I went on, “Whoever took your place was very careful to only strike deals with the wordI. And that’s why I had to drink something to seal it, right? It wasyourmagic entwined in that cup, so I was beholden to you, but only her words upheld the fae end.”
“Very observant,” Ritalia complemented.
It was as crafty as the fae had always been rumored. Loopholes in bargains be damned, they’d used magic against us.
I gripped Starfire’s hilt tighter. “Where are the rest of your party? Will they drop their glamours, or will you fight us like cowards?”
“Who said we’re here to fight?” the queen challenged. “Let us resolve this mess peacefully, Revered.”
“Perhaps that was possible before youimpaledmyhorse?—”
“I believe you mean pegasus,” she interrupted. “It seems you’ve kept many secrets, Child Kissed by Angels.”
I wasn’t naive enough to believe this was the first she’d heard of the woken myths, but I didn’t give in to that game.
“And it seems you’ve told many half-truths, Bloodthirsty Queen.” I assessed the air around her, but not so much as a flicker exposed how many guards she’d brought.
A cruel smile that reminded me so much of Kakias’s—but with less deranged motive—broke across Ritalia’s lips. And from the stone wall beside her, a second form emerged. With a wolf limping at his side.
“Father?” Celissia’s accusatory tone sliced through the theater as Barrett blurted in a panic, “Rebel!”
“Fucking Angels,” slipped from Malakai’s lips behind me, an unconscious Mila protected behind the khrysaor.
“Hello, Celissia,” Nassik said, the picture of calm. Rebel bared his teeth in a vicious growl toward the councilman. Nassik’s answering flinch was satisfying.
“I knew you were a snake,” Barrett insisted, voice venomous. “I knew you were slithering through my own home, plotting againstmeand my appointment, but this? And what did you do to Rebel?” At his name, the wolf looked toward his prince, adoration in those large eyes.
“He is fine,” Nassik drawled. “A clumsy pup.”
Behind the Engrossians, hands still tied and held in Dax’s white-knuckled grip, Brystin chuckled. “I warned you.”
“Did you now?” Ritalia snapped, voice the high cruelty of a ruler used to being obeyed.
Brystin shrugged, unfazed. “Only toyed with them a bit, Your Majesty.”
And Ritalia smiled, long, sharp canines on display. “Excellent work.” Her gaze shifted to Lancaster and Mora, to their veryunbound wrists. To how Lancaster stood amid our group, and how Mora remained beside Dynaxtar.
In one swoop, Queen Ritalia catalogued every detail of the scene, and her lips twisted into a sneer, eyes flaming. “I see you two have made yourselves comfortable. What would your mother say?”
Their mother?
Both fae stood straighter, Lancaster’s hands clenching at his sides. “We’ve done what was asked. We’ve kept an eye on the cursed warrior”—he jerked his head toward me—“and on the one who bears the name of the pro?—”
“I understand what I asked!” Ritalia snapped. “What I don’t recall is ordering you to become so…familiar with the warriors. Or the human.” Her sharp stare cut to Santorina. “Though, Queen of Bounties, you seem to have done a poor job honoring your heritage.”
“I claim no heritage that has any entanglement with your kind,” Rina condemned.
The bloodletting queen smiled. “We do not choose our path, Queen of Bounties. It is written for us.”
“A rather sorry excuse for the ruin you have brought upon the centuries.”
“Much like you,” Ritalia said, unbothered, “I have not had a choice in all matters of my hand. Let’s hope you do not learn how that feels.”
Santorina wasn’t budging.
“What are you doing here?” I demanded, taking another step forward to form a barrier between my friends and the queen.
Barrett stepped beside me. Two clan rulers against a threat. “What are you doing withhim?” He meant Nassik, but Barrett only had eyes for his wolf beside the advisor. So much larger than when I last saw the pup, Rebel sat with one gangly paw slightly elevated.
