Crowns of Nyaxia, #3
The Songbird and the Heart of Stone
by Carissa Broadbent
Contents
Chapter 1
Overview
Mische, once a chosen vessel of Atroxus's sun magic, is now imprisoned, wounded, and unable to summon even a spark. Princess Egrette of the House of Shadow confirms through brutal mind magic that Mische killed Egrette's brother Malach, the prince who Turned Mische into a vampire.
After a mysterious healer-like visitor tends Mische's wounds, Mische is dressed and displayed at a Shadowborn royal gathering. Egrette presents Mische to the king as the murderer of his son, turning Mische's past crime into a public spectacle and placing her directly in the hands of her most dangerous enemies.
Summary
Mische lies bleeding in a cell in the House of Shadow, trying to spark an unlit candle so she can build enough flame to escape. Once blessed by Atroxus with sun magic, she now finds only burns and silence when she reaches for the god who chose her. She remembers being captured by Shadowborn soldiers, who killed a merchant and took Raihn's unopened letters, and she realizes they found her because she murdered a Shadowborn prince.
Princess Egrette enters with a guard and uses Shadowborn compulsion to force Mische to stand. Mische recognizes Egrette as the sister of Malach, the prince who Turned her into a vampire and whom Mische later killed. When Mische tries to deny the accusation, Egrette tears through Mische's memories and confirms the truth, reliving the moment Mische drove Oraya's sword through Malach's chest after he had helped ruin her life and sever her from her god.
Egrette mocks Malach rather than grieving him, then reveals that Mische is meant to be a gift for Egrette's father. Egrette treats Mische as a spy and presses her wound until Mische nearly collapses. Mische again looks to the candle and imagines burning Egrette, but without her former power, she can do nothing; the candle remains cold as Mische loses consciousness.
In a half-dreaming state, Mische remembers her sister Saescha's childhood stories about vampires eating souls. A mysterious visitor later comes to Mische's cell, restrains her, and presses hands to her wounds. The touch feels strangely natural and restorative, though Mische resists when the visitor exposes the burn scars on her arms; after the visitor covers them again and touches her brow, Mische falls into a gentler darkness.
Mische wakes from confused dreams of being dressed, chained, commanded, and prepared. She finds herself in a grand Shadowborn ballroom before hundreds of vampires, dressed in a bloodstained white gown as part of a deliberate spectacle. Egrette presents Mische to the King of the House of Shadow as a birthday gift: the murderer of his son, and the king fixes Mische with ancient hatred.
Who Appears
- MischeImprisoned vampire and former sun-chosen; exposed as Malach's killer and presented to the Shadowborn king.
- Princess EgretteShadowborn princess; invades Mische's memories and offers her to the king as a birthday gift.
- MalachDead Shadowborn prince; Turned Mische into a vampire and was killed by her.
- King of the House of ShadowEgrette's father; receives Mische as the displayed murderer of his son.
- AtroxusSun god who once empowered Mische but remains silent despite her desperate prayers.
- Mysterious visitorUnidentified figure who tends Mische's wounds and notices her burn-scarred arms.
- RaihnAbsent friend whose unopened letters remind Mische of the life she fled.
- OrayaAbsent ally remembered in letters and in the memory of Malach's death.
- SaeschaMische's sister, remembered through childhood stories warning about vampires.