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

67. Tempest

67

TEMPEST

A low shuffle slid across the plain, the only sound I heard in this hollow land other than the rapid thrum of my heart.

Even Vexxion could no longer reach me.

Had I made a mistake? I may have cursed myself by allowing the king to drain me enough to be allowed access to the ether. But I hadn’t fought when he bound me with vines despite proving I could make them release me. I’d sat passively as he stalked over to me and slammed his thumb into my forehead. I’d fed him my power as he drained it, depleting my well so low, I could see the rocky bottom.

I’d sensed my sacrifice must play a role in this. I was nature, and I needed to bend.

“Your path will ssssplit ssssoon,” Iasar had hissed. “It issss not here or there or in the worldssss beyond. Find it.”

Vexxion’s vision showed a world like this. Reyla confirmed the image. This was the path I needed to follow.

A shimmering figure appeared on the plain, galloping quickly over to stand in front of me.

Gaineos dipped his head forward. “Have you come for your favor, High Lady?”

“Can you take me to the Blade of Alessa?”

His head tilted and he scrutinized my face. “Why do you seek the blade?”

“To kill—” Actually it was so much more than that. “I will use the blade to right the balance.”

He released a grim smile. “If you sought it only to kill, I would leave you here despite owing you this journey.”

“I have to free the powerless and Nullens from the entrapment placed upon them long ago.”

“Doing this will break the treaty. Do you know what will happen after that? The veil will fall.” He snarled, his hooves sinking into the sand as he paced. “The high fae will overrun those you call Nullens.”

“The Nullens have been bound by the fae since the treaty was formed.”

He huffed, his breath blasting across my face. Everything was amplified and muted here, all at the same time. “This was their decision.”

“Things have changed. The magical suppression has to end. Those Nullens who want to use the power they were born with must be free to make that choice, not have it stolen from them. The Claiming must end. No one should be forced to serve others as wells of power to be drained or as servants subject to the will of the wicked.”

“And what of the powerless?” His gaze locked on mine. “What will happen to them once you end the treaty?”

“I can’t believe they agreed to be turned into dregs. The Lieges . . .” I frowned, thinking. “They’ve always been in control of the dregs, yet they have some power as well. I gave them hearts. Aunt Vera, Vexxion, and I gave them blood.”

“You did what?” he roared.

I would not defend myself for taking the only path that held a scrap of hope for something better.

And then it hit me.

Sucking in a deep breath, I watched his face cratered with anger. Yet his eyes . . .

They studied me with a slyness I was only learning to master myself.

This was another test.

“The Lieges are their protectors, aren’t they?” I asked, holding back the beginning of a smile when his eyes flashed with excitement.

“Do you believe Lieges who drove carts and commanded the dregs to overrun villages are capable of protecting anyone?”

“Only the powerless can center the balance, and someone needs to protect them. The Lieges have always been bound to the dregs, yet now they also serve a new master, Ivenrail.” Perhaps his father before him. How far back in his family did this torturous plan go?

“I ask you,” he said in a cryptic voice that shot out across the plain and returned to slam into me, nearly knocking me over, “how will wielding the Blade of Alessa restore the balance?”

“Whispers will reveal what shadows keep. To lose all hope or dare to take the leap.”

His unearthly blue eyes widened.

“I took a leap by coming here rather than allow Ivenrail to steal all hope.” I lifted my voice, and it rang across this world like the chiming of a pristine bell. “When nature bends and true love speaks with all its might, only then will justice end this bitter blight. Don’t you see?”

“Tell me,” he intoned.

“My love for Vexxion and his for me will bring about the change we need.”

“If it’s used well.” His gaze narrowed. “What will happen to those who have less power once you break the spell binding them?”

“I can’t promise I’ll be able to protect them.”

“Then you’re not the right one to wield the blade,” he shouted, his voice smacking into me before it was sucked away by the ether.

“I’d be lying if I told you I could do that. All I can promise is that I’ll try. Hope and love can build a better future. I trust that together, Vexxion and I can make a difference, that we can vanquish those who seek to harm others. That we can set a new course for everyone in faerie. And when I say faerie, I mean the entire continent, not just those living beyond the veil. The fae, the Nullens, the Lieges, and the powerless.”

He grunted.

I met his gaze with steel in my own and rooted my feet firmly in the sand. We were wasting time when I had so much left to do. “Take me to the Blade of Alessa. With it, I will free the powerless, restore the Lieges to their role as protectors, and end this blight spreading across our world.”

Gaineos smiled. “Very well, tiny storm. You have done well so far.” He stretched forward with his front hooves, lowering his chest until it nearly touched the sand. “Climb on my back, and I will take you where you need to go.”