.
“I’ll have to risk my own life, and the High Court, by approaching the ancient king a second time.” I cross my arms and keep my chin high. They will find no fear within me.
The spell book growls. The vibration so strong, my bag even vibrates with his anger. Rai’s eyes widen, staring at the bag. “Someone doesn’t seem to like that answer.”
“Neither do I,” Rev says, voice low. He steps closer, leaning down over me. “I will not sacrifice you to that being—he will want you as a sacrifice.”
“We don’t know that.”
“Yes, we do,” the book says.
I roll my eyes, and my lips part, ready to tell the book off but then remember Rai. He may suspect more than we’ve told him, but I won’t give it away entirely. I’ll reprimand the spell book later. He doesn’t know what’s in the mind of the ancient king or what his intentions are. He’s making assumptions just like the rest of us.
“So, those are our only options?” Rai asks. “We rouse this ancient power and hope she’ll aid us in a war? Or we sacrifice Caelynn and the High Court island to the king, and use him in the war instead?”
I nod. “We wouldn’t use this ancient for war, though. She won’t be strong enough for that. We’ll simply need her power to complete a spell to trap the Night Ancients again. But yes. We need an ancient on our side, or we have no hope of containing this evil.”
Ria covers his mouth with his hand. “All right, what are my instructions for this test?”
Rev
My stomach squirmsuncomfortably as Raijin holds his hands over the railing of the ship. We’d decided on pulling up the anchor just in case we need to make a quick escape. The water fae stands at the ready beside Rai.
Lightning sparks in the Crackling King’s palms and then flickers out.
He waits, watching the still waters glistening in the bright afternoon sun.
He takes in a deep breath and then lightning sparks again, crackling and sparking between his open palms.
I turn my attention to Caelynn. Her wide eyes are a dull bronze, her muscles tense.
Ever since she came back from the human world, she’s been only half here. Her mind is constantly moving, thinking through all the what-ifs. I know she feels as though she can’t truly rest until the Night Bringer is gone from this world.
The Lady of the Lake is only a backup plan to her. I know she wants to raise the ancient king beneath the High Court because that’s the only way to kill her monster, instead of only banishing him.
