Sovereign (62 page)
His brother stepped forward from among the red-handed Chetts.
'Areava, surrender to me!'
He looked over his shoulder, saw the indecision in his sister's face. Then she shouted back: 'I am queen of Grenda Lear! I am sworn to defend the throne!'
'You have defended it, sister, but you can do nothing more. Surrender to me, acknowledge me as king and all of you will be spared. I swear it.'
Olio found himself hoping she would accept. He did not want her to die. He did not want to have to try and kill Lynan. He wanted it all to end. He glanced between Lynan and Areava, and he saw the expression change on his sister's face, saw the determination change to exhaustion, and saw the hope in Lynan's eyes. And then he saw the Chett female, tall and regal. She moved to the back of the crowd and the Chetts parted for her, bowing. Her walk was determined, stiff. He felt the Key of the Heart warm against his skin and saw it surrounded by a blue halo of light. He noticed his sister and brother's Keys were also glowing, as if in anticipation of being finally joined together once more. The Chett female said something to one of the archers, and the archer raised his bow, an arrow already nocked.
'No,' Olio said, and then louder: 'No!'
All eyes turned to him and he pointed to the archer, but too late.
Ager could not believe his ears.
Why now, Lynan
? he wondered.
Too much has happened. There are too many ghosts between you and your sister for peace between you to mean anything
.
Yet he found himself hoping she
would
surrender, that the slaughter could stop. Then he heard a figure in front of her cry out 'No!', and he recognised Olio. The prince was pointing towards the back of the Chetts and Ager looked over his shoulder, but he was too short to see over the crowd. He heard a shocked cry from those in front of him and he turned back. At first he did not know what had happened. Areava took a step forward and stopped. That was when he saw the arrow in her chest. It had pierced the Key of the Sceptre and her heart. Her eyes were wide open in shock. Her sword dropped from her hand, clattering on the steps.
Olio and a short woman in armour grabbed for her, but she fell backwards, landing heavily.
For a moment nothing happened, and then as one the knights roared in fury and hatred and charged.
Ager barely had time to react. He jumped forward to help protect Lynan, but Gudon and several Red Hands beat him to it.
The Chetts were pushed back by the ferocity of the attack, but they were as skilled as the knights and far more numerous, and slowly, inevitably, they were cut down where they stood. A gap appeared between Ager and the steps. He saw Olio and the short woman he now recognised as Queen Charion bent over Areava. He ran forward. Charion heard him coming and raised her sword, but he knocked it aside and then slammed his fist into her jaw. She fell back, unconscious. Olio turned to him and his eyes widened with recognition. 'Captain Parmer, I can heal her!' He held up the Key of the Heart and showed it to Ager. 'I can heal my sister just as my mother healed you! Please, let me save her!'
Ager hesitated, his eyes drawn to the glowing Key, and in that moment could see a future where Areava was alive, where the three surviving children of Usharna found a way to overcome their past; then the illusion evaporated and he saw only the blood on the steps.
'Please, Ager!' Olio begged.
Ager shook his head. 'Forgive me,' he said, and brought the hilt of his sword down on Olio's skull.
The prince crumpled; Ager knelt down and felt for a pulse in his neck. He found one and sighed in relief. Then, reluctantly, he looked down at Areava.
Her eyes moved, focused on Ager's face. He put his hand on the arrow still protruding from her chest. Her lips parted and she said in a sigh, 'End it.'
He nodded, put his other hand over her eyes and pushed the arrow through.
CHAPTER 36
Lynan gave Kendra to his Chetts for one day. He left the city and rode to the top of Ebrius Ridge. Korigan, Gudon and a small escort of Red Hands came with him. He had wanted Ager to come too, but the crookback was nowhere to be found. The last anyone had seen of him he was by the bedside of Prince Olio.
From the ridge Lynan looked down and could see a dozen fires burning in the city. Even this high up he could hear the screams of the dying as the Chetts slew those who tried to stop their looting. He wanted to turn the horse around and ride away, and not stop until he came to the Oceans of Grass and the kind of freedom he knew he would never experience again. He had not realised when he crossed back to the east what he was going to lose, that more than the lives of his friends would be sacrificed to secure the throne.
But Lynan could not turn away. All of this was his doing. He could no longer blame Orkid and Dejanus for all the suffering now experienced by the people of Kendra.
He stayed on the ridge until the sun set. For a moment the dying light blazed off the four Keys of Power hanging around his neck. Kestrel Bay shimmered. When night came the stars were blotted out by smoke rising from the city.
Gudon dismounted and took the reins of his horse. 'Your Red Hands have made a camp for you. Let me take you there.'
Lynan looked out over Kendra, aglow with fire, and said in a voice so quiet that only Korigan and Gudon could hear, 'What have I done?'
'Why, my lord,' Korigan replied as Gudon led his horse away from the ridge, 'you have destroyed a Kingdom. And now…'
He heard her sigh deeply. '… and now you must create another.'
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