Page 21 of Queen of Serpents and Shadows

“No more speaking,” one of the guards called.

It didn’t matter anyway, because we were at the front doors. Dozens of guards stared as we walked through, our escorts remaining around us as we crossed into the dark, chilly interior of the castle.

The stones under our feet were polished with age,cracked in a few places, and uneven in their placement. While the city appeared better constructed and planned, this building didn’t have the same care. It had to be old. Far older than the other buildings we’d passed.

Tapestries lined the gray walls, showing faded scenes of dragons flying against what was likely once a blue sky. The color had been leached from most of them, diminishing the typical opulence found in a castle. It was definitely more about function than aesthetics, as Bahar had mentioned.

I tried to ignore the stares of the countless guards we passed as we walked down the hall. Interestingly, I noted that they weren’t all clad in red. There were greens and blues and golds mixed in with the occasional red tunic. These were the allies. I wondered where all the men from Konos were stationed and what their actual numbers were compared to the allies they’d added.

We paused in front of a massive iron door. Dents and divots indicated that there had been multiple attempts at knocking it down over the years. The flecked remains of paint were bright gold. It must have been quite impressive once.

The guards fanned out away from us as the doors opened, then repositioned with half of them in front of us, the other half following behind our group.

Heat radiated from the space as we entered the throne room. It was a large, dark stone chamber lined with flickering torches and overflowing with people. I was certain the number of bodies crammed into the space was thecause of the warmth. It also contributed to a very unpleasant smell that made me wrinkle my nose.

The Fae King was seated on a simple wooden throne atop a stone platform. The queen stood behind him, like a statue clad in emerald. Next to her, a silent sentinel, stood Selena.

“Traitor,” Vanth hissed under his breath.

We were prodded forward, the gathered crowd making approving sounds and whispers. They wanted a show and with us joining, they were getting exactly what they wanted.

“What do we have here?” The Fae King bellowed. He rose from the throne and walked to the edge of the platform, pausing right in front of the steps. “My wayward children and a fallen king.”

The gathered sycophants laughed too loudly. It was a nervous sort of sound. Forced rather than approving. Maybe they weren’t as desperate for a show as I thought.

“Father,” Laera shoved her way past the guards, then dipped into a low bow with practiced grace. “I come to beg for forgiveness. I was blinded by pride, but have seen the errors of my ways.”

Ryvin moved to join her, and I nearly reached for him, not wanting to stand here without him by my side.

“Can you forgive a son for being blinded by the call of his mother?” Ryvin asked, dropping into a bow of his own. “A goddess is difficult to resist. I was weak and I made a mistake.”

“We brought you a gift,” Laera added. “An offering to our most noble father.”

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Laera was going to ruin our plan by overplaying this.

Vanth grabbed my upper arm and roughly dragged me forward. “Come on, Athos trash.”

I let myself stumble and whimper as he pulled me forward.

“You brought the Athos princess back?” The king looked pleased.

“She nearly stole your son away from you, but we were able to prove her deception. I think he’s seeing clearly now,” Vanth said, his head in a low bow.

“Very good, very good.” The Fae King descended the stairs. “And I see you’ve also secured additional offerings?”

“We’re here to negotiate a truce,” Bahar said. “King to king, we need to do what is best for all our people.”

“You are no longer a king,” The Fae King snarled. “Unless you’re here to bow to me, you have no business in this kingdom. It is mine.”

I swear Bahar looked like he was going to explode right there. My heart raced as I waited for the shift.

Any second, a pair of dragons would explode. My fingers twitched, ready to pull off my bindings the second I could be of assistance.

But nothing was happening. Time dragged by, and we waited. Something was wrong.

“Bring out the prisoner,” TheFae King yelled.

A smaller door on the opposite side of the room opened and a pair of guards dragged a semi-conscious woman through. Her long red hair hung in dirty tendrils, hiding her face. Her bare feet dragged on the floor behind her.

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