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My eyes widened in disbelief. “A child? That is your witness? She was no more than ten years old.”
“As it turns out, she was... not. Nor was she a child at all.”
There was silence for a moment as I tried to process this. Finally, I shook my head. “What the hell are you talking about?”
Raising his voice, Draven seemed to ignore the question. “Any mage or magic user present here today may test the bond between us to verify its validity. They will see that it was created in the presence of a sacred witness whose authority is by any imagination virtually boundless. Blood was exchanged and the grail vessel consecrated it, binding Morgan and I together irrevocably.” He gazed at me, his face dispassionate. “Surely you have felt the bond before this, Morgan. A hint of it. They say the connection grows stronger with time.”
I thought of the flames Draven against the harpies.
The claws that had extended from my hands.
And the weight of the truth settled on me like a heavy cloak, threatening to suffocate me.
“What did you do to me?” I whispered.
Some semblance of emotion briefly flickered over his face. “I saved your life by giving you part of my own. And now that you’ve survived the Blood Rise, the crown of the Siabra Empire is yours.” Draven raised his voice. “Behold your new empress, Siabra. May her rule be long and prosperous.”
A roar burst from the crowd as it erupted once more.
I opened my mouth to tell them all not to worry. That I didn’t want their fucking throne. That I would never accept it.
But Sephone beat me to the punch.
“No,” the Queen Regent screeched. She stepped off the dais, her face white with rage. Striding forward, she practically ran towards me, her fingers outstretched.
I could hear Draven shouting but my eyes were fixed on Sephone’s fingers, so long and white. They came towards me, gripped me by the shoulder.
The room around us disappeared as she seized me.
CHAPTER 33
Sephone was a fuckingstitcher.
I fell at her feet, hard stone beneath my hands.
The wind whipped through my hair as I struggled to get my bearings.
