Tale of the Heart Queen (Artefacts of Ouranos #4)

Chapter 17

C HAPTER 17

LOR

A LLUVION —P RESENT D AY

T he Aurora King.

Those words freeze us all in place for several tense heartbeats before Cyan’s accusing gaze turns to me.

“What have you brought to my doorstep, Heart Queen?”

“This is not my doing,” I hiss. “He must have tracked me here.”

“How were they not detected earlier?” Cyan demands of Linden. “How did they sneak up on us?”

“One moment there was nothing, and suddenly they appeared. The storm must have obscured their approach.” Her green eyes flash, and if I thought she hated me already, that’s nothing compared to the bottomless loathing she feels for me now.

“Fuck!” Cyan says before he whirls on me.

He seizes me by the arm and drags me towards the door while he shouts out a series of commands to Linden. She tosses me the dirtiest look that has ever been tossed in the history of ever before she hisses, “It’s exactly as I said. Your family brings nothing but ruin.”

I swallow my nervousness, but it does feel like she’s kind of right.

Cyan yanks on my arm and drags me down the hall.

“Stop!” I scream. “You’re giving me up to him?”

“You come into my home, lie to me, deceive me, and then rob me? I’ll be thrilled to see the back of you.”

He’s moving so fast that I stumble as we walk. Gods, he’s pissed.

“How can you do this? You know what kind of man he is.”

“I do, and that’s why I don’t want him threatening my home and my people. You are no one to me, Lor.”

It’s a fair point. I’d probably do the same thing. But I can’t let Rion have me. If I don’t return the ark to Zerra, Nadir will die. I’m almost out of time.

Magic hums under my skin, sparkling and crackling, and I flex my fingertips as Cyan continues to drag me through the palace, shouting orders at everyone we pass. The rain has eased up, the sounds of the wind and thunder no longer drowning everything out.

Activity flurries around us, and I consider my options. If I use my magic, I might kill a bunch of innocent people. Cyan included. I swore I would be more careful from now on, but he’s forcing me into a corner .

As he tows me towards the entrance, I can practically feel the distance closing between me and the Aurora King, pressing in on me like an iron noose. It’s like he’s calling to me, reeling me in like the helpless worm I am. If he gets his hands on me again, I’m so very dead. Or worse. My entire life has been a lesson in things that are so much worse.

Cyan throws open a door and hauls me onto a high balcony that overlooks the city surrounding the castle. Rain falls in a steady drip, making everything glisten in the moonlight.

In the distance, Rion’s army approaches, spreading across the horizon like a black stain. I thought I’d killed more of them, but he probably has endless resources to draw on. I’ll never be a match for him, and I knew it wouldn’t be that easy to kill him anyway.

“Cyan,” I say, pleading. “Don’t do this. I’m begging you.”

He whirls on me. “How dare you?”

He snatches the ark from my clasped hands, scraping my already bloodied fingertips, and hands it to a guard.

“Keep that safe,” he orders. “And don’t let her near it.”

The guard nods as he gives me a suspicious look. Great. This is just fucking great.

Rion’s army marches closer, passing through the gates and down the wide boulevard bisecting the city. Screams echo from below as people cower in the safety of their homes. Alluvion’s soldiers also move through the streets, trying to maintain order, but Rion’s army ignores everyone, and I understand why. He didn’t come here to level the ocean kingdom; he came only for me. But I also have no doubt he’ll destroy everyone here if that’s what it takes .

I jerk against Cyan’s hold again and find myself surrounded by soldiers, including Linden. Anemone has also appeared, and she passes a quizzical look between me and her king.

“What’s going on?” she asks.

“This thief tried to steal the ark,” Cyan says. “Ate our food, slept in our beds, and then just walked into my throne room and took it.”

Anemone’s eyebrows draw together, and the look on her face makes guilt burn at the base of my neck. She looks so . . . disappointed in me.

“How did you know where to find it?” she asks.

Cyan pauses and looks over at me as if he’s just remembered what I said earlier. “She claims Coral spoke to her,” he says, squeezing my arm so tight I wince. “I’ll throw you off this balcony if you don’t explain yourself.”

I grimace and then say, “Sometimes, the Artefacts talk to me.”

“Liar!” he hisses. “The Artefacts speak only with the ascended.”

“No, they talk to me,” I say. “I swear to you.”

“How did you get to Coral?” Anemone queries, and I glare at her. Does she have to ask so many damn questions?

“Bain was with her,” Cyan says. “You tricked him.”

“Uh . . . maybe?”

Cyan shakes his head. “You took advantage of a confused man to steal from me? How are you not ashamed of yourself?”

“I had no choice,” I say, feeling as tall as a bug. “Zerra has my mate, and she won’t give him back without the ark.”

Something passes behind Anemone’s expression as she exchanges a loaded look with Cyan .

“Why should we give a fuck about that?” Linden demands, still my best friend.

“Because Rion won’t stop with me,” I say. “He’s up to something bigger. Something that will hurt you too. If he gets his hands on me, then he’s one step closer to that goal.”

Cyan glares at me. “ What is he up to?”

“I don’t know ,” I say, deciding now is the moment to add in a few more details I’ve kept to myself. I’ve got little else to lose at this point. I tell him about Nostraza and my magic, explaining the horrors Rion visited upon me and my siblings.

When I’m done stumbling through my hasty explanation, Cyan seems to consider my words as he looks at Anemone. They appear to be having some kind of silent conversation that I can’t interpret. The hold on my arm loosens a fraction.

“She’s lying,” Linden says. “The Heart Queen would say anything to save her own neck.”

Cyan’s hand squeezes tighter again, and my shoulders sag. I want to kick her in the shins right now.

“I’m not lying,” I say. “Look at my face. He did that. He left that scar on me with his magic.”

“You could have gotten that anywhere,” Linden says.

She’s right. And what reason have I given any of them to believe me? All I’ve done is lie since they let me in here. My inability to trust anyone is becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy.

At the sound of a horn, we all turn to watch as Rion’s army draws near.

When they reach the round plaza surrounding the palace, they spill into it like ink staining a clean white canvas. Rion sits on his horse at the front, all imperious arrogance in black armor with a sword strapped to his back. He looks like the Lord of the Underworld himself, come to drag me to the pits of hell. I remember with a jolt that this is Nadir’s heritage. That the first king of The Aurora is his great-great-great-great-however-many-greats-this-goes-back grandfather. Goosebumps erupt over my skin.

“Cyan!” Rion shouts from below. “I’ve come only for the girl. Hand her over to me, and your people need not suffer.”

Cyan isn’t buying that, is he?

“You don’t really think he’s just going to turn around and leave once he has me, do you?” I ask, trying to pull my arm out of his hold.

“Well, I know he won’t leave if I don’t give you up.”

Okay, good point.

“You won’t be able to live with yourself if you do this,” I say. “I can see that you’re a good king and a good man. You really wouldn’t hand over an innocent woman into the clutches of her abuser, would you?”

A conflicted waver flickers in his eyes—it’s true that he’s a good king. He’s just protecting his people .

“Don’t listen to her!” Linden hisses. “She fills your ears with poison. You think she didn’t do the same to my brother?”

I grit my teeth and resist the urge to lash out. “I’m not,” I hiss.

“Your Majesty!” Rion calls from below, and we all turn to face him.

I stare down at the Aurora King, hating everything. He looks too much like Nadir but nothing like him at all. He is the sum total of so much misery in my life. Exacting my revenge has always been a desire that sits in the center of my heart like a pellet of jagged iron, and gods, the vicious things I’d do to him if I ever got the chance. It would break both of us, but I’d consider every moment worth the price.

“Give her to me, and then we’ll be out of your way. This girl is nothing to you. Or to anyone, really. Just an heir to a broken queendom that, soon enough, everyone will forget about for good.”

Those words touch some deep, insecure part of me because he’s right, isn’t he? If we had never left Nostraza, none of this would be happening. The last drops of Heart magic would die with me, and that would be it.

But the people of Heart are counting on me. I can’t let them die. It’s been almost three hundred years and they waited, never losing faith. I refuse to let them down.

But Cyan won’t care about any of that.

“I’m sorry,” Cyan says, and my chest deflates. “But I have no choice.”

He starts to drag me away from the railing, and I don’t think. I forget all my earlier reservations. I don’t consider what I’m doing. I just react.

My hand flies out, and I explode.

Lightning bursts out of me, bleeding across the sky in rough crimson streaks.

My ears fill with the unbearable sound of terrified screams and the crack of crumbling stone, and then . . . I’m falling.