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

58. Tempest

58

TEMPEST

A s the Liege lurched into the room, his tattered robe brushing across the floor and his bones rattling, we burst to our feet.

I cast a ward, covering all of us, and I felt Vexxion reinforce it.

Drask left my shoulder but instead of flying at the creature, he soared up near the ceiling and flew in a crooked manner above the Liege and out of the room.

Vexxion’s threads snapped out. He grabbed the Liege, lifted him, and held him bound overhead. “Why are you here?” he asked in a voice that would make even the king shudder.

“You left before I could collect on our bargain, High Lord.” His words raked across my skin like jagged bones. “I’ve come to collect my fee.”

“Fee for what?” I snarled, stalking toward him with blades in my hands. I’d killed three Lieges and would have no problem adding to that number.

Except . . .

I sucked in a breath and loosened my grip on my weapons. This was the Liege I’d also bargained with.

“Do you have something for me, my pretty?” he asked.

Vexxion growled and stepped between us, shaking the Liege with his threads. “She’s not part of our deal.”

“Of course not, High Lord .” He widened his maw, revealing jagged teeth. Fangs. A dark hole that sunk all the way to his spine. “It’s time to conclude our deal. One taste is not enough.”

“What did you promise him?” I asked. “And why didn’t I see this when I strolled through your mind?”

“You let her inside your mind?” Horror scraped through Zayde’s words. “That’s brave.”

“I would’ve given anything for those collars,” Vexxion told me. Seeing the dismay and hope for understanding in his eyes made my irritation drop.

My hand fluttered at my throat. “ What did you offer?”

“You would’ve done the same thing.” Vexxion’s head cocked, and he paused as if listening to a voice echoing in a world beyond this one. “I’m not the only one who has bargained with this Liege.”

Everyone started asking questions, the uproar turning into shrill barks in my mind. Until I held up my hand, and they went silent.

It would do no good to remind Vexxion that I hadn’t offered him the chance to look at my mind, though perhaps I should’ve .

“You’re too willing to sacrifice yourself for everyone else.” I stroked his arm, craving the understanding I willingly gave him.

“So are you.” His arm went around me, and he kissed the top of my head before he stepped away from me, facing the Liege again.

“We’ll figure this out,” Zayde said in a reasonable tone. “Let the Liege go, Vexxion. He got past our wards, but rather than kill us, he strolled, more or less, into the room.” He took Layla’s hand and tugged her into his side, putting a protective arm around her back.

Irritation and dismay dueled on Vexxion’s face before he lowered the Liege to its bony feet with a clatter. His threads remained coiled around the Liege’s throat in a noose.

Aunt Vera strode over to stand in front of the Liege. She actually dared to reach inside his hood and hold his face, tilting it this way and that before releasing him. “We can trust him. Somewhat.” She backed away and collapsed into a chair, though her attention remained fixed on the menace looming within the room. “What did Vexxion offer?”

“Blood,” the Liege hissed.

“You can’t have his blood,” I snapped. The Liege in the cave had craved my blood. He’d sucked it from the dirt even as I was drawing my sword up to impale him.

“Anything,” Vexxion said softly. “I would’ve given anything to free you.” A look of resignation crossed his face, and he released his threads. With a sigh, he strode close to the Liege.

I rushed forward to worm my way between them. “Why do you need blood?”

I felt the Liege grin. “You know why, pretty one. ”

For one moment, I swore mist rose between us. Inside the manor? It wasn’t possible.

“You use it to create more dregs,” I said.

He shook his head. “Red rivers create a song with each pulsation.”

“Don’t speak in riddles. How do you use the blood?” I cried out. I would not allow this creature to take from Vexxion. I’d find a way to break the promise he’d made.

The Liege advanced on me. “Fulfill your part of our bargain, pretty one, and you may find out.”

“What did you give for my collar?” Vexxion asked me.

“There wasn’t anything I wouldn’t have given him.”

Vexxion took my hand and lifted it to his mouth, kissing each of my fingers. “I understand.” The stark acceptance on his face gutted me. He would’ve sacrificed his life to protect me and my friends, and from the sadness in his eyes, he believed the final payment was now due.

“No,” I said.

The Liege stepped closer to me, each step ghostly rustles of crushed leaves. “Will you complete your bargain, pretty one?”

“Wait here.” I looked at my friends watching this nightmare unfold. “Don’t make any deals while I’m gone.”

Zayde snorted, but his eyes spun wildly. “No chance of that.”

He’d be surprised what he’d willingly offer to protect someone he loved.

Layla snagged my arm as I passed. She studied my face before nodding. “You’re not alone in this.”

“Never.” Airia moved to stand beside Layla .

“You,” the Liege told her in the voice of a ghoul rising from a crypt. “I will not touch.”

Airia curled her finger toward him. “You’re sure?”

Reyla stepped between us and the Liege. “Don’t lay a hand on anyone in this room.” Flames of her magic swirled around her, lifting her hair and making the air crackle.

The Liege’s skeletal hand snagged Reyla’s wrist, and he flipped her arm over with surprising ease, revealing her pale, smooth skin. “No mark.”

She struggled to break free but couldn’t. “I’m not anyone’s bonded mate.”

“No, no you aren’t.” His head tilted. “Would you like to know where to find them? I’ll give you clues for the right price.”

She jerked away and rubbed the spot he’d touched. “Find what?”

“You will soon hold many pieces, both simple and grand, all with the potential to end or begin. I can show you the right ones.”

A subtle quiver rippled through her frame, and she clutched the arm of a nearby chair tight enough to blanche her fingers. “No deal.”

He sucked in a raspy breath. “Too bad. It would’ve made things much easier for you.”

“What are you talking about?” she shrieked, her face flashing florid.

“Promise first, and secrets will follow.”

“No deal!” Spooked, she backed away to stand behind Vexxion, peering past him at the Liege.

“What about you, precious younger sister?” the Liege asked Layla. “Do you wish to know if the child you carry will live long enough to feel the sun warming his face?”

Her hands covered her belly protectively, and when she met my eyes, the shock I felt at this announcement was mirrored there.

“I’m not pregnant,” she said. “It’s too soon.”

“Will his father be able to claim him, or will he one day belong to his grandsire?” The Liege pointed to her belly. “Surely you’d like to make a deal.”

“Stay away from me.” She backed around a table and snatched a blade up from its surface, brandishing it in the air. “I will not give in. I will not give in!”

“Enough,” I snarled. I studied each of my friends in turn. “Ignore him while I’m gone.” I flitted to our room and strode to the closet, where I tugged out the bag that even now thrummed.

Light glinted off something lying on the shelf where I’d placed the bag, and I stooped forward.

How had the mirror shards gotten here? I’d taken care to hide them with the rest of the stolen objects in one of the bureaus.

I’d planned to tell Vexxion about my latest visit to Ivenrail’s bedroom. My aunt must know. Had the crown responded to her call, or had she found it inside my suite?

Should I flit to the parlor or deal with the shards right now? They’d revealed themselves for a reason.

Look and you will finally see, the fairy told me. Was she referring to the mirror?

With a shake of my head, I tightened my grip on the bag and flitted back to the parlor, finding Vexxion holding the Liege in place with his threads while the others crowded around them both, brandishing knives and swords.

“Let’s kill him,” Zayde snapped, his face overcome with fury. “Then we don’t need to fulfill bargains.”

“Your mate wears one of my collars,” the Liege said in a voice as crisp as a long-dead corpse. “Do you dare trust it’ll remain there after my death?”

Zayde nudged Layla behind him. “Don’t threaten us.”

“Never threats. Only bargains.” The Liege’s head snapped around, his unseen face pointing my way, though his focus had dropped to the bag that pulsed with hideous glee in my hand. The throb vibrated through the cloth, sinking into my bones with a splintering pain. If I gave him the hearts, would that make him more powerful? I had enough threats to deal with already.

But I’d promised. “I’ll give these to you if you tell Vexxion your deal with him is complete.”

“He offered blood,” the Liege said.

My aunt thrust herself between us, holding out her arm with the soft underside facing the ceiling. “Then take mine.”

Leaning forward, the Liege delicately sniffed, nuzzling his nose against her exposed flesh. “Yes, sweet,” he purred, the sound reminding me of woodland sticks breaking beneath the paws of an enormous predator. “I accept your offer.”

“No,” I said. “Don’t let him touch you.” I flitted between them, holding up the bag. “Take these wretched things and do with them what you must. Go and don’t return. Leave us alone.”

The Liege’s head turned, and the crushing weight of his gaze fell on me. “I will take only a taste of the elder. Of him. Of you. And what you collected for me. That will fulfill my bargain with the high lord.”

“No more than a taste.” The shake in Aunt Vera’s voice rattled through the room.

“A deal?” Vexxion asked me and my aunt, and we nodded. He tightened his shoulders. “Me first.” He lifted his arm toward the Liege, shoving it into the folds, near the creature’s face.

A subtle slurping sound tore across my exposed skin, and my body prickled with cold dismay.

The Liege grappled with Vexxion’s arm, clutching it, leaning over it like a musician stroking a macabre tune from a broken instrument. His body swayed, and his growl clawed through the room.

Someone hummed, and the Liege paused, lifting his head to peer around with eyes we could not see.

“Enough.” Vexxion jerked his arm away from the Liege.

I stared at his limb, finding no wound.

The Liege smacked his teeth together with a husky clatter, his face remaining hidden within his robe.

“Me.” I shoved my hand into the darkness before I could cringe back and bargain to give him something, anything but this.

It didn’t hurt. I felt nothing as he slurped and snarled with excitement.

When my knees started shaking, I yanked my arm from his clutches. Again, no mark, though I felt . . .

Frowning, I circled inward, though I had no idea what I’d find .

Nothing. Nothing. I was unchanged. Was he?

“Here.” Aunt Vera held out her arm, and the Liege took it, drawing it inside his hood where his gaping maw hid. He undulated with joy as he took from my aunt.

When he released her arm, she staggered backward.

“You, lovely one,” he purred her way. “Will soon join us.”

“No,” she croaked. “Never.”

While we gaped at each other, the Liege drifted from the room with the bag of hearts in his hand.

Aunt Vera gasped and collapsed on the floor.