AllFreeNovel
Share Us
What now?
Alaric, Thana, Finn and Kade watched me. Thana’s features swiftly turned to worry. Kade and Finn glanced back and forth at one another. And Alaric’s hands balled into fists at his side.
No.No!The water didn’t work. My ancestors wouldn’t Grace me. I would fall to ruin.I was a disgrace to the crown.They would overthrow me. An image of myself shackled and in darkness flashed before my eyes.No…
The pain began in my chest, and I clutched it, unable to breathe. Alaric was at my side in an instant, holding me up.
Itached.
Why did it hurt so much? Was this what it was supposed to feel like?
The agony was all consuming, and I tried—I triedto keep calm. Thana’s eyes were wide in shock, and Kade and Finn looked horrified. Everything faded into and out of focus. A humming started in my ears, contorting into indeterminable whispers.
I could see the same thought written in the fine print of their stares. Something was wrong.No, this wasn’t supposed to happen.
My knees collided with the parquet floor, and I grasped the rim of the cauldron to steady myself—it shook. Or was it me who was shaking? Alaric took my face into his hands and gasped when his eyes met mine, letting go as if burned.
The ground splintered below me, and I cried out.
A thundering groan echoed through the Great Hall, met with shouts and the sounds of retreat.
I turned to find the denizens of my court fleeing the room. Flutes of wine shattered in their haste to get out. Only two remained. My father, standing in the middle of the room, his shoulders tense and mouth agape. The other was a blur of turquoise and gold, in the corner of the room, arms crossed over his chest.Tiernan?
Spots of color danced in my peripherals and I lurched forward. The pain pulsed and rose, surging and sinking into my bones.
It climaxed in a great and terrible burst. The last thing I heard was an ear-splitting scream before my body buckled under the pressure and I fell into darkness.
Chapter Eleven
“I’ll tell you what I’ve told you ten times already. She will awaken when she’s ready. The queen is strong,” a foreign voice said, breaking through the storm clouds in my mind, “It was not poison, I would have felt it. My Grace detects nothing—there is no injury.”
“Then why isn’t she awake?” Alaric’s deep voice bellowed.
“I don’t know.”
I attempted to move, but my body tensed. And when I opened my eyes a blinding brightness seared them. I sealed them back shut, groaning.
“Too bright,” I managed to say and heard Thana gasp from my side.
The mattress moved beneath me, and cool hands caressed my cheeks, “Liana?” she whispered, and I could hear the distress in her words.
Someone dampened the light, and I tried to sit up, steady hands wrapping around my shoulders to help me. Blinking, I cleared my vision enough to see a female I didn’t recognize. She removed herself from my bed, Kade, and Finn appearing to take her place. Terror marred Alaric’s strong features and darkened his gaze. Somewhere beside me, Thana made a strangled sound.
And Kade, who was about to say something, closed his mouth in stunned silence.
I reached up to touch my face, thinking there must be something there they’re staring at. Perhaps I injured myself when I fell? But my fingers traced the curve of my jaw, brushed my hair back and found nothing out of the ordinary.
“What is it?” I asked Thana.
Her lips parted, but she said nothing.
I wasn’t Graced.That must be the reason for the fear I saw in their eyes. What would happen to me? Who would reign when the council moved to overthrow me? My father?Ronan?The kingdom would fall to ruin under their reign. But… I had no heir to offer. No Grace to secure my crown. I could only imagine the whispers moving through the palace.
Hot tears welled behind my eyelids. My ancestors be damned. I would fight for my place on the throne because that’s what queens did. Grace or not, I didn’t spend my life preparing, all but alone on the Isle of Mist to give up—to give in. My teeth clenched. “I wasn’t Graced, was I?”
Alaric looked away, “It’s not that, Liana. We aren’t certain whether or not you were Graced. There was no flare of power, but—”
“Then what is it? Why are you all staring at me as though I’m some sort of monster?” No flare of power… That meant no Grace. I was getting angry and wishing they’d all leave.
