Page 91 of Queen of Serpents and Shadows

“Coward,” I bit out.

“He doesn’t have Ryvin to do his dirty work for him anymore,” Vanth said.

“I have to say, I appreciate knowing I’ll never have to go up against you on a battlefield,” Bahar said.

“You wouldn’t be in your human form anyway,” Ryvin replied.

“True, but I’ve seen you take down dragons,” he answered.

I blinked a few times. “Dragons?”

“I’ve done a lot of things I’m not proud of,” Ryvin said.

“But that ends now,” Vanth said. “We’re going to defeat him and then you write your own stars.”

“Our own stars,” I said, looking at my friends. “All of us.”

“I like the sound of that. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to go spend some time alone with my wife.” Bahar was already walking away from us, single-mindedly focused on Cora, who was staring at him with a seductive grin on her lips.

It felt intrusive to watch as he scooped her up and murmured something to Lagina and Sophia before carrying a giggling Cora from the room.

“Well, I suppose our meeting isover,” Vanth said.

Mortagan and Erebus walked over to us, both men wearing satisfied expressions. “We’ve decided,” Mortagan said.

“I’m still not convinced it’s for the best, but we know the casualties will be high either way,” Erebus added.

“There’s nothing else we can do?” I asked.

“We can’t risk them keeping the king hidden. We have to lure him out, but we’ll do it as quickly as we can,” Ryvin said.

“Our men know what they signed up for,” Mortagan said.

I heard laughter and turned to see Aunt Katerina, Lagina, and Sophia throwing their heads back as they tried to contain their joy. I couldn’t help but smile. I was glad they were getting at least a moment of happiness amidst all this chaos.

“That aunt of yours is something special,” Mortagan said. “If not for her bargaining with the dragons, I don’t think any of us would even have a chance.”

“She is great,” I said. “They all are.”

“I’m not going to pretend I know what it was like for you growing up under your father,” Mortagan said. “I worked for him as long as I can remember. I thought I’d die under his rule. I’m honored that my death will be under your sister’s.”

It was an odd statement, but I managed a smile and a nod. He inclined his head. “Have a good evening, your highness.”

“We’ll see you at dawn, your highness,” Erebus said, taking the cue to leave from Mortagan.

I watched as the men left the room, then walked over to my sisters. “I’m going to get some rest. I’ll see you all in the morning.”

“Sleep well, Ara,” Lagina said.

Sophia stood, then stretched her arms skyward. “I think I’m going to turn in.”

Aunt Katerina rose. “Our night guards will do their jobs. They’ll alert us if anything happens. We should all rest.”

I hugged my family, then walked toward the door where Ryvin was waiting for me. He took my hand, and we walked silently down the hallway toward my room.

Absentmindedly, I played with the charm on my necklace. Running it back and forth along the chain as we walked. I brushed against the other cord. I had forgotten about my mother’s gift again. Lowering my hand, I felt for the small pouch through the fabric of my tunic and thought back to my mother’s words.

What was inside the pouch? She’d told me not to open it until it was absolutely necessary.

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