Page 87 of Silver Claws, Crimson Tears
I expect him to call the guards to action, to have me dragged away in chains, or worse. But something strange happens instead. The King’s face twitches, and he seems to physically swallow his rage, forcing it down like bitter medicine.
Voltguard’s eyes widen slightly—the closest thing to shock I’ve ever seen on her face. This isn’t the King Craven she knows. The man renowned for his pettiness and need for subservience.
He descends the throne steps with near theatrical flourishes, his heavy velvet robes dragging behind him. As he approaches, something in his eyes gives me pause. There’s calculation there, yes, but also something that looks unnervingly like... recognition?
“Leave us,” Craven commands suddenly, his gaze never leaving mine.
“Your Majesty—” Voltguard begins.
“I said leave us!” The King snaps, spittle flying from his lips. “Everyone out. Now.”
The royal guards hesitate, exchanging uneasy glances.
“Are you all deaf as well as stupid?” Craven shrieks. “Out!”
The guards bow stiffly and file toward the doors. Voltguard doesn’t move.
“Commander,” the King says, his voice dangerously soft now. “That includes you.”
“With respect, Your Majesty, Skysinger Wyndward is under my custody and?—”
“She is undermycustody,” Craven cuts her off. “Everything in this kingdom is mine. Including you, Commander. Don’t force me to remind you again.”
Voltguard’s jaw tightens, but she inclines her head slightly. As she turns to go, I see the conflict in her eyes, the promise she made to protect me warring with her duty to obey her King.
I give her the smallest nod.I’ll be fine.After all I’ve been through, what could this pathetic man possibly do to me?
The doors close with a heavy thud that echoes through the large room. We’re alone now, just me, the King, and his oversized wolves.
Craven circles me slowly, his eyes crawling over me like spiders. “So,” he says finally. “You’re the one.”
I’m the one?The murderess? The one who went missing? What is he talking about exactly?
I hold my ground as he circles me like a vulture inspecting fresh carrion. My skin crawls beneath his gaze, but I refuse to show it. Instead, I meet his stare with defiance, ready to blow him across the room if he makes the wrong move.
“I’m the one what?” I finally snapwhen his silence becomes unbearable. “If you’ve got something to say, just say it.”
He ignores my question, continuing his examination. “You don’t look special,” he mutters, more to himself than to me. “Just another Skyrider. When I agreed to the High Prime and that girl’s research into your disappearance, I expected them to find you dead somewhere, but when a body didn’t turn up I worried.” Then he stops right in front of me, looks me in the eye, then says, “Unbind.”
The ringing starts as a faint buzz in my ears. At first, I think it’s just my anger building, the rush of blood pounding through my head. But it intensifies, growing sharper, more insistent. Like the warning hum of a thousand bees ready to swarm. My fists clench at my sides as the sound becomes maddening. It’s inside my skull now, needles stabbing into my brain. I want to scream for him to stop, but how could this be his doing?
Without conscious decision, I reach out with my mind, that forbidden part of me that makes me a Weaver. Before I penetrate his thoughts, however, a single word blazes through my consciousness like a comet.
—Unbind.
The word hits me with physical force. I stagger back a step, gasping.
Pain detonates in my skull—white-hot and blinding. It’s as though someone drove a molten spear straight through my temples. I cry out, clutching my head between my hands as my knees buckle beneath me.
My knees hit the marble floor hard, but the impact is nothing compared to the agony ripping through my mind. Dimly, I’m aware of King Craven looming over me, his thin lips stretched into a grotesque smile.
“Yes,” he whispers, voice shivering with excitement. “Thereit is. I can’t believe it’s true.”
“What is—” My question transforms into a scream as another wave of pain crashes through me, and I fall on my side. It feels like my skull is being pried open from the inside, like something’s trying to claw its way out.
—Zephyros!I cry out mentally, desperate for help, but my connection to my dragon feels muffled, distant.
Through watering eyes, I see Craven frowning. “They said it would be like this, but I didn’t believe them.”
