A Heart So Fierce and Broken (The Cursebreaker Series Book 2)

Karis Luran arrives at my door at sunrise with a full contingent of guards. Nolla Verin is at her side, her eyes narrow and guarded. “Prince Grey. We have brought new armor befitting your station, for you and your men.”

A servant shifts forward and bows to me, then others move forward to flank him, holding out armor so freshly minted that I can smell the leather and oil. The black leather of the breastplate is lined with green, the colors of Syhl Shallow, but the crest emblazoned in the center is the gold and red seal of Emberfall: a lion and rose entwined, with a gold crown embossed above it, signifying royalty.

I trace my finger over the crest. The same insignia once appeared on my Royal Guard uniform—without the crown.

“Our colors together will let your people know you stand for unity,” says Karis Luran.

I meet her eyes. “Will your armor bear the colors of Emberfall as well?”

Her lip curls ever so slightly. “No. It seemed foolish to go to the expense of outfitting the entire army.”

So I will look to be allying with her—while she risks nothing.

I have nothing with which to bargain, though. “You have my thanks.”

She smiles, and she looks like a viper. There is no love lost between me and this woman. I would cut her down right here in the hallway if Lia Mara begged for release.

“The Royal Houses will gather on the training fields,” she says. “They would like to offer a blessing for our journey. I would like for you to demonstrate your magic, to show our advantage over Rhen’s people.” She pauses. “And you will keep that creature on a chain.”

Behind me, Iisak hisses.

I don’t even turn around. “No.”

“You swore that you would maintain his year of service. You said you would require him to do my bidding. This is my will, and you will do it.”

My heart is pulsing in my chest, because I sense a trap. Nolla Verin is too still.

“I will perform a feat of magic,” I say woodenly. “I will not put any of my people on a chain.”

Anger flashes in her eyes. “Then I will—”

“I will wear a chain,” says Iisak, but frost curls along the stone walls of my chambers. “If it will make you feel safe, Your Majesty.”

Karis Luran doesn’t look at him. Her eyes don’t leave mine. “You will maintain order among your people or I will maintain it myself.”

“Your terms have been agreed to.”

I wait for her to spring a trap, to demand more, but she turns away without another word, her guards trailing in her wake. Servants stack the offered armor inside the door, then bow and move away as well.

Only Nolla Verin remains behind. She reaches out to touch the armor her mother delivered. She traces her hand over the crest, as I did. She looks up at me. “Does it cause you pain, to know what you must do to your brother?”

I go still. “Yes,” I say, and my voice is suddenly rough. “Every moment of this causes me pain.”

She looks up at me in surprise, but then it fractures and shifts into dismay. I have never seen such emotion on Nolla Verin’s face.

As suddenly as it appeared, the emotion vanishes, locked away, leaving only the dutiful daughter.

“I will see you on the battlefield, Prince Grey.”

I offer her a bow, and she turns away.

Once she’s down the hallway, Jake moves close. “What the hell just happened?”

I watch her go, sadness all but trailing her form. “Indeed.”

The training fields are packed with at least twelve hundred soldiers standing at attention, their lines perfect and unbroken. Green and black pennants snap in the wind, and every inch of armor and weaponry gleams in the sunlight. The members of the Royal Houses watch from beneath tents erected along the castle walls, each sitting on a jeweled chair, waiting for the show to begin. My new armor fits well, snug and secure against my frame. Buckling it into place seemed to carry weight, like so many other moments on this journey. When I used to don armor in the Royal Guard, it meant something. This means something, too.

Jake walks at my side, and I am glad for his steady presence. Once I wouldn’t have been able to imagine it. Now I wonder how I stayed at odds with him for so very long. He was wasted on Rhen, truly. Noah and Tycho follow, Tycho holding Iisak’s chain. When we walked out of the castle, Iisak said, “Does the queen think I couldn’t pry this tether away from the boy?”

Tycho smiled and said, “Does the queen think you’d need to?”

It’s all a show for her people. I knew it before we set foot on this battlefield. Karis Luran does not want to appear weak in front of her Royal Houses. Even my show of magic is to be temperate, nothing that would seem to overpower her.

Karis Luran and Nolla Verin wait on a dais at the front of the troops, standing with Clanna Sun and the queen’s generals. My time as a guardsman sometimes feels like a distant memory, but I am no stranger to pageantry. I walk right up to the dais and bow to her.

“Your Majesty,” I say. “I stand ready to ride with you into Emberfall.”

There is more I am to say, but I freeze. Her gaze coolly holds mine.

“Say it,” Jake hisses from behind me.

My lips are frozen. To claim my throne.

Motion flickers in one of the windows of the palace, and I know Lia Mara is looking down, watching this. Be a good king.

Would Rhen be a good king? I thought so once, but now, I don’t know.

Will I?

“Grey,” says Jake. He nudges me in the shoulder.

“I am ready to claim my throne,” I say, “and to ally the people of Emberfall with the people of Syhl Shallow.”

Karis Luran smiles. At her side, Nolla Verin is stony-faced.

“Good,” says the queen. “We are eager to see you on the throne, our ally and friend, and to secure new trade routes for both our countries.” She pauses for dramatic effect. “We once believed magic to be a danger to our people, but you have demonstrated that you will usher in a new era.”

I nod. “I am prepared to offer your Houses a demonstration, as a show of good faith of how I can benefit Syhl Shallow.”

“Very good,” she says. I wait for her to indicate one of the tents, where a son apparently has a broken arm I am to heal.

But Karis Luran steps forward. “A show of loyalty,” she adds. “To prove your willingness to ally with my people.”

I hesitate.

“You know,” she says, “I have no tolerance for those who would stand against me. You saw what I did to my guard who dared to defy me.”

“Yes, Your Highness,” I say, and my voice is cautious. I am not the only one who suspects a trap. Jake has moved closer, but we are surrounded by thousands of soldiers. I certainly can’t fight them all. If Karis Luran means to attack me, I’m dead. I might have been able to knock Rhen and his guards back a few feet, but I have no idea if my power would cover a crowd of this size—nor if I could protect all of my people.

Behind me, Iisak growls low, and ice forms around my boots on the ground. A warning.

I know, I think.

I just don’t know what to do.

“You will prove your loyalty to this alliance,” she says. “You will prove that you will be loyal to Nolla Verin and to me.”

“This is going to be bad,” mutters Jake.

“How?” I say. “How would you like for me to prove this?”

“When you were admitted to your Royal Guard, were you put to a test?”

“Yes, of course.”

“My guardsmen are put to a test as well. They must prove willing to do whatever their queen orders.”

“You are not my queen,” I say boldly.

Her smile widens. “Ah, yes, but you are not yet king, and your power is dependent upon mine. If you wish to claim your throne, if you and your people wish to survive your time in Syhl Shallow, you will prove your willingness to do what is right.”

“Offer your challenge,” I say. “I have said I will provide a display of magic.”

“You saved a traitor,” she says. “You spared the life of my guard Parrish.”

“You asked him to,” says Jake.

“Indeed,” she says. “Now I will ask you to use your magic to execute a traitor. I will ask you to prove your loyalty, Prince Grey.”

“No,” says Noah, his voice a low rush behind me. “No. You can’t.”

I was trained to be a weapon at the hand of another. A cool certainty overtakes me. Magic always seems to elude me. Being a prince has never felt natural. But my people are at risk. My life is at risk. With violence and bloodshed, I am comfortable.

Tycho once looked into my eyes and said, “You can’t train mercy out of someone.”

You can. I know you can. I’m living proof.

“Bring your traitor,” I say. “I will do what you ask.”

Her smile widens, and she looks to her daughter. “Nolla Verin. Fetch your sister.”