Page 97 of Cursed Crowns

Ansel pointed at her feet. “But look.”

Wren looked down to find that her feet were, in fact, glowing. She sank into a crouch, trying to trace the strange blue light. It was coming from under the dresser. No, not the dresser. The satchel she had stowed underneath it. It was the hand mirror! Wren fished it out to find the sapphires were all alight.

The glass shimmered in her hands, and Rose’s face appeared in the mirror. It was smeared with sand and dirt, and her eyes were wide with panic.

36

Rose

Rose couldn’t find Shen anywhere.

As the sun rose over the Ganyeve Desert and the festival came to a close, Rose returned to the Palace of Eternal Sunlight. Morning streamed in through the windows as she wandered the corridors, calling Shen’s name. She stopped the servants, demanding they take her to him at once, but they simply bowed and said the newly crowned king was not to be disturbed.

Their refusal to tell Rose where Shen was confirmed what she’d already suspected—that she had no real power here. To the people of the Sunkissed Kingdom, Rose was nothing more than an outsider. The desert truly was its own land, and it did not answer to her.

She stopped by Lei Fan’s room, but Shen’s cousin was nowhere to be found. There was only Shadow, glaring at her from on top of the wardrobe. Rose had no idea where Kai’s bedchamber was, but she wouldn’t have dared go there by herself. She couldn’t shake the image of him, wild-eyed and seething, as he brandished the golden scepter high above Shen, ready to strike a killing blow.

She crossed into the east wing of the palace and marched down another gilded corridor, shouting herself hoarse. After what felt like aneternity, a door at the end of the hallway creaked open and Shen’s face appeared. “Rose? Why are you yelling?”

Rose catapulted herself down the hallway and threw her arms around Shen, burying her face in his neck. “You’re alive! Oh, thank the stars!”

Shen chuckled. “Of course I’m alive. In fact, I’ve survived much worse. Who knew fire spells could go so wrong? I guess the enchanters were a little out of practice.”

Rose pulled back from him. “Shen. This isn’t funny. You nearly died! If I hadn’t been there to heal you—”

Confusion flashed across his face. “What are you talking about? Kai took me to the palace healer on our way back. He’ll tell you himself,” he said, gesturing down the hallway. “He’s just gone to find Feng.”

Rose glanced around, expecting to see Kai’s hulking figure stalking down the corridor toward them. “I have to talk to you. Alone. Can I come in?”

Shen raised his eyebrows as he stepped back into the room, and Rose followed, shutting the door behind her. His bedchamber was even more decadent than the one she’d been sleeping in. The pillows were gilded and strung with tassels, the walls hung with silk tapestries of the desert sun rising and falling over its kingdom.

Rose turned to face Shen. “You were attacked this morning. Those fire beasts... they weren’t an accident. They were an assassination attempt.”

Shen frowned. “That’s a bit overdramatic, don’t you think?”

“Kai and Feng tried to kill you. I saw it.” At the look of disbelief on Shen’s face, her voice jumped an entire octave. “Feng was controlling the fire beasts. They herded you into that alley. Kai was waiting there.He knocked you out, Shen. He was about to kill you with your own scepter when Elske and I arrived.”

Shen’s frown only deepened. “No,” he said slowly. “Kai saved me from the fire beasts. But I inhaled too much smoke and passed out.”

“That’s not true,” said Rose.

“He carried me back to the palace.”

“Only because he couldn’t finish the job.”

Shen’s eyes pooled with concern. Not for himself, but for her. “You’re exhausted, Rose. What you’re saying doesn’t make any sense. Kai is my cousin. If he wanted me dead, why would he take me to the healer?” Before Rose could answer, he pressed on. “And he had plenty of time to kill me on the way to the desert.”

“But he needed you to unbury the kingdom,” said Rose desperately. “You were the key, remember? He couldn’t make the map work, and even that made him furious! And remember what Meredia said about him?” Rose grabbed his arms, to try shake him back into reality. “She said he had to fight to resist the darkness inside him. Well, he didn’t! And his father was the one who set those fire beasts loose!”

Shen placed his hands on hers, gently removing them. He gave her a pitying look. “Magic is still new to you, Rose. You don’t understand how it can escalate sometimes.”

Rose poked him in the chest. “You’re the one who told me it was all about intent, remember? When my healing magic awoke in Balor’s Eye,yousaid it was because of how much I wanted to heal you. Well, doesn’t that mean that those fire beasts were sent by someone who wanted to hurt you?”

Shen batted the idea away. “Someone was probably drunk and trying to add to the celebrations.”

“Or someone wanted you dead,” Rose countered. “Someone who would benefit if you were taken out of the picture. Like... oh, I don’t know, the person next in line to the Sunkissed throne!”

Suddenly, Shen’s face changed, his concern giving way to suspicion. “I know what you’re doing,” he said, taking a step away from her. “You want to turn me against them. You want me on your side so we can ride back to Anadawn together. That’s all you’ve wanted since we got here.”

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