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Chapter no 64

Heir of Fire

In the council room high in the glass castle, Aedion had already marked the exits and considered what furniture he could use as a defense or as a weapon. eyโ€™d taken his sword when theyโ€™d come for him in his rooms, though they hadnโ€™t shackled him. A lethal mistake. e captain wasnโ€™t shackled, either; in fact, the fools had left him armed. e captain was doing his best to look vaguely confused as the king watched them from his glass throne.

โ€œWhat an interesting night this has turned out to be. What interesting information my spies have brought me,โ€ the king said, looking from Aedion to Chaol to Dorian and his woman.

โ€œMy most talented general is found to be sneaking around Rifthold in the dead of nightโ€”after spending so much of my gold on parties he does not even bother attending. And he has somehow, despite years of animosity, become close with my Captain of the Guard. While my sonโ€โ€”Aedion did not envy the smile the king gave the Crown Princeโ€”โ€œhas apparently been dabbling with the rabble. Again.โ€

To his credit, Dorian snarled and said, โ€œConsider your words carefully, Father.โ€

โ€œOh?โ€ e king raised a thick, scarred brow. โ€œI had it on good authority that you were planning to run away with this healer. Why would you ever do such a thing?โ€

e princeโ€™s throat bobbed, but he kept his head high. โ€œBecause I canโ€™t stand the thought of her spending another minute in this festering shithole that you call a court.โ€ Aedion couldnโ€™t help but admire him for itโ€”for yielding nothing until the king showed his hand. Smart manโ€”brave man. But it might not be enough to get them out of this alive.

โ€œGood,โ€ the king said. โ€œNeither can I.โ€

He waved a hand, and before Aedion could bark a warning, the guards separated the prince and the girl. Four held Dorian back, and two forced Sorscha to kneel with a kick behind the knees.

She cried out as she hit the marble, but went silentโ€”the whole room went silentโ€”as a third guard pulled a sword and placed it lightly on the back of her slender neck.

โ€œDonโ€™t you dare,โ€ Dorian growled.

Aedion looked to Chaol, but the captain was frozen. ese were not his guards. eir uniforms-were those of the men who had hunted Ren. ey had the same dead eyes, the same vileness, that had made him not at all regret killing their colleagues in the alley. Heโ€™d taken down six that night with minimal damageโ€”how many could he cut down now? His gaze met the captainโ€™s, and the captain icked his eyes to the guard who held Aedionโ€™s sword. at would be one of his rst moves

โ€”get Aedion a sword so they could ght.

Because they would ght. ey would ght their way out of this, or to their deaths.

e king said to Dorian, โ€œI would choose your next words carefully, Prince.โ€

โ€ข

Chaol couldnโ€™t start the ght, not with that sword resting on Sorschaโ€™s neck. at was his rst goal: get the girl out alive. en Aedion. Dorian, the king wouldnโ€™t killโ€”not here, not in this way. But Aedion and Sorscha had to get away. And that could not happen until the king called o the guard.

en Dorian spoke.

โ€œLet her go and Iโ€™ll tell you anything.โ€ Dorian took a step toward his father, palms out. โ€œShe has nothing to do withโ€”with whatever this is. Whatever you think has happened.โ€

โ€œBut you do?โ€ e king was still smiling. ere was a carved, round bit of familiar black stone resting on the small table beside the king. From the distance, Chaol couldnโ€™t see what it was, but it made his stomach turn over regardless. โ€œTell me,ย son: why were General Ashryver and Captain Westfall meeting these months?โ€

โ€œI donโ€™t know.โ€

e king clicked his tongue, and the guard raised his sword to strike. Chaol started forward as Sorscha sucked in a breath.

โ€œNoโ€”stop!โ€ Dorian ung out a hand. โ€œ en answer the question.โ€

โ€œI am! You bastard, Iย am! I donโ€™t know why they were meeting!โ€

e guardโ€™s sword still remained up, ready to fall before Chaol could move an inch.

โ€œDo you know that there has been a spy in my castle for several months now, Prince? Someone feeding information to my enemies and plotting against me with a known rebel leader?โ€

Shit.ย Shit.ย He had to mean Renโ€”the king knew who Ren was, had sent those men to hunt him down.

โ€œJust tell me who, Dorian, and you can do whatever you wish with your friend.โ€

e king didnโ€™t know, thenโ€”if it was he or Aedion or both of them who had been meeting with Ren. He didnโ€™t know how much theyโ€™d learned about his plans, his control over magic. Aedion was somehow still keeping his mouth shut, somehow still looking ready for battle.

Aedion, who had survived for so long without hope, holding together his kingdom as best he could . . . who would never see the queen he so ercely loved. He deserved to meet her, and she deserved to have him serve in her court.

Chaol took a breath, preparing himself for the words that would doom him. But it was Aedion who spoke.

โ€œYou want a spy? You want a traitor?โ€ the general drawled, and ung his replicated black ring on the oor. โ€œ en here I am. You want to know why the captain and I were meeting? It was because your stupid bastard of a boy-captain gured out that Iโ€™d been working with one of the rebels. Heโ€™s been blackmailing information out of me for months to give to his father to o erย youย when the Lord of Anielle needed a favor. And you know what?โ€ Aedion grinned at them all, the Northern Wolf incarnate. If the king was shocked about the ring, he didnโ€™t show it. โ€œAll you monsters can burn in hell. Because my queen is comingโ€”and she will spike you to the walls of your gods-damned castle. And I canโ€™t wait to help her gut you like the pigs you are.โ€ He spat at the kingโ€™s feet, right on top of the fake ring that had stopped bouncing.

It was awlessโ€”the rage and the arrogance and the triumph. But as he stared each of them down, Chaolโ€™s heart fractured.

Because for a icker, as those turquoise eyes met with his, there was none of that rage or triumph. Only a message to the queen that Aedion would never see. And there were no words to convey itโ€”-the love and the hope and the pride. e sorrow at not knowing her as the woman she had become.

e gift Aedion thought he was giving her in sparing Chaolโ€™s life.

Chaol nodded slightly, because he understood that he could not help, not at this pointโ€”not until that sword was removed from Sorschaโ€™s neck. en he could ght, and he might still get them out alive.

Aedion didnโ€™t struggle as the guards clapped shackles around his wrists and ankles.

โ€œIโ€™ve always wondered about that ring,โ€ the king said. โ€œWas it the distance, or some true strength of spirit that made you so unresponsive to its suggestions? But regardless, I am so glad that you confessed to treason, Aedion.โ€ He spoke with slow, deliberate glee. โ€œSo glad you did it in front of all these witnesses, too. It will make your execution that much easier. ough I think . . .โ€ e king smiled and looked at the fake black ring. โ€œI think Iโ€™ll wait. Perhaps give it a month or two. Just in case any last-minute guests have to travel a long, long way for the execution. Just in case someone gets it into her head that she can rescue you.โ€

Aedion snarled. Chaol bit back his own reaction. Perhaps the king had never had anything on themโ€”perhaps this had only been a ruse to get Aedion to confess to something, because the king knew that the general would o er up his own life instead of an innocentโ€™s. e king wanted to savor this, and savor the trap that he had now set for Aelin, even if it cost him a ne general in the process. Because once she heard that Aedion was captured, once she knew the execution date . . . she would run to Rifthold.

โ€œAfter she comes for you,โ€ Aedion promised the king, โ€œtheyโ€™ll have to scrape whatโ€™s left of you o the walls.โ€

e king only smiled. en he looked to Dorian and Sorscha, who seemed to be hardly breathing.

e healer remained on the oor and did not lift her head as the king braced his massive forearms on his knees and said, โ€œAnd what do you have to say for yourself, girl?โ€

She trembled, shaking her head.

โ€œ atโ€™sย enough,โ€ Dorian snapped, sweat gleaming on his brow. e prince winced in pain as his magic was repressed by the iron in his system. โ€œAedion confessed; now let her go.โ€

โ€œWhy should I release the true traitor in this castle?โ€

โ€ข

Sorscha couldnโ€™t stop shaking as the king spoke.

All her years of remaining invisible, all her training, rst from those rebels in Fenharrow, then the contacts theyโ€™d sent her family to in Rifthold . . . all of it ruined.

โ€œSuch interesting letters you send to your friend. Why, I might not ever have read them,โ€ the king said, โ€œif you hadnโ€™t left one in the rubbish for your superior to nd. Seeโ€”you rebels have your spies, and I have mine. And as soon as you decided to start using my son . . .โ€ She could feel the king smirking at her. โ€œHow many of his movements did you report to your rebel friends? What secrets of mine have you given away over the years?โ€

โ€œLeave her alone,โ€ Dorian growled. It was enough to set her crying. He still thought she was innocent.

And maybe, maybe he could get out of this if he was surprised enough by the truth, if the king saw his sonโ€™s shock and disgust.

So Sorscha lifted her head, even as her mouth trembled, even as her eyes burned, and stared down the King of Adarlan.

โ€œYou destroyed everything that I had, and you deserve everything thatโ€™s to come,โ€ she said. en she looked at Dorian, whose eyes were indeed wide, his face bone-white. โ€œI was not supposed to love you. But I did. I do. And there is so much I wish . . . I wish we could have done together, seen together.โ€

e prince just stared at her, then walked to the foot of the dais and dropped to his knees. โ€œName your price,โ€ he said to his father. โ€œAsk it of me, but let her go. Exile her. Banish her. Anythingโ€”say

it, and it will be done.โ€

She began shaking her head, trying to nd the words to tell him that she hadnโ€™t betrayed himโ€”not her prince. e king, yes. She had reported his movements for years, in each carefully written letter to her โ€œfriend.โ€ But never Dorian.

e king looked at his son for a long moment. He looked at the captain and Aedion, so quiet and so tallโ€”beacons of hope for their future.

en he looked again at his son, on his knees before the throne, on his knees for her, and said, โ€œNo.โ€

โ€ข

โ€œNo.โ€

Chaol thought he had not heard it, the word that cleaved through the air just before the guardโ€™s sword did.

One blow from that mighty sword.

at was all it took to sever Sorschaโ€™s head.

e scream that erupted out of Dorian was the worst sound that Chaol had ever heard. Worse even than the wet, heavy thud of her head hitting the red marble.

Aedion began roaringโ€”roaring and cursing at the king, thrashing against his chains, but the guards hauled him away, and Chaol was too stunned to do anything other than watch the rest of Sorschaโ€™s body topple to the ground. And then Dorian, still screaming, was scrambling through the blood toward itโ€”toward her head, as if he could put it back.

As if he could piece her together.

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