Page 93 of Wrath of the Never Queen

His eyelids shutter, and he exhales in one long, slow breath. Our hands stay loosely clasped, and I follow him as he kneels on the floor. There is a small rug in front of the altar cushioning us against the hard ground. I close my eyes as well, listening to the flickering torches and Theo’s steady breathing.

I lose track of time as we kneel there, joined at the fingertips, sitting in peaceful quiet. When his fingers change from soft to hard, lengthening across my palms, I keep my eyes closed. The tips of his claws rest along my forearms, and I feel the weight of his presence in the room, even without looking at him. His breathing becomes heavy, with a grumbling undercurrent from deep inside him. Scale rasps against the stone floor. I remain still, his hot breath coming from somewhere above me, fluttering my hair.

“Shivani,” he speaks, and he sounds like Theo, only deeper. I open my eyes and look up at him.

???

The staff still chip away faithfully at the wall when we return, several of them sitting with water flasks and small snacks while they wait their turn. But flasks freeze on their way to their mouths and jaws drop as Theo and I walkback in. Even Inez, who turns with a welcoming smile on her face at first, looks at us with wide eyes, her smile fixed in place.

I step over the threshold first, with Theo following closely behind. He ducks his head under the doorway as he does, falling forward onto all four claws with a solid thump. His golden eyes are ablaze as he stalks in. The servants stare, motionless.

This time, he is not a beast covered in boils with twisted bones and warped beyond recognition. This time, he knows who he is and what he has been given.

This time, he is a dragon.

His scales are the colour of morning haze, lucent gold even in the dim light, smooth and flat. His claws are long and sharp, the painful knots gone. His snout is straight, and his deep-set eyes keen. He is beautiful.

“My friends,” Theo says, his voice rumbling across the room. Several people take a step back. Inez steps forward.

“Your Highness.” She hides the tremor in her hands by pulling her sleeves down and inclines her head in greeting.

“Miss Inez,” Theo replies, lowering his large head. I watch as the other staff glance at each other, unsure, but some of the terror ebbs from their eyes. “Miss Vanya.”

Vanya steps forward to match Inez, nodding politely. Her posture is rigid as always,but she curtseys, dipping low in respect. Slowly, the other servants follow suit, mumbling their greetings and bowing.

“My friends,” Theo repeats, and his voice, despite the inhuman growl running beneath it, is earnest and distinctly his. The staff’s shoulders begin to drop, less guarded, and listen.

Theo glances back at me, and I nod, placing an encouraging hand on his scaly arm. His chest rises as he takes a long breath.

“For too long, I have stood and watched my father abuse you,” he says, and his words ring loudly against the silence of the servants. “For too long, I have failed to protect you for fear of his wrath. I have failed to use the protection my…”

His voice falters, and he takes a moment to compose himself.

“I have failed to use the protection my mother gifted to me to defend myself against him and to defendothersagainst him. His evil thrives, not because he has power, but because others watch and do nothing. Like me…before today.” He fixes them with a golden gaze. The servants lean forward now, transfixed and nodding eagerly. “I have been sleeping, but now I am awake. And I am ready to fight.”

Theo crosses the room to the bricked-up doorway in three thunderous steps. The servants gasp and stumble back as he rears up, twisting his body and swinging his weighty tail with agrunt. It slams against the brick, exploding it into a cloud of dust and rubble.

I cough and wave the brick dust away from my face, squinting at where the wall had been. As it settles, the large hole exposing the castle grounds outside remains. And there, amongst the rubble, a single brick lays intact, glowing purple.

Heart thumping, I scamper over and pick it up, pushing the other bricks aside. Inez and Vanya tentatively peer over my shoulder.

“Is that what we were looking for?” Inez asks, brick dust smeared across her cheek. I nod silently.This is it, I think.

“Why is there an enchanted brick in the servants’ quarters?” Vanya kicks a broken piece of debris from her path. It skitters across the floor as the others look on. I turn to them, bathed in the purple glow.

“Inez’s mother was forced into enchanting it,” I tell them, looking at Inez with a sympathetic half-smile.

“Why?”

“Because it enchants the whole castle. It stops any witch in here from using their au’mana. This is why I could not fight back. It is why no one could fight back.” I grip the brick tightly, my fingertips turning white. “But it is not part of the castle anymore.”

My ophid hums, calling to me.

I feel Aunt Meena’s hand on my shoulder,warm and firm. On the other shoulder, an unfamiliar grip. Even though I have never heard her before, I know it is Ruya.

Show him who you are.

Au’mana unfurls through my body.

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