Page 163 of A Crown Without Mercy

“Yes. Really. Father is going to be so proud of you.” He then stood and looked at Victor, who nodded and stepped forward.

“There are rumors you and Calista might have had something to do with freeing Marius and Lucinda. Is it true?” Victor questioned.

“I know nothing about it,” he replied nonchalantly.

Victor placed his hand on Alaric’s shoulder. “No one will forget what you and your sisters have done tonight.”

Alaric nodded. “Will you watch over Calista and Mira?”

“It goes without saying.”

“Alaric!” Florin stated as he bounded up the steps.

They grabbed each other’s forearms and patted each other on the shoulder. “We survived to fight another night,” Florin stated.

“We sure did,” Alaric agreed, as they headed down the steps.

“Calista?” Mira said, as she stood with her back to her.

“Yes?”

“Is Sylvie going to be okay?”“She’s going to be fine. Her mates will let nothing happen to her.” Calista then looked solemnly at the girls.

Lenora placed her hand on Calista’s back and smiled. “They will bring her back,” she mouthed.

Mira turned ever so slightly and looked up at Calista. “Is Sylvie really a dragon?”

“No, darling. She creates them the way you created the winged creatures.’’

The girls looked at each other and then tilted their heads, listened intently, and heard the faint sounds of the dragon’s roars and the Griffin’s shrieks coming from miles away. They felt terrible when they saw the look of sadness and concern cross Calista’s face.

“There is nothing we can do out here. Let’s go back to my chamber,” Lenora suggested.

“Calista, let’s go. You and Mira must be exhausted?” Venthana added.

“Calista, can I sleep with Sylvana’s puppy tonight?” Mira asked.

“Yes, darling. Sylvana would appreciate you looking after Rio.”

Ninbae and Eoin stood on the balcony of Vispera’s watchtower holding the veil open and the moment they lay sight of the Griffin being chased by a dragon as well a legion of Nosferatu warriors, a rush of adrenaline seared through their bodies. Not only had Nosferatu breached the veil, so had a wave of Lycans, who were mixed in with their Faye warriors as they scrambled through the opening in a chaotic frenzy.

“Close thy veil!” Eoin yelled. He then looked at the Faye warriors who were standing on the parapets. “Attack!”

“We cannot close thy veil. Half of our warriors are on thy other side!” Ninbae protested.

“Do you not see thy number of Lycans and Nosferatu below? How many should we allow in before thy entire kingdom is overrun? Now close thy fucking veil!” He then turned to Stronbo. “We must find Vispera!” As they ran down the winding staircase toward the back entrance, the walls suddenly shook, and the windowpanes rattled as if the castle had been struck by a bolt lightning.

The dragon exploded from the force of the impact when it careened to the ground. Large shards of ice radiated outwards, and the warriors ducked and held up their shields to protect themselves from the sharp projectiles. Sylvana’s body, which had been launched yards away from the center of the impact, came to a rolling stop.

They rushed to her, and Riordan carefully rolled her listless body over, and pulled her tunic up to access the wounds. He traced his fingers over the large lacerations that were in the later stages of healing. Riordan shook his head and scoffed under his breath. “Fuck.”

“Come on, darling,” Kieran urged as he cupped her face in his hands. However, her body recoiled when he touched her; he let go and backed away. “She must be in a great deal of pain?”

Nicolai and Riordan looked at him curiously. “Why are you backing away?” Riordan asked.

“I don’t want to hurt her.”

Kadric kneeled at her side and moved her hair off of her forehead, and even though she was unresponsive, to their relief, she was breathing. “She will be okay. Her body needs rest,” Kadric offered.

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