A Story of Blood and Thorns

Chapter 22

I stare at the tip of the sword. If I blink, my lashes would touch it. But now that Drakon has the key and get to his family, I have hope. Even if I am at the mercy of my father.

He begins to laugh. After giving his declaration, he's scarier. Much scarier than I thought an old man could be. "Dear child, have you mistaken me for a fool? I am no fool. This game that we have played has been fun, but now it's come to an end. And you are defeated."

I lower my head. Play along, a phantom voice says in my head. Play along with his delusion.

"It was a fun game," I admit. "Although scary and dangerous at times, I enjoyed it. A deadly dance, if you will." He chuckles. The sword moves a fraction lower. "But you have not played all your hands, have you?"

His mouth tightens. His tell, I've come to see. "Of course not," he says, contrary to his body language. "You have seen all my hands."

"Then tell me, father," I say, smiling sweetly, "what is the true prophecy? I have heard three stories now, but I suspect that I have not heard the true one. So I beg, tell me before I die."

Isadora watches this exchange silently. Her eyes bulge out of her head, but she makes no move to interrupt. Maybe it's common sense, maybe it's survival. But hopefully, she knows that Drakon is on his way.

The king clears his throat. His sword drops a bit more, now touching my nose. It trembles. A dead giveaway of his weakness.

"A child did come to the palace," he says. The sun dawns over his face. It turns his features fiery, aglow with the last orange rays before twilight takes over, scattering the skies with stars. This will be the last sunset one of us lives. "A young girl. She walked into the palace, her footsteps with the steadiness of mountains and her words the sharpness of an arrow. Covered in dirt, she came to me. Her dress was ragged and ripped, though it seemed new. A bright red shone through the mud. I couldn't tell if it was blood or clothes.

"She came to me, a crow on her shoulder. The bird looked as though it had seen awful things. When she approached me, I could see the child, too, had seen awful things. In her eyes, I saw a soul that had seen mountains rise and fall. I saw a soul far older than the body. So I offered her a warm bed and food. She turned it all away. Said she only came to give me a message. I asked who it was from, but she wouldn't tell me. She only told me what she came for."

He stops speaking to cough. The sword dips again, the tip against my mouth. I move back an inch. Nobody notices. They're focused on the king, a fervor on his face as he straightens. Then tells us the prophecy.

"When the first daughter of the thirtieth king is born, the ground will shake and the end of the kingdom will come. On her eighteen birthday, when the king falls, the crown will belong to her and the kingdom will be saved. Nothing can stop this."

His hand shakes as he bows his head. "As you heard, nothing could stop it. But I tried. Oh, I tried. I wanted to give the crown to Sabien because he was a better ruler, so I wrote it in my will."

"Sabien?" I yank at the guard holding me. "Sabien tortured me! He's a sadist! Why would you give it to him?"

Tears stream down the king's blotched face. "You were always chasing some girl, wanting to make her the queen. There can't be two queens." I don't look to Isadora. I don't want to know what she's thinking. My father sobs. The sound echoes in the hall, mocking him. "Then you fell down the well and I thought you were gone. Devina saved you after a day stuck there. Your mother was beside herself. I saw what losing you for a day did to her. But you were an obstacle and you needed to go."

"You killed her," I whisper. "You killed her because she loved me." The same thing my mother said to me before her death.

My father drops his sword, crumpling. "She was inconsolable when you were taken. When you returned, it broke her. She didn't know what was what. She didn't know real from fantasy. She needed to go as well."