Shadow & Flame by Mindee Arnett

Author:Mindee Arnett
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2019-03-31T16:00:00+00:00

Part Two

The Paragon and the King

17

Corwin

CORWIN HAD EXPERIENCED TWO HOMECOMINGS in his life before. The first when he returned to Norgard after having disappeared for three years to parts and adventures unknown to the kingdom. His arrival then had been heralded by bright sunshine, followed by an almost frenetic energy from the people who longed to know where he’d been, what he’d been doing. His second homecoming had followed his presumed death at the jaws of daydrakes. It had been heralded by a terrible storm the night before, and his appearance in the city was a cause for celebration among the people, eager for the start of the uror trial and the competition of the princes who might become king.

His third homecoming was heralded by blood.

Seva’s armies of mind-controlled wilders attacked Norgard at dawn, not long after the city gates were opened. Before they came in view of the city, the wilders conjured a storm at Magnar’s command—the rain and thunder and heat producing a thick mist that hid the army’s approach from the city watchmen atop the wall. It worked all too well, and Corwin could only observe it all from afar, in awe at the wilders’ power. He’d seen their magic in action before, but never this many. Now, watching them all working in conjunction, he understood their awesome power, and he had to give credit to Magnar for recognizing the potential—and exploiting it to its fullest.

But he also saw the irony—that by trying to eradicate such power through the Inquisition, Rime had only left itself vulnerable to it.

Still, the awe didn’t lessen the horror he felt once the killing started. He was kept a safe distance from the fighting, under a protection of guards, but it wasn’t far enough to stop him from feeling the ground tremble with the terrible might of the earthists as they rained down rocks on Norgard’s soldiers, riding out to fight them. It didn’t insulate him from the screams of dying men and beasts, the splintering of wood and shattering of stone, the crack of gunfire, and the screech of steel meeting steel.

These are my people. Corwin felt their suffering, hands fisted around his horse’s reins, his body rigid with the war raging inside him. He desperately longed to help, to fight back in defense of his city, but Gavril’s Tenets held him firmly in place, as strongly as ever. He couldn’t even utter a word of protest. All he could do was sit there, a toy prince and nothing more.

I should’ve let Bonner kill me. The thought reverberated inside his brain, regret bubbling up like acid inside him. Corwin hadn’t been the same since the day of Gavril’s loyalty testing. Henry’s death, as well as the others’, haunted him. Nightmares plagued his sleep, the memory of Henry’s screams playing over and over in his dreams, his head, everywhere. Corwin had killed before, but never like that. The lives he’d taken had been in battle, his opponents given the chance to kill him first if they could.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.