to him if I didn't make it through this. Gods, I hoped I made it through this.
Tyr's feet made it to the main floor and as casually as if he were showing us a mere trinket, he withdrew a small dark globe from his pocket. Roan, Sorrell, and Orion each took a collective breath. I knew what it was. A Lanuaet—one of the very magical items that powered the Fae Courts. This was the thing that allowed them to move the castles and remain both a safe distance from the war and right upon their enemies.
Perhaps he wasn't intending to build a fortress around the Lanuaet, but to use it on the capital castle we were standing in. My body tensed as if preparing for such a possibility.
Instead, though, Tyr lifted it above the King's skeleton and the bodies of the fallen Royal guard and began to recite a language not all unfamiliar to us. These words were similar to the ones Groffet had uttered to show us who the Royal heir was and to show us how Nellie had come to be it. They were spoken in an ancient tongue, the words similar, though we couldn't translate them.
My lips parted on a gasp as I watched, transfixed by the sight before me. The King's bones crumpled under the weight of whatever spell Tyr was casting. He became nothing but dust that lifted and circled the miniature Lanuaet before being sucked into its core. The fallen Royal guard's bodies did the same. Their skin melted to nothing, their blood dried and the bones that remained were all pulled to the globe in Tyr's hand. With each set it consumed, the glowing item grew in size.
"What are you doing?" Roan's horrified tone boomed throughout the room, making me jump at the suddenness of it.
As soon as the last of the bodies were retrieved, Tyr held it high and laughed. "I'm doing what I should have done years ago," he replied. "I'm claiming what is rightfully mine."
His gaze turned to his brother as Orion shuffled past me, striding towards Tyr without a single ounce of hesitation clear in his confident step. "No!" I reached for him, only to be pulled back as Sorrell's arms closed around me.
"Don't," he warned quietly. "He must do this for himself."
"He's going to get himself killed!" I argued, struggling, but all of my fighting was in vain. Sorrell was much stronger than I was and as his arms banded around me, they grew tighter and tighter with each attempt to break free until I could scarcely breathe. "Please, Sorrell," I begged. "Don't let him do this."
Tyr's grin widened as Orion moved towards him. "What is your plan, little Brother?" he taunted. "Do you truly think you can take me one on one? What an unimaginative approach. I'm disappointed in you."
"Tyrian Evenfall, first Prince of the Court of Midnight. You have been found guilty of treason against your people." The deep well of sorrow and rage combined in the sound of Orion's voice had my struggles against Sorrell's chest slowly fading until I stopped altogether. Everyone was spellbound as he stood before Tyr, sword in hand, dripping with the blood of those he had killed to get here. His face stoic and unfeeling. His appearance dispassionate—a direct contrast to the agony in his words as he spoke them.
"There's been no trial," Tyr replied haughtily.
"And there won't be," Orion said just before bringing his sword up and swinging it downward, straight towards the center of Tyr's head.
My limbs tensed as I watched with disbelief. It couldn't be that easy, could it? No, it wasn't. Tyr's arm moved far faster than I expected as he brought the Lanuaet in his grasp up and, the second Orion's blade hit it, a resounding boom echoed around the chambers. Orion's body was flung backwards—he flew past Roan and then Sorrell and me and then Ash and Nellie at the very back of our group until his back slammed into the closed throne room doors.
"Orion!" Sorrell released me to run to him as Orion's sword clattered to the ground. Blood poured out of his mouth as he leaned over and vomited.
Just as I reached him, the sound of Tyr's laugh rose and commanded the entire room. I went to my knees, my hands hovering over Orion, wondering if I shouldn't try to heal him by pouring more of my own energy into him. He was awake and though in obvious pain, he glared across