Page 48 of Queen of the Night
“No. We were young. We had a lot of fun.” I glance up to see a scowl on his face. “We got along, but it never would have worked. It was nothing like?—”
He raises a brow, and I realize our steps have slowed.
“Nothing like what?”
Nothing like this.He and I.
I frown at him, done answering his questions. I stuff my feelings into a manageable corner of my heart and remind myself that I’ve never actuallylovedanyone, so how should I know? I can’t love a king, especially the one standing beside me. And if we’re going to step into past relationship territory, I have questions of my own.
“Nadiette. Did you loveher?”
A slow smile turns his lips in the shadows as his gaze holds mine. “I thought I did, but I’ve learned recently that what I felt was never more than friendship. She’ll always be a good friend, but never more.”
Why does my heart pound with delight at those words? Why do I assume he’s implying feelings for me when that can never be? I force myself to look away, and I finally see warm light ahead, beginning to light the cave and stealing our moment of shadow-shrouded privacy.
Ikar looks my way. “Does Drade still have a chance?”
“Well, he did win the challenge…” I laugh at the affronted look on his face.
“That was adraw.”
I offer a one-shoulder shrug. “Was it though? No one actually saw. You looked pretty beat up.”And incredible.
I remember that night well.
The look on his face when he’s about to argue with me is so attractive my breath hitches, but before he can say anything, Rhosse and Darvy stop behind Endri.
Her high-pitched voice carries through the cave. “It’s just around the corner. When you walk beneath the light, it will alert the guards.”
She gestures with a hand for us to move past her. The way Ikar’s hand goes to his sword doesn’t escape my notice.
“I thought the nymphs were supposed to be our friends. You were confident Odella wouldn’t kill you,” I whisper, alarmed at his reaction.
“She won’t if she gets a chance to meet me… the guards, I don’t know. They were friends two hundred years ago. We’ll find out soon if they still are. Prepare to defend yourself, and be grateful if you don’t have to.”
Spoken like a true warrior.
I sigh and prepare to grab my own sword while pulling lucent just in case. Ahead, I spot what appear to be ancient soldiers sculpted out of the stone walls, their bodies half-protruding with swords and shields grasped in their large hands. I lean around Rhosse to get a better view of what’s past the stone guards and find it’s merely a sealed off wall that ends the cave. I almost moan at the thought of having to turn around. I thought Endri said this was it.
“This looks like a dead end,” I whisper, though I don’t know why I’m worried about anything hearing me because it’s merely us stuck at the end of a torturously long tunnel.
Endri points to the ceiling with an overly patient look, and my eyes are drawn upward. “Like I said, you must walk beneath.”
Gentle streams of light enter through intricate, swirling cutouts in the stone above us that brighten the stone walls,illuminating the faces of the stone soldiers. We step forward, but I’m very aware that Endri hangs back in the shadows—it’s apparent she doesn’t have much confidence in our survival. My chest tightens with nerves. Just as the warm light touches our skin, the cave walls that hold the soldiers crack and transform, and six living men step forward. I blink quickly several times to ensure I’m not going insane. They move faster than men who were just encased in stone should be able to and form two lines before us, blocking our way. Their bodies are sculpted muscle, and they appear to wear ancient armor over clothing of twined vines, holding swords at their sides with shields raised. Their features are perfectly chiseled and unmoving. They stand so still that they once again appear as statues.
“Go no farther,” one of them commands, his voice echoing so loudly off the walls around us that it hurts my ears.
We freeze where we are. I shift my weight and prepare myself to sprint in the other direction, but instead, with an almost unnoticeable nod, Ikar indicates for Rhosse to proceed.
“We are here on behalf of the High King of Moneyre.” Rhosse says. “We request a meeting with Queen Odella.”
While he speaks, I take a moment to glance at the cave walls around us. Are there other warriors waiting to step out? And what happens if they refuse us entrance? Will they let us leave… or will we be killed before they step back in their walls, as Endri warned?
I swallow tightly and shift closer to Ikar, not caring at the moment how my magic curls in delight and pulls toward his. Better that than being sliced by a cave man.
“Queen Odella will grant passage to one who proves he is the high king.”
Rhosse looks back at Ikar and there’s a long moment of silence before Ikar steps forward.
