Black Crown

by Kelly St Clare

  “I know. I could hear your heavy breathing from the level below. Get dressed, and meet me in the garden.”

  Get dressed? I stopped so quickly I tripped over my own feet. What did she think we were doing in here? I blushed even though there was no one but Tyrrik to see.

  “I love when you blush,” he said, crossing the room in a blur to stand next to me. I love it even more when I’m the reason for it.

  “I’m still here,” Lani called. “I’m pretty sure your breathing is getting heavy again, Ryn.”

  The burning in my cheeks intensified as I glared through the door in Lani’s direction. I knew for a fact that Phaetyn didn’t have super-hearing; that was a Drae power. I listened to the Phaetyn retreat down the passage, her musical laugh echoing in her wake.

  Pretending to wipe my nose to hide my burning cheeks, I turned back to Tyrrik. “Looks like I’m . . . needed.”

  “Looks like.” He smiled, though it didn’t reach his eyes. “We need to find some time alone, uninterrupted, when you get back from Zivost.” He tugged on my aketon again. “Maybe without so many clothes.”

  Whoa. My heart thundered in my chest, and I gaped at Tyrrik a moment and then sputtered, “Umm-m, yeah. Yes. Right. Awesome.”

  He arched a brow.

  I stared up at him, mind blank. I jerked my thumb at the door and said, “Well, people to see, tricks to learn.”

  I hightailed it out of the chamber, congratulating myself on a mostly seamless exit from my M-word.

  When I reached the royal garden, the workers were still harvesting chunks from the massive pumpkin I’d made. Of course they were. I’d made it. The air smelled of winter squash, and the bread-loaf sized seeds were scattered in the dirt. More than half of the gourd remained, and I smiled. A lot of people were going to bed with full bellies because of me.

  I rounded the corner and spotted Lani cross-legged on a high ledge.

  “I need to teach you how to veil before we leave,” Lani said.

  “Yeah,” I replied, plopping myself on the ground below her. “When were you going to fill me in on that?”

  “Now.”

  Helpful. “Is that how you remained hidden for so long?”

  Lani closed her eyes, tipping her head back to bask in the stream of sunlight pouring into the garden—one of the perks of its location at the top of the mountain.

  “It is, but I got careless. I was out foraging to replenish my supplies, and a group of Druman came over a hill and saw the disturbance in the water. One of them caught the scent of my trail. The gold veil has the obvious perk of keeping you hidden but only where it’s covering. It’s probably a smaller version of the golden barrier you described that previously protected the Phaetyn in Zivost. But as you’ll see, erecting and maintaining a veil is taxing, and using it can leave you weakened until you get used to the effort.”

  Honestly, hearing that Lani knew how to put the golden barrier up was a huge relief. When I killed Queen Alani, the barrier came down, leaving the Phaetyn exposed to the emperor from above. While the royal family could move the rock barrier circling the perimeter of the forest up and down, no one else knew how to put the veil up—Alani had only been able to sustain it, and barely at that. Ancestral powers were the strongest, and while I had ancestral power, my attempts to resurrect the wall hadn’t been successful.

  “You have to put the barrier up when we get to the forest,” I blurted. I was not risking a repeat of last time.

  “Yes, so I’ll need my strength. Which means you’ll need to cover us on the journey there. I think it’s a good idea if we leave Gemond under veil so any Druman around can’t see us.”

  Definitely. Even after our victory, I still hated the crossbreeds. And if the veil cloaked us from everyone but Phaetyn, that was the only defense I’d need.

  I thought of Lani out on her own for the last twenty years. “How did you find out you had that kind of power?”

  Lani smiled. “I drank a whole jug of honey syrup one time—”

  Huh. I wondered if that was a Phaetyn thing.

  “I heard my aunt arriving back before I’d hidden the evidence. Next thing I know, there’s a golden net around me. My aunt strolled right by where I stood in the middle of the cellar, covered in honey. Learning to control the net beyond myself took time, but for what you want to do . . . You should be good to go within a minute or two. Protecting ourselves from danger is one of the strongest instincts we possess.”

  “It is?” I wrinkled my nose, wondering why the net hadn’t worked when I stole honey syrup. Perhaps actually knowing I was Phaetyn would’ve helped. Still, Lani had hinted at more. “What else?”

  “Hate being another”—she tilted her head, a smile dancing on her pink lips—“Love being another again. So first,” she said, drawing my attention back to her and her lesson, “you need to really want to be invisible. Just like all your Phaetyn abilities, your desire will make the power much stronger.”

  I nodded, thinking back to how I’d wanted Tyrrik to be healed after being impaled. Desire . . . Yep, yep. Got it. Definitely wanted to be invisible from the Druman.

  “Then you need to envision the power to make it happen. Think of it like a shield or covering.”

  I thought of the gold net over Zivost, the thin filaments like what I’d seen covering the forest when we’d first arrived. I closed my eyes and willed the golden magic to cover me and make me invisible. I took several deep breaths, firmly fixing the image in my mind.

  I opened my eyes.

  Nothing. No golden magic, no net-like mesh covering my body.

  “Why didn’t it work?” I asked, furrowing my brow. I brushed my hand in the empty air, trying to feel where my magic should be happening but wasn’t.

  Lani shook her head. “I don’t know. Try it again.”

  I chewed on my bottom lip. “Okay, but can you cover your ears?”

  The Phaetyn arched a brow and obliged.

  Closing my eyes again, I took a deep breath, muttering, “Golden net of hair and twine, hide me, let your tendrils shine.” I cracked an eye open and sagged. Nothing. I glared at Lani, whose shoulders were shaking. “You weren’t meant to be listening!”

  “Hard not to when you’re shouting by the end.”

  Several attempts later, I growled, throwing my hands up in the air. “Show me again.”

  Lani did, covering herself in the golden net, and I glowered at her. I refused to believe I wasn’t capable. I had crazy strong Phaetyn mojo. I’d healed Tyrrik, surprising Kamoi and his stupid parents with my power. I could do this. I thought of him lying in his black blood and me closing the wound and then burning out the golden droplets of Phaetyn poison.

  “I got this,” I said, straightening with my epiphany. My Phaetyn magic wasn’t gold for starters. I envisioned a moss-green net, shimmering and iridescent, and pulled my Phaetyn power over me. I thought of the energy masking me from all eyes, making any who glanced my way blind to my presence.

  “Whoa,” Lani exclaimed. “How did you do that?”

  I opened my eyes. The vibrant threads of power were the color of moss, cast out around my body like a coat of forest leaves. I glanced behind and saw I wasn’t the only thing inside the net.

  “That’s odd,” Lani said. “The pumpkin has disappeared too.”

  So I was a little protective of the remains of my pumpkin.

  “What can you see?” I asked.

  “Nothing. There’s a huge hole, like someone scooped out that entire area. Your Phaetyn powers don’t work like mine for some reason. But you can’t do it that way, Ryn, or anybody who looks into the air will see a black space and know something is up.”

  “Anybody?” I glanced around the garden and saw someone lurking, pretending to pull weeds. “Ask that man what he sees.”

  The lazy gardner told Lani there was nothing there, but the Phaetyn queen insisted I try again.

  “You don’t want to be invisible to just humans, Ryn. That’s not who we’re worried about.”r />
  True. Maybe it had something to do with my mixed heritage. I thought of my net, this time pulling it in tighter to me and my body, and then I thought of how it should reflect the light and appear like I wasn’t there but preserve the rest of the space around me.

  “Nice,” Lani clapped her hands. “If you can do that, we should be plenty safe all the way to Zivost, and you’ll be safe on the way back. Just remember, this power takes energy. Like strengthening a muscle, it will get easier the more you do it, but the first few times are challenging. Or at least they were for me.”

  Having the added protection of the veil did make me feel safer, but there was someone else who I knew would appreciate the extra security when I left in a few hours.

  4

  I hefted my pack higher on my shoulders and peeked around the corner into the foyer of the grand entrance of the Gemondian Kingdom. I hadn’t been back down here since arriving with an unconscious Tyrrik in my claws. The high-ceiled chamber around the corner made what I was about to do real in a way nothing else had. I was leaving Gemond, Tyrrik, and Dyter to protect Lani on the journey to save the Phaetyn. She was relying on me. And I wasn’t relying on anyone but myself.

  I shifted the pack again and straightened, squaring my shoulders as I set my face into hard lines. I could do this. I would do this. Not just for Lani or the Phaetyn. This was for me, and Tyrrik. For Dyter and the empire. It wasn’t the first step in the rebellion, but it sure felt like mine.

  Behind me, Lani’s step was the lightest of anyone in the chamber but only because of her child size. The Phaetyn would-be-queen’s grasp on the battles being waged showed just how mature she was.

  “Hold on, I want to do something,” I told her without turning.

  Tyrrik could hear what I was saying, and I knew he could feel my presence around the corner because I could feel him. I closed my eyes, envisioning my net, and then pulled Lani under it with me.

  “You’ll tire yourself before we leave,” she scolded.

  “I’m practicing,” I replied. “And it will make Tyrrik feel better.”

  Once sure I had everything tucked in right, I took hold of Lani’s hand and strode beside her around the corner.

  King Zakai and his son were talking to Dyter and Tyrrik. None of them stopped the conversation, and I grinned with my success. Crazy-strong Phaetyn mojo for the win.

  Until.

  Tyrrik frowned. And then grimaced, blinking to clear his vision. “Ryn? You’re fuzzy. And why can’t you hear me?”

  The first time, I hadn’t felt any drain from creating the veil, but as I dropped it a second time, relief trickled through my muscles and down my spine. I stood still, ignoring the startled yells of the others as my knees shook for a moment. Tyrrik yelled my name through the bond, and I winced.

  Please stop yelling.

  Lani leaned in as I regained my footing.

  “Told you,” she whispered.

  “Would you like to walk to the forest?” I asked sweetly, but my enthusiasm waned with my new-found knowledge. This wasn’t going to be as easy as I’d anticipated.

  Her response was to show all her teeth in what could’ve been a smile, on a very bad day, in a very inhospitable place. Or maybe her expression was meant to bolster me due to its creepy ferocity.

  Tyrrik’s fading alarm still seared through the bond, and I jolted as the image of me, or rather what I had looked like to him, struck me. My body looked like an apparition, completely transparent, but oddly still here.

  That was . . . new. I’d never gotten an image from Tyrrik before. It’s okay, I just had the veil on, I told him. To Lani, I said, “How could he see me?”

  She lifted a shoulder before dropping it. “Maybe it has to do with the mate bond.”

  I really hoped that was the case and not a sign all Drae could see me.

  Tyrrik’s emotions swung from panic to relief to pride. Whoa.

  Time for goodbyes. My throat suddenly clogged with emotion, and I strode to Dyter first. Approaching my oldest friend, I fell into his one-armed embrace, patting him awkwardly when he wouldn’t let go. “Love you, Dyter.”

  “Yes, well,” he said gruffly. “Don’t forget to . . .”

  He apparently forgot whatever it was I wasn’t meant to forget. I smiled at him through the allergies burning my eyes that were certainly the reason for the tears on my face. “I won’t.”

  Prince Zared was next, which was easier. I shook his hand and then turned to his father.

  “A safe journey, Most Powerful Drae,” the king said with a wink.

  I grinned, my heart warming even more to the aged ruler of Gemond. “Thank you, Zakai. Here’s hoping for no turbulence.”

  My joke fell flat, and with no small amount of unrelated dread, I turned to the last man in the room.

  Dyter drew the others away toward the door, and I waited until there was nothing more I could wait for. A vice clenched my chest, and my steadfast resolve nearly crumbled when I met Tyrrik’s gaze. His eyes were inky black, but I could feel the emotions storming within.

  “Make sure you use the veil while you’re in your Drae form until Lani puts the barrier up again,” he said in a low voice. “And use it all the way back, right up until you’re inside Gemond. All the way inside.”

  I rested a hand on his arm. “I know, Tyrrik. I’ll take care of myself. I promise.”

  He shuddered at my touch and onyx scales erupted on his chest, peeking out from his aketon and spreading up his neck. His voice deepened, turning part Drae when he spoke again. “I trust you, Khosana. It’s everyone else I don’t trust.” Be careful.

  Uncaring that the others would see, I wrapped my arms around his torso and lay my head on his chest. “We can trust Lani. I know we can.”

  “Lani, yes.”

  Standing at the doorway with the others, Lani called out dryly, “I’m so glad. Can we go now?”

  I was going for a reason, I reminded myself. And even though those reasons didn’t seem so urgent, now—proximity to Tyrrik made it hard to reason at all—if I stayed, I’d regret it.

  Mum didn’t raise no quitter.

  I lifted onto tiptoes and planted a firm kiss on my Drae’s hard cheek. “Al’right, I’m off. See you soon, Tyrrik.”

  The brusque farewell might have worked if my voice hadn’t caught on every other word, but I turned and strode away, holding it in like a big girl though it occurred to me that bigger girls probably just had bigger tears.

  King Zakai gestured for the guards to open the gates, and I’d nearly reached Lani when Tyrrik’s fingers wrapped around my wrist, halting me.

  I let him tug me back around and remained completely still as he grimaced, trying to control his Drae. He closed his eyes and pressed his face into the crook of my neck. His forest pine and smoke scent wrapped around me, and he trembled as he pressed his lips to our mate mark.

  I felt a sharp pinch as his fangs lengthened, and I gasped.

  “Lord Tyrrik,” Dyter called, breaking the stupor around us. “You’ll need to go with the guards to exit from the other side of the mountain.”

  Tyrrik pulled back, and I was nearly overwhelmed with the urge to announce I wasn’t leaving. He broke our contact with a pained grunt, and the compulsion lessened.

  Give me five minutes to draw them away, then you can leave, he thought through our bond. At my stupefied nod, he left the room so quickly I barely saw him move.

  “So much sexual tension,” Lani murmured.

  I wrinkled my nose and noticed Dyter with his eyes closed. Poor guy never seemed to be in the right place at the right time.

  “Okay,” I said, only a slight tremor remaining in my voice as my determination and expression hardened once more. “Let’s go save Phaetynville.”

  I beat my wings down with powerful strokes, catapulting us high into the azure sky over the central ranges of the Gemondian Kingdom. Even after at least eight hours, the lift under my wings and the stretching of my back felt wondrous.

  Lani
gasped and clutched one of the spines on my back as she shouted over the wind, “Was that necessary?”

  Necessary? No. But gone was the time when I’d only do what was necessary. Life was more than survival, something I’d learned somewhere between dungeons and torture rooms and multiple kingdoms. I extended my lapis wings, stretching them as far as they’d go, and reveled in the joy of flying, one of the things that reminded me why I needed to fight.

  “When are we going to stop?” Lani shouted. “The sun is going down.”

  I wasn’t sure why she kept asking questions; I couldn’t answer her in this form. In truth, though I could have flown for hours more, the moss-green power fueling the veil over us had grown steadily weaker over the day. While Lani could hide us if we continued, we’d agreed she’d save her energy to cloak the Forest. After today, I wasn’t sure how she’d be able to cloak Phaetynville, but I knew she’d need all the strength she had to accomplish that.

  I arched my long Drae neck to give Lani an awkward nod and then began my descent. I’d long since passed the summit where Druman had overrun Dyter, Tyrrik, and me a few weeks ago. Camping there overnight seemed to be tempting fate, but I spotted a similar peak which would do just fine.

  I kept the angle of my descent shallow, circling in looping sweeps until I landed gently on the flattest part of the mountain peak. I inhaled long and hard in each direction, using my keen Drae senses to study the sky and the surrounding terrain. After that, I closed my eyes and strained my ears to listen for any pinprick of human or Druman noise within miles. Lani was in my care, Ryn the Protector wasn’t taking any risks.

  Satisfied we were alone but for the harmless critters scuttling about, I lowered onto my haunches and turned my mind to shifting. Achieving my Phaetyn form was like sitting down after standing for hours. I groaned in relief as the air shimmered around my Drae form, and I welcomed the now familiar shift of bones as I shrunk to Phaetyn size, the moss-green veil beginning to dissipate.

  “You can get off now,” I muttered from where I knelt with my face bent to the ground.

  Lani stayed put on my back. “I don’t know. I’m pretty comfortable.”