Page 31 of Of Serpents and Ruins
Little beast.
My eyes narrowed.
She chirped again and thrust her head at my hand, even as my finger bled. I screwed up my mouth at her then resumed petting her.
Tile continued to speak. "There has been no change within the hourglass to suggest that the curse has resumed its cruel continuation," he said, grasping the lapels of his dark-red robe. "Nothing has changed on that front. Not even with the stirring of the Kropelkian energy."
"There has to be some way to undo the curses of the Gola Resh." I clenched my fist, my weight heavier on the arm of the throne. Scarlet hopped up on my left side and curled up on my lap like a scaly cat. "No magic is permanent. Nothing lasts forever."
Tile inclined his head to the left, his mouth pinching. Obviously he disagreed.
Dromar rose. He was one of my kinsmen, one far enough removed that he was not in my family home while I grew up. His red and black hair had been plaited into an elaborate braid that reached down to the middle of his back. "Perhaps the solution could be found if Your Majesty were willing to accept another bride. The Vampire Queen herself wed the new Vampire King for the good of the nation, despite the fact that he was the son of her first husband."
The harsh laugh that escaped my mouth startled Scarlet. She scurried away and glared at me, tiny claws clacking on the smooth black dais and then the carved floor.
I straightened and then gave Dromar a lazy glare. Between him, Osvar, and Kendrall, my dealings with the council had become exceptionally challenging. The other council members had differing perspectives, but they were not so vocal.
"The Queen of Sepeazia remains unchanged." I enunciated each word with painful clarity as I stared them down.
"It has been fifty years," Osvar said, his tone harder. "You have flouted custom in many areas and received far more tolerance on the matter than any other king in all of Sepeazia’s history. We are in exceptionally turbulent times. It is not just the vampires and the mages that are in turmoil. The dragon kingdoms—"
"Dracon," Kendrall corrected, lifting his hand.
"Dracons," Osvar said, shooting Kendrall a sharp look. "Their lost princess has returned and is rumored to love the brother of her betrothed while her father the king is going mad. Do you think that will be resolved without conflict and bloodshed? Do you think they will hesitate to eliminate the royals who fail to do their duties?"
"Except she is not here to fulfill her role. Even if the rumors that she has returned are true, she has not been serving as queen, has she?" Dromar bit out. The respect in his voice and on his face were the minimum required for this situation. "And the matter of the curse remains. One curse can be removed, even if the second remains. The curse has not been moving forward, but we know that will not last forever. If there is the opportunity to end the curse that threatens to drain all life on Sepeazia before the countdown resumes, we should take it."
Kendrall straightened his shoulders and lifted his chin. His oiled blond beard shone in the red-orange light of the lava and torches. The tiny raptors darted about, a few pouncing on stray insects that made their way in and the others playing. The volcano slugs moved along the columns, their movements silent but steady, like the machinations of those who worked against me.
"If you have something to say, Kendrall, say it," I said gruffly.
"As a Kropelkian, I understand and respect your attachment to our former…" He dipped his head forward, his eyes closing with respect. "…tothequeen, but the truth remains that she laid her life down once. If the rumors are true…"
He halted a beat as if to allow me to confirm or deny Stella's return. I looked at him without blinking.
He cleared his throat. "The queen's return may be the blessing and stroke of fortune we need."
I lifted my chin, sensing the underlying challenge of his words. "Her return would be a blessing indeed."
Go ahead, I dared him silently.
Say it.
Say it!
My fingers dug into the stone of the throne's arm. I knew where he was going with this already and hated him for it.
"This land and the others of this world were saved by the queen and seven others spilling their blood in selfless sacrifice. Rumors abound, not only here but abroad, that all of them have returned. Each one has had to face trials and challenges. The mages themselves may be turning to evil and cruel methods once more. The crown prince of Magiaria may have even abducted their sacrifice, and I am not sure how she will survive him. War will almost assuredly break out. The demons of Isramorta despise the vampires now because the vampires abandoned them even though they were once vampires themselves. Who knows how that will end except in further bloodshed for their chosen and others? Every continent is being rent with torment and conflict. None of the women who sacrificed themselves have returned to easy circumstances. In truth, from what our allies say, I fear most—perhaps all of these women will die yet again. It may be that our very own queen returns to sacrifice herself to end this curse and restore your sanity and save Sepeazia."
The rage boiled within me as I straightened on the throne. "The Gola Resh did not say that the curse against Sepeazia would be lifted. She said she might lift it if I killed Stella. The curse condemning me to madness is separate. The Gola Resh is dead. We slew her in the Grand Hall. Her corpse was vanished without a trace. She can't very well end the curse when she's dead, can she?"
Not that I believed for a single moment that she would have ended it early or allowed some mechanism to end it. The Gola Resh was vicious, heartless, and incapable of compassion.
Dromar's upper lip curled, disgust flaring in his eyes. "Yes. Had she lived, it might have been possible to end both curses. To plead with the Gola Resh for mercy and spare both nations this torment. But in that, our king did not put Sepeazia first."
"She was lying," I said, forcing my voice to a deadly calm. "Her sole purpose was to torment us."
But it was true I had struck the Gola Resh too soon. She had already wounded herself grievously, but my rage had taken over when she’d threatened Stella. If we’d kept her alive long enough, we could have undone hers and the Babadon’s magic and ended the curses entirely. But I’d failed. A reality which tormented me daily.
