Page 19 of Ruin
Caspian emerged from the shadows. I’d sent him to a passageway linking him to this room. The conversations I’d overheard behind the walls were priceless.
“Don’t listen to him,” Caspian said. “He is lying.”
“What is this?” the king spat, disheveling his crown. “You bring a fae to me?”
“You brought him here.”
Caspian stepped forward. “I know everything. The faeries in the dungeon… how you torture them! The king will know of this.”
“Yes, and I will be the one to end you.” I smiled, ear to ear. “I have great magic now, Father. Deadly, some say. I made a deal.”
Fear laced his stare. “Tell me you didn’t make a deal with the necromancer.”
I swallowed hard. “Yes… I… How do you know about him?”
“He is the one who cursed you, child.” He growled softly. “I presume that’s how he’s managed to infiltrate you, through it.”
“What?”
“He made a deal with me, for the ring.” It glinted on his finger. “They belonged to him. I didn’t want to tell you the truth, but as he is in control if you, you should know how dangerous he is. Because of him, your mother is dead!”
“You cursed me so you could live forever?” I growled, my stare growing murderous. “Then how fitting that you shall join my mother at his hand too.”
“Guards!” my father shouted. The doors flew open, and they rushed inside. I tried to stop them, but my magic wasn’t working. My lips parted. Caspian waited for me to do something, but I couldn’t.
“My magic.” I gasped. The necromancer had cut me off. “No. No.” I looked at the palm of my hands, wild-eyed. “Give it back. He will kill me, us.”
The sound of clashing and hollowed screams brought me to my knees. My father’s voice sliced through me. “You shouldn’t have told him.” He glared at me. “How will I explain this to the fae king?”
My mind faltered when I locked eyes with Caspian. Blood gushed out of Caspian’s chest, pulsating with each beat of his heart. I reached out to touch him as the scarlet dripped down his clothing, but he faded, then turned to ash as Father wrenched the sword back.
“No.” I choked. “No, Caspian.” I reached around the ground, touching what remained of him. My tears fell onto the stone. “NO!”
They grabbed my arms, then my legs. “Take her to the dungeons and prepare the executioner’s block.”
CHAPTER NINE
Scraping my bare feet against grainy sand mixed with dirt, I shuffled back and pushed myself against the wall. Sunlight arrowed through the bars of my window. I choked on my tears, coughing until I’d fallen onto all fours. “Caspian, I’m sorry,” I said aloud, although he couldn’t hear me.
“You!” I growled at the necromancer, begging him to hear me. “You took my mother. Cursed me. Lied to me.”
“You needed me.”
I sat upright, digging my fingers into my legs. “So you finally answer.” The corner of my lip twitched. “You said you were gaining power, to find your lost love.” I felt vulnerability in him, if only for a moment. “What does it have to do with me?” I looked up at the light. He was too quiet. “Unless, was she of my bloodline. Why did you target me? I didn’t come to you like the others looking for power. You came to me, forcing a curse on me, then using that curse to get close to me. Why?”
His silence was deafening. I picked up a jagged rock and placed it against my wrist. “If I am nothing to you, then you will not mind if I die. I have nothing to live for anyway.”
“Don’t do it. Put it down, and I will tell you everything.”
I scoffed. “Your threats were empty. You need me alive.”
“Your father came to me. Many have, looking for power, for immortality, or to bring their loved ones back from the dead. He wanted to live forever, but he knew the cost was out of my control. For a life extended, one must die. I didn’t know it would be the queen, and he was distraught, but she was never my cost. It was a favor.”
My eye twitched. I could hear the tortured screams of the fae next door. “Yes, my curse.”
“It was the only way I could get inside your head. I latched myself to your magic, and the loneliness turned you to me. It was in my agreement with your father.”
“I will die before I let you use me again.”
