Page 29 of Queen of Serpents and Shadows

“Thebes has never been in your father’s pocket,”Aspasia said, directing her attention to Laera and Ryvin. “They’ve agreed to fight for Athos.”

“What? Why?” I asked.

“Those creatures can’t come here. I’m trying to keep my people alive, not feed them to more monsters,” Lagina snapped.

“Hold on,” I stepped away from Ryvin, “give her a chance to explain.”

Aspasia cocked her head to the side, studying me briefly before turning to Lagina. “Is my information incorrect? Is your youngest sister not a vampire herself?”

“Half.” Lagina glanced at me accusingly, as if I was the one who’d handed this information over. “And we all know what the vampires in Thebes are like. They were so out of control they covered the entire city.”

“That’s certainly not true,” Laera said. “There’s humans living there as well. How did you not know that?”

“What’s it like?” I asked, finding myself easily believing Laera. I wasn’t sure if it was because I was trusting Laera or if I was getting so used to discovering that most of what I learned was a lie.

“It is largely populated by vampires,” Laera conceded. “And many were changed aggressively in the early days. But those who enjoyed preying on others were harshly punished. They haven’t allowed anyone to turn a human without their consent in a century.”

“Are there not murderers and thieves among humans?” Aspasia asked.

An image of the angry mob coming after me outsidethe Opal flashed in my mind. All of those people would have cheered to see me dead. They wanted to do even worse than that. Humans. Not fae. Not vampires.

“Why would they help us?” I asked.

“Because they want food,” Lagina said darkly.

“Many of them have family and friends in Telos or Athos. They’ve been prohibited from travel by your kingdom and by Konos. They’re prisoners in their own city,” Aspasia explained.

“Just like you humans,” Laera added. “Except you seem to like that.”

“We don’t like it.” I’d always dreamed of getting out. Of more than what Athos could provide. I knew I wasn’t alone.

“Does he know?” Ryvin asked.

Aspasia turned to the prince. “No. He believes they’re on their way to Athos to join him.”

“They’re already on their way?” Lagina asked.

Aspasia nodded.

“That’s not going to be easy to explain,” I said. “The people here don’t trust anyone who isn’t human.”

“They had no problem sharing all their darkest secrets with me,” Selena said.

“They didn’t know you weren’t human,” I replied.

“They won’t know a vampire, either,” she said.

“We can’t lie to them,” I replied.

“They didn’t want me there, but nobody complained. They welcomed the dragons to save their own lives,” Vanth said. “Get your aunt to talk to them. They’ll come around.”

Blinding light suddenly filled the room, making me squint against the intensity. I shielded my eyes with my hand. “What is that?”

The door opened and the light fractured into a prism of colors, forming dancing rainbows on every surface. I spun to see bewildered guards blindly reaching, trying to move, but seemingly frozen in place.

Ryvin was in front of me, sword drawn, Vanth by his side. Both men yelled as their weapons were pulled from their grip and thrown across the room. They landed with a clatter on the floor.

“That’s no way to greet someone who saved your mate’s life,” a booming female voice echoed through the room.

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