AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You’re looking much better,” I commented, remembering the entire week it took for him to recover from the verbane poisoning, where it took Thana only a couple days. He was brave, indeed.
Rin paused between small mouthfuls as they had taught him, and offered me a rushed, “Thank you, majesty.”
A sharp chirping screech heralded the falcon’s arrival. He swooped down onto the sill of the window at the other end of the room. “Hello, Arrow,” I called to the creature. He ruffled his feathers, peeking at me with steady black eyes. I’d caught him watching me on several occasions in the last weeks. Checking in on his queen when his master could not.
I’d tried to get near him like Tiernan could—to reach out and touch his silken feathers, but he always flew away long before I got near enough. Screeching at me like he was astounded at my forwardness. I shot the bird a playful snicker and he gave me an insulted caw.
Rin finished up with tasting the tea, and bowed, “See you at dinner?” he asked, eager to get going.
I wondered where he was off to in such a hurry, but nodded anyway, “See you then. Thanks, Rin.”
“What did you mean?” I asked Finn the moment Rin had left, “About the Mad King.”
Finn halted his examination of the yellowed parchment to lift his eyes to mine, “He was called theMadKing for a reason, Liana. Those document his reign, in every gory and disgusting detail.”
“Like what?”
“Like when he had the queen regent—hisbondedmate hanged in front of their children for doing nothing more than looking too long at another man. Or when he passed a decree that demanded the attendance ofeverynoble at his daughters blessing ceremony, by penalty of being drawn and quartered. Or—or when he—”
I shook my head, holding a hand up to stop him, “Alright, I get it, he was raving mad. Anything documenting his death?”
I had little reason to doubt the validity of what Morgana said, but I still held on to that shred of hope that maybe she was wrong.
“Strangely, no. There isn’t a single documentation of his death. It’s only recorded that he fell in the battle at Mount Ignis, but his corpse couldn’t be found amidst the carnage on the battlefield.”
“Great,” I breathed, “So what do we know?”
“Not enough,” he breathed, “We know that he was Graced with persuasion, like Alaric is, but we have no idea what that would be like, now.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, our Graces develop over time—become stronger.”
I nodded my understanding, “Ok, so?”
He looked at me long and hard, “So, imagine Alaric’s Grace developed—evolved—over the course of a thousand years.Thatis what we are dealing with if he’s still alive.”
Chapter Thirteen
Aset of long languid footfalls echoed towards the dining hall. Arrow’s attention piqued, and the falcon turned on his talons and dove from the windowsill into the evening sky. I knew instantly who was coming. His falcon only watched me when the male himself wasn’t there to do the job.
“Tiernan, you aren’t supposed to relieve me for another two hours,” Finn said, his jaw tense.
The golden-haired warrior shrugged, “I had nothing else to do, but feel free to stay. I just wanted to talk to Liana.”
“About what?” I asked as he dragged a chair out from the table and sat next to me, pouring himself a cup of tea from the pot.
He took a sip before answering, seeming to enjoy the way I watched his mouth as he did. I looked away,
“We didn’t finish our conversation about the Blessed Blade. I told you my uncle was a collector of all things pertaining to old myths.”
I nodded, “Yes, and that you read much of what he had in the household.”
“Exactly,” he said, brushing his hair back from his face and leaning into me with his forearm pressed flat against the smooth grain of the table, “But in all the things I read, there was never once mention of a fifth stone adorning the hilt of the Blessed Blade.”
I cocked my head at him, but I was sure…
“Are you certain there were five stones on the blade?” He asked, a note of seriousness deepening his baritone.
