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“It supposedly proves you worthy because you’re willing to put the good of the Queendom before your own love,” she whispered, and my heart sank.
I’d never be able to do that to someone I loved. Did that make me unworthy to be King?
Cade coughed behind us, and I looked up to see his eyes fixed on Kana. He’d woken up just in time to hear the news. “Well, the good news is, Merden doesn’t love anyone except herself,” he rasped as he slowly sat up. Kana crawled onto the bed with him, curling around his slim body.
“Come here,” she murmured, beckoning to me, then Rush.
For just a few moments, we allowed ourselves a reprieve. A cocoon of warmth and solidarity, before the chaos we all knew was coming.
If all of this were true, then the only thing I knew to focus on during this final Trial was never losing, unless it was to Kana.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
KANA
I hadn’t had the courage to tell my men the final secret, and I hoped Grand-mère would forgive me for keeping it a little while longer.
Besides, none of the plans the two of us had made would work if Luca didn’t agree to them.
Even though I wanted to stay wrapped in Cade’s arms forever, with Rush and Kas by my sides, I hauled myself up. There were tasks we could do now. The former blood slaves needed my blood, so that they could finally shed that title once and for all. Once the last holds of Merden’s blood magic was destroyed by the power of Khione, they would simply be citizens of Saori Sang once more. They could recover what they’d lost and start to build new lives.
And so we went from cot to cot, dripping my blood into each mouth. Just like Cade, each of them was so icy cold when I arrived, but Merden’s hold over them shattered so quickly with the flow of blood and Khione’s magic into their veins.
I felt the Goddess’s satisfaction, deep in the coldest parts of my chest. She was happy with how I was using her magic, and that gave me hope that we could work together more fluidly from now on. I could accept her destructive power if it meant rebirth like what the former slaves were experiencing.
Hearing the ballroom filled with conversation, crying, and laughing also warmed my heart enough to carry on, despite what I knew was coming. These were my people, and even though I didn’t wear the crown yet, I was committed to doing everything I could to help them.
“Whatever else happens, princess, this is good work,” Kas said, coming to stand next to me as I leaned against the wall, my body exhausted but my heart full.
“We really did it,” I said, nodding and smiling up at him. Part of me barely believed we’d figured out how to free the former slaves - that Acadian was really mine again, forever. But Kas was right. No matter what else was coming for me, I would never regret taking the time to solve this puzzle.
“I wonder if my blood could destroy Merden’s blood magic entirely,” I mused as Kas tugged me from the hall, insisting I get some rest.
“I wouldn’t risk offering it to her,” he warned, and I nodded. It would have to be done with stealth, as part of a solid and meticulous plan.
We rounded the final corner leading to my rooms, only to be met with a swirling, shimmering wall of iron gray mist. There were no shapes of Nicolas or Grand-mère this time, but a word hung in the air like the echo of a whisper filtering into my mind.
Gather. It begins.
“It begins? Do you hear that?” I asked Kassian, and he nodded, looking grim.
“The final Trial,” he said simply, and the realization hit me like a blow. The mist, evidently satisfied that we understood, began to dissolve and slink away down the hall, flowing toward the stairs leading to the dungeon.
“Jillian,” I said flatly, as I watched it go. We’d have to go let her out, unless the mist knew how to unlock cell doors.
“Well, at least if the Trial is beginning, she’ll know she isn’t allowed to kill us outside of the tasks,” my thief said, pushing open the door to my rooms.
“Wonder how that works with Luca?” I asked, following Kassian inside. He stopped so abruptly that I bumped right into his back.
“Let me handle Luca,” a familiar growl said, and I edged around Kas to find Vento leaning against the wall, arms crossed over his broad chest. Cade was still on the bed, and Rush had placed himself in the doorway, both arms braced on the door frame to bar entry and protect myaima.
Luca...
Well, Luca was sprawled on the couch in a mockery of relaxation, muscles tensed and temper seething like a mad man.
Vento snarled at him, and he flinched visibly as his eyes left Kana and narrowed on his alpha’s bared teeth. “As long as I’m nearby, I can hold the alpha lock on his mind. He still loves you, Kana. It’s all he thinks about - the constant flip between protecting you and...” Vento trailed away, and I nodded.
“Killing me. I understand how blood contracts work. The only way out is death - for either of us.” I sighed, glancing at Rush. My fae was on edge, but I was glad to see his instincts had been to guard Cade.
