Black Crown (Darkest Drae, #3)(74)

The creeping darkness, the color of rotting garbage, reached me, sucking the air from my lungs as it clawed up my body to my mind. I reached hands to my throat, but there was nothing there I could pull against, no way to free myself.

“I was told she died, just like the others, by the midwife. But I remember, weeks later, being informed of Draehl’s betrayal.” He straightened and inhaled through his nose, tipping his chin slightly. “Yes,” he said, drawing out the word. “Years go by, but memories of betrayal remain, and recompense will be paid.”

My eyes watered, and I whimpered from the lack of air.

He glanced at me, his eyes widened, and the creeping power fell away like water down a sluice on irrigation day.

I coughed, wheezing to fill my lungs.

He clicked his fingers, and the door swung open. “But I do not blame you. Which is why I would welcome you into my empire, heir-daughter, with a gift.”

I drew my hand across my watering eyes to clear them. The dark power still lingered around the edges of the room, and I focused on it, forcing myself to stare until I was able to distinguish the dark-green power hovering over the floor like wet soot. Curious. I turned my thoughts inward and searched for my Drae tendrils of energy. The lapis lazuli threads were there, locked outside my mind by a shield of Draedyn’s emerald powers. His shield looked just like a thick-cut gem wrapped around my head, separating my mind from the entirety of my Drae side. I tried to think about shifting, but there was no way to access, let alone wield my power.

A light tread outside the doorway announced someone’s arrival.





29





I turned and scowled, my heart twisting with dislike and distrust as another piece of my missing memory came back.

“Kamoi,” I greeted coolly. A tiny sliver of doubt, the thought that Kamoi might have been forced to do what he’d done, was all that kept me from launching off the bed and strangling the Phaetyn prince.

He’d been sitting on Draedyn’s back when they captured me. And it was the reason he’d been there that had my fists curling into tight, white-knuckled balls. Phaetyn could see through my veil. When I’d been searching for Lani, I’d let my Drae shield lax in order to glimpse the gold of her veil around the army.

But I’d had the Phaetyn veil up.

Kamoi had been Draedyn’s eyes. The Phaetyn guided the Drae straight to me. I was here because of the prince’s failure. He either hadn’t been able to lie well enough or worse. His only decent decision in their capture of me was he’d had the guts not to give up the entire army.

“Ryn,” he said, his voice quivering as he shifted his violet gaze to the floor.

“Is Kamini al’right?” I asked, jaw clenched.

He dipped his head.

Barely. I deserved a mite more attention than that considering he freakin’ gave me up! A growl slipped through my teeth, and my body trembled with rage.

“Yes, heir-daughter. This Phaetyn has proved most helpful. But you don’t know the half of it,” the emperor said, amusement lacing his voice. “Would you like to know all that he’s done?”

Kamoi flinched horribly, his pale skin blanching beyond what could be normal, even for a Phaetyn.

I dragged my attention from his cowering frame to my father. Wariness snagged under my ribs, tugging on my chest in a way that made my skin crawl and my feet tingle with an urge to flee. I pushed off the scratchy burlap sheet, scooted to the edge of the bed, and with fluid ease that bespoke my father’s permission, I stood on the opposite side of the bed to Draedyn and Kamoi, closest to the door.

“What do you mean?” I asked quietly, my gaze darting between them. My heart thudded an uneven rhythm, and the word betrayal rang in my ears. There had to be a point to Draedyn’s little show, and my gut churned, a warning that what came next wouldn’t be good.

Draedyn shifted, his body angled toward the Phaetyn prince, and arched an eyebrow. “The Phaetyn’s service began when he first contacted me a month ago.”

A month ago?

Kamoi stumbled back a step.

“I was in the Zivost forest a month ago,” I blurted, frowning at Kamoi. Before I could put the pieces together, Draedyn continued his reveal.

“You’d just arrived,” Draedyn said, not shifting his eyes from the prince. “You’d brought back their ruler, if I’m not mistaken, and this prince objected to your plan. Rather than protest publically or raise a rebellion, he reacted . . . sorely.”

I frowned. My father was the emperor of understatement, but the odd deflection did little to ease my trepidation.

“Sore enough to leave the forest in pursuit of me, his alleged enemy”—Draedyn spread his arms wide like a benefactor expecting a hug—“to offer information in exchange for you and the Phaetyn throne.”

I blinked. No. That couldn’t be. I wouldn’t believe Draedyn’s lies—

“Tell her,” the emperor ordered. “Tell her how you helped me, dissident.”

Kamoi rotated, half-turned toward me, and stuttered, “I d-drugged the d-drink I gave you, Lani, and Kamini, so that none of you would be able to access your powers. Lani couldn’t get the barrier up—”

“You,” I whispered, the shock robbing me of my voice. “You let Draedyn in.” I couldn’t even believe my words. “The lemonade tasted strange. Lani was out of it. My head was foggy.” My eyes rounded as I turned toward the possibility this wasn’t all a lie. My chest tightened with Kamoi’s betrayal. “You let Draedyn into Zivost forest.”