Jocelynn Drake - Dawnbreaker

I saw Cynnia squeeze her sister’s hand with both of hers as tears slid silently down her cheeks. There was relief in her expression. I knew at the end Cynnia had begun to wonder if her beloved sister Nyx was a part of the plot to kill her as well, but it appeared that Nyx was simply trying to protect her.

“You failed,” Aurora snarled. “Your job as defender of our people is to protect us, especially the royal family. First, Cynnia was taken from her home and brought to earth, and then she was held prisoner by a nightwalker. Your existence is dependent upon the simple premise of protecting us and you failed at that, child who was never meant to live!”

“I did the best I could. I don’t know how she managed to get to earth. I searched everywhere for Cynnia. I’d give my life for her,” Nyx argued, pushing to her feet.

“And so you shall,” Aurora said with a broad smile. “You failed to protect the young princess, so your punishment is death.”

“Aurora!” Cynnia cried.

“You can’t do this! I haven’t failed you,” Nyx argued, her right hand hovering near the hilt of her sword as if she was preparing to be attacked at any second. This naturi was a born fighter, and she was not about to go quietly into the night like her older sister wished.

Mira! What is going on? Danaus suddenly demanded from behind me.

Aurora is cleaning house, I replied. I don’t think she trusts those around her, and now that she plans to start a new reign of power here on earth, she wants to be surrounded by only those that she can trust.

Turning my thoughts to Jabari, I repeated my guess at the situation, and asked, Won’t this leave her vulnerable?

Possibly, he patiently replied. Only if she doesn’t have replacements already picked out. I’ve seen this done once before. A new Liege of the nightwalkers takes over and destroys the existing Coven, replacing it with members only he can trust as a way of solidifying his power. Aurora has two younger sisters who can claim the throne, and she no longer wishes to worry about the line of succession.

To my surprise, Cynnia spoke up, in a cold, implacable voice that closely matched her sister’s in authority. “You can stop the charade if this is the grand scheme you have concocted to eliminate both Nyx and myself.”

Nyx twisted around to look at Cynnia, who was rising easily to her feet.

“Aurora’s most trusted weaver Harrow said that she knew I wanted to go to earth and stop the war that Aurora planned to pursue,” Cynnia said to Nyx. “She pretended to side with me and my wishes, so she was the one to take me through the barrier to earth. Once here, she tried to kill me, calling me a traitor to the crown.” Turning her head to look at Aurora, I caught the flash of a dark smile that sent a shiver down my spine. “She admitted that it had been your plan to have me killed here and blame it on the nightwalkers. She told me everything as I slowly killed her.”

Aurora said nothing as she returned to her seat on the wall, her guards closing in around her. Cynnia took a step closer to her sister. Her posture seemed straighter, her shoulders stiffer than I remembered. Looking at her now, I realized that I had been duped by the little naturi.

“Nyx couldn’t find me because I didn’t want to be found,” she sneered. “I had no idea which naturi sided with you and would brand me as a traitor, which would try to kill me on sight. Your trustworthy consort Rowe? My own beloved sister Nyx? What wouldn’t they do for you? So I hid.” Cynnia turned and flashed me a wicked grin. In truth, I had to smile back at her. I saw her plan now and it was brilliant. She’d hid in the arms of her enemy, knowing that I would keep her alive as long as she proved useful. And as the sister of the queen, how could she not prove useful?

“Bravo,” I murmured with a shake of my head. Cynnia acknowledged my comment with a slight nod before turning back to her queen sister.

“Silence!” Aurora shouted in a shaky voice. I wasn’t sure if she was talking to me or her own sister. Her lovely face was flushed and her hands were balled into fists in her lap. “You are a traitor to the crown.”

“I’m not a traitor because I want something other than the endless war with the humans and the nightwalkers that you have planned. It’s not treason to want peace,” Cynnia threw back at her.

“You cannot live in peace with the humans!” Aurora screamed, lurching forward to her feet. “They are destroying the earth and I am her protector. I have returned, and I will now return to the task of cleansing the earth of all human life so the Great Mother can once again flourish.”

“You’re wrong,” Cynnia said, confidence overflowing in those two words. “The earth has picked a new mistress to protect her. Your reign is over.”

“You conniving little witch! You will never succeed me as queen of the naturi!” Aurora roared.

“Yes, I will,” Cynnia calmly said, then turned to look directly at me. “ After the protector of the earth is through with you.” It was only then that I realized she was talking about me—the new protector of the earth.

“Nyx, if you want to save Cynnia, I would grab her now,” was the only warning that I was willing to give. Cynnia might have used me, but for now it appeared that we had a common goal. For that reason, I was willing to keep her alive, but my entire focus was on destroying Aurora.

For the first time, Aurora met my gaze. In that moment, I saw all the hatred that she had harbored for me and my race boiled down into a single look. In the blink of an eye, I knew that she blamed me for the naturi’s entrapment, their failure to escape for five long centuries, and now the loss of her sisters and her consort. I was the root cause of all her problems—the Fire Starter.

But the expression lasted for less than a second before her face was wiped clean of all emotion. It didn’t matter. I had seen it, and it brought a broad grin to my face. I wanted her to hate me. I wanted her to hate me with the same mindless virulence that I hated her kind.

“She’s the new protector of the earth? The Fire Starter? A nightwalker?” Aurora demanded, waving her hand toward me. “That’s impossible. Nightwalkers have no tie to the earth.”

“And yet she can control fire,” Cynnia quickly countered.

“That is all she can control!” Aurora snapped, her temper flaring briefly before she tamed it. Watching her, I was beginning to see similarities between her and her younger brother Nerian. Both had a madness about them, a burning need for control of everything—situations and people.

“I know she can do more,” Cynnia replied, growing calmer for each notch that her sister grew more irrational and desperate. “She can hear the earth speaking. How long has it been since the Great Mother spoke with you?”

What is she talking about, Mira? demanded Jabari mentally in a too sweet voice that had me cringing inwardly. A part of me didn’t want to survive what was coming simply so I wouldn’t have to answer the questions swirling around the Ancient’s brain.

Are we three all who are left alive? I inquired, obviously avoiding his question.

No, there are several more, but we are surrounded and pinned down. We cannot hope to take them on directly.

I had known that much even before Jabari sent those few words skidding through my brain. We couldn’t take them on directly. Kneeling as I was, I closed my eyes and reached down with my right hand to run my fingers through the cold grass. Beneath my hand I could feel the deep pulse of the earth beating up through the ground and into the surrounding air. The spell Rowe used to open the doors had not used all the energy in the area, as at past sacrifice locations. In fact, it felt as if the power was growing stronger the longer than I sat there. It once again pressed against my skin and demanded that I notice it, like a cat wanting affection.