Shadow Wings (The Darkest Drae Book 2)(85)

Dyter swallowed a huge mouthful of meat and gravy and answered, “You’ve heard right.” He glanced at me. “King Irdelron kept a store of Phaetyn blood to preserve his immortality. With the Phaetyn’s permission, this is now being put to use on the land.”

The king leaned forward. “The lands are healing?”

“They are.” Dyter nodded. “And they will continue to heal and provide a more bountiful harvest with each year. The Veraldian people will grow in strength.”

“I am happy for your people,” the king said, and I paused mid-chew, hearing the complete honesty of his words.

He sighed, resting his head in his hand. “If I could do the same for my people, I would.”

Yeah, right. I opened my mouth, but Dyter intercepted me. No doubt on purpose.

Dyter leaned down and picked up a small case, placing it on the table. I’d seen Caltevyn give it to him before we left Verald. He’d guarded the case during our trip as zealously as I guarded my meager collection. He pushed the case toward the Gemond king. “King Caltevyn sends his regards and this gift.”

The king glanced at the case. “With what intention?”

“No strings, King Zakai,” Dyter said, resting his cutlery on the table.

I cut a baby carrot in half, but for some reason, I wasn’t feeling hungry anymore.

“King Caltevyn wanted you to have this gift. He asked me to press upon you that this is yours, no matter what your decisions are regarding other matters.”

“The other matters being what?” the king asked drily, his mouth twisting into a sardonic smile. Zakai wasn’t a fool, regardless of his frailty.

Dyter wiped at his chin. “Joining our alliance against Emperor Draedyn.”

One of the servers gasped, and the king cut the woman a severe look. The servers fell silent.

“Indeed,” the king said, his gaze flitting between us, spending a long time on me before he leaned forward and opened the case.

The Gemond king’s eyes widened, and his jaw dropped. Several moments passed before he lifted his gaze to Dyter and asked, “This isn’t—is this—”

“Two vials of Phaetyn blood,” Dyter finished for him. “Enough to heal your lands now and for a long time to come.”

The king didn’t speak, staring at the vials. Tears gathered in his rich blue eyes, dripping to the stone table, staining the dark gray slate black with moisture.





33





A lump of emotion formed at the back of my throat. King Zakai was nothing like I’d anticipated, and the contradiction of depravity I’d seen in the mountains to the emotion of the ruler of Gemond made no sense.

“Thank you,” he whispered, lifting his head. “You cannot know what this means to us, what it will mean to our people.”

Dyter dipped his head. “Actually, I do. Most of Verald was on the brink of starving for the last twenty years. I’ve starved more often than I’d like in my lifetime.”

The king swallowed hard, blinking several times. “Yes, of course. Everyone in this realm is hungry.”

“Not Verald,” I said. “And with this, not your people.” Dyter shot me a look I couldn’t fail to interpret as I told you so. I was prepared to grudgingly admit he’d been partially right about the Gemond king. The guy was crying over Phaetyn blood, so whatever monster he was, he wasn’t completely oblivious or calloused to the struggles of his people.

He closed the lid as though the case held his heart, and his expression became reflective. He leaned back in his chair. “You have two Drae.”

Well, that made me feel like a possession.

“We do,” Dyter said with an amused glance at me.

“I’m actually a bit Phaetyn,” I said, resuming eating.

The king started, and I enjoyed his shocked reaction in silence.

“You’re a land healer?” he asked. “How?”

I shrugged and swallowed. “Emperor’s experiments. Anyway, yes our side has two Drae, and Tyrrik is normally really strong. And he can breathe fire.”

“We also have thirty-seven Druman who are sworn to King Caltevyn and the people of Verald. Recently, we passed through the Zivost Forest, and the new leaders have assured us of aid when the time comes to fight.”

That was stretching the truth, but more important was the way the king’s face had dimmed at the mention of the Zivost Forest.

“New rulers, you say?” he asked.

I nodded. “Things were hectic when we left, but Princess Kamini is expected to rule.” I decided to take a risk by adding, “She formed a rebellion against Queen Alani and King Kaelan.”

“Good,” the king spat, his face turning fierce. They were the first bitter words to leave his mouth since our arrival.

“You’ve had dealings with Alani?”

“Me, my father, and even my grandfather. We’ve begged them for aid, and occasionally we’ll see evidence of their work in the mountains, but they refused to come to Gemond. Did they let you in because you’re Phaetyn? That’s why they agreed to an alliance?”

I frowned as his stomach rumbled again. Why wasn’t he eating? “Initially, yes. I’d hoped to learn more about my Phaetyn side, but we caught them in the middle of a civil war. I squashed Queen Alani and killed the King.”