Starrlings 1: House of Fire

chapter 96

A R I

Ari could not believe the prince was dead, until his limp body was laid on the black stone of the charging pitch.

The king stood over him, looking less like a king than Ari had expected. If it wasn't for his rich clothes, he would have looked like an ordinary man, drunk on too much wine, with a stain of fruit preserve on his shirt, and his hair soaked by the rain and clinging to his face as he knelt over his son.

Ari, too, was on her knees. But her hands were tied behind her back, and she was surrounded by three of the King's Garde and their lions, as if they thought she might overpower them and try to escape. She couldn't move, and she could do nothing but watch the mess in front of her.

The dragon she'd been riding on was pinned down by lions, who growled every time it struggled. Ari felt a pang of despair for its fate. It wasn't the dragon's fault to be caught up in this.

It wasn't Ari's fault, either.

And yet here she was.

Prince Raphael's lifeless body lay on the cold stone of the charging pitch.

And they'd decided that Ari was to blame.

Ari had bruises all over her body from where the King's Garde had held her down. She felt sore everywhere. And her heart panged for Katja, who was sobbing desperately for Raphael. She scanned the crowd, hoping to see Sanna or Tom, or anyone who could help her, but no one seemed to come forward. Everyone was so focused on Raphael.

The prince.

The only heir to the Lombardian throne.

He had been one of the last air starrlings.

And now his falcon circled above, screaming a terrible cry of pain and loss.

But then the King stood up. He brushed down the front of his shirt and then gathered his coat around him. He wiped a heavily-jewelled hand across his face, and then turned to address the small crowd that had gathered around the prince's body.

"With today's actions, Vastier has incited war against the Great Provinces of Lombardia."

Ari sucked in a breath, and felt her rib cage protest with pain. She winced.

King Matthias's voice echoed louder around the arena as he spoke. "I had hoped it would never come to this. We all hoped. But with the death of my son, I have no choice. We must call upon our closest allies, and we must present a united front against Vastier."

Katja's hair had come out of the perfectly pinned style she'd worn this morning, and her fine blue dress was soaked through. Her eyes were red, and she was clutching onto her white wolf for support.

"Princess Katja of Norrlund," King Matthias said. "You are here as a representative of your family, I ask you to stand beside me, to declare once more your nation's allyship with ours, and to declare war against Vastier."

Katja let out a startled sob, and stared at the King.

"I cannot," she said.

Ari's heart lifted.

"I cannot do anything in the name of my mother," Katja said.

Ari swallowed.

Would Katja allow her mother to declare war against Vastier? Surely she couldn't. She knew as well as any of them that this was Tai's doing. Raphael's death was at the hands of Tai.

Except that he had been struck fatally by a dragon.

Ari gritted her teeth.

"Prince Taikku of Kakaio, and Princess Lumiko of Kakaio," King Matthias said, and he looked around the crowd, his gaze seeking out the fire prince and princess. "Where are they?"

The crowd parted, but Lumi and Tai were nowhere to be found.

King Matthias sucked in a breath. "Garde!" he said. "Find the Kaio children. I want them to swear loyalty to Lombardia, before their grandmother has a chance to dispute it."

Light starrlings rushed into action, jumping onto the backs of their lions, and launching into the skies.

The king was left standing with only a few of his remaining Garde, and a few of his most loyal attendants. "It doesn't matter that Raphael is dead," King Matthias said quietly. "The princess is still ours, if I have to marry her myself... and what is that little Vastien still doing here? Get her in chains and down to the prisons with the others."

Ari gasped as the Garde surrounded her pulled her to her feet and heaved her away.

"Katja!" Ari cried out, once, hoping desperately that the ice princess would do something. Anything. Surely Katja could claim Ari's innocence. Surely Katja had power here?

But Katja didn't seem to hear anything. The last thing Ari saw, before she was hauled away, was Katja laying herself alongside Raphael's body, as if she wished to die alongside him.

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