Page 121 of The Blood Traitor

Slower now, Kiva moved further into the room, peripherally aware of the familiar opulence surrounding her, the high ceilings and lush carpets, the lavish fireplace and the crystalline piano, the full windows that looked straight out at the gardens — which were still raging with the battle — and the river, right where the bridge spanned between both sides of the palace. But Kiva barely noticed the room or what was happening beyond it; her attention was solely on the three people draped across the queen’s red velvet couches.

Kiva hadn’t known what to expect upon her arrival — she’d assumed she would find Mirryn alone and had planned to wrestle the ring from her. What she hadn’t imagined was that not just Mirryn, but also Ariana and young Oriel would all be in the room — and shecertainlyhadn’t anticipated that all of them would be asleep.

Except... that wasn’t what this was. Because as Kiva edged closer, she could see the black shadows swirling around them.

Zuleeka’s magic — just like the unnatural coma forced upon Naari.

Kiva shuddered at the reminder of how powerful her sister was, but she pushed her dread aside and hurried toward Mirryn. As she passedOriel, she leaned down to check his pulse, only to jump back again when Flox leapt out from behind a cushion, the normally placid silverbear hissing and swiping at her.

“Easy, boy,” Kiva said, retreating from his sharp teeth and claws. “I’ll free them in a minute.” First she needed to take advantage of Mirryn being unconscious.

Closing the distance between them, she looked down at the golden-haired princess, belatedly realizing that something must have happened between her and Zuleeka if she’d ended up on the wrong side of Zuleeka’s magic. So much for them being equal partners — equalqueens.

Despite her curiosity, Kiva couldn’t spare a thought to that now, and reached for Mirryn’s hands, searching, searching, searching.

But the princess wore no ring.

In desperation, Kiva patted down her clothes and checked the pockets of her blue gown, but there was nothing, making Kiva curse with awareness that she now only had one option — she would have to wake Mirryn and ask where it was. If Zuleeka had taken it...

Don’t think about that,Kiva told herself, not needing another reason to panic. Instead, she summoned her magic and sent it into the princess, focusing on banishing the shadows and reversing Zuleeka’s power. She then guided her healing light toward Ariana and Oriel, unwilling to leave them cursed for a moment longer.

It was a mistake, Kiva knew, as the shadows evaporated.

Not because Mirryn was now blinking and sitting up, nor because the queen and her son were doing the same. But because, after days of hard travel with limited rest, Kiva hadn’t realized how low her energy had dropped. And using that much magic at once, even if it had come easily to her —

She swayed on the spot and flung a hand to her forehead.

Kiva couldn’t remember the last time her power had taken so much out of her. Ever since she’d learned to fuel her magic with positiveemotions, it had become nearly effortless for her, barely a drain, only making her tired after the longest of training days. But now she was feeling it.

And with Zuleeka still at large, it was the worst possible time for Kiva not to be at full strength.

It was too late to take it back, though, so Kiva spent a moment breathing deeply and assessing how she felt, relieved to find it wasn’t as bad as she’d feared. She couldn’t explain it, but it was as if she couldfeelher magic replenishing itself, almost like it knew the threat she would soon be facing and wanted to be ready. She might have wept, if she weren’t so aware of the three stunned royals in the room, all of whom were staggering to their feet.

“Mama!” Oriel cried, stumbling toward Queen Ariana with a much happier Flox in his hands. His mother pulled him close as he burst into tears, the tender action enough to steal Kiva’s attention for the barest of seconds.

But then she turned back to Mirryn, who was standing shakily before her, looking nothing like the haughty, imperious young woman from all their previous interactions.

“What are you doing here?” the princess breathed. Her blue eyes flicked to the windows and widened when she saw what was happening on the grounds. “What’s —”

“Where’s the Royal Signet?” Kiva interrupted.

“I — what?” Mirryn’s face was pale as her gaze snapped back to Kiva. Something came over her then, and she lurched forward to grab Kiva’s hands, saying with urgency, “I tried to stop her, I swear I did. I made a mistake — the worst mistake I’ve ever made. But when I tried to fix it — whenwetried to fix it” — her eyes filled with tears as she glanced toward her mother and brother — “Zuleeka was ready, and she attacked us before we could use our magic on her. I tried —wetried —” She released a broken sob. “Please, Kiva, you have to believe me. I made a m-mistake.” Another sob left her, tears now trickling down her face asshe whispered, “Navok p-promised I could be with Serafine. He lied. Everything I did, everyone I h-hurt, was for nothing.”

Kiva didn’t know how to feel about the princess’s heartache — or about her seemingly genuine remorse. A part of her couldn’t help softening toward Mirryn, especially because of her own terrible mistakes and the guilt she’d carried for so long. But Kiva was also aware that now wasn’t the time for them to be discussing this.

Prying her hands from Mirryn’s fierce grip, Kiva looked from her to where Ariana and Oriel were still standing together, both visibly shell-shocked, before saying, “We can talk about that later, but right now, Navok is here. The palace is under attack.” She gestured toward the windows and the battle raging on the grounds, the fires having spread, the earth more cracked and flooded than ever, with armored bodies warring — and many lying still. “I don’t have time to explain why,” Kiva went on, “but I need to know where the Royal Signet is.”

“I have it,” Ariana said instantly. She didn’t ask questions, not even to confirm whose side Kiva was on, indicating Mirryn or Zuleeka must have already shared where Kiva’s loyalties lay. Instead, all the queen did was hold up her hand, revealing the ring sitting on her finger.

Kiva’s knees nearly buckled. In that moment, she realized Mirryn’s remorse hadn’t been an act — if she’d given the Signet back to her mother, then that meant Zuleeka no longer had possession of the whole Royal Ternary, nullifying the clause that allowed her to keep the throne.

But considering everything, Kiva doubted anyone cared about the ancient law anymore.

Shaking off her thoughts, she moved straight to Ariana, pulling the other three rings out of the leather pouch until they tumbled onto her palm. The queen’s sapphire eyes widened, the shock, theawarenesstelling Kiva that Ariana knew exactly what they were — and what they could do.

But before either could demand an explanation from the other, Galdric strode through the doors to the queen’s chamber, his eyes shifting from Kiva’s palm to the queen, whose hand was still in the air, the four rings visible for all to see.

His weathered features stretched into a grin. “Looks like I arrived just in time.”

---