Page 168 of Scourged

The messenger’s face lifted, his gaze settling on Mariah.

“Queen Mariah.” He gasped. “The message is for you. It’s urgent.”

Andrian spun to Mariah. She blinked at him, just once, before looking back at the boy.

“Speak.”

The boy sagged with relief before he remembered his task. He drew himself up, face still flushed, fear shining in his brown eyes.

“I come with a message from Khento.”

Mariah’s blood turned to ice.

She’d prayed dozens of times in her life. To Qhohena, to Zadione, to any god who would listen.

This time, she sent a prayer to every last one, a desperate plea and cry for help.

Not them. Please, tell me I wasn’t too late.

Not them.

Please.

But of course, gods have no control over the actions of men.

“The Royal Lords of Onita have taken the Salis family. They are being held at the castle in Khento, the seat of Lord Victor Shawth. The Royals hope the Queen finds the urgency in this situation and comes willing to reach an amicable solution.”

The boy’s words were robotic, memorized. They flowed through Mariah’s mind like a river, meandering and bathing and drenching her in fear the likes of which she’d never known.

Mariah dropped Ryenne’s hand. The old queen slumped forward in the throne, Kalen rushing to her side to catch her before he too collapsed, sprawled across his queen’s lap. The rest of Ryenne’s Armature followed, sagging into their chairs upon the dais.

The room erupted into chaos, but all Mariah could hear was the steady drip of her bright red blood against the gold stone of her throne.

Chapter 59

“The Royal Lords of Onita have taken the Salis family. They are being held at the castle at Khento, the seat of Lord Victor Shawth. The lords hope the queen finds the urgency in this situation and comes willing to reach an amicable solution.”

Andrian heard the words, but his eyes never left his queen.

Mariah’s hand gripped Ryenne’s. Their blood—still glowing with the last drops of Ryenne’s power—dripped onto the golden throne. It wasn’t until the last of the messenger’s words rang out through the room that Mariah finally moved.

She dropped the old queen’s hand, sparks and magic and power glimmering in her eyes and along her skin. She lurched down the dais just as Ryenne sagged into the throne, Kalen rushing to catch her.

Before he collapsed, too. Before the rest of Ryenne’s Armature collapsed, frail bodies slumping into cushioned chairs.

Andrian didn’t need to test their pulse to know what had happened.

Mariah took another slow, jilting step. Ryenne’s ladies rushed to their queen and the Armature they’d served for mostof their lives. A scream pierced the veil of silence, but Mariah didn’t flinch. Instead, her light pulsed brighter, coiling around her fingers and up her arms in shimmering silver-gold ropes.

It woke Andrian’s magic, shadows slithering through his veins. They branched off his shoulders, some twisting into his hair while others reached out for his queen with desperate, hungry fingers.

The bond between them was still open, but from it … he couldn’t read anything. Her mind was a vicious storm, a whirlwind of too many emotions snapping like animals against their chains. All he could do was latch his mind to hers, squatting amongst the chaos, and stand by her side.

She took another step down the dais.

“What did you say?” Her voice was whisper-soft, dangerously quiet.

The messenger boy paled, despite the exertion still panting from his lungs. “It was just a message, Your Majesty. I was told to deliver?—”