Page 150 of Prince of the Phantom Sky

“No. They need to see the truth. They need to hear what’s coming. Barron is sailing here right now! The empire will attack us once more! He’ll be here any moment. We need to prepare, we need to evacuate the city.”

Cries rang, civilians grasping each other in fear. Kora’s tension flowed down the bond, her striking eyes darting across the crowd, nibbling her cheek in concern. She was looking for something, her stare narrowing on shadowed pockets by the forest.

“Impossible! The Mist still protects us!”

“Look around you,” Raiden gestured. “We can see more now than we ever have for the past decade. I can see the spirals of Mistros City, the shimmer of the ocean, the ships in the promenade. The Mist is fading.”

His father’s steam incensed, the clear-cut sign of his anger. His raging stare whipped to the horizon, blinking for a moment.

“Do not listen to him! He’s been corrupted by the enemy. Even now, he protects her!” Zephyr motioned to Kora and her defiance crackled, alighting Raiden. “She’s no longer your saviour. She betrayed us, and hunted our kind down for a decade. She seeks to destroy us!”

“You spread the rumour,” Aryn growled, dreaded realisation pulling his face taut, his hands curling. “He’s the one who tried to turn the city against her.”

Raiden saved his eye roll for later. He knew it could never have been Hector. But still, disappointment weighed heavy at his father’s actions.

“She must be apprehended!”

Zephyr’s power snapped, and Kora crumpled to the ground, his magic binding her body. She yelled, and Raiden roared as multiple guards seized him, five in total, to wrestle him to the ground beside her. His face hit the pebbled path, grazing his skin, and Kora scowled in return.

“No! The Pegasi are leaving!” citizens pleaded. “It’s a sign!”

Cadence and Rayne neighed, their wings beating against the ground before taking off. Erebus silently followed, whilst Fajra’s coal eyes erupted into flames behind Aryn before retreating. The faintest of white lights bloomed and faded from Kora’s fingertips. She’d sent them away, Raiden realised.

“Take them to the royal chamber. You failed, Kora Cadell. Now it’s time to deliver your sentence.”

It’d been pointless to fight. The citizens of Galen held onto Zephyr’s every word as he told them tales of Kora’s past. The decimation of the pirates, the killings of rebels, the incarcerated prisoners to Deadwater Prison, where no human could ever survive.

Their faces had slackened into horror, stares narrowing as they realised their husbands, wives, sons and daughters were among the dead, and imprisoned. The original rumours had been fortified, the mirage of the gods-blessed Pegasi forgotten, unable to fill the empty space within their homes.

Kora slumped beside him in the heart of the royal chamber. White walls and pristine floors blinded him, as the white runner carpet cushioned his knees. His father was a fool. A belligerent, power-blind fool.

Hector sat to the side, his one good eye boring into Kora. Leto was nowhere to be seen, lost on the seas, potentially killed by Barron. Raiden swallowed his fear for his brother, setting it aside as he focused on his ruhni. His father’s closest advisors lingered around the dais, whilst Zephyr sat on his throne, Skylar and Aerion either side of him. Ilma’s empty seat was a painful blow, especially as Zephyr clutched onto its armrest, an occasional finger brushing the lone iris flower wilting on the plush cushion.

Aryn had disappeared, slinking away as Raiden and Kora had been dragged through the castle.

“The full moon has arrived, Kora Cadell.” Zephyr commanded the room, his voice vibrating across the air. “You have failed. Barron still lives.”

Violent tension rolled off her, and Raiden’s heart went into overdrive, his wrists aching against the bindings. His father had bound him, shackled his wrists behind his back, like he was nothing more than a criminal.

“By punishment, you and Erick Cadell will be sentenced. Honouring lives lost from your initial betrayal of the people of Galen.” His father’s smile was sickening. This had been what he wanted all along. “Your sentence will be delivered upon the Infernal Highland. You will be escorted there at dusk, along with Erick Cadell.”

The . . . Infernal Highland? Aerion frowned, sharing worried looks with Skylar as Zephyr chuckled at his own words.

“Father, that’s sacred land. We protect it from the world.” Aerion’s windswept curls were barely contained by the red leather strap, and a dark cloak obscured the labradorite suit.

“A perfect setting for the desecration she caused upon us. The highland demands justice. It demands retribution. The Cadells will pay it with their lives, and usher us into a new era of peace.” Zephyr’s dark eyes were wild, strands of white hair unfurling from the knot at the back of his head. He’d gone mad.

“Father . . .” Skylar murmured. “She didn’t betray us. She was taken.”

“No!” Zephyr snapped at her, and Skylar shrank away, her head bowing as her hair formed a barrier between her face and their father. His venom shifted back to Kora. “You were supposed to protect the island. You were supposed to deter the ships. You were assigned that responsibility alone. And hundreds perished. Their souls lost. You carry that burden.”

Kora whimpered, the truth Raiden had kept from her settling like a heavy weight, crushing the air within the chamber. He’d never wanted to tell her how powerful Kordelia had truly been. An impossible standard that no mage should have ever reached. That she reached a level of wielding the seas surrounding Galen, forming protective barriers. Until that day . . .

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Even Kora’s voice in his mind was fractured.

“It wasn’t your fault,” Raiden replied. “It’s mine.”

Kora frowned as Raiden glared at his father.