Page 31

A quick scan of the enormous room showed it was opulent but empty. The furniture was oversized, made of rich wood and soft materials, everything dark with splashes of burgundy and gilded trim. The floors were covered in thick carpets, and the balcony doors were closed against the chill.

Immediately, I was drawn to a large fireplace, nearly as tall as I was, where the fire no longer burned, despite blackened surfaces and a soot covered carpet. The reason was obvious since the back was open, revealing a staircase spiraling down into the darkness.

Heart stammering, I pulled my shoulders back and cloaked myself in even thicker shadow as I entered what felt like the maw of the dragon. When the sounds of pleading cries and shrieks of pain met my ears, everything else seemed to fade away, and I doubled the rate of my descent.

I knew that voice. At least one of them.

Rivven.

When I reached the bottom, I halted, nearly tipping forward from momentum. It wasn’t him who was being tortured. He was on his hands and knees, shaking with the strain of whatever magic was holding him down. Tears streaked his beautiful face, dripping from the beard that had grown too long without care. And the man I used to call Father straddled a woman on the ground feet away, shoving the top of his staff into her chest over the top of her bare breast as she arched with a silent cry of pain, blood spurting from the wound where it made contact with her skin.

It was Balram’s face that I zeroed in on, so full of sick pleasure. The light of the magic from the crystal bathed him in a maniacal glow. I lunged forward, colliding with him. The impact knocked him off the woman and to the ground. The illusion around me shattered, and I came into view, giant wedding gown and all, as I struggled to pull the staff from his hands. If I could just get the stones away from him⁠—

“You!” Balram hissed. I didn’t know if he recognized who was really in control or not. I didn’t care.

The woman on the ground began clawing her way toward Rivven, leaving a bloody trail in her wake. I tried not to watch, to focus on her. The distraction could be my end.

“Nyah?” Rivven called, clearly unsure. “Release me. Break the collar.”

Pushing aside the desperate urge to run to his side, I refocused my attention on my struggle. I couldn’t allow it. Not just yet.

Balram pushed back at me with air magic, but I dispersed it easily, heating the metal of the staff in an attempt to force him to release his hold. Balram let out a scream, letting go of the staff. It went flying toward the opposite side of the room.

I squinted, searching for the strands of light that made up the ether around Rivven. They crisscrossed over him, pressing him down. With one vicious yank, I plucked them all, then used the same magic to tear apart the fabric of the metal in the thick copper around his throat and the rope and iron around his wrists and ankles.

The bonds clanged against stone, bouncing as they fell to the ground. But those moments cost me. Balram flipped me onto my back, striking my head on the hard floor so that the crown wound into Rune’s hair made the same noise as the shackles I’d freed Rivven from. For a moment, it felt as though a massive bell had been placed over my head and then struck. Then his hands were around my throat, squeezing the life from me.

I clawed at his arms, carving deep grooves in the leather but never reaching flesh. Stars danced in my vision, and I fought to pull in even a tiny stream of air. Then his face was in mine, the veins on his temples pulsing with rage, eyes wide and crazed in a way that made my heart fight even harder as it banged against my ribcage.

“You will pay for this,” he snarled. “No more pretty dresses and comfortable rooms. I’ll lock you in the same chamber I had your mother in. You can birth a child just as easily in captivity.”

My hands grew numb and clumsy, beating uselessly at him as my chest heaved again and again, unable to find air. The edges of the world turned black, closing around his horrible face. It was hard to make sense of his words.

I may as well have been a bird fluttering its wings beneath the claws of a cat. My body spasmed against the unforgiving floor as he pressed harder against my windpipe. Then, just as my arms fell, heavy, to my sides, he was thrown off me.

Sucking in a painful breath, I rolled to my side. There knelt Rivven, pummeling Balram’s face with his fists. My eyes watered, but I wasn’t sure if they were tears or the result of being choked nearly to unconsciousness.

The sounds I made as I struggled to draw air into my lungs worried me. All I could do was stare at the beautiful sight before me. Rivven’s eyes were ablaze with fire as his burning knuckles met with the side of Balram’s face with crunch after crunch.

Someone grabbed my arms, and I started to fight. But then I heard a woman’s voice speak softly in my ear. “He mustn’t die yet, or all is lost.”

Where she touched my arms, my body warmed. That warmth spread to my chest and throat, easing the pain and constriction until I was taking easy breaths.

I watched as Rivven raised his fist again, and Balram shielded himself with his arms crossed.

“You have to stop him,” she whispered, releasing me.

“Rivven!” I called, reaching toward him. “Stop. Rivven, please.”

I wasn’t sure why I was listening to this strange woman, but something inside told me she was right. Then I turned to look at her, and gasped. She was bleeding from multiple wounds all over her body. The in-between spaces were covered with yellowing bruises marring her beautiful skin. Her dark eyes were sunken and clouding.

“Rivven,” I called louder this time. “She needs help.”

I heard him swear behind me, then one last strike that made me wince. Balram lay stunned and immobile. Then Rivven was beside me, scooping the woman into his arms. She hung limp, unconscious from the effort of healing me.

“Who is she?” I asked, rising beside him.

“My mother.” He choked out the words, stunning me into silence.