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And finally, his confession.
Shocked silence filled the room.
“Is that in theotherrealm?” Lord Pinebeer, the Harrivee archon, gaped.
“That’s enough, Norivun.” My father’s jawpumped. He strode toward me, his aura dark and swelling. His air affinity whipped toward my hand as though he hoped to dispel the looking glass, but my Shield held firm. “Guards!” he barked again. “Stop this!”
But when they again tried to maneuver themselves past my guards, I yelled, “Stand firm!”
My guards didn’t relent. King Novakin’s guards looked to my father for direction. My death affinity shot out of me, punching right through their protective Shields until it wrapped around all of their souls.
I let my dragon rise, my irises turning to slits as my voice deepened. “Unless you wish to die right here and now, you’ll do asIsay. Not him.”
Throat bobbing, the guard nearest me retreated a step, getting a hiss of victory out of Ryder.
My father’s face was so red now he resembled a boiled turnip, but he remained frozen when my affinity squeezed his soul too.
“You wouldn’t dare,” he hissed under his breath.
My lips curled into a malicious smile. “Try me.”
The spectacle with the warlock continued to unfold from the looking glass. The councilors’ jaws dropped even more with each second that passed.
“You’ll regret this,” the king said again in a whisper so low that I knew only I had heard him. “By the way, have you seen your mother?”
Ilara’s breath sucked in, and she seethed at the king. “We have, in fact. We found her at death’s door this morning, and we were toldyouwere the cause of that.”
The king’s lip curled. “My son knows what happens when he disobeys me.”
“She was nearly dead when we found her.” My hands curled into fists, and the urge to annihilate him burned through me. “Did you know that?”
My father shrugged. “I know that I was particularly displeased when I visited her last night. I heard some troubling rumors have been circulating through the capital.”
“They’re not rumors. They’re true. You’re a coward,” Ilara spat.
The king’s head whipped back as though he’d been slapped.
Fire flared on Ilara’s hands. “Only a coward would cage a female’s magic because he’s afraid of her strength.”
My father’s brows drew together in a sharp line.
My nostrils flared, and my eyes narrowed to slits. “That’s right, Your Majesty. My eternal mate knowseverythingabout you.”
The king took another step closer to me but stopped short when my death affinity dug deeper, piercing into him like demon claws on the edge of shredding his soul.
Fuming, my father ground his teeth. “You know what happens when you disobey me, Norivun, yet you still choose to defy me.”
“I don’t understand.” Lady Busselbee’s question interrupted us. A frown marred her features. “This looking glass is showing a scene from theotherrealm, and it appears thatthingis accusing you of starving allof our fae, Your Majesty. But how could that possibly be true? Surely you would never do such a thing?”
My father waved his hand dismissively. In a blink, his guileless mask fell into place. “Lies, all of it. As usual, my son is making a spectacle of himself. You know what he’s like. He’s a monster, and right now, he’s apparently looking for a good show as a way to distract from the fact that he and his mate have committed treason.”
“But he made a fairy bargain with that creature.” Lady Busselbee pointed at the image. “If he’s lying, then why didn’t the bargain strike the creature dead?”
The king’s jaw muscle began to tick. “That’s enough, Lady Busselbee.”
Her wings ruffled. “Excuse me?”
The scenes from the looking glass ended, and for a moment nobody spoke, but then Lord Crimsonale called, “My king? I agree with Lady Busselbee. These recordings are most disturbing. And they are froma looking glass, which means they are true events that took place. What have you to say for it? This looks like evidence thatyouare involved in the diminishingorem.”
