Page 138 of The Serpent’s Shadow

“Do you not trust them?” he asked.

“It’s not that. I don’t want you to be apart from me any longer. We’ll find a way to make it work.”

Corym grunted his understanding, his thanks. I could tell he wanted the exact same thing she did—to not be apart from her for anotherminute.

The wait inside this cave, night in and night out over the past week, must have been torturous for the elf who cared so much for my little fox.

I smiled and clicked my tongue. I was sore, spent, and content, but I wasn’t done yet.

“What is it?” Ravinica asked me, slightly tilting her head.

I sat between them. My left hand fell on her thigh, my right hand fell on Corym’s. “Lucky for you two, I already took it upon myself to find a nice cozy spot to put the elf.”

Their bodies stiffened in my hands. They were like putty, and even though they governed my every move and I was now an obedient pet for my queen, I felt powerful in that moment. Like I served a purpose, at last.

“No shit?” Ravinica quipped. “I’ll be damned. You reallyhavecome around, Arne. And made yourself useful.”

I twirled my wrist in front of my face, making a mock bow. “I live to serve, my queen.”

She blushed. Clling her “my queen” didn’t have the same gravity now that it did during our torrid affair, when our minds and bodies had been filthy and lustful.

“That means I only need to find Magnus, and I’ll be done,” she said.

I lurched, facing her, finding her chin bowed, brow creased, lost in thought. “Magnus? Done? With what?”

Her head popped up. A scared look flashed across her eyes, which worried me.

Wincing, she turned away, embarrassment chasing the fear from her eyes. “Oh, right. I nearly forgot. I, uh, have something to tell you, Arne . . .”

Chapter 40

Ravinica

WE WERE CLOTHED AGAIN, walking away from the waterfall that changed all three of our lives. Down the slope, lost in our thoughts, with my hands entwined in both my mates’ palms on either side of me.

These were my golden two, with hair to match—Corym’s bright silver, nearly platinum; Arne’s a more traditional dirty blond, like a wheatfield on a summer’s day.

I was content, even after telling Arne about the assassination mission, the family history, and my own deceptions when coming here.

The iceshaper shrugged it off just like Sven and Grim had. It seemed I’d been holding onto a secret these men truly didn’t care about—not nearly as much as I had, anyway.

My doubts were unfounded. I could trust all three of the men involved with my life, and that was utterly reassuring. Now there was only Magnus to lock in.

After my story, walking through the woods and feeling much better about myself than when I had come here, Arne said, “So to get this right, you’renotgoing to kill me?”

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