Page 33 of A War of Crowns

“She bit me!” the baron shouted as he tried to wrench his hand away from Alyx.

But the usuru held fast.

“Oh…oh my goodness…” Alyx had never bitten anyone before, and Seraphina floundered for a few moments, unsure what to do. Olivia would have known. The madwoman kept a viper for a pet.

“Alyx,” she finally said in her sternest tone, “you will release him at once—”

“She’s not adog, Sera.”

“Well, stop pulling! You’re going to hurt her.”

“Hurther? She’s hurtingme.”

A thundering of booted steps preceded a call of, “Your Majesty! Is all well?”

When Seraphina glanced past Lord Tiberius’s shoulder, she spied the captain of her Queensguard, Sir Arkwright, and Sir Tristan both hurrying toward her, with Olivia and Duchess Edith not far behind. Relief flooded her at the sight.

“Olivia! Please! Alyx has bitten His Lordship and I just…” Seraphina trailed off when her Spymaster laughed openly at the predicament, her eyes narrowing.

She knew the dream petal her friend constantly medicated herself with made everything seem a good deal funnier. But she also knew it was probably safe to assume the dream petal wasnotto blame in this current instance. Olivia and Tiberius had never gotten along, no matter how many times she had tried to build a bridge between them over the years.

“How is this possibly funny?” Lord Tiberius snarled even as Olivia slinked forward and, without a single word spoken to either of them, pinched her fingers on either side of Alyx, just behind the serpent’s head.

The usuru released Tiberius’s hand at once, leaving behind rivulets of blood which dripped onto the polished floor in a solemn patter.

Seraphina winced. “My lord, I am…so terribly sorry.” When next she looked to the baron, she saw the ring was no longer in his hand. He must have tucked it away before the others arrived.

But the proposal that had accompanied that ring still blazed white-hot in her mind.

Duchess Edith gingerly stepped about the growing puddle of blood and drew alongside her. A worried frown etched deep lines between her godmother’s eyebrows. “Goodness, what happened?”

Alyx swiftly squirmed out of Olivia’s hold and fluttered back to Seraphina’s shoulders, where the serpent twined herself about her throat again like a living necklace. Lifting a hand, she stroked her fingers along Alyx’s body—in part to calm her, but also in part to hold her in place just in case the usuru should lunge again.

“I’m not sure,” Seraphina admitted. “But I think we should see His Lordship taken to the infirmary.”

Tiberius shot her a look. “Are usuri poisonous?”

“No,” Olivia drawled, still smiling as though this was all good fun. “I can’t say I’m too surprised, though. Usuri do rather like the taste of ra—”

“Sir Tristan,” Seraphina suddenly called, speaking over her friend before the other woman could finish her thought. “Please escort Lord Tiberius to the infirmary and ensure his hand is seen to.” Looking back to the baron, she added with a frown, “I truly am sorry, and I hope you heal soon. Let us pray it never happens again.”

Though Alyx seemed quite at peace now, back to her contented purring, Tiberius still watched her as if expecting her to strike again. After a few tense seconds, he finally snapped his gaze back to her own and tersely murmured, “Just as I will pray you sincerely consider my offer, Your Majesty.”

Seraphina’s heart quickened. She watched in silence as the man gave her a stiff bow while holding his wounded hand.

And then he turned to go, Sir Tristan at his elbow.

Her eyes followed them all the way out of the library right until the moment Olivia abruptly asked, “What offer?”

Seraphina tightened her grip on her scroll case and turned away from the prying eyes of both her best friend and her godmother. “Nothing,” she hedged in the midst of bustling her way back toward her previously occupied table. “Come, let us study these maps together.”

But Tiberius’s words—his proposal—harried her with each step she took. She had been so certain that Drakmor was the way forward. But now?

Now her stomach roiled as she settled herself at her table and carefully eased the maps out of the scroll case.

Now she wasn’t so sure.

Chapter nine

---