Page 129 of Born of Starlight
When I rose, King Darvanda glanced at me with a quirked brow. My feet were planted, trying to capture Emmerick’s eyes with my own—his anguish and resentment still hit me like a punch thrown to the gut. Winded and devastated, I finally managed to speak.
“Emmerick.”
When he looked at me, I wished he hadn’t. The blindly loyal boy who had accepted my father’s terms to protect me was gone. What stood before me was a destined King, dejected because of a Queen who had held him at arm’s length for a decade.How could one explain such selfishness in words?I’d likely spend the rest of my life trying.
Emmerick knelt over the downed enchantress. My eyes fell on Asterie’s still, lifeless body, and the lump in my throat grew.
“This is King Darvanda of the Wastelands,” I explained. “His troops are fighting for Luz. The Warhorses—”
Emmerick just stared at me with an intensity that caused my hands to fidget.
“She is not dead,” King Darvanda said from beside me. “I don’t see her in the shadows yet. But she doesn’t have much time.”
“Can you help her? Can your magic help her?” Emmerick stood to face Darvanda. He ran his blood-soaked hands over his breeches to no avail.
“Careful, Em. Asking for this bastard’s aid comes at steep costs.”
I slipped my fingers into my loosened crown of braided hair. I wanted to plead with him to soften, to be my Emmerick—the stable boy, the friend.
My Constable ignored me.
Darvanda grunted before huffing. “Charming…such a fowl mouth on such a pretty face.” He stepped close enough to put me in his shadow. “Mind you,this bastardjust savedyourpeople tonight. I suggest you remember that.”
Emmerick visibly braced, and his hand found the hilt of his sword.He still cared. There was hope.
As Darvanda watched Emmerick’s reaction, it was the first time anything resembling a smile had touched his face since I had met him.
“Oh—how predictable,” he mused darkly. “A Queen warming her bed with those on her payroll. Leash your dog. If I wanted to kill you, I would have done so already.”
If my powers were a two-way path, I’d make him see every creative way I was thinking about killing him. Darvanda watched me now. His smirk only deepened the more violent my thoughts grew.Could he hear me? Did helikeit?
I shivered then asked, “What do we do?”
Hurried footsteps across the stone of the courtyard interrupted any answer to my question. A woman with dark curls, pushed back with a golden band, approached. Emmerick’s gaze softened as it landed on her.
“No additional forces approach by sea. The northern fleets stood no chance against the southern navy.”
My brow furrowed in confusion as she spoke to me, as though awaiting my commands. I felt utterly ill-prepared for this.
I pushed into Emmerick’s mind, pressing against his mental shields. He fought it, but I pushed in anyway against his learned defenses—like picking a lock. He hated when I did it, but I needed to know how to help him.
“Amara. She’s my birth mother. Now, get the fuck out of my head, Sybilla. Lead your beloved Corridor.”
Emmerick’s mother stood expectantly.The High Enchantress of the South Corridor.
My mind raced for what to do. Then Amara’s eye caught the lifeless form on the bedroll that Emmerick still leaned over.
Amara closed the distance between her and her fallen Sister and collapsed to her knees. Her dark eyes welled with tears as she ran her hand over the younger enchantress’ pale, cold, blood-soaked face. Emmerick reached across Asterie to take his mother’s hand.
“No…Asterie, no. This cannot be.” Grief wrenched out of Amara so strong that it began to suffocate my senses. That pain hit me more intensely than any I’d felt before. Even Fenris’ pain, in the moments he had climbed down the wall, had been laced with wrath, which had covered the foul taste and feeling of despair.
Darvanda stepped up and crouched next to Amara. He said nothing, but he placed a hand on her shoulder. So, hewascapable of compassion, at least for someone. Emmerick fought his own tears.
I felt numb. It was always difficult to not shut down completely when emotions in a room were strong. I needed to cut them off, but it was so damn hard when their pain tore at my seams.
“I killed her. I fucking killed her. It’s all my fault. I should never have agreed. I did this.”
I wasn’t prying this time. Emmerick’s mind was warring with itself, and thoughts snapped out of him uncontrollably. My feet couldn’t move. I was stupefied and helpless.
