Reign of Ice (Forever Fae #4)(45)
Brayden chuckled and I followed him up the stairs to our room. We both snuggled under the sheets on the bed and almost immediately my eyes grew heavy with sleep. He nuzzled my ear, kissed me on the neck, and stated, “I look forward to tomorrow night then, angel. Sweet dreams, my love.”
As soon as my eyes closed, sweet dreams were what I had.
BRAYDEN AND I were the first ones in the throne room, followed by Queen Mab and King Madoc. The doors were locked so no one from the court could step into the room or overhear us in any way. If word got out about the dagger that could kill the sorcerer then our element of surprise would be gone.
Nixie appeared with Kalen and Meliantha first, and then with Sorcha and Drake. She also brought back Calista, Ryder, and Elvena, my mother and father, then lastly appearing with Durin who carried a large wooden box in his hands. The salvation of our land lay in that box.
Durin bowed, making sure to acknowledge us all with a quick glance and began, “Thank you for your patience, Your Highnesses. Constructing the dagger was interesting to say the least, except it appears it has a mind of its own.”
“What do you mean by that?” I asked curiously.
He set the box on the table that had been placed in the middle of the room and we all gathered around it. Durin sighed, slowly opening the box, and said, “Well … everything was going fine until I added the vial of blood to the metal.” His hands were covered in gloves, and when he removed them I realized what he was talking about. He held up his blistered and scorched palms for all of us to see.
He continued, “I do not know what happened, but when I grasped the handle after I added the blood it burned me. I can handle my fair share of pain or otherwise I wouldn’t have lived so long, however, this kind of pain was none I had ever experienced before. You should’ve seen my hands yesterday.”
Elvena approached the table and gazed inside the box cautiously while Meliantha stood in front of Durin and reached for his hands. Lightly grasping them, she turned them over and inspected them thoroughly, furrowing her brow the whole time. She closed her eyes and covered his wounded hands with hers while slowly moving her lips in a silent plea.
I could feel the power in the room heighten as her healing magic returned his hands to normal, with no trace of any wounds whatsoever. Durin sighed and bowed his head. “Thank you, Meliantha. Having healed hands will definitely make my life easier,” he announced gratefully.
“You’re welcome,” my sister replied. “I wonder why the dagger would do that to you. You are the one who made it.”
The box with the dagger lay open on the table, but inside the whole blade was surrounded by a black, velvet cover, concealing our view of the deadly weapon. Elvena was about to unwrap the material from around it, but I shouted, “Wait! Don’t touch it!”
She stopped immediately and everyone turned to me, wide-eyed. “Let me do it,” I insisted adamantly, glancing quickly at everyone.
If this was the weapon I was going to have to use to defeat the sorcerer then I needed to be able to touch it. The feeling in my gut had me thinking that only a certain few would be the ones allowed to touch it, and that certain few would be me, my sisters, and Sorcha.
Brayden came up behind me and squeezed my arms gently. “Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked quietly.
I nodded and blew out a shaky breath. “I have to,” I whispered.
My sisters and Sorcha joined around the table, giving me reassuring smiles as I slowly unwrapped the black cloth from around the dagger. When the weapon was revealed, the others gasped and moved closer, staring at the one thing that was going to save us all. It was beautiful with its golden handle and silver blade that shone like the brightest sun. The handle had silver vines interlapping with the gold, and colored jewels signifying the color of our courts. However, it wasn’t the jewels that caught my attention. Engraved in the center of the handle was a symbol that joined us all together. The crests of all our courts were combined into one.
“This is amazing,” I breathed in awe. Not even thinking about the repercussions of touching the blade, I took hold of the dagger and lifted it up to my gaze. Brayden tensed behind me, but when it was clear it wasn’t going to harm me, he loosened up.
“Let me try to hold it,” Calista ordered, holding out her hand. Gently, I passed the dagger to her and she was rewarded with the ability to wield it as well. The same went for Meliantha and Sorcha just like I knew it would. The question was … could any of the others hold it?
Of course, my brother Drake was the first one to volunteer. The expression on his face was smug as he approached his queen and held out his hand, waiting on her to pass the dagger to him. The smile on her face was priceless as she set it down quickly in his hands. Drake growled as the skin of his palm sizzled under the power of the dagger.
“What the hell,” he roared, passing it back to Sorcha immediately. “Why is it doing that?”
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the hesitation in Elvena’s gaze as she contemplated how to answer his question. None of them, other than Sorcha, knew that I was aware of what was supposed to happen, and even she looked uncomfortable with the question hanging in the air. It wasn’t Elvena who spoke up with the answer; Queen Mab put it out there.
“Isn’t it obvious?” she said, walking around our group. “The blade can only be touched by the power of the Four. It began with them and now it’s going to end with them. It appears that one of you will need to kill the sorcerer.”