A Crown of Cursed Hearts (Kingdom of Blighted Thorns #3)

44. Tempest

44

TEMPEST

A fter I flitted Reyla to her room and made sure she went to bed, I flitted to my own room, where I made myself lie down and sleep. I didn’t wake until Aunt Vera stood beside my bed.

“Are you ready?” she asked, giving me an indulgent smile.

I watched her, remembering the bone vision. What had she done to Vexxion?

“I’ll take you to the same place your mother went to claim the court’s core,” she said brightly. “When she died, the core returned to where it has waited for each new generation to swallow it down.”

“Give me a few moments, and I’ll go with you.” A glance at a timepiece showed me I’d only slept five hours, but I felt surprisingly perky.

I washed quickly and dressed in leathers; an outfit that made me feel as if I could survive almost anything .

“Perfect,” she said when I strode back out into the bedroom.

A hint of trepidation crept across my bones, but I stomped it flat. I didn’t have time to let it take over. I’d do better with this if I maintained control.

How far I’d come since I was a simple dragon trainer at the fortress.

“It’s good that you’ll have someone to help,” she said.

“You?”

She shook her head. “I’ll be almost no help at all.” Her nervous titter rang out. “I can’t swim either.”

“Yet here we are, living on an island.”

She shrugged. “I didn’t grow up here, though I visited often.”

“You were raised on the mainland?”

“Yes, in the Lydel summer court. Your parents spent their summers here and the colder months in your court north of here.”

A court annexed by the king. “Is there anything left?”

She clutched my upper arms. “People who are desperate for you to lead them. A manor house that’s quite lovely and in good repair. And wisps of your court’s magic. He overran the territory, but the heart of your court still remains.”

I gave her a pert nod. “It’s time for me to claim it, then.”

“Yes.” Tightening her grip on my arms, she flitted us to a jagged and unyielding shore, the enormous, smooth rocks a testament to the sea’s endless plunder. I shifted my feet on the uneven slabs of stone making up the top of the rocky cliff, barely maintaining my footing between the wind and the rocks slick with spray. Pools of briny water collected in crevices by my feet, where small creatures found refuge. This place felt ancient. It had witnessed countless tides surging and ebbing long before me or my ancestors stood here.

Gusts of salt-tinged wind channeled off the sea, whipping my hair in my face. I quickly secured it in a rough braid.

“I sometimes come here to remind myself of how small I am,” Aunt Vera said, speaking loudly to be heard above the crash of waves below us on the rocky cliff. “It’s both humbling and exhilarating.”

“Amazing,” I breathed. I closed my eyes and sucked in big breaths, shooting them back out while I centered myself in both my magic and me, the lonely orphan from a border fortress who was still trying to find a place to call home. “I’ll do my best.”

“It’s yours, love,” she said, stroking my arm. “You just need to claim it. I wish I could tell you how or what you might expect but know that I believe you can do this. No, I know you’ll triumph over this, not only because you have to in order to save Lydel, but to save yourself.”

I opened my eyes, sucking in the sight of the ocean stretched out before me, a deep blue canvas reminiscent of Vexxion’s sapphire eyes, woven through with shades of green and hints of gray. Far offshore, whitecaps danced fiercely on the waves, their frothy crests catching the early morning sunlight briefly before vanishing. Patches of darker water hinted at enormous depths below, while closer to shore, hues shifted with each swell’s rise and fall. It was alive, moving ceaselessly in its powerful rhythm.

“You’re right,” I whispered, though I wasn’t sure she’d hear me over the churn of the sea directly below. “I can do this.” I had to, but even more, I wanted to. Lydel was me, and I was a part of it. No one could steal that from me.

She hugged me, speaking low by my ear. “Come find me when it’s over. Take care. Don’t be afraid. And trust that you will be able to do whatever’s needed.”

We parted, and after one more smile, she flitted back to the manor.

I walked to the edge of the cliff and stopped, staring out at the sea.

A mix of awe and insignificance coursed through me. The endless ocean stretched all the way to the southern continent, though I couldn’t see it from here. The sea held a wild beauty, as if something unseen called from beyond the horizon, whispering secrets only those brave enough could discover.

“What now?” I whispered, then lifted my voice. “Lydel? I’m here for you. I’m yours, and I pray to the fates you want to be mine. Come for me.”

An enormous wave surged up the cliff and engulfed me.