“No thanks. I like my teeth where they are.”
“Of course, that’s why you look the way you do.” I roll my eyes and catch the smug smirk that teases up the corners of his mouth.
We drop into a few shops, sifting through clothes and hats and jewelry, taking any diversion we can get. Our escapades actually seem to be easing some of the tightness from my chest.
That is, until we come across a bridal shop, and in the window I see a silk ivory gown similar to the one I wore the day I was to be married. My whole body turns to ice as I slip out of Mar’s grasp, suddenly rooted to the ground.
“Serena, are you…” Mar gazes from me to the source of my horror. I force a swallow. That’s when something else catches my eye in the reflection.
In my rearview is a cloaked figure, a hood drawn over her head. A long, loose braid the color of thick honey spills out over her chest. She stands watching me for a moment that stretches on too long to feel casual.
I turn, locking eyes with her as she nods for me to follow.
I’ve found that when my intuition tugs at me, it’s best not to ignore it. So I duck into the crowd after her.
“Serena, where are you going? What did you see?”
“That female.”
“What about her? Why are you following her?”
“Because she wants me to.”
I don’t give them the option to argue, trailing the figure through the Markade, inside of an old ale house and up the rickety stairs. I push open the door she’s left slightly ajar, Zadyn and Mar piling in behind me.
The figure drops her hood. I gasp as it falls, revealing what I already suspected deep in my bones the moment I spotted her.
“Hello, Serena.”
I stare, unable to talk or think or breathe.
Taking a tentative step forward, I say, “You know me.”
She sinks into a seat at the round table, picking up a stack of painted cards and beginning to shuffle.
“You don’t think I would recognize my own daughter? Have a seat.”
62
ZADYN
13 DAYS
Ashark smile spreads over her face.
Gods, she looks just like Serena. I can see Sorscha’s features there too, in the color of her hair and the wide set of her amber eyes.
“We finally meet in this lifetime.”
Serena takes a slow step forward. “Youknowme, know me? How?”
Without breaking their stare, she purrs, “Marideth. Always a pleasure.”
My head whips toward Mar, who’s gone pale as if she’d seen a ghost.
“Queen Margot,” she gasps, dropping into a deep curtsy.
Queen Margot?
