Blood of Two Crowns (Hallowed Fates #2)

Chapter 22

Chapter

Twenty-Two

NAKOA

I ’d chosen to forgo the ritual of hosting a feast after the coronation. It felt wrong to celebrate anything without Mareina here. Without her, there was no reason to celebrate, and it had become increasingly obvious to me that I would fail to even become half the king I’d always dreamed of without her at my side.

For the first time since I was a faeling, I woke up in a puddle of my own cum after a dream of Mareina—and sharing her with Malekai—filtered through my still-waking mind. Something within me was still powerfully resistant to the idea, but I also couldn’t ignore that something about the idea had begun to feel right.

I cleaned myself up, taking a quick shower after opting to pull my own soiled sheets off the bed to spare one of the palace staff the task. As I dressed, my eyes caught on the crown now sitting in an elegantly carved, velvet-lined wooden box. Waiting.

Embrace the King you are destined to be, my Knowingness whispered.

Though my guilt had greatly lessened since my conversation with Malekai, a shadow of shame seeped into my veins as my logical mind reminds me of the fact that I disrespected and dishonoured my own soulbound. Wounded her on every level. Took advantage of her. And now, because I had endlessly abused her trust, she was gone just as Miroslav had warned.

Desperate to escape the weight settling on my chest, I left the crown in its box as that voice in my head whispered my unworthiness. Perhaps that was why my visions had become so infrequent lately.

I sigh in relief when I hear a knock on the door, a welcome distraction from the glaring reminder of my misdeeds.

Having wanted to avoid guards listening in on me at all hours of the night and day, I opened the door myself to come face to face with Malekai. There was a slight tension between us and I couldn’t help but wonder if he’d had the same dream as I did.

Did Mareina share the dream?

“Zurie requested one of the guards fetch you, but I’d heard you’d dismissed them… So I thought it might be better if I came to get you.”

His eyes wandered to the bedroom behind me, nostrils flaring before a knowing smirk tipped up a corner of his mouth. The exceedingly unfamiliar sensation of embarrassment had blood rushing to my cheeks. He graciously pretended not to notice and merely clapped me on the shoulder before walking away. “Me too, buddy.”

“Hello, Zurie.” Zurie’s features tensed, mouth curling in a barely-there frown. “Nakoa.”

My eyes lifted to Thalia, who gave me a guilt-less smirk that made my hackles rise. “As unseasoned as I may be at this court posturing bullshit, I can’t imagine stealing a prisoner is the best way to go about gaining allies.”

Thalia’s bored look shifted to an entirely different person that took me several moments to recognize.

Keres.

Malekai, who stood beside me, huffed an unimpressed laugh. Rumiel’s expression gave nothing away to belie the anger I felt pouring off him in waves. Whether it was towards Keres and Zurie, or just Zurie, I had no idea.

I could only manage a sigh, exhausted beyond caring at this point. All I wanted was Mareina back. “I need you to open the portal to Azrael’s realm. To Vassileo.”

Zurie’s face scrunched up in disbelief. “What in Akash’s name for? It’s a chain of hell realms.”

I reached out with my Knowingness to see whether there was any note of deception or if Zurie was merely pretending to be unaware that Azrael had taken Mareina to Vassileo. To my utter surprise, I found none.

Malekai and I exchanged a look before I spoke, giving him the chance to stop me from speaking the truth.

“Because Mareina went there with Azrael. ”

Zurie’s lips parted, eyes rounding slightly as she opened her mouth to speak, but Keres laid a hand on her forearm to give her pause.

“Willingly?”

“Yes.”

Keres and Zurie exchange a look that tells me they’re already aware of Azrael’s problem.

Shaking her head in disbelief, Keres frowns up at me. “Even if Zurie opened one of the portals, how in the fuck do you actually expect to convince Azrael to let her go. He’ll kill you. He’s one of the most powerful gods ever to exist. His power rivals that of a Primal. He basically is a primal.”

By allowing his godsforsaken denizens into our realm. It went against everything I’d ever believed in. Everything I’d thrown in Mareina’s face and led her to believe.

But it felt careless to give Zurie the entire truth. My expression hardened at the lie forming on the tip of my tongue, but before it could breach my lips, Zurie’s face paled in realization.

“You plan to let his people in…”

Keres snorted a derisive laugh. “ Akash almighty. You’ve been King for a day and you’re already putting your own needs over the needs of your citizens? How very typical. I’d actually had high hopes for my niece’s soulbound .”

Malekai’s growl was utterly inhuman, a mirror to my own anger. It twined with guilt that welled up inside of me at just how right she was.

Keres rolled her eyes. “ Down drakonati. I didn’t say no. I just want to ensure you know how it will look to your people. There’ll be a revolt. You’ll be hated. There’ll be assassination attempts… By saving her, you’re dooming yourself.”

Her words only further steeled my resolution. “If I don’t save her, I’m already doomed.”

Zurie looked ill. Perhaps her withdrawals were returning. It couldn’t possibly be empathy eating her alive as she stared at some distant corner. When her eyes lifted to mine, the determination in them was unmistakable.

“Blame it on me.”

Shock suffused me, and I scoured her for signs of deception. How could this possibly be of benefit to her… The female was a snake in the grass. A duplicitous, deceitful, highborn wench of the highest order. She reached out to grab my forearm but then stopped herself.

“They already hate me. Even my allies hate me. It makes no difference, but you have a chance. The people love you already. You saw them out there. Don’t throw it away. Tell them Azrael paid me or something; it doesn’t matter. And then when Azrael’s citizens arrive, you can save them. Again. As you are destined to.”

Emotion swelled in my chest.

You will not cry. You will not cry. You will not cry.

I cleared my throat, scrubbing a hand down my face. Gratitude washed over me as Malekai clapped a hand on my shoulder. “Sounds good to me. He agrees, don’t you, your majesty?”

Relief and gratitude washed over me for the male and his attempt to draw their attention. If I’d had to speak, all that would have come out was a choked sob on the word mommy.

I cleared my throat, managing a nod, as my eyes darted away.

“You’ll have to come with us… In case we can’t find Azrael. To open the portal again,” Malekai added.

Zurie nodded in affirmation despite being sheet white.

“For whatever solution he’s discovered in bringing her there, he won’t let her go. You know that right?”

I buried my rising panic. The words feel lame even to my own hears. “His original request was that we allow his people in… It was Mareina’s suggestion that she stay there with him to bolster the barriers between our realms. To spare us from the havoc his people would cause.”

Zurie’s gaze wavered, likely recognizing that she’d never sacrificed herself for her people as Mareina had. Her words came out softer than I thought her capable.

“He’s a dying god with a dying realm, Nakoa. If Azrael agreed to her staying there, it’s because it’s of greater benefit to him. The only hope you have of getting her back is either by stealth or force.”

Azrael’s words echoed in my mind.

‘… We would have to create a syphon to drain your power…’

“So be it.”

Keres sighed heavily, speaking to no one in particular. “Fuck me, this is gonna be terrible. You do realize that, don’t you?”