Page 29 of Tale of the Heart Queen

Approaching Tyr, I drop to one knee. He stares at me, his ashen hair hanging in his eyes as I carefully lift one of his hands, touching the arcturite cuff that circles his brittle wrist. Reaching under my collar, I pull out a thin gold chain dangling with a small pin. Inserting it into a small hole on the side of the cuff, I press down, and it pops off. Then I open the second cuff, followed by the one around his throat. As I stare at Tyr’s pale, bared skin, my ribs expand with relief from this burden I’ve been carrying for a century.

His eyes widen as I pull the chain from around my neck and gather the cuffs in my hands.

“Never again,” I declare. “I will never let these things touch you again.”

He nods, his expression vacant, and I hope that’s a promise I can keep. I walk over to Jareth and hand him the cuffs and the key.

“Put these on Atlas when you find him.”

Our gazes lock together. This breaks every vow we ever swore to protect the Sun King. It goes against everything we were bred and trained to do. But Atlas has never been the Sun King, and we’ve all been living nothing but a lie.

It was Atlas who first broke the king’s vow to protect us, and the old rules have no meaning here anymore.

“Go,” I say. “Before he gets any further.”

Jareth tips his head, and the remaining warders leave the room. A moment later, a knock comes at the door and a palace guard enters, carrying a bag in his hand.

“We found this in the throne room, Captain,” he says, handing it to me. “I thought you’d want to take a look.”

I open it, staring at the contents in disbelief.

“What is it?” Amya asks as I reach in and pull out a glittering silver crown with a blood-red stone set into the center.

“Is this what I think it is?” I ask, looking up.

“The Heart Crown,” Amya breathes.

“Lor must have dropped it,” Willow says, bringing a trembling hand to her throat.

Lor’s brother snatches it from my hand. “We have to go after her!”

“Go ahead,” I say.

“We need your help.”

“Then find someone else. I need my soldiers here.”

“Gabriel,” Amya says, standing up. “You have to understand this is about something bigger. We need your help, and so does Ouranos.”

“I don’t know what that means.”

Amya exchanges a look with Mael and then tells me everything about Lor. About who she is. What she is. I knew she was the heir of Heart, but I was definitely missing some key details.

“So you see,” Amya says, “my father wants her for something, but we don’t know what, and given his ambitions, I’m afraid that if he gets his hands on her, it will have consequences for everyone. This is not just The Aurora’s problem anymore.”

I let out a weary sigh, looking at Tyr, but he doesn’t answer. I’m not sure he’s even listening.

“Lor is a queen?” comes a voice from the corner. Apricia has stopped crying and is now staring at everyone. “Lor is the Heart Queen? That’s who I was competing with? What chance did any of us have!”

Everyone in the room stares at her like she’s sprouted weeds from her ears, and she at least has the sense to look abashed at her narcissistic outburst. I’ll also have to figure out what to do with her. She cannot remain here.

I open my mouth and shake my head. “Is that really relevant right now?”

“What happens to me?” she demands. “I was supposed to be queen of Aphelion until she ruined it for me.”

“Oh, shut up,” Willow says, and the look on Apricia’s face is almost worth everything that’s happened. “I have never met anyone so utterly childish and self-absorbed. Do you honestly think any of this is about you right now?”

Apricia’s mouth gapes like a fish, and I almost start laughing in spite of everything.