Page 17 of Queen of Serpents and Shadows

“I don’t know. I suddenly don’t feel well.” My face was damp with sweat that I didn’t think had been there before and my head felt like it might float away from my body. Nausea continued to roll through me until I had to stumble away and empty the contents of my stomach.

Bahar and Kabir started to retch as well.

“Everyone to the other tunnel!” Vanth called.

I worked to contain myself, standing up straight and swallowing down any rising bile. My stomach was still rebelling as Ryvin and Laera gently pushed me toward the other tunnel, the others following behind us. We moved as quickly as we could, and after taking a few steps in, the sickness faded. Swallowing hard, I wiped the sweat from my face and the vomit from my mouth.

“What was that?” I asked.

“There must be something in that tunnel. Some other kind of trap.” Bahar still looked a little green. “We should continue, put some distance between us and whatever that was.”

Everyone nodded in agreement, and we continued on. With each step, the nausea faded and it wasn’t too long before it was gone completely.

“We have to be getting closer,” Kabir said. “The tunnels didn’t expand too far beyond the city.”

“I hope so,” Laera said. “I don’t have much light left in me.”

That sent a jolt of fear through me. “We’ll have to do this in the dark?”

“Don’t tell me you’re afraid of the dark, princess,” Laera teased.

Ryvin placed his hand on my lower back. “I can make more light. Laera’s just better at it.”

“Must be all the shadows,” Bahar said.

“Stop talking,” Kabir hissed. He held out his arm and stood frozen in place.

We halted and listened. It was so loud, I wondered how I’d missed it. From somewhere nearby was the unmistakable sound of rushing water.

“Keep quiet,” Bahar instructed.

We all moved ahead slowly and silently. Even our breathing was quiet. The cave widened, and light appeared. Real light. Not magically created light.

I could smell the damp earth and feel wind on my face. The tunnel opened to a cave, the dirt walls becoming stone.

“We did it,” Bahar whispered. “We’re in the walls.”

Relief made me loose a long breath, but I knew we were just walking from one danger to another. Survivingthe tunnels was bad enough, but now we were inside an occupied city.

“Wait here.” Bahar crept forward, nearing the mouth of the cave. We watched as he peered out, then cautiously stepped beyond the confines of the stone archway.

After several heartbeats, he returned, then gestured for us to join him. I nearly cried when I saw the sight outside. Hills and trees dotted the landscape. In the distance, I saw the unmistakable form of the towering wall that surrounded Drakous. We were inside its borders. A few small homes sat in the pasture lands below us to the right. To the left, I saw the palace. It was so small from this distance, but we could walk there in less time than we’d been in the tunnels.

“We should rest until nightfall,” Ryvin suggested. “It’ll be easier to get to the palace under the cover of darkness.”

Wordlessly, we all retreated into the cave. It wasn’t comfortable, but with the view of the outside world and the occasional gust of wind that found us within the confines of our stone surroundings, I felt better. Hopeful even.

We had Ryvin’s shadows, and Laera’s ability to manipulate emotions. We had two dragons and a wolf. My stomach twisted a little as I realized that I was, once again, the weakest member of the group. While I could tap into Ryvin’s magic, I still worried I’d deprive him of his full strength.

No, I wasn’t going to allow myself to downplay my abilities. Balen’s words returned to me, reminding me to usemy weaknesses to my advantage. The Fae King knew what Ryvin did. He would see me as nothing more than his son’s human plaything. I wasn’t worth the effort to fight. And that might work to my advantage.

Despite taking turns at watch, I don’t think any of us actually slept. There was too much at stake. Too much adrenaline and anticipation. Too much of everything. My whole body felt like it was on alert, flinching and reacting to even the smallest sound.

Ryvin rubbed my shoulders gently, the touch soothing. “You have to find a way to ignore the stress. I know it’s difficult, but you have to keep calm, or you’re going to make mistakes.”

“How do you do it?” I asked quietly. “How do you all charge into battle knowing you’re going to take lives and remain so composed?”

“Practice,” he replied. “We trained for this, then we fought. Over and over. Until it was second nature.”

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