Chapter 33
As Herrith’s song emptied out of the world, Ben staggered and nearly fell. Herrith’s music was gone. He couldn't believe what had just happened. The king had just had his own cousin killed. Any hope Ben had held that Ikajo might have mercy on his family disappeared. What kind of monster killed his family in cold blood? That’s right, he thought. My father is that kind of monster.
It felt as though despair and evil would press them into the ground. Ben looked around and saw faces as shocked and bleak as his heart felt. But then a voice rang out in the air, stirring the fronds of the trees, lifting a little of the fog.
“This is no victory for you, Ikajo,” Aria called, and her voice was strong and clear, even joyful. "You can't take life from someone who gave it up every day of
