Lara’s mind churned. Her head was woolly as it was, but these two spoke in riddles. She didn’t want to focus on them, but on what lay ahead.
“I also spied an omen this morning that concerns me,” Annis whispered then. “We passed a lone pine at the mouth of this corrie … I noted it had been struck by lightning … its branches were charred, and its great trunk cloven in two.”
“The Warrior’s balls,” Lara muttered, her patience fraying. “Just tell me what all thismeans.”
“A choice lies ahead,” Ruari answered. Hurt shadowed his eyes. “As well as a reckoning of some kind.”
“My omen suggests destruction and rebirth,” Annis added.
“But this could all be related to what we must do at The Shattered Crown,” Lara replied. Her head ached now. Their voices droned in her ears like annoying gnats. “I don’t think we should read too much into any of it.”
Both the druids frowned, and Lara scowled back. “Why have you only approachedme? Surely, Mor and Alar should hear this too?”
Annis’s face pinched. “We serve you, My Queen. Not the Half-blood or the Raven Queen.”
“Not everything needs to be shared,” Ruari replied stiffly. “You might not wish to heed them … but it might be wise to keep these warnings to yourself.”
Lara watched Mor stroke Dorka’s back.
The clag-doo waspurring. And the contentment on Mor’s face was also something to behold. Around them, the others huddled close to the flames, but the Raven Queen sat apart from them all, preferring to keep Dorka’s company instead. She knelt next to the feline upon the stony ground, murmuringendearments. Eagal hunched on her shoulder. The Raven’s gaze was narrowed, almost as if it was jealous of his queen’s new pet.
But Mor didn’t care, and as Lara looked on, she reached up and stroked between Dorka’s ears. The clag-doo closed her eyes and lifted her chin, pushing up into the caress.
“Aye, well … now I’ve seen everything.” Bree’s murmured comment made Lara glance her way.
The wind howled tonight. They’d camped under a rocky overhang that provided some shelter from the elements. Nonetheless, Bree’s shoulders were rounded against the chill, and she clutched her fur-lined cloak close.
For once, Lara was glad of her fever—even if it was a constant reminder of the illness that was slowly taking over.
“Why does Dorka matter to her so much?” she whispered back.
Bree’s lips quirked. “I suppose a clag-doo is safe.”
“Safe?”
Bree’s smile turned rueful. “It won’t try to steal your throne.”
Her body was on fire.
Lara curled tight under her cloak. Eyes clamped shut, teeth grinding. Heat rolled off her in waves that made her skin feel too tight, too thin.
Around her, the wind howled through the rocky overhang. Their shelter was barely that—just stone jutting out enough to keep the worst of the weather off. Not enough to keep out the cold that would come after the fever broke.
Supper had been silent. No one spoke. They’d sat around the fire, gazes turned inward. Even the Shee looked miserable—shoulders hunched, mouths pressed thin. Lara had been grateful for the quiet. Following conversation had become impossible,words slipping through her mind like water through cupped hands. Roth and Cailean had taken first watch. Everyone else had rolled into their cloaks without a word.
Sleep dragged her under—and then, the dreams began.
Her father’s voice, thick with contempt. Her brother facing him down. She stepped between them—crack—his palm struck her cheek, her head snapping sideways, blood flooding her mouth.
Then Dulross. On her knees in the dirt. Stones raining down from the walls. Circines and wulvers jeering. One stone caught her temple. Everything went black.
She awoke in furs. Naked. Alar’s body against hers, their skin slick with sweat. His mouth on her throat.Bite me.The words tore from her lips as pleasure ripped through her, as his teeth sank into her shoulder—
She jolted into consciousness, shaking so hard her teeth clattered together.
The fever had broken. Now she was ice. Her feet and hands were dead weight, numb and tingling. The wind had died. Silence pressed down.
“My Queen.” Roth’s voice cut through the stillness. “We have a problem.”
