Awakened by Magic (The Four Kings Book 1) by Katy Haye (16)

Chapter Sixteen

He was smaller than I’d expected. Shrunken by distance, of course, but even with that there seemed little that would make him stand out. He was of average height, bald-headed, dressed in clothes that were less designed for grandeur than practicality, as though he were a soldier rather than a ruler. He stood in front of a grand throne situated before a curtain of crimson velvet. I thought he’d chosen the dramatic backdrop to compensate for his ordinariness. My fingers curled to fists on the wood in front of me. This man wasn’t ordinary, if he could even be described as a man. He was a monster.

Then he took a step forward and the difference between him and others became clear. Threads of magic clung around him, wisps of bluish light slipping over his arms and settling in his chest. I only ever saw those signs of magic when Essa was using her abilities. And never so dark and strong. The Emperor had more magic than anyone in the realm, hoarded to make him strong and never mind what happened to the rest of us.

He stalked towards the two men standing before the throne. It only needed a glance to see that they weren’t guards. They also weren’t guests. Their heads were bowed, and their hands were clasped in front of them. I couldn’t see whether their wrists were tied, or their hands were simply held in a sign of deference.

I didn’t recognise the men, although I could see the richness of their clothes. Nobles. My eyes scanned the remainder of the chamber. Of Essa and my father, I could see no sign. If I was about to witness a wedding, it was the strangest one I’d ever seen. There was no sign of the bride, for a start.

The Stalwart Emperor stopped in front of the pair. Light flooded through the windows, making his pale hands and bald head seem to glow. He spoke, and sound rose straight into the round ceiling where I was concealed.

“Most bearers of magic have been forced to stand where you stand now,” the Emperor said. His voice was mild, but there was a thread of steel in it as bright as the magic that showed itself when he moved. “This show of heartfelt support is unprecedented.”

“We want only to serve, Gracious Majesty,” one said, the older one. The other nodded agreement. I saw a resemblance between the two. I thought they were father and son.

My heartbeat made itself felt as the Emperor paced around the men. The one on the left, the younger one, seemed equally uneasy. He tried to turn his bowed head to keep the Emperor in sight, but it was impossible without moving and demonstrating his mistrust.

“I am pleased to hear that. I trust you know that I can taste men’s lies.”

“This is no lie,” the older man promised.

When the Emperor came back into sight on their other side, the younger one relaxed, his shoulders dropping.

“If you are to serve by my side, I must have absolute loyalty.”

“You have it.”

The Emperor stopped in front of them, close enough to touch. He nodded, looking into the face of one and then the other. “Then kneel.”

The younger one glanced at the older. It was evident that they were both used to people bowing to them rather than the other way around. Their boots scraped on the floor as they complied.

The Emperor’s bald head nodded in satisfaction. “I will have your absolute loyalty.” As he spoke, his hands reached out to the heads of the two men. I saw the flashes of magic weaving around his fingers. The younger man twitched as the Emperor’s hand touched him. The Emperor stared past them to the far end of the chamber. He was almost smiling. “And I will have your magic.”

Blue light flashed, snaking up the Emperor’s arms. The father and son screamed, and my heart leapt in distress. The Emperor’s serene smile continued as the men screamed and writhed, seeming unable to pull away.

One after the other, they collapsed. The Emperor took a breath that lifted his shoulders while the last streaks of blue light ran over his hands and vanished into his chest, which seemed to glow a moment after the men had fallen. He clenched his hands to fists, then splayed them. “Guards!”

Two uniformed men stepped forward from the edge of the room. They gave no reaction to what had happened, stopping and bowing to the Emperor almost on top of the bodies.

Terror choked my lungs. Was that what he planned for my father? And for Essa?

The Emperor flicked a hand. “Remove the rubbish. Take them to the cells; I know they have more to give.”

“Where is Essa?” I muttered to the kings. I craned to see the whole of the chamber below. I’d been a fool, distracted by the Emperor when I should have used that time to pinpoint my sister.

“She is in the chamber,” Rey insisted.

“I don’t see her,” I countered. She had to be underneath me. Perhaps just inside the door, waiting, next to go before the Emperor and have her magic stolen to build his power. I couldn’t let that happen – but how could I stop it?

In the chamber below, the guards dragged the two unconscious men out by their arms. I shivered. “I have to get into the chamber.”

“You cannot be seen. The Emperor mustn’t know you are here.”

“I have to get Essa before he does that to her.”

“Sandor.” A voice rang out in the room below.

I froze. The Emperor was speaking to my father. I peered through the perforated panel. My heart sank to the stone floor when more guards came into sight. They were half-carrying, half-dragging my father.

The Emperor faced him with a smile. Stealing magic made the man smug. “Sandor.” He sighed. “We have spent so long together now. But I fear our relationship is nearly at an end.”

Pa didn’t answer.

The Emperor stalked closer. “Now I have found your heir, I have no further need of you.” His lips twisted. “I will take the last of your magic.” He pushed the hood back from the cloak I’d helped Pa don. The Emperor’s hand reached out, pausing above the crow’s-nest of unkempt hair. My throat thickened. The Emperor continued to taunt my father, his words slow and jagged with cruelty. “When I take your magic, it will kill you. I’ll make sure of that. Just know that your heir will tell me all you have refused to reveal.”

I couldn’t see Pa’s expression, but I heard the calm in his ravaged voice. “I know my heir will do the right thing.”

The scene began to swim in front of me.

“Oh, she will,” the Emperor replied. “I will make sure of that.”

His hand descended, blue wreathing down his arms. His fingers were nearly touching Pa’s head.

“No!” I shouted aloud, then slapped my hand over my mouth.

Too late. The Emperor looked straight at where I was as though he could see through solid walls. He glanced back at my father, his hands dropped to his sides. “I see.” He raised a hand, blue light flickering. I hunched defensively. The wood beside me smashed and splintered. I staggered back against the far wall, but there was nowhere to hide.

Another crack rang in the air, the floor gave way and I dropped, falling towards the floor below. A scream tore from me.

“I have you,” Vashri shouted in my head. Two yards from the floor I slowed, landing on my back as though I were falling onto a feather bed rather than hard stone.

The Emperor loomed over me. “A family reunion. How touching.”

I scrambled to my feet, scanning the inside of the chamber. I counted four guards in addition to the two holding my father. There was no sign of Essa.

“Where is my sister?” I demanded. “What have you done with Essa?” Tendrils of the Emperor’s magic wove across his skin while a coldness inside me told me I was about to die. I had no magic, so I was no use to the Emperor. But I could still be useful to Essa. If I could secure her freedom, that was worth any sacrifice.

“Your sister?” His teeth bared, his smile turning savage. He wasn’t going to tell me where she was, or what he’d done with her.

But the truth was worse than that. “I think you mean my intended Empress.” He turned, calling out, “Come here, my dear. Your family have come to wish us well.”

My heart stopped. The curtain behind his throne shifted, shivering with movement. Essa stepped out. Like Rey had said, she’d been in the room all the time. She paused beside the Emperor’s throne, smoothing her hand lightly along the back. She barely spared me a glance, as though she didn’t even see me. The Emperor shifted his hand, holding it out towards her. Essa stepped to his side and set her hand on his, a clear show of unity. “I am here, my lord. What do you want of me?”

“No!” I took a step forward. “Whatever you’ve done…” The Emperor’s eerie smile sent shivers down my spine. I turned from him to focus on Essa. “I will get you out of here.”

Essa laughed, bitter peals that made my shivering increase. “Why ever should I want to leave?”

“The Emperor is dangerous. He has kept our father prisoner for years.”

Essa lifted a shoulder as though those atrocities were barely worth mentioning. “He will make me his Empress. I will be the most important woman in the land.”

He had enchanted her. Essa wouldn’t care about something like that. “I came to rescue you.” It was impossible that she was here voluntarily. Impossible. I couldn’t lose her. Not like this.

Essa’s eyes were glazed, as though she were still sleeping. I had no idea how to counter an enchantment of that sort. She smiled. “You turned your back on your magic,” she told me, contempt clear in her tone. “You can’t even rescue yourself.”