“Amplify his power.”
She nickered and then tilted her head in his direction, the glow about her horn intensifying. A dome of light bloomed outward around her until we were all encompassed beneath it, but only Onyx seemed affected. His eyes lit up, the electric blue streams snaking out like lightning instead of wisps. His hide turned lustrous, more magnificent. And even though I couldn’t see it, I felt his power grow. The strength of his magic slammed into me, nearly knocking the air from my lungs.
Gaige swallowed thickly. “Have him judge Yazmin.”
I blinked. “But she’s not here.”
“She doesn’t have to be. Not with Valda’s power.” He nodded to his mare. “She can’t hold it for long. Have him do it now.”
As I ran my hand over Onyx’s fur, a charge of static electricity crackled beneath my fingers. “Okay, Onyx. Go ahead. But if she’s guilty, don’t try and absolve her. Just stop.” I didn’t want her feeling the effects of his power in case she was responsible. Otherwise, she might flee with Noc before we ever got the chance to confront her.
Visible blue flames erupted around his body, and I retracted my hand with a jolt, expecting pain. But instead of searing heat, I felt nothing but a subtle warmth. The flames licked higher and higher, stretching toward the ceiling as Onyx turned his head in the direction of Hireath. Minutes stretched by. The flames crackled as if devouring brittle wood. Onyx pulled back his maw, revealing gleaming fangs, and snarled.
Guilty.
He recalled his power, and the flames receded in a whoosh. The chill of the room scraped along my skin, and I shivered. Glancing at everyone else, it was clear they felt his verdict just as I had. Raven had gone parchment-pale, and Gaige was shaking his head back and forth in disbelief. He sent Valda back to the realm, and I did the same with Onyx.
How could Yazmin do this? Why?
“But the color,” Kost interjected, finding his voice first. “I know what I saw.”
Gaige cleared his throat, pained words filling the room and suffocating whatever belief in our leader still remained. “Perhaps you were mistaken.” He glanced at Kost. “Onyx’s verdict can’t be wrong.”
Calem’s rage was as plain as day in the shining mercury of his glare. “Maybe she convinced someone else to place the bounty. Either way, she’s pulling the strings.”
“Given this…revelation, it stands to reason that she was behind our ambush too.” Gaige’s voice was broken, soft. “She wasn’t there. She didn’t come to our aid. Think about the type of beasts that were summoned. Who else could call forth that many A-Class creatures at once?”
“But, Tristan… Eilan…” Raven’s words cracked over his name. “If not for Calem’s quick thinking, we could have been killed too.”
A deep pang constricted my heart. The Crown. The woman I looked up to and trusted. The pinnacle of Charmer society. Tears spilled down my cheeks, and my body started to shake. Oz rubbed a gentle hand down my back, but nothing could chase away the burn in my chest. I’d been betrayed by my family before. Had my faith rattled by the Council.
I never thought it would hurt so bad a second time around.
A flicker of doubt toyed with Kost’s expression, but he relented, turning to Astrid, Emelia, and Iov. Lingering in the corner of the room, they’d let us hash out the details without interjecting. But their wide eyes told me they understood. Emelia and Iov knew what the Crown meant to Charmers. It’d be the equivalent of Noc turning on them.
“Set up extra watches and get to work. If anyone followed them here or somehow learns of their escape, we need to be prepared. Notify me immediately if you sense anything. Understood?”
They nodded once and left. For a moment, no one spoke. And then Kaori moaned. Calem crouched beside her, brushing his fingers across her forehead.
Kost’s voice softened. “Let’s get her to the medical wing.” Lifting his chin, he glanced at Gaige and then Raven, assessing their wounds. “You two, as well. Our healers and Felicks will do what they can.”
Calem slipped his arms beneath Kaori and cradled her to his chest with heartbreaking gentleness. Slowly, he took the stairs to the medical wing with Gaige and Raven close behind. Kost hesitated only for a moment, glancing back at us just as his hand gripped the railing.
“Maybe there’s more going on than we originally thought. We still need to fill in the blanks.”
“Yeah.” I stood, swaying as fatigue and despair turned my limbs to lead. Oz steadied me with a strong hand, enough concern in his heavy gaze for both of us.
I didn’t know what to think. What tofeel.Noc was missing. And Yazmin was…
My gut churned. I couldn’t fight Yazmin.Wecouldn’t fight her. She was the strongest Crown since Celeste herself. If she really was the one pulling the strings… Death felt closer than I ever imagined, and I gripped Oz’s forearm and prayed to every god I could think of that I was wrong.
But somehow, deep down, I knew I wasn’t.
Twenty-Seven
Oz
The moment we walked through the medical wing’s double doors, I sprung into action. Yes, we had an incredibly skilled healer with decades of knowledge. Uma could fix anyone and anything, given the right tools. But I couldn’t stop myself. It’d been that way for as long as I could remember—the moment my family needed something, I was there. I just had to be.
