FOR HER, HE WILL SET EVERY KINGDOM ON FIRE.
Kyron LeFur never wanted to be king. He may have united a torn people and ended a bloody war, but none of that matters without his queen. She sacrificed her crown for him, and now he will stop at nothing t...
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After what I've been through, I wouldn't think a pile of snow-covered rocks could bring me such joy. It feels like Greer, Ashavee, and I left this place years ago, yet it's not been two days. The snow is brighter and the sky an immaculate shade of blue. Perhaps nothing has really changed, and this is the long-forgotten surge of hope. We have accomplished what we thought might be impossible. Pliris is closer to restoration and peace, and because of that, everything seems a little brighter.
I urge Nortus into a gallop and race for the alcove where I left Kyron. He's going to be upset with me. That's a given. But I expect his anger to be short-lived when he sees the stone in my pocket. He never gave up on the possibility of fixing everything that had gone wrong. It was his determination that fueled mine and gave me the strength to climb that spire. I don't care if the man throws a fit as long as he has his arms around me while he does it.
The smile on my face widens, bunching my cheeks into tight balls that hurt. When we reach the rocks, I dismount and guide Nortus through the winding turns. With each step, butterflies take flight in my stomach. The fluttering quickens until it feels like my feet might leave the ground. I release Nortus' reins, letting Greer tend to him as I run the rest of the way. All I want is to touch Kyron, make sure he is all right, and tell him that we have what we came for.
I round the last corner, ready to see the cropping of rocks where I left him. My feet skid to a stop. The sight that greets me sucks away my bliss and leaves me in a panic. Ulric and Terro are bound and gagged, propped against the far wall of the cave. Their faces are battered, and their clothes rumpled and torn. My gaze falls to the bedroll and discarded blankets next to the dwindling fire. Terror slices through me.
I dart forward and yank the fabric from Ulric's mouth. "What happened? Where's Kyron?"
"They took him."
"Who took him?" I ask, the words a screech.
"I took him."
Everything stops—the conversation, the world, my heart. For as long as I live, I will never forget that voice. It lives in my nightmares and is always followed by the cracking of a whip against my back. I inch my head around to look over my shoulder. It's worse than I could have ever imagined.
Nikko holds Kyron to his chest, his sharp claws piercing the tender area under Kyron's chin. Blood trickles from a gash in my parah's head, and the weak hold he has on his captor's arm will do nothing to stop him from ripping out his throat. The minute Kyron's lifeless body hits the ground, the wolf and gorilla flanking Nikko will tear him apart.
"How?" I say.
Nikko doesn't need more depth to my question. He knows exactly what I mean. "Come now. We knew where you were taken. The question was, when would be a good time to take you back? We thought about it when you crossed the border into Sibyl, but your little mission for answer was intriguing. Then to learn the Cruel King's stone really exists. I had to see if you could do it. We just didn't want your king to get his hands on it. So, we attacked to make sure he was out of the game. Our air unit says it was impressive how you made it out of that temple alive."
