Rykr approached me. “Is everyone normally so rowdy this early?”
“No, something’s happened.”
He frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I-I don’t know.” The cart rolled out of the woods, revealing a gruesome sight: a dead man, stripped naked and disemboweled, lashed to an X-shaped cross. His head lolled with each jolt of the cart.
Rykr’s eyes narrowed, his expression unreadable. Then his body went rigid.
As the Vangar warrior drew closer, Seth emerged from behind them, moving to the forefront. He settled the boisterous group, then shouted, “King Magnus and his sons are dead—the direct royal Lirien bloodline has been destroyed.”
A deafening whoop rose through the people, shrieks of happiness and drumbeats so loud they rattled through me.
But then something else tore at me.
Pain. Deep, searing pain.
I gasped, clutching my chest as though invisible fingers had wrapped around my ribs and squeezed. My balance wavered, and I grasped Rykr’s arm, steadying myself against the onslaught of emotions. What is happening?
I should have felt joy. This was a victory. And yet, all I could feel was despair.
I turned toward Rykr, my heart pounding as though it might burst.
Rykr’s fists clenched at his sides. His face betrayed nothing, but his eyes burned with fury, and the bond between us surged with his seething anger. A flicker of grief pulsed then, so fleeing I almost missed it.
Oh gods. Rykr.
He wanted more than to draw blood. He wanted revenge.
I wanted to believe it was just the bond making me feel his rage. But part of me knew better. His fury wasn’t just his, it was ours, shared through the connection tying us together. The bond made it harder to tell where his anger ended and mine began. My body trembled, my hands gripped my sides as I tried to hold on to myself—to something that was just me.
Seth held up his hands again, waiting as the Viori settled. “The king and his sons were all murdered on the same day, at the same hour. Vangar mounted their heads on pikes outside the Golden City for all to witness—all except one, whom our Vangar caught in Pendara. I present to you, Prince Calix Warrick.” He gestured to the man in the cart. “Tonight, we celebrate!”
The raucous clamor was even louder than before.
But inside me—inside my soul—agony splintered. Was this coming from Rykr? Why? What is this feeling?
My mouth went dry as I stared at the dead prince. His lifeless eyes, his face frozen with shock and pain—as though his death had been torment.
Then I lost the contents of my stomach in the grass.
Chapter 12
Rykr
“Come with me. Both of you. Now.” Tara grabbed Seren’s elbow, dragging her away from the stall.
For someone who claimed to hate Lirien, Seren looked just as shaken as I was.
Worse, actually. She’d thrown up.
But I wanted to kill every person in sight.
Lucia rushed behind us.
I didn’t register her words. My mind bubbled with raw, searing thoughts, my heart pounding.
Dead.
