Isle and Eyrie by J. C. McKenzie

Author:J. C. McKenzie
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: J. C. McKenzie

The ache pounding inside Ronin’s head woke him up. He lay sprawled on expensive tiles, his hands bound behind him.

He knew these tiles.

He knew the rose-laden smell in the air and the gentle whisper of the silk drapes along the floor.

Someone had brought him to the private chambers of the king.

He scrambled to his knees and struggled to straighten. His vision wavered. The pounding in his head intensified.

The clack of a woman’s boots echoed in the room.

He looked over his shoulder from his kneeling position.

Sasha walked around him. Nestled in complicated knots and braids of her tawny hair, she wore their mother’s crown. Instead of one of those fluffy dresses the courtiers favoured, she wore black leather pants, a white silk blouse and boots with heels. Wicked heels. Like the kind that could be used for walking or stabbing.

“Sasha?” He straightened some more and pulled his shoulders back. “What’s going on? Release me.”

She tsked, clicking her tongue at him and crouched in front of him, weight on her toes. “Oh no, dear brother. That just won’t do. We can’t let the traitor of the Eyrie loose.”

“What?”

Her mouth quirked up. “Of course, I was devastated to learn my own brother was responsible for poisoning our father. Too greedy to wait any longer for the throne. Such a shame.”

A chill spread through his body with a sickening realisation. “It was you. You betrayed us.” He swallowed, but his stomach continued to churn as if a giant had delivered a debilitating body shot. He’d had time to grieve on Iom, but part of him still held onto a tiny bit of hope that Ava had lied. Even when the other pieces of information she’d given turned out to be true, he’d clung to that hope. Desperately.

Now faced with not only the reality of his father’s death, but the cause and the perpetrator, air fled his lungs and his stomach twisted into a knot.

“Why?” He forced the words out, the dry air shredding along the inside of his throat.

Sasha’s smile turned into a scowl and she stood abruptly. “You wouldn’t understand.”

“Try me.”

“You were the golden one. The heir of the Eyrie. Placed on a pedestal and bathed with love and affection.”

He jerked back. “That doesn’t make any sense. Father loved you, too. He paid for tutors and trainers. You’ve had everything you wanted.”

“He tolerated me.” Her hands balled into fists. “And he did it for you. He might’ve thrown baubles and training at me, but only for appearances, only for you. Never for me.”

“Why would he do that?”

“If anyone found out I was the illegitimate bastard of the queen and her lover, it would throw your own legitimacy as the heir into question. Your father needed everyone to believe I was a true daughter of the Eagle Clan.”

“Her lover…” Ronin whispered, mind reeling.

“Lord Gable.”

Ronin flinched. He knew the name. Everyone on the Eyrie did. The man had been publicly executed about nine years ago, a few months after Father banished Cora’s family to the outpost.

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