Page 88 of A Kingdom of Monsters

I was burning, becoming one unending burst of flame, and my vision went white as I felt him follow me over the edge.

27

LONNIE

THE KEEP, NEVERMORE

What felt like an hour later, there was a soft knock at the door.

I sat up and looked confusedly at the door to our room. I could swear the knock hadn’t come from that direction, yet I’d heard it, clear as day.

“Did you hear that?” I asked.

Scion looked over at me and shook his head.

His eyes were half closed, but he wasn’t sleeping. His face looked less sharp, the firm ridge of his eyebrows smoothed out and his jaw considerably less tense than it usually was. Indeed, he looked as relaxed as I’d possibly ever seen him, even when hewassleeping. It seemed a shame to disturb him, but it seemed it couldn’t be helped.

After a long moment, the knock came again. This time I was positive it was coming from the opposite side of the room. Thistime, Scion sat up as well, all the tension he carried with him like a noose around his neck returning to his face in an instant.

He stood up, and not bothering to get dressed, strode across the room toward a door I’d assumed was a closet. Without warning me, or giving me a chance to cover myself, he flung it open.

I yelped, and grappled for Scion’s abandoned shirt, throwing it over myself like a tent. My head popped out of the neck just in time to see Ambrose in the doorway. He raised an eyebrow, then shouldered past Scion to enter the room.

“Bit cold for that,” he said over his shoulder. “Don’t you think?”

Scion scowled and reached for his trousers on the floor. “What do you want?”

Ambrose crossed his arms and faced Scion, turning his back to me. Perhaps he was trying to give me some privacy, but I didn’t really care. We were far beyond that.

“We’re expected downstairs for dinner.”

Scion looked at the dark window with confusion. “Now?”

“Yes,” Ambrose said bitterly. “I wish I could say they simply eat late here, but from what I recall that’s inaccurate.”

“You’ve spent a lot of time here?” I asked Ambrose, unable to keep the note of bitterness out of my voice.

He looked at me, and I could swear the corner of his mouth ticked up slightly. “Enough to guess that this dinner is in our honor.”

“And what an honor it is.” Sarcasm dripped from Scion’s tone. He finished putting on his trousers and crossed to sit on the edge of the bed and pull on his boots.

“I think we should expect violence,” Ambrose said.

Scion looked up at him. “You’re serious? How foolish are they.”

“I wouldn’t underestimate them,” Ambrose said warily. “Nevermore has a lot of magic compared with the mainland. They weren’t as affected by the fall of Nightshade as we were.”

“Why not?” I asked quickly.

He looked over at me quickly, and for a fraction of a second I caught his eyes darting over my bare legs, before snapping back up to my face. “They have a Source of their own here. Not nearly as powerful asThe Source, but they draw a lot of power from the sea.”

“What sort of magic does Cassinda have?” I blurted out. I internally cringed when I heard the clear note of jealousy in my voice, and prayed it wasn’t noticeable to anyone else. That prayer went unanswered.

Ambrose smirked at me, a look of male satisfaction crossing his face. “You didn’t like Cassinda?”

“How could I when I couldn’t understand a word she was saying?” I hissed.

“I don’t like her either,” he said, almost like he was offering me consolation.

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