When It Reigns (Cursed Reigns, #1)

CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE

I remained on the cot for another week while I suffered through the excruciating pain melting my innards. I kept the patients around me awake with my constant cries and I cringed each time I felt the looks of irritation directed at me. More demons – Phoenixians – filled the beds as each day went by due to various lacerations and terrible fevers.

I could see the veins pumping the dark liquid through my body and wondered if Serene was feeling the effects through our bond. All the Phoenixian summoners' dragons - or were they phoenixes? - were skeletal versions of themselves, and I could only hope that by leaving Serene in the safety of her realm, the process would take longer for her to look like one of them.

I also wondered what it meant for Zoran. Bastion had said Armaeda was in Ravos which meant she had never been returned to the Nyrial Empire. As such, the mother dragon couldn't break our bond. Bastion had also said all Phoenixians had two powers which meant he had another one.

I chewed on my lip as I laid on the stiff mattress, nerves skyrocketing as I felt the need to do something. Anything. If I believed everything Bastion had told me to be true, that meant my father was...he was responsible for the mass genocide of the Phoenixians who hadn't survived the blast, as well as the brainwashing of our entire nation.

Emperor Nepheus was more demonic than the species he painted as such.

Throughout my time in the infirmary, Shade made brief visits to check up on me and bring me dishes stacked with impressive arrays of food that couldn't have been found within the kingdom. He'd also allowed me to keep my weapons strapped under the flimsy gown I wore which I was grateful for, but I didn't key him into what Bastion had told me. Instead, I kept my guard up and my interactions with him as minimal as possible until I was discharged.

"What's bothering you?"

I tipped my head up to meet Shade's scrutiny from where he sat across the table from me in his bedchamber.

"Nothing," I clipped, moving the food around on my full plate.

"I'm only half blind, not completely blind, Glastos. You haven't eaten since you returned, and you're quieter than usual."

I dropped the fork and pushed my chair back. "I have no appetite anymore. I constantly feel feverish and it's like my insides are being cooked. Oh, and I'm apparently half-Phoenixian which explains why I haven't turned into a crazed demon from the Curse."

"What else did Bastion tell you?"

I heaved a reluctant sigh, staring at the cold dinner. "He told me to trust you," I replied.

"That's probably the last thing I'd expect him to say."

"I agree. I don't understand the gestures you've been making as peace offerings, but they don't add up, especially since you lied about giving Armaeda back to my father."

Shade frowned, saying, "I'm not sure how much you know, or think you do, but your father isn't the only corrupt in-law in our marriage. Kristos and Radarys were the first ones to become Cursed for attempting to overthrow Emperor Xanthus, that much is factual. I'd been told arrangements were made to send Armaeda to the Nyrial Empire and relayed that information to you without knowing they wouldn't follow through with the terms of the armistice."

I got up from the chair and maneuvered my way to the bed on quivering legs. I collapsed on the edge of the fluffy mattress and said, "I won't ever forgive you for not putting an end to the match that killed Penn, or for allowing your mother to throw me in while Penn's blood was still fresh on the floorboards."

"Like I said, Radarys is rotten and vile. She preys on the weak, so you needed to prove yourself to her. Had I interfered, she would have viewed it as an act verifying your fragility. As for Kristos, he lives off the fear of others and gets a thrill from holding those battles. I had no choice but to watch."