Crown of Stars and Fate by Alexis Calder

Author:Alexis Calder [Calder, Alexis]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Illaria Publishing
Published: 2024-01-26T00:00:00+00:00

17

Ara

“Guards!” Lagina shouted.

The doors burst open, and Argus and the other guards stationed outside crashed into the room.

One of the advisors drew a weapon and launched toward Lagina but Ryvin was faster, moving in front of my sister with flawless grace. He dodged the man’s attack, then stabbed him in the side before disarming him.

The advisor fell to the ground, clutching at the gushing wound. He hissed curses as he glared at Ryvin. The prince held the blade to the man’s throat. “Try anything and I’ll finish what I started.”

The other advisors stepped back, eyes wide with shock.

“She’s lying,” one of them shouted. “We’re loyal to Athos.”

“Arrest them all,” Lagina ordered.

“Your highness,” one of them protested.

“You trust that Konos witch over us,” another hissed.

“We’ve served your father for years,” someone else said. “We’re loyal to Athos.”

Lagina hesitated, as if trying to reconcile the fact that she was taking the word of Laera over her father’s advisors.

“Should I tell her which of you let the maid in who tried to kill Ara?” Laera asked.

Ryvin moved in front of me, shadows rising around us. “Who was it?”

“What is she talking about, Ara?” Lagina asked without taking her eyes from the men.

“I was poisoned by the servant who replaced Mila,” I confessed.

She glanced at me. “You never told me.”

“She nearly died,” Ryvin added. “Which of you is to blame?”

Carlin, a younger advisor who’d been serving my father for only a few years, ran.

Ryvin moved with his shadows, cutting off the man’s exit before he could reach the door. Before any of us could react, the prince had his knife in the man’s throat.

Blood poured from the wound and the man collapsed to the ground, a crimson puddle spreading on the floor.

“Take them all to the dungeon. I don’t want to hear any excuses.” She pointed at the other advisors and showed no signs of compassion. She was pure malice, and I didn’t blame her. These weren’t people she’d chosen. They were more remnants of our father’s rule.

The men protested as Argus and his guards took hold of them, handling them with the same roughness they would any criminal. “Don’t give me a reason to send you to the Underworld,” Argus threatened.

“What about that one?” Argus asked at the doorway, lifting his chin toward the man on the ground.

“We’ll handle it,” Laera offered.

The men quieted as they were hauled away, their whimpers and sniffles muffled by the footsteps of the guards.

Ryvin’s shadows returned, surrounding the fallen man. When they dissipated, the body was gone. I shivered, recalling how I’d summoned that power, even if I didn’t know how it worked or where exactly the dead were sent.

Then he walked toward the man he’d stabbed in the side. The man was struggling for breath, whimpering and begging for mercy. “Want me to finish him?”

My sister turned to Laera. “I’ve heard about you. Your skills are legend around here. What do you know about this treacherous snake?”

Laera stood, then casually walked toward my sister. “You might not be as weak as I thought you were.

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