Page 92 of Queen of Thorns
Caelynn
The moment I step outof the storage closet with Rev, the power of the Light King sparks deep below the High Court. Like static electricity, thick and pulsing. There’s a pull low in my belly that’s eerily familiar. A wordless beckoning. Offering me everything I’ve ever desired.
Magic squirms in my veins, shifting away from the call even while my body longs to follow it.
I’ve felt this before, this pull.
I was naïve and hopeful, then. Not so much any longer. I know what this kind of temptation leads to, what it costs.
“He’s already decided you are unworthy,” the book whispers in my ear. “He doesn’t believe in your cause.”
I have the power you need to crush your enemies, Caelynn of the Shadow Court.I shiver as his voice rumbles through me. Rev’s right—he’s taunting us.
The Light King thinks I am just another power-hungry fae. He thinks I want to use him for my personal revenge.
Rev and I step back into the great hall. The music still plays, the couples still dance joyously. The High Queen still glares in my direction.
“We’re going to have to convince him,” I say to myself as much as anyone. The Light King thinks he knows who we are. But he is wrong. We will prove that our cause is worthy. Without him, the world will be devastated by the very monsters that betrayed him millennia ago.
Rev marches toward the High Queen’s perch. Kari glances my way, her expression wary. I didn’t tell her what was going on, but she is perceptive enough to know something is happening. She frowns over my shoulder.
“Convince who?”
I spin, surprised by the sudden voice behind me. Most definitely not the spell book.
I suck in a breath as I come face-to-face with Drake. His eyes are bright yellow now. Unnatural. Has no one else noticed the difference? His shoulders are back, one eyebrow quirked, adding to his cocky grin.
How had I ever been his ally? Disgust swells in my chest.
“Would you like to dance?” he asks casually. “Or were you saving that for yourmate?”
He says the word mate like it’s an insult.
Drake slowly steps around me, a predator cornering its prey. Good thing I am not prey.
“You see, if you were mine,” he continues in his smooth, melodic voice, “I wouldn’t let some old hag keep you from me. I wouldn’t abandon you to your far away court without doing a damn thing to help.”
My nose flares, but I know his game. I am not fooled.
“If you were mine, I’d give you the world,” he says. “And I could too. Rev will never be High King, you know. I will. Because I am not afraid of change. Not afraid of powers so much bigger than myself. I embrace the wave crashing down on the world. And because of that, I will come out on top.”
I roll my eyes. “Is that what this is all about? You’re still pressed you lost the Trial of Thorns and your chance to be High King? And now, you’re grasping for any way to retain the power you lost out of your ownweakness.”
Drake growls, and a gust of wind crashes into me, knocking me off balance. Gentle hands steady me, though. “Something wrong?” Raijin’s voice says smoothly from over my shoulder.
“Just some good old-fashioned goading,” I say, wiping my pants casually. “You know how it is with rivals.” I smirk at Drake.
“Rev holds you back, Caelynn,” Drake says with a smug smile.
“You’re okay?” Rai asks.
I nod, still not taking my eyes from Drake. Rai watches us both closely as he departs.
