Page 20 of Queen of Serpents and Shadows

“No. But I figure there’s a good chance we’re dead no matter what we do, so I’m in. Whatever the result.” He shrugged.

I hated how defeated he sounded. “The difference is that they’re expecting us to come at them with an attack. It’ll throw them off, challenge their plans. That gives us an advantage. It lets us get two dragons up close and personal with the king. If we can keep the guards off them long enough for them to shift, we could end this with minimal bloodshed.”

“And if we fail?” Bahar asked.

“At least we tried. We know that we have little chance of beating him on the battlefield rightnow.” I sighed. We’d been so optimistic that we’d defeat him in Athos. Between his magical dragons and whatever extra hidden magic he had, it seemed impossible that we could ever win. “We can try now, or we can wait until he comes for us in Athos again.”

“Alright,” Bahar conceded. “It’s time to kill the Fae King.”

I caughtsight of faces peering through windows, illuminated by the flickering light of candles and lamps. It was late, but the dragon shifters who lived near the castle must have been holding vigil for their city.

As we passed them, it didn’t feel like fear or condemnation or judgment. It felt like awe. Or maybe I was imagining it. Marching down the street with my hands tied behind my back wasn’t exactly how I imagined visiting Drakous for the first time.

The cobblestone streets were even and clean, showing obvious care in their construction. The buildings were strung together into long rows, attached in series of eight or ten long before another road interrupted them. Each building appeared to have shops on street level with homes above. They spanned three or four stories high.

There were so many people living here. All those windows, all those faces, all those flickering candles were people. Families, even. So many who were in serious danger with their king deposed from his throne.

I wanted to learn more about this place where humansand dragons and vampires all lived together. It wasn’t the rough and tumble city I’d been told about.

I let my head drop along with my shoulders as I gave myself a moment to mourn how much was taken from me with the lies told in Athos.

Soldiers in the red tunics of Konos headed toward us, marching in unison, balls of fae light floating above them.

“It’s time,” Laera mumbled.

Ryvin had been walking alongside me, but he moved in front of me. I knew it was to shield me from the oncoming soldiers. Laera remained by my side, gripping my arm, leading her prisoner forward. Vanth dropped back, taking up the rear.

We halted as soon as we reached the group of soldiers. They paused, standing in front of us with unreadable expressions.

Bahar took a step forward. “I have come for an audience with the Fae King.”

One of the soldiers, a gruff looking male with fair hair and ruddy cheeks stepped forward. “And you are?”

“Bahar Nasrul, King of Drakous.”

The soldiers glanced at their companions and a few of them shuffled their feet. I had to hold back a smirk. We were right, they weren’t expecting this.

The guard who’d addressed Bahar nodded once. “Come with us.”

We were surrounded by the fae guards, the soldiers quickly moving into position around us, marching along the road with us as we made our way to the palace.

Every time I caught one of them staring at me, I had to steady my hands. Their gazes were far too hungry. They wanted bloodshed. I could practically feel their hatred and rage, their desire to fight. They’d likely come here with the promise of war. And if the city peacefully surrendered due to lack of soldiers, they didn’t get the bloodshed they wanted.

I glared at them, meeting their stares with malice behind my own. I hoped each and every one of them got the end they deserved.

The castle was a large, solid stone building. There weren’t open air colonnades or columns holding up the various levels. It was heavy and stern. The opposite of the airy and light palace I’d grown up in.

Windows were vertical slits, evenly spaced around the upper floors. The lower floors had no windows at all.

“Dragons are allergic to sunlight?” Laera asked.

“It’s built for protection, not appearances,” Bahar said.

“Bet you’re regretting that decision now,” Laera said.

Kabir chuckled. “We didn’t count on our enemies getting access to it.”

“Then you weren’t spending enough time in your war room,” Laera shot back.

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