Page 55 of Prince of the Phantom Sky

“I see.” Zephyr’s fingers drummed the armrest of the throne, his stare sliding from her, to Raiden, and back. “As his declared kin, you can offer your life in place of his.”

Time stopped. “I . . . what?”

Shouts rang from the pirates, their feet stamping in that all-too-familiar wave of sound. The sound of sorrow, of a crew’s demand for justice, to reap what they’d once lost.

“Hang her!” a pirate cried.

“Aye! Kill the hunter!”

25

Kora

This couldn’t be happening. Galen was supposed to be safe, away from the enemy of the Talmon Empire. But Kora had been so wrong. Zephyr smiled, his white teeth as blinding as the chamber they all stood in. He was toying with her. Raiden growled to her left, and Aryn raised his longbow to her right.

Chaos ensued as mercenaries hidden among the two crowds emerged, raising weapons at the three of them on the carpet. Aerion paled, his hands whipping up in a plea to Zephyr as his watery eyes pinned on Aryn.

“I won’t let them hurt you,” Aryn whispered, gold leaking into his irises. They swirled as he quickly surveyed the room. His face aged, becoming mature, his tattoo darkening along with his fingertips.

Almighty Thanos, what was he?

“Neither will I.” Raiden raised a hand in front of Kora, as though that single barrier of flesh would protect her from the world. She ignored the spark flying from her stomach as his hand hovered an inch away.

“Father, please,” Aerion begged as guards approached them. “She’s a member of our court. You must honour the rules.” Aerion’s stare flickered to Kora and she gasped.

“Parley!”

The room froze, and Raiden glanced at Kora with a raised brow.

“Parley!” she repeated.

Fury consumed Hector’s face, whilst Cassidy laughed sharply beside him, her lasso loose at her side. Leto hung in the corner, blandly observing the interaction as one of his crew signed for him. Mara was absent from his shoulder, and his gaze quickly shifted to Kora with interest, the iridescent glow of them boring into her as she scanned the pirates she’d spent a decade hunting.

“Parley,” she repeated.

“Aye, we fucking know what parley means,” Hector spat.

“Then you know you must honour the code,” Kora replied, and Cassidy’s blue eyes narrowed, her hand tightening around the lasso. One of Aerion’s books had been a scripture on the history of pirates. How they’d fled their homeland in Peril Cove and documented their centuries-long journey to Galen, establishing their new code.

A code to ensure their survival. To ensure respect between the lords and their crew. It went against everything Kora had been taught about them. But she knew she could wield their code to her advantage—including one they’d honoured the most. The right to parley. To give Kora a chance to discuss her terms of survival with Zephyr.

Zephyr huffed, his knuckles cracking as he clenched the edges of the throne’s armrest. “What are your terms?”

“Erick is not to be killed. We’ll recover here in Galen before returning to Talmon.”

Raiden hissed beside Kora, his hand hovering so near to her he could grab her within a millisecond. Kora inched closer to Aryn, who looked at her quizzically.

“Pray tell, why would you want to return to Talmon?” Zephyr leaned forward.

“Aye, the bitch’s a traitor!” Hector hollered.

“Silence!” Zephyr raised a hand, and barely-visible steam rose from the floor, separating the pirates from Kora.

“I intend to stop the war, Your Majesty.”

She’d thought about it recently. The quickest way to exterminate the threat would be to surprise him on his own turf.

Barron had made it clear they were abandoning the Citadel, meaning he no longer had a fortress to hide behind. From her knowledge, there was nothing between Shannara, the Emerald Forest, and the Ironwharf Outpost. All she needed to do was sneak onto the western side of the island and infiltrate his base.