Page 94 of Crown of Darkness
“Finn found me just as I was trying to burn it alive. He sang it into submission, and then I drove a knife through its rotted heart. Vi.Vi.”
Thiago captures my wrist and I realize thorns are curling up my calf again. They’ve burst through the ancient flagstones of the floor, until I’m standing in an angry thicket of brambles.
“Sorry.” There’s a look in his eye I can’t read. I try to will them to shrink, but they seem to react to my mood, and not my conscious directive.
“We might have to hold future meetings in the Queen’s garden,” Thalia says. “Any chance you can grow roses? Araya used to have the most beautiful garden, but it has fallen into disrepair over the years.”
“I could try, but I don’t think I’m controlling it. They just… sprout.”
“The land reacts when you’re angry,” Thiago muses. He nudges one with his foot, and it strokes his boot. “Thorns, hmm.”
I am not my mother, though it doesn’t escape my attention that she sits on a throne melded of thorns. “Don’t ask me. None of this was planned.”
“Not by you,” he murmurs, then turns his attention back to the others. “Report.”
“The Old Quarter’s a mess,” Thalia replies, hooking one knee over the other, so her slit skirts part and she flashes a healthy sliver of thigh. “I paid the Prince of Shadows a visit, and while he is pleased to see the city above him standing, he’s wondering where he’s supposed to house his people now that the catacombs are flooded. I said I’d assist him with the clean-up efforts.” She shrugs. “I might not be able to sing the sea into a storm anymore, but I can help channel the water to drain away.”
“Hmm.” Thiago’s gaze fades away. “Tell him that if he brings me the heads of the conspirators who let the Queen of Asturia’s assassins into my city, then he may have the Palace of Many Moons.”
The room falls silent.
“I thought you wanted them alive?” I blurt.
“Thi….” Thalia gapes. “That was Araya’s favorite summer residence.”
“And it’s been locked away since she died,” he replies sharply. “It’s not as though I can use it. And Theron’s made quite pointed reference to how he’d like to move up in the world. If he wants the palace then he can have it. All he has to do is bring me those fae, bend the knee and accept the mantle of legitimacy. He proved himself true today.”
I arch a brow. “He did?”
“He saved Eris from the water,” Thiago says. “She doesn’t swim very well.”
“She still hasn’t forgiven him,” Thalia mutters. “Apparently he liked the way her shirt molded to her figure when it was all wet.”
“You’re going to take his assassins under your banner?” Finn blurts. “Alegitimateguild?”
“He warned us this was coming. I’d rather have him at my side, than at my back. And he and his people need accommodation.”
“Sorry,” I say.
“Don’t be sorry.” Thiago squeezes my hand briefly. “You saved the lives of everyone in the Old Quarter.”
“And drowned who knows how many beneath the city?”
It’s a thought that’s been bothering me since I woke.
“Your mother drowned those people,” he points out. “You did your best. Continue.”
I drift away as Thalia reports on healing tents set up in the city, and food refuges. But it’s her hesitation that captures my attention.
“And the rumors?” Thiago says, his voice laced with a soft sort of malice.
Thunder rumbles in the distance.
Thalia bites her lip. “There are stories that the prince is unseelie. That his wings were stained black with blood as he landed in the city. That he serves Angharad. That he stole the throne from the rightful heirs.” She sighs. “My little birds haven’t heard too many mentions of that last one, but again, I don’t think right now is the time to be giving away Araya’s summer residence—her summer palace—to an assassin.”
Thiago rakes his hand over his face. “We knew it was coming.”
Thalia pushes to her feet. “Then we need to be proactive. No more hiding away in the castle up here. We need to twist the narrative. The people of Ceres are frightened. Their city was attacked, and their prince revealed himself. But there is one shining ray of light.”
