Page 127 of The Dawn of the Cursed Queen

His eyes caught mine, questions burning in them. “Who should I worry about?”

The ceiling groaned as wood split. With a crash, Samkiel and Dianna fell from above. Water sloshed from the tub, and the beams beneath the floor cracked with the weight and force of the fall. Samkiel held tight to the edges of the bathtub, and Dianna’s wide smile faded as she lowered herself under her king, her cheeks staining pink with a mix of pleasure and embarrassment. “Sorry.”

FIFTY

CAMILLA

I woke with a jolt, sweat drenching the side of my head as my hair clung to my skin. I felt hot and then cold, my hand clutching at the fabric over my chest as I took one breath, then another. The sounds of hurried footsteps and shuffling out in the hall assaulted my ears, all my senses overly sensitive. I felt tension seep through the air like a heavy fog, the palace buzzing. The sky cracked. I jumped from my bed, quickly throwing on a dress and shoes before leaving my room. No guards stood outside, and when I checked Vincent’s room, he wasn’t there either.

I ran down the steps, the palace a bustle of whispers and murmurs.

What was going on?

“Camilla,” Hilma yelled from behind me. I spun as she charged forward. “Oh, good, you’re awake.”

“As if anyone could sleep through this. What’s happening?”

“You didn’t hear?” Her eyes were like saucers.

“Hear what?”

“An Ig’Morruthen destroyed Nismera’s entire legion. The mountainside of Flagerun is just gone, along with the prison. They are still bringing back remains, and I don’t know if Vincent is one of them or . . .”

She kept talking, but the world had gone silent for me.

I COULDN’T FIND HIM, NOT AT ALL. I LACED MY FINGERS THROUGH MY necklace and hurried to Nismera’s war room. She would know where he was. I walked close behind the generals speaking to Nismera, a shadow unable to be detected. One general turned as if he could feel me, the one next to him elbowing him to stay in formation.

He ran a golden armored hand across the back of his neck as he whispered, “I thought I felt something behind me.”

We turned a corner into the long, overly decorated hall that led to the war room. Two guards opened the large, gaudy door, and Nismera walked in. I snuck past and went to the darkened corner. She tossed silver energy toward the hanging metal protrusions on the wall, illuminating the massive room.

“Leviathan,” she said to the tall, lanky member of The Order as he bowed his head, “give me some good news, please.”

“I wish I could, Your Highest, but I am afraid I only have the opposite.”

She sighed as one guard held out her seat, the long sheer sleeves of her jeweled gown swaying as she sat. “The prison?”

“Demolished.” Leviathan sat. “The remains are rubble along with the mountainside.”

She steepled her fingers and leaned across the table. “And the member of The Hand?”

“Stolen, my liege. There were no reports of cerulean lights darting through the sky.”

Member of The Hand? Stolen? Did she mean Vincent? Is that why I couldn’t find him?

She ran a hand across her face before her fist slammed onto the table, the lightning beneath its surface skittering away in fear.

“The Eye will see this as rebellion, another foothold they think they have when they do not.” Nismera met Leviathan’s eyes. “She is becoming a problem.”

“She has been for a while.”

Nismera let a breath loose. “I should have killed her in her mother’s womb when I had the chance. Now she’s disrupting my plans once more.”

“Do not fear, my highest. Let Kaden follow through with his plan, and then you shall have what you always wished.”

Her nails tapped against the table. “Perhaps.”

“If the fate is with her, she may still be one step ahead of us.”

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