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And all of a sudden, Corvan stops. We’re standing on the rooftop of a four-story tall building, one that gives us a wide, sweeping view of the city.
My breath catches.
Lukiria is magnificent.
It’s a vast sea of glittering lights, almost as dense and infinite as the stars themselves. It’s wide roads and intricate architecture. It’s tree-lined avenues and stately parks. It’s hewn sandstone and smooth marble.
And everything leads upwards. The higher they go, the larger and grander the buildings become.
It’s astounding. Lukiria really is beautiful.
All the wealth in the empire is here, in this city.
And right at the top, on a vast hilltop surrounded by imposing granite walls, topped with parapets and battlements that make Tyron Castle’s defenses look small in comparison, there’s a palace.
Thepalace.
It’s grander and vaster than anything I could have ever imagined.
It glows, illuminated by powerful lights that form a gradient of light and shadow on the walls.
It’s flat and wide and rectangular, and it’s the size of at least a hundred Ruen Castles combined. The walls are made from pale sandstone. Tall columns rise on all sides, forming elegant arches between one another.
That’s the Lukirian palace.
The seat of all power in the empire.
The jewel in the crown that Corvan was supposed to inherit.
The palace. The vast city. The lands and the rivers and the people.
All of this was supposed to be underhiscommand.
I open my mouth to speak, but no words come out. The man holding me against him with such gentleness… this sweet, clever, man, who tries to be righteous in the face of all that he is…
He willingly gave up all of this, without even a hint of regret or bitterness.
It’s almost as if he didn’t want it in the first place.
“It’s bigger than I’d imagined,” I say softly, the gentle breeze stealing my words away. I’m a little breathless. A little stunned. My world is expanding at blinding speed. It feels like my mind’s about to explode.
“Annoyingly big,” Corvan grumbles. “Takes half a morning to walk from one end to the other. But that also makes it easier to infiltrate. We’ll go in through one of the underground tunnels. Through the sewers. I apologize in advance for the inconvenience, but I promise you won’t get wet.”
“Stop apologizing, Corvan.” I squirm in his arms. He relents, setting me on my feet. “I’d rather traipse through the sewers than have you carve a path of blood overland.”
“We’ll come up through the dungeons. Nobody will expect it. It’s the middle of the night, after all. From there, we must pass through seven rings of security. My father’s chambers are in the innermost sanctum of the palace.Thatpart will get bloody, but as you know, I move very fast, so it’ll be over before you know it.”
My blood runs cold, but I steel myself. This is necessary. If he doesn’t strike at the heart of the matter, the attacks on Tyron will continue, and I won’t get any closer to finding my mother. I need to stand beside Corvan at all costs. It can’t be easy for him. He’s returning to the place where he grew up, and he’s resolved to become an instrument of death if he has to.
I suspect he doesn’t know the full limits of his power.
Regardless, I can’t just stand back and watch.
“I feel like I should have something… a weapon of some sort.”
Corvan turns to me, his eyes glowing faintly. He looks both hungry and controlled. A flutter of desire stirs within me.
The mysterious power in my veins reacts to his very presence, filling me with effervescent energy.
