Page 73 of The Queens and the Kings
She nodded.
His hope hit rock bottom. “Shite,” he muttered. The Siren Queens spun into his mind. Himmel. Wyvern Kings.
Britt’s gaze tapered to a slash.
“Pedr?”
“What?”
“What are you thinking? You have that look in your eye.”
He opened his mouth, but the curse prematurely tightened his throat. That couldn’t be right. He’d spoken about the Wyvern Kings earlier and it hadn’t restricted him. But this time, the wordsthe Wyvern Kings want to go west to fight the Siren Queensstalled inside.
He shoved the Siren Queens out of his mind, thought only of the Wyvern Kings, but the precaution remained. He couldn’t saytheir name.
Pedr turned his back.
No.
No.
This wasn’t right. The curse couldn’t change, could it? Britt stomped around in front of him.
“Pedr?”
“Leave me alone,” he growled. The restriction returned as soon as his thoughts slipped to the wyverns a third time. It meant something.
The Siren Queen’s curse prevented him from many things—leaving his ship, speaking about or bringing harm to the Siren Queens, say Mila’s name or details of her imprisonment—but it hadn’t restricted him from conversation around the wyverns.
Unlesssomething had changed.
If the wily Wyvern Kings created plans against the Siren Queens, wouldn’t the arcane protect the Siren Queens by restricting his conversation about Wyvern Kings? That meant Himmel’s concern was correct—the Wyvern Kings were waking and actively planning against the Siren Queens.
This was subtle but clear confirmation: the end of the one thousand year banishment had come about.
His heart bucked. Shite, but they weren’t ready for this. No one was prepared. He spun to ask Britt another question, but the curse stopped him. She drew up short, managing not to collide with his chest, Henrik and Einar hard on her heels.
Pedr attempted to push through the confines of the curse again, but without luck.
The Wyvern Kings,he wanted to say. The muscles along the back of his neck tightened to the point of pain. When he fought it, he couldn’t angle his neck down. It controlled his musculature, forcing him to stare out.
Britt appeared tortured, the way her brows crashed, her heartfelt gaze searching for something more from him. He had no more to give.
He couldn’t fight the Siren Queens.
“Pedr?”
Pedr growled, attempting to force the phrase out of his clenched lips.
“The . . . the Wy?—”
Another stop.
Sweat broke out on his forehead. His arms contracted, bent at the elbow. Attempts to straighten them were pointless. He’d felt this agonizing contraction before, years ago, when he still fought the inevitable.
Pedr left Britt’s side, frantic. His heart pounded, he couldn’t hear. The world became a tunnel as he realized what this advancing curse meant: He couldn’t tell Britt what was going on.Couldn’t mention the Wyvern Kings, their behavior, none of it. All these other horrible things built in the background andno one knew.
Britt launched herself around a rope, vaulting toward him in a few leaps. Her legs, much shorter than his, required twice as many steps to catch up with him.
