Page 23 of A Queen's Shadow

Raana folded her arms and spun to face her. “You know, you told me that there was someone I needed to meet and that there was work we needed to do before themoonthat’s supposed to screw the mortal realm to hell.But I’ve done nothing but wander these halls and play with my shadows for days.”

Nerissa wafted her brew. “Because you’re not ready. We can’t trust you yet. I know what you’ll do once you learn the truth, and we can’t risk things not falling the way they’re meant to.”

We, we, we

Raana felt her shadows rise. “So, what do I have to do to prove myself, then?”

Nerissa smiled as if that was exactly where she’d wanted Raana to go. As if she were a rat just dropped into her cage. She tipped what appeared to be ground bone into her brew. “The coronation of the Luna of Deimos is tomorrow, and during the ceremony, both she and the alpha will cut their palms and mix their blood with ashes and oil in a call to their Goddess to complete their union and their sharing of her power—wolves can have animosities towards us, but they have their own magic in their rituals. I’ll need at least a vial full before the blood is brought to the temple and locked away where you’ll never be able to get it.”

“No.”

The answer was immediate, assured. Blood magic of any kind, whether the blood of the caster or the blood of others, was dangerous and absolute. Whatever spell, all of its force, would be for Kai and Isla and them alone. A wolf’s immunity may not even matter. Raana wanted no part of that.

“Very well.”

Raana blinked. That was too easy. “What do you need it for?”

“You aren’t ready to know.”

She growled under her breath. “Are you going to hurt them?”

A foolish question because…murderer.

An exasperated breath left her lips. “Never intentionally.”

Raana’s shadows coiled around her arms, snaked up her legs, and draped over her head like a cloak, settling like a crown. She could kill her and stop all of this.

“You couldtryto kill me, but you won’t. Even if you’re fae, it’s not in your nature. Not yet. Sacrificing those wolves doesn’t count.” Nerissa met her widened eyes. “I don’t need the ability to read minds to see you, girl. You wear your emotions clear as day, and I know how desperately you want to redeem yourself to him.”

Him.

She spat the word.

Him…the Prince of Wolves. Spirits, Adrien probably hated her. She’d left him with hell to deal with and was responsible for the death of his friends.

“You’rebetterthan that, Raana.” It felt strange to hear her name out of Nerissa’s mouth. “Smarter. Surely, you know where your story ends. He would sooner drive a blade through your traitorous heart than take you as his queen. You wouldn’t even be his mistress.”

Raana could barely swallow. She remembered that aura of spring within him. His fated mate.

But then she remembered the way he kissed her, the way he touched her.

He’d seen every dark, broken, and monstrous part of her, and he’d been the only one who had never walked away. He rantowardsher, and that mattered far too much.

So, she’d left him before he could break her heart.

“There is no fairytale foranyof us,” Nerissa finished, taking another rat from the cage. “The sooner you realize that, the better you’ll be.”

She watched as Nerissa went through her routine again. The dropper, the control.

“If I don’t go, will you send one of your…” Raana trailed off, unsure what to call the wolves Nerissa kept hidden away within these walls. All under her manipulation and control—like Isla’s mother had been. “Soldiers.”

She didn’t know exactly how many she had.All she remembered was the man who’d carried her here in her magic-driven stupor. He, himself, half awake, halfalive, it felt like. She’d searched for him, for some type of dungeon, but with the moving hallways, there wasn’t much hope.

“Yes.” Nerissa dropped the rat, allowing it to scurry away. Then it froze and cried out. Its skin seemed to bubble, expand. The creature grew and grew, its eyes flaring red…and died. More notes. Raana was going to be sick. “If you don’t go, I will need to go about other means, and with those, harm is much more likely. You’re quicker, quieter, with minimal damage.”

It felt like she didn’t have many options. If she didn’t help, they could get hurt, but if she did…

“Whatever you’re doing with their blood won’t hurt them—or anyone they care about.” Raana pointed to a small blade on the ground by Nerissa’s folded legs. “Swear it right now to me by your own, and I’ll go.”

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