Awakened by Magic (The Four Kings Book 1) by Katy Haye (17)

Chapter Seventeen

“Your family has a distressing tendency to interference,” the Emperor said, speaking conversationally to Essa as though Pa and I weren’t there. “I think I should kill them both.”

“No!”

A frown appeared on Essa’s brow. “Don’t… I like her,” she told the Emperor, her tone uncertain. My heart leapt. She was fighting his spell. The unkind smile slid over her face again as the enchantment strengthened. She jabbed a finger in my direction. “Let me keep her as a pet. She’s harmless.”

“Hardly harmless. She broke into my citadel and spied on my business. Who knows what tales she might tell if we let her survive.” He let go of Essa’s hand and stepped towards me, frowning as though I were a puzzle he wished to solve. “How could she reach this place if she has no magic of her own?”

“Dumb luck.” Essa’s pout grew.

“My eldest daughter has talents you have no appreciation for,” Pa said evenly.

“Magic is all I’m interested in,” the Emperor said, dismissing me and wrapping his fingers around Essa’s wrist. She sagged against him.

“Leave her alone!” I took a step, then stopped. He had hold of Essa. I couldn’t attack him without risking her.

The Emperor turned to my sister. “Do you wish to be left alone?”

She lifted her chin. “I wish to rule alongside you. My sister was too scared to accept her magic and all it is capable of. I am not so timid.”

“You’re in danger!” I tried to jolt her out of her enchantment. “He kills people to steal their magic. You must fight his spells.”

Essa settled her hand on the Emperor’s shoulder. He looked pleased to hear my description. “Then you should be glad you have no magic to tempt him.”

“But you might still have a use.” The Emperor shook off Essa’s hand and stalked towards his prisoner. He stopped before my father, who was held upright by the guards, lacking the strength to support himself. “One of your daughters I will cherish as my wife. The other is disposable.” He leaned forward, ducking his head so he was peering straight into my father’s face. “Tell me where I can find the kings and I’ll let her go.”

My jaw slackened, and I snapped my teeth together. The kings were here. Well, three of them. I couldn’t let the Emperor know they were close.

“He cannot reach us,” Rey promised. “He cannot summon us to him. You are the only one in danger.”

“Which we will help to get you out of,” Axxon added.

“Don’t let him know you are the guardian,” Vashri said. I curled my fingers to conceal my palm.

“Tell me,” the Emperor repeated when my father stayed silent.

Pa coughed, summoning the strength to stand tall and match the Stalwart Emperor. “You will never find the kings,” he said, low and distinct. “But they will find you.” His cracked lips moved in a smile. “You will never be able to sleep easy in your bed until the day they find you and kill you for what you have done to this once great land.”

“Tell me.” The Emperor flicked a finger in my direction. A column of air punched me in the chest. I was knocked backwards. If Vashri hadn’t slowed me, my head would have cracked against the floor. Essa flinched, giving me another surge of hope.

The Emperor glanced in her direction. “You don’t need to see this, my dear. Go to your rooms.”

She shook her head. “My place is by your side.” She turned to Pa. “Give him what he wants. You have lost. There is no shame in admitting the fact.”

Another cough. “I waited this long to ensure my heir would be ready to adopt my role. We haven’t lost. The fight has barely begun.”

My fingers bit into my palms.

“You know that your heir will tell me the secret as soon as you die?” The Emperor watched Pa. I thought I could see him planning how to kill him. Pa was so weak something as small as the blast that had thrown me to the floor would probably suffice. Tears welled in my eyes and I blinked them back.

“You are assuming Essa is my heir?” Pa said. His voice was a whisper.

The Emperor’s brow sharpened to a vee of discontent. His eyes darted from Essa to me. “You cannot pass your strength to an heir without magic.” Then he shrugged. “But if you do, she will tell us. It matters not.” He flung his arm towards Pa in a slashing gesture. Magic crackled through the air. Blood bloomed on my father’s chest and he slumped, the guards letting go so he fell to the floor, rich red blood welling on the floor beneath him.

“No!” I surged towards my father, crashing to my knees as grief and regret overwhelmed me.

The Emperor walked back to his throne, taking a seat as though the scene now bored him. He turned to Essa. “Do you feel a difference in your magic, my dear? Are you his heir?” He leaned closer. “Do you feel the presence of the four kings?”

Essa stared down at her hands. The air glowed with a hint of blue, but it faded rapidly. “Nothing has changed,” she gasped.

But everything had changed for me. I grasped my head as memories poured through me. But they weren’t memories of my childhood. Scenes I could never have remembered filled my head, from events I couldn’t possibly have witnessed. I saw the four kings, with a tall, proud-looking man who I knew instinctively was the Radiant Emperor. Magic wreathed the kings – and a fifth figure, a tall, beautiful woman. She reminded me somehow of my father, and I knew that was my ancestor, the first guardian. Magic filled the room they were in and it seemed to fill me, too, soaring along my veins. I was the guardian, I could doubt it no longer. I knew the kings on a soul-deep level, as though I had simply been waiting to recognise them. I got to my feet, filled with renewed strength.

“Do you know where the four kings can be found?” The Emperor was demanding answers of my sister.

Her eyes widened, white showing around the irises. “I don’t know.”

“Don’t harm her!” It was half a plea, half a warning. With the power buzzing through me now I didn’t doubt that I could challenge the Emperor, and win.

“Steady, Kyann,” Vashri warned. “We are not with you. Our powers haven’t fully awakened yet.”

The Emperor’s attention settled on me. He raised a lazy finger, beckoning me. A guard grabbed my arm and forced me forward. My cheeks were wet, and I swallowed down my grief.

“Are you the next guardian? Tell me where I can find the kings. If you are your father’s heir, you must know.”

“It doesn’t work like that.” Axxon’s voice resounded in my head. I could see them in my mind, three implacable men facing down their enemy. I could imagine them beside me, arms folded, determined to give the Emperor nothing.

I didn’t want to give the Emperor what he wanted, but I had to help Essa. “I will tell you,” I straightened my spine and faced the Emperor. “But you must release Essa first.”

“Release?” He spared her a glance. “But she is not a prisoner. Even if she is not fit to be my bride, I still have use of her.” My fists clenched, knowing he meant to steal her magic. He lifted a brow. “Do you wish to leave, my dear?”

“No.”

My heart twisted. Close to, I saw the struggle in my sister’s eyes. She was fighting the Emperor’s magic, but hers wasn’t strong enough to overcome his. “I have nowhere to go if it is not with you.”

“Fight the enchantment, Essa. He is controlling your will and he means you harm.”

Essa stared over my head. “The country needs a strong ruler. He has my absolute support.”

“You have your answer,” the Emperor snapped. “There is no one here to save except yourself. Tell me what I want to know, or I will create a special cell for you where you will writhe in agony until I ask the question again. Where can I find the kings?”

Silence held. The Emperor’s hands twitched, glowing blue. I could almost feel the blow that had killed my father. I longed to turn it back on him. I tried to summon my magic, sure that Pa’s death must have released it – but nothing was there. I gulped in alarm.

“We won’t let him harm you,” Axxon said. I hoped he was right. I hoped they would be able to stop him, because I had nothing.

Except that magic wasn’t the only power in the world. I still had words, and my imagination. “The kings are far, far away, across the dark oceans and over the burning sands.” I remembered the threat my father had issued. “But they sleep beneath your bed, plotting your death, their fingers curled around sharp daggers.”

“Bravo,” Rey said, his tone a collision of admiration and amusement.

I expected violence. I had thought the Emperor would wave his hand and I would crash into the wall behind me. I hoped Vashri would be able to shield me when that happened. Instead, the Emperor got to his feet. I swallowed. He stared into my eyes. His grey gaze was fathomless. I blinked, feeling as though I were drowning.

“You don’t know.” It wasn’t a question. Had he reached into my mind and found the answer somehow? “Which means you are not your father’s heir.” He glanced at Essa. “How puzzling.” He snapped his gaze back to me. “No matter. I will find them another way.” His lips lifted in a cruel smile. “The kings have no guardian. They are weak alone.” His eyes glassed over, as though I bored him. As though he might be considering what to order for his dinner. He stepped back and settled on his throne once more. “You will certainly be no use to them when you are dead.”

He jerked his head at the guards. “Slit her throat and throw her in the lake.”

“No!” Essa stepped forward. The Emperor snatched her hand before she could descend the steps towards me.

“I am sorry, my dear. Do you challenge me?”

There was a pause. Magic slid over the Emperor’s hands, sinking into Essa’s skin. My sister dropped her gaze. “No. Of course not, my lord.”

The guards grabbed me.

“Unleash your magic.” Three voices spoke in unison inside my head.

If I knew how to set it free, I would have done so. But despite the sense of power still rolling through me, there was nothing to unleash. The kings realised it the same moment I did. “Now!” three voices roared.

And chaos erupted.