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Nik had returned. And on his shoulder rode Phoenix.
The doors clanged shut behind them as the two men took in the scene before them.
“Don’t come any closer,” Anka called, although her almost lazy tone didn’t match the seriousness of the moment. “As you can see, your father is being held at the point of a healer’s sword, so to speak, and Colton is about to try his best to save him. Interference could prove…messy.”
“What?” The unfamiliar man’s eyes jumped to Airlie, full of questions, and I realized he must be her husband, the missing Prince Evermund. Only the heir to the throne would interrupt a meeting between the king and Triumvirate with such confidence.
Evermund had returned, and Nik had been the one to bring him. I met Nik’s eyes, cold washing over me. The tables had been turned. Now he was the one walking in on me doing something apparently heinous. If he assumed I was truly threatening his father’s life, I couldn’t blame him.
But the confused look on his face faded as he held my gaze. The warmth filling his eyes ignited the same warmth in my chest. Regardless of the situation, he was as glad to see me as I was to see him. He didn’t know what was happening, but he trusted me, and his trust filled me with fresh strength.
A sudden whoosh of movement made us all flinch as Phoenix launched himself from Nik’s shoulder and flapped his way down the long throne room. The queen sucked in a breath as he swooped toward us, but he merely maneuvered himself onto his usual perch on my shoulder. Once there, he directed one bright eye toward the king. I tried to picture how we looked to others and decided a merlin falcon on my shoulder only helped with the impression I was trying to create.
“That’s enough!” I snapped, letting my tension show. Hopefully Colton would think I was on edge at the arrival of fresh backup for the king. “It’s time to end this one way or another.” I put an edge of desperation in my voice as I added, “Colton, either you block my power right now, or it’s all over.”
“What?” Colton stared at me. “But I don’t know how to make a wall.”
I shrugged. “Then work it out. You have ten seconds.”
“Wait!” Evermund cried, horrified, and his panic reverberated on Colton’s face.
I thrust my power into the king, sending it toward his heart. I knew how Colton would react to my power being anywhere near that part of his body, and sure enough Colton’s power was already there, waiting.
The second I reached his chest, my power collided with a solid force. Springing back like released rubber, I was driven instantly out of the king’s body.
I pulled my hand away from his neck, joy spreading through me.
“He did it!” I could feel tears on my cheeks, but I didn’t try to dash them away. “Master Colton made a wall!”
Cheers erupted from the direction of Gia and Renley, making Phoenix take off and wing around the room in a wide circle. I watched him go, my eyes falling on Amara. She looked deeply relieved. The situation had obviously strained her, but my eyes kept moving, drawn irresistibly to Nik. He still had no idea what was going on, but he ran across the throne room and leaped onto the dais, sweeping me into his arms.
I buried my face in his chest and cried in relief. I might be seconds away from being branded a traitor and dragged away, but at least I had a chance now. And perhaps more importantly, the healing affinity could now make walls. I had proven it could be done, and it was now only a matter of time before walls became commonplace.
Phoenix landed on a nearby urn, still unimpressed with the sudden disruption, but I was enjoying being in Nik’s arms too much to care.
“Delphine.” Nik murmured my name against my hair, pressing his lips against my head. “I’m sorry.” His voice sounded thick.
I pulled back to look at him. “Whatever for?”
I wanted to tell him how much his faith in me meant—especially after I’d failed to show the same trust in him at the beginning of winter—but I was still too emotional for so many words.
“I’m sorry for not coming to you—for leaving you alone in there.”
I shook my head. “No, I was glad you didn’t come. I didn’t want you to throw everything away for me.”
He gave me an exasperated look. “Of course I would have come if it could have helped. Surely you don’t doubt that?”
I flushed, but before I could respond, a snapped speech from Augusta made me pull away from him.
“Prince Nikolas is as foolish as ever, I see, but I expect better from you, Evermund! Everyone else may have lost their senses, but it is our responsibility to arrest the traitor who tried to kill the king.”
Nik growled, his muscles tightening as he tried to pull me back into the circle of his arms. I resisted, and he settled for hovering protectively behind me.
“Of course Delphine wasn’t going to kill the king,” Anka said in a voice that was quiet but still commanding enough to cut through the tension of the room. “Can’t you recognize a piece of theater when you see one?”
She looked with a raised eyebrow from Augusta to Colton, still standing beside the king and queen. “No? None of you?” She sounded disappointed, tsking quietly to herself. “This is why I’m needed as alaw keeper, not playing dress up in purple robes.”
“What are you talking about Anka? Were you in on this as well?” King Marius gripped both arms of the throne, his face white. But despite his obvious fury, he was reining himself in, waiting for answers.
