Page 9 of Queen of Serpents and Shadows

“I’ll send a message to find their location. We can join. We can help.” Vanth glanced at Ryvin and I watched as he inclined his head, giving the shifter unspoken permission.

As soon as Vanth was gone, I looked at Laera and Ryvin. “We haven’t lost yet.”

Laera sighed. “Fine. Maybe those dragons have an idea. It’s their city. I suppose there are worse things than taking out as many of our father’s men as we can before we meet Hades.”

Ryvin lifted a brow. “Willingness to work with the dragons? Who even are you?”

She gave him a rude gesture, then turned and walked toward the ladder.

4

Lagina

The library wasmusty and dark. Dust covered most of the books, a testament to the fact that librarians rarely lasted. Now, I knew it was because my father drained them of their blood and disposed of the bodies.

I shivered. The horrors that man committed without any of us knowing were going to haunt me for the rest of my life.

Light flickered around us as Sophia lit additional lamps and I spun in a slow circle, taking in the space. My father had never encouraged me to come here. Ara did on occasion, but looking up information on my own was never prioritized. Now that I had time to consider it, I think it was discouraged.

Makes sense. There was a lot that was hidden from me.Considering he was planning to live forever, there was no reason to teach me things that might make me question too much.

“This is the painting?” Sophia asked, standing in front of the hidden books.

I nodded, moving to join her.

Working quickly, I liberated the books from their prison. Sophia and I carried them all to a table situated between two chairs. The books were fragile. The leather was cracked and some of the pages were in danger of falling out completely.

“I wonder how old they are,” Sophia asked.

“I think some of them came here when the city was founded,” I said.

She lifted one to her lap, carefully brushing her fingers across the brown cover. There wasn’t a title, but that wasn’t unusual. Many books lost the paint on their covers over time. I just hoped the pages inside were still legible.

“What have I missed?” Aunt Katerina called as she entered the room with a pile of documents, books, and journals.

“We just got started,” I said.

“Are those the ones Istvan sent?” Sophia asked.

She nodded, then set them down on the small table before finding a chair and dragging it toward us. “There should be some information in these to help you.” Aunt Katerina offered a smile to Sophia.

My sister’s cheeks turned pink. “I’m sorry we have to do all this work because of me.”

“Don’t you dare,” I snapped. “You didn’t choose your parents. None of us did.”

“I know I should miss him, since he was my brother,” Aunt Katerina started, “but he was awful, even when we were children. I’m not sorry he’s gone. I am sorry for what he did to all you girls.”

She reached for the top item, a small leather journal with a fraying sewn spine. “We’re going to get through this.”

I went back to the book I was looking through, hoping I’d find anything that might help. I wasn’t even sure what I was looking for. While information about half-vampires would be beneficial, I knew there had to be other things that might give us a chance. There had to be more about Athos that we didn’t know.

5

Ara

It wasdark when we waded onto shore, our ship already leaving Drakous behind. It was risky enough with the Fae King’s armies being so large. Wrapped in shadows, we were concealed well, but we didn’t know exactly what the king’s powers were. Nobody had known he could create dragons with his magic. What else could he do?

Weapons drawn, we trudged across the beach in tense silence. I shivered, my wet clothes clung to my skin.

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