Immortal Reign(49)
This assassin had stolen that from her.
Lucia turned a look of sheer hatred upon him.
“You will die for what you did today,” she spat.
The man glanced up at her only long enough to sneer. “You’re the witch daughter he spoke of,” he said. “Are you going to use your magic on me?”
“You don’t sound afraid.”
“I’m not afraid of any common witch.”
“Oh, I’m much more than that.” Lucia moved close enough to grab the man by his throat, digging her fingernails into his flesh and forcing him to meet her gaze. “Who are you? A rebel? Or an assassin?”
She tried to pull the truth from his mouth like she’d done with Lord Gareth, but he simply eyed her with defiance.
“I did what I did for Kraeshia,” he hissed. “For the empress. Do your worst to me, I have fulfilled my destiny.”
“For the empress,” Magnus repeated, his dark eyes narrowed. “Did Amara command you to kill the king, or did you make that decision all on your own?”
“And what if she did? You have no chance for revenge. She is far above all of you in this minuscule kingdom.” The killer narrowed his gaze at the prince. “Your father was a coward and a liar—a mere worm in the presence of magnificence—and he squandered his chance at true greatness by acting and speaking against the empress. I was commanded to kill him publicly so that everyone would know he’s dead.”
“Is that so?” Magnus said, the words so quiet Lucia could barely hear them.
Her fists shook with the overwhelming need to reduce this man to ash.
Her brother drew closer to the man. “I find that I must pay you a compliment in that your marksmanship is second to none. I’ve never seen anyone as skilled with a crossbow before. The guards tell me you were at the back of the crowd when you took aim at the king. Four arrows, not missing your target once. Amara must value you very much.”
The killer snorted. “Such a compliment is meaningless from anyone but the empress her—”
The blade of the dagger glinted in the torchlight just before Magnus thrust it upward into the man’s chin and straight into his brain.
Breath tight in her chest, Lucia watched as the man twitched then slumped over, perfectly still.
Magnus glanced at Lucia.
“What is wrong with your elementia?” he asked, his tone cold and controlled.
Her first instinct was to lie, but the time for lies was past.
“It’s failed me,” Lucia admitted, the words like broken glass in her throat. “Lyssa . . . I don’t understand it, but she’s been stealing my magic since even before she was born.”
Magnus nodded slowly. He wiped the sharp edge of his blade with a handkerchief, the red blood appearing black in the shadows of the dungeon cell.
“So you can’t help Cleo,” he said. “And you can do nothing to defeat Kyan.”
A flash of anger ignited within her at this dismissal. “I didn’t say that.”
“That’s what I heard.”
“I’m trying to find a solution,” she said. “I won’t let you down again.”
Her brother’s expression was unreadable to her, void of emotion. She couldn’t tell if he was upset or angry or disappointed.
Likely all three.
“I certainly hope not,” he finally replied.
Magnus didn’t say another word as she left the dungeon and slowly made her way back to the palace.
The first thing she noticed when she entered her chambers was the scent of burning flesh.
Her gaze fell with horror upon the blackened, smoldering corpse of the nursemaid in the center of the room.
A cry escaped Lucia’s throat, a pained screech that barely sounded human.
She ran to the cradle to find it empty.
Lyssa was gone.
CHAPTER 17
JONAS
AURANOS
Jonas didn’t attend the king’s speech. He already knew far too well what to expect.
False promises. Lies. More lies.
Typical political horse dung.
Instead, he and Felix scoured the City of Gold looking for Ashur. Since his arrival yesterday in the palace city with the very much not-dead Prince Magnus, the Kraeshian prince had been visiting local taverns where, he said, the tongues of patrons were loose and ready to reveal secrets their sober selves might not provide.
Secrets about magic.
Secrets about local witches.
Secrets about someone, anyone, who might be able to lend their skills to help end Kyan the moment he showed his stolen face.
Jonas had his own secret means of ending Kyan, safe in the sheath on his belt. From what frustratingly little Timotheus had shared with him about the golden dagger, he thought that it would end the fire god very nicely.
However, it would also end Nic as well. And so they searched for other possibilities.
Jonas walked with Felix down the busy street, lined with shops and bakeries and places where Auranians could buy shiny baubles to wear clipped to their ears and strung around their necks.
Many people were walking in the direction of the palace, ready to stand in the palace square shoulder to shoulder in the blazing heat of midday to listen to King Gaius’s most recent set of lies.