“Let’s proceed shall we? We have guests,” she announced. Then to us, she winked. “Now, you may come inside.”
Chapter
Eighteen
LYRIANA
“Auriel!” I hissed.
“Yes,Meka?” he asked me, his voice low.
We were being led into the palace by the Queen’s silver- skinned sentries, walking down the long quartz dock as waves lapped along the edge. When we reached the promenade, the crystal beneath our feet shifted to moonstone, as we walked inside. There were long swaths of pure gleaming white, interrupted by sudden flashes of bright, glowing blue. Every step we took seemed to create another spark. It reminded me of the ashvan back home, the glowing blue lights that erupted beneath their hooves. The ethereal music continued to play—still without any sign of musicians or the accompanying singers, until we arrived in what I believed to be Queen Ma’Nia’s throne room.
We paused before a small pool of water, the moon perfectly reflected inside. Beyond that was a dais where Queen Ma’Nia stood. Ramia was perched beside her, sitting on a chaise much like the one she had in her office at the library.
“Don’t you think it might have been important to tell me that it was you? That you did all of this?” I asked, weakly gesturing around.
“Well,” he hissed back, “Considering you were there when it happened, I forgot I had to. Until we were about to dock.”
“That’s when you decided to tell me? You waited until the last second! Gods! You could have warned me.”
“Well technically you knew,” he seethed.
“I didn’t! I wasn’t there! That was Asherah! How many times do I have to tell you? I barely remember anything.”
His eyes darkened. “Well I tried!”
“Yes, you waited until the last possible minute. You really tried so hard!”
“Oh, don’t act so innocent yourself. You remember more from back then than you think. More than you’re willing to admit.”
My cheeks flushed. He was right. There were times when I felt like her, when I felt like I was her as I looked at him. Even just moments ago, I had a memory of being Asherah. Of Auriel looking at me with unbridled desire. And I remembered feeling a matching need for him, for his body. The need to claim him and be claimed. I felt it coursing through me. Heating and tightening down my stomach, between my legs.
And I could still feel it now, despite what we faced.
We were surrounded by the Moon Queen’s full court of Afeya, but I shook my head, glaring at Auriel. Because once again, there was important information I didn’t have—information I needed. He’d been the one! He had cursed the Afeya. Every problem I’d ever had with them, every run-in—was all Auriel’s fault. And now because of it, because Queen Ma’Nia had been able to use that knowledge against me, I was in another Godsdamned Afeyan bargain.
The sensation in my chest brought about by the contract had already calmed, but like last time, I felt its presence. I was aware of it there, pulsing, turning, shimmering with every beat of my heart.
Auriel’s eyes were on my chest, staring at it with as much worry as Rhyan’s had when I’d made my first contract.
I groaned. “Whatever I do or don’t remember is irrelevant. Because I didn’t remember this!” I gestured around us. Not once in any Valya I’d read had it mentioned it was him. Nor in any of the history books. They always just said that the Afeya were cursed. Passive.
I took a deep breath and looked slowly around the room, at the tall white and silver columns, the open ceiling with the moon above, and the sea of faces in the shadows watching us. Little stars exploded in the air. The Afeya’s auras being pushed out.
“I can’t help it if I have a thousand years of information to sort through—most of which was barely accessible to me after I arrived.”
“But then you remembered,” I said. “It all came back to you.”
“And right after we had to flee for our lives. Believe me, I’m not trying to keep secrets from you. Okay? I swear. But in case you didn’t notice, we haven’t exactly been on vacation these last few days. You’re the most wanted traitor in the Lumerian Empire. Every other person we meet wants to kill you. All I’ve been doing is trying to keep you alive.”
“I can keep myself alive!” I nearly shouted.
“You can.” He leaned in toward me. “But for a little while there you weren’t.”
“And somehow, despite all of that, I still think you should have told me! You should have told me you were the author of the curse before this! Before we were sailed into the country of the very people you condemned,” I snapped. “Before I made another bargain! Now I’m indebted and tied to Queen Ma’Nia. Another Afeya and a whole other court. And we’re trapped inside a palace of Afeya who’ve had a thousand years to be mad at you.” And me by association, unless there was even more I still didn’t know, or remember.
“Well maybe,” he gritted, “that’s why I didn’t mention it.”
