A Kingdom of Bloodshed (A Crimson Court Series)

*¬*Chapter Forty*¬*

          For a moment nothing else exists. Just the roaring silence and the visible pause that passes through my heart as I watch Thea and the Crown. Nothing else matters as I listen to my mate's heart slow down, down, down, until it seems to stop altogether.

For a brief moment, there is nothing at all except silence; until, there, something comes screaming back to life. A burst of brilliant pale pink light flashes through the tent causing Sauron and I to block our sight as it pierces the air around us, everyone on the field pauses too. Their eyes wide.

Even my brother has his mouth gaping open as he stumbles towards us, his skin pale with horror as he understands the Crown is no longer his to use.

One moment there was nothing, now there is everything.

As the light fades, I turn towards the tent and nearly fall to my knees at the sight. Thea is standing there, her skin glowing and golden, her hair falling in luscious locks down her back. Her body is healed and put back together.

But it's the Crown, nestled into her hair that catches my attention. She accepted it. She accepted whatever fate may come from bearing that weight.

Rushing for her, I pause a step before her and whisper, "Thea?" Her eyes are bright. Glowing, endless. The smell of sea salt and midnight rises around her.
By the gods... she's ethereal.

Her eyes snap to mine, her fingers curling slightly before reaching forward and stroking a delicate nail down my cheek.

"Thea?" I whisper again. She smiles softly and it sends shivers down my spine. "Hello mate." She purrs.

I think I'm sobbing. I've wrapped my arms around her shoulders when that small pause in time resumes and the war begins again. People are raging and screaming. Booming hits the core of the earth and shakes the very sky.

Thea shifts her eyes around the scene, "How many?"

"What?"

"How many have we lost?" I blink, "A few. None within our direct court though. Without the aid of the Dawn Soldiers, we're going to lose."

She frowns. "Summon them."

"I'm sorry what?"

"Summon the warriors of the Dawn Court."

I sigh, before whispering, "I already tried that. I told your father before I came here that if he loved you, he'd send his soldiers over. I'm sorry Thea, I just don't think they're coming." She turns from me with a vicious snarl, her eyes shifting over the fields until they land upon some poor fool.

"You." She snarls. Turning, my gaze lands upon my brother who is staring at Thea, his mouth still open and disbelief leeching the colour from his face.

"How? How did you do it? How did you awaken the Crown? That power should have been mine!"

"You were never going to achieve it. You were never a worthy vessel for this type of power." Her voice is like ice after a frost. "You selfish bitch! You just wanted this power all to yourself! I should have known!"

His words make me see red, they cause me to growl and step forward, but a hand on my chest stops me.

"I think you'll do good to remember that you are not in charge anymore."

Pride flashes through me. Pride for my mate and her strength. My brother pushes to his feet, rushing for her but Thea simply raises a hand and with a flick of her finer, sends him sprawling several feet away.

She turns her attention to Sauron.Her eyes are death incarnate. Something dark shifts beyond those beautiful depths.

It frightens me. Something is not right. Sauron quirks his head to the side, his eyes glittering at the challenge when suddenly a horn sounds.