Page 120 of The Dawn of the Cursed Queen

His jaw went slack in a silent scream of agony as he stared down at me.

“I’ll meet you in Iassulyn,” I snarled, yanking the blade free and tossing his burning body off the mountain.

As he tumbled, I heard him gasp one word: a name. My knees met the ground before I could process what he’d said. I held my midsection, blood dripping past my fingers. The wound burned like it had been doused in acid, and I hadn’t realized how much blood I’d already lost until Vincent disappeared. I pulled my hand away and looked down. What a mess. Fucking godly weapons. Fuck.

A flashing streak of silver split the glowing sky, and the air curled around me, each hot breath a harsh contrast against the cold world. The ground shook with his landing, and his silver boots had barely touched the ground before Samkiel was at my side. He caught me before I landed face-first in the icy snow. My vision blurred as I looked up at the silver king kneeling before me. His hands were warm as he lifted me, and I hissed in pain when he held me close. My knight, my savior.

His hand hovered over the wound in my abdomen, and worry creased his brow before he lifted and surveyed the area with murderous intent, looking for the one who had hurt me.

“I killed Vincent.”

Samkiel’s head whipped to me, worry pulling his brows together. I stared at his face, my head falling back against his arm. No blue light raced toward the sky, but my last thought before I fell unconscious was how I killed Vincent, and with his last dying breath, I thought I heard him whisper Camilla’s name.

FORTY-SEVEN

CAMILLA

My hand rested on my stomach as a wave of nausea hit me. I groaned and stepped back from the table, bracing my hands on the sides.

“You all right?” Hilma asked.

I nodded and stood upright. That was weird. A rush of cold air danced over my skin, and I suddenly felt totally fine.

“Yeah.” I shook my head. “I am okay. I must just be reaching the end of my magic for the day.”

“Here, let’s try one more time, and if you feel sick again, we will stop.”

I nodded.

Hilma steadied the piece of the medallion and swiped a layer of metallic sap along its edge as I held the other fragment.

“Did she move a lot of soldiers out last night?”

Hilma glanced at me, one of her brows raised. “I mean, she usually does. They are always off doing gods know what.”

I nodded as she brought the piece closer and cleared my throat.

“Did Vincent go?”

A wave of energy pushed the piece away from my hand hard enough to make her yelp and drop it on the table between us. She placed her finger in her mouth, sucking lightly as her skin healed from the small burn.

“One, why are you asking about her High Guard, and two, ouch, that hurt. Can you try to concentrate?”

I tried to plaster an unconcerned smile on my face. “I’m not worried about him.” That was a lie. “I just assume if she sends her most precious guard, something big is going on.”

Hilma wiped her hands along the curves of her dress before picking up the piece again. She grabbed her brush and dipped it in the sap. The medallion was so close to being done. It was a dark gray X-shaped stone, and we only had a few large pieces and a few tiny remaining.

“Well, I guess that’s right. Yes, he left, but only he and his legion. I think Kaden and Isaiah are on another mission. You know, The Eye has been trying to regain a hold on the realms since those portals opened. My theory is they are headed to the Otherworld to stop Nismera from gaining any strong allies.”

That piqued my interest.

“There are strong allies in the Otherworld?”

Hilma wiped another long sweep of that sap along her piece. “Oh, very strong and very pissed after being locked up and all. But they would follow Nismera over The Eye in a second.”

I held my piece firmly. “Really? Why?”

She gave me the look that told me I was asking far too many personal questions.

---