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Von and I had always belonged to one another—well past the bounds of a single lifetime. This was a truth I could feel in my bones, seated so deeply in my soul.
“Blood King,” Arkyn sneered behind us—his voice like a dagger, unceremoniously slashing into our private world.
Von pulled his gaze from me but not his arms. When he set his sights on Arkyn, I understood why he had been given that title. The look he wore—itpromiseddeath.
“As much as I know you would like to end my immortal life for what I have done, I will give you one good reason not to,” Arkyn said. “The cloaking trick you used to change her appearance so that I wouldn’t know who she was, so your sister wouldn’t know who she was . . . I took it upon myself to learn how to use it. Allow me to show you what I’ve hidden beneath.” Arkyn snapped his fingers, looking towards me.
I didn’t need to look up. I could feel it—like a punch to my gut, a hand wrapped around my throat. Something treacherous hovered above. My hair raised, like it was being pulled towards it. Fighting the waves of nausea, I looked up.
My eyes flashed wide—there was no mistaking what it was.
The Crown of Thorns.
White vines, adorned in needle-like thorns, twisted together. They almost appeared to be moving, as if they were snakes slithering overtop of one another. It was both breathtakingly beautiful and devastatingly sinister-looking.
“I advise you to tread carefully, Blood King. My power is the only thing keeping the crown from moving to its rightful place. I am sure you can feel it, but the crown has been altered . . . It no longer bows to your will.”
“You said the king had it,” Von snarled, the wind picking up around us.
“At the time you asked, itwasin his possession,” Arkyn answered with a shrug. “NowI have it.”
Tears pricked my eyes as I fought another wave of nausea, this one so powerful, it dropped me to my knees.
Von was there, his hands and eyes swarming over my face before he drew me tightly into his chest. He growled at Arkyn, his voice so powerful, it echoed throughout the village like a crack of thunder. “Get rid of it. Now.”
“For the sake of my own life, I can’t do that.”
Another wave came crashing over me, and I pushed away from Von as I scrambled onto all fours, vomiting on the worn cobblestones.
“I’m surprised you want me to,” Arkyn stated, his voice sounding genuinely confused. “After all, you made it for her. I thought you would like to seeyour bridewear her gift.”
His bride?
I spat out a string of bile and blood, bracing myself as another wave barreled into me. I vomited again, my body quaking with the force of it. The nausea ebbed once more. Before it could flow back, I turned to Von, my bloodshot eyes meeting his.
“What is he talking about?” I asked, choking on my confusion, on my nausea, on a river of oncoming memories that had been dammed up for so long.
“Now’s your chance to tell her the truth,” Arkyn said.
I was at a loss for words and judging by the way Von looked, he was at a loss too.
Arkyn sighed. “Very well, I can tell her for you.”
“No,” Von said firmly. “I will tell her. She deserves that much.”
But he didn’t get the chance. One of my memories sprung free, and the weight of it dragged me under.
I sank—a pebble dropped in a lake. Down, down, down, I spiraled.
“Shield wall!” I yelled at the top of my heaving lungs as I plunged the base of my long shield into the muddy ground. I was tired, exhausted, but I would not stand down.
My soldiers answered as they fell in beside me, their shields biting down, the sides braced against one another, locking them into place. Another row of shields fell into place above us, creating a second layer. And then a third, forming a protective barrier over our heads. One shield alone was weak, but together, like this, they were as tough as a dragon’s scales.
We held tight, a single breath falling from my lips as I braced for impact.
This battle was one of many taking place across Gaia, our beloved Living Realm. I could not speak for the other battles, but this one had been raging on for days, and now we were in our final moments.
My power reserves were fully tapped out, as were the rest of my comrades’. After a brief break in the fighting, we were able to reform our ranks. And now, we were down to the nitty-gritty of battle—fighting with swords, with our fists, with whatever we had left.
