Page 41 of Queen of Serpents and Shadows

“Save me. Why didn’t you send me to the executioner’s block?” His expression was deadly serious.

I shrugged. “I’m not sure.”

“You’re lying,” he replied.

My brow furrowed.

“I know you well enough to know your tells. Your fingers tensed.”

I looked down at my hands, then made myself relax. I didn’t even realize I was tensing. “How long have I been doing that?”

“I noticed it about a year after we started working together,” he said.

“And you tell me now?” I shook my head. How many others figured that out?

“I wasn’t about to give that information up. It kept me alive,” he said.

“You thought I’d harm you?” I hadn’t ever considered killing the shifter, which was a decidedly strange thing now that I was thinking about it.

“No, but it helped me react and made me realize you weren’t as bad as people said you were,” he replied.

I laughed. “Not as bad? The only one with a death roll as long as mine is Hades himself.”

Vanth shrugged and we fell back into silence again.

“I knew it would anger my father,” I blurted out.

“What?” Vanth looked confused.

“Keeping you alive, promoting you.” I shrugged. “It wasa childish move to make my father mad. It wasn’t benevolent, or particularly thoughtful. It was petty.”

Vanth laughed, the sound infectious. “All this time, I thought there was a deeper reason. But it was just childish rebellion?”

I joined in the laugher. “Yep. Nothing more than a pissed off kid.”

“Well I’m grateful, no matter the cause. I don’t think I’ve ever told you that,” Vanth said after he caught his breath.

“You owe me nothing.” I set my hand on the shifter’s shoulder. “I’m the one who owes you my thanks. You’ve always had my back. And you have Ara’s. I am honored to call you my friend.”

He nodded, then turned his attention to the distance, where we could see a tiny speck that would grow to be our destination.

I stared at the tiny landmass. It was so small that it wasn’t even recorded on most maps. If Aspasia’s information was accurate, we were close to showing up uninvited at an incredibly powerful sorceress’s home.

“Do you think she’s loyal to my father?” I asked Vanth.

“No. Your father has never done anything to earn true loyalty in his entire life. She’s either afraid of him, or he gave her something she really wanted,” Vanth said.

“I guess we have to figure out what she might want more,” I replied.

“There’s always something. Those with power alwayswant more,” Vanth said darkly. “My concern is the problem we might create if we give her what she wants.”

The island looked like a mountain rising from the sea. A peak bathed in shrubs and trees that grew from the water itself.

Glittering scales reflected in the distance as we neared the shore. The monsters were just out of reach, staying away from our vessel, for now. I wasn’t sure how long they’d be able to wait for us before the creatures decided to attack. I had to hope there’d still be a ship waiting for us when we left this island.

The rocky shore was nearly all cliffside, with one area that was lower. A narrow sandy beach gave way to rocks before giving way to shrubs and trees at the base of the mountain.

There were no signs of life as we waded through the water toward the sand, but I could feel the magic. It was cloying, almost sweet. It hung thick around us, making the air feel like it might explode with a single touch. It was powerful, but unstable. We had to be in the right place.

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