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“You are not a victim,” he said, his thunderous voice rolling across the landscape. He drew the knife at his belt, and the blade glinted in the dying sun as he held it high. “You were fully cognizant when you made the choice to side with the darkness, and now you will pay the price.”
Slaugh opened his mouth, and Oren plunged the dagger straight through his heart. The general choked as blood poured down his chin, and Oren held him fast, watching as the light left his eyes. Only when they went completely dark did he let him go, flinging his body so that it tumbled down the hillside and landed in the trampled grass.
From the earth he came. And to the earth he would return.
“Give my regards to Einar and Adara,” he said to the dragons. “They are welcome in Angtun anytime.”
The unspoken request for Adara to come and cure his daughter hung unsaid in the air, and the dragons nodded. Lord Oren watched as they flew away, then turned to Leap to give him marching orders.
Justice had been served. It was time to go home.
45
Lady Mossi
“Grandmother. Grandmother, can you hear me?”
Avani’s soft voice penetrated Lady Mossi’s mind, like a shaft of light piercing a grimy window. She opened her eyes to see Avani kneeling next to her, her hands clasped tightly around Lady Mossi’s. Her heart thudded in the chest at the sight of tears in Avani’s eyes—this was the first time her granddaughter had shown genuine emotion since she’d returned from Castle Kaipei.
“I’m here.” Lady Mossi squeezed Avani’s hand back and used it to pull herself into a sitting position. Looking around, she saw she was in her private tent. “What’s going on? Did… did I…” she trailed off as she tried to make sense of the muddled flashes of memory playing through her mind. She remembered Adara using a strange blue fire on her, remembered trying to kill her.
“No, you didn’t kill Adara,” Avani said gently, reading Mossi’s thoughts as if she’d heard them aloud. “Lady Axlya stopped you, then gave Adara her primal stones so she could drive the Shadow from your body.”
“Shadow demon?” Lady Mossi shook her head. There was something familiar about that… and then she remembered Mavlyn, remembered the article in the Talamh Tribune, the trial. “That girl was telling the truth? Gelsyne really was possessed?”
“Yes,” Avani said grimly. “She used her shadow magic to turn me, Cascada, and Tempest into her personal agents, then sent the three of us back home so we could do her bidding. With her so close by, I was unable to do or say anything without her permission, but I knew I was under her control.” She laid a hand on Lady Mossi’s shoulder. “Her influence on you was more subtle, more insidious, because you are so much more powerful than I am. By the time she had a hold on your mind, you didn’t even realize she was in there. That’s why you’re having so much trouble remembering the events of the past few weeks.”
Lady Mossi rubbed her temples. A headache was brewing inside her skull, but she tried to fight it off, tried to grasp for clarity. “And Slaugh?” she asked. “Was he a pawn as well?”
“Not exactly,” Avani said. “He knew what he was getting into when he agreed to join King Aolis’s shadow guard, and willingly helped Nox by setting the stage for Adara to kill King Aolis. Nox tried to possess him, but he fought back and kept her imprisoned inside him. When Adara killed Aolis, she unwittingly freed Nox so that she could possess Gelsyne instead, who was powerless to fight back.” She shook her head sadly. “Adara has freed her of the taint, but she has yet to wake up. We fear she may never recover.”
“This is my fault,” Lady Mossi said, her voice wooden. The full horror of the last three weeks sank in as she realized the severity of what she’d done. “I should have realized that I was not myself, should have listened to my instincts when I noticed something wasn’t right with you and Gelsyne. Instead, I let my greed and my desires blind me, and I betrayed my own people.” She buried her face in her hands. “How are they not calling for my head right now?”
“They were,” Avani admitted, “but Adara spoke up in your defense and explained that Nox corrupted your mind and forced you to do her bidding.”
The well of guilt inside Lady Mossi pooled even deeper at that. She’d betrayed Adara when she’d come to her help, yet the dragon-fae hybrid had spoken up in her defense, hadsavedher from the Shadow.
“What of Lady Axlya and Lord Oren?” she asked Avani. “Did they survive?”
“Lord Oren did, but Lady Axlya did not. The toll the battle took on her body, combined with her advanced age, was too great. General Slaugh also perished—Einar subdued him, and Lord Oren finished him off to avenge Tempest.”
Lady Mossi laughed bitterly at that. “I suppose that leaves Adara as the only worthy candidate for the throne,” she said. “Not that I’m complaining. She’s proven herself more than worthy.”
“Actually, Adara has stated that she doesn’t want the throne,” Avani said, her lips curving with amusement. “She’s taken over Castle Kaipei, but only temporarily. As soon as the dragons have rebuilt Hearthfyre, they will relinquish Kaipei.”
Lady Mossi was silent for a long moment as she absorbed that information. “I should relinquish my seat as well,” she finally said. “I don’t deserve to rule, not after everything I’ve done. You should take up the mantle in my stead.”
“No,” Avani said firmly.
“No?” Lady Mossi stared at her in shock. “But… haven’t you always wanted to rule?”
“Yes, but you are the oldest House ruler to survive the battle, and your wisdom and experience are sorely needed if we hope to rebuild the kingdom.” Avani smiled. “You will retire someday, Grandmother. But today is not the day you run from your throne.”
Lady Mossi gave a watery laugh. When had Avani grown so wise? “You’re right,” she said, throwing off her blanket and rising to her feet to face the dawn. “Today is the day I redeem myself.”
46
Adara
