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Then his eyes widened as he looked over and past me. “Morgan, look.”
I turned back to see my sister’s chest rising and falling. More than that, she was trying to move her head.
“Orcades,” I said, touching her hair gently. “What happened?”
Her violet eyes had opened. She looked back at me but made no sound.
“We can’t leave her like this,” I said. “Draven, I can’t leave her. She’s my sister.”
Draven was already moving towards the bed. “Here. Take the baby. I’ll carry her.”
I leaned down to my sister’s ear and whispered, “Orcades, Arthur has taken Kaye. He’s planning to hurt him somehow.” I could not even say the worst word. “Draven and I must find him.”
“She’s very weak,” the midwife warned, clasping her hands nervously. “But yes, take her. Take the child. By the Three, I pray you may keep them safe.”
“The city... The other babies... Do you know if...?”
The woman shook her head as if she did not wish to think about what she had seen and heard that night. “The king is cursed. For all time and always for what he has done here tonight in Camelot.” She spat onto the worn wood floor. “Let his name be cursed in the land.”
“This is his child,” I said quietly, taking the baby from Draven. My mate began to lift Orcades, gently wrapping the sheet she lay on around her.
The midwife’s eyes widened. “The king’s child? But his queen...”
“This fae woman is his queen. And I am his sister.”
The woman began to tremble.
“Fear not,” I said gently. “When this is all over, I will return here to thank you properly for what you’ve done today.”
The woman raised her hands. “There is no need. No need at all. Just keep the child safe.”
I nodded. And then we were passing back through the little house, hovering in the doorway as we stood looking out into the street.
Fires still raged across the city. The smells of burning thatch and wood mixed with the aroma of fresh blood. An ashy residue carried on the wind filled my nostrils and made me cough into my sleeve.
I cradled Orcades’ child against me, wrapping the cloak the woman had given me around us.
If anyone tried to touch my sister’s child, they would die.
By my side, Draven appeared with Orcades in his arms. He nodded at me and we began to move down the street, this time staying very close to the shadows of the buildings.
We were nearing the temple now.
Over the next bridge that spanned the Greenbriar and there it was.
Not the Temple of the Three, but the Temple of Perun.
Standing on an island in the midst of the river, the building exuded an air of conquest and cruelty. Made of cold gray stone, the temple's facade was adorned with deep, symmetrical grooves that carved sharp patterns into the surface, evoking the sense of a fortress rather than a place of worship. Harsh, brutal lines and stark, towering columns rose up as if defying the very heavens. Above the entrance, a massive stone frieze depicted Perun battling his way through a tempest, a familiar blade in his hand.
It was a monument to a god without mercy and as we walked slowly over the bridge towards its entrance, I couldn't help but feel it reflected the darkness that had overtaken my kingdom.
Beneath the bridge, the Greenbriar flowed, dark and tranquil, a sharp contrast to the chaos and turmoil in the city beyond.
As we approached the massive columns framing the temple's entrance, a deep, rumbling suddenly filled the air.
I glanced at Draven, holding Orcades baby more tightly against my chest. A thunderstorm?
Draven shook his head, his face grim and turned his head towards the city gates in the distance.
