Emma
The king’s bathing room is filled with seekers, all of them focused on me. They brush out my long hair as I bathe, then dry me and perfume my skin as I sit at what must’ve been Eraldon’s mother’s vanity. The mirror shows me so much.
Too much.
My pale skin, my face gaunter than I remember, and my eyes almost sunken. I press a palm to my cheek as a female seeker braids my hair in several small plaits. Is Eraldon controlling them, having them dress me as he sees fit for our mating? I don’t know, but they all seem bent to their tasks. Even now, one is finishing the train for my blood-red gown, her fingers darting back and forth, so nimble with the needle.
My mother was faster. She could sew an entire garment in the time it took me to darn a sock. I almost smile when I think about her. But I don’t. Because she’s gone. When I accused Solano of her murder, he looked … confused. He was nothing like I expected, not at all like I remembered. And when I drank his blood, something inside me seemed to turn. Like a night-blooming flower seeking the moon. I turned my face to him, toward the sun, and now I’m blinded by the memories that keep forcing their way to the front of my mind. Eraldon’s blood wasn’t enough to stop whatever sorcery the king of day has wrought on me.
I press my fingers to my chest. Solano spoke to me there, silently telling me things that don’t make sense. Told me to take, told me he was here for me. I could feel it, and it didn’t have the oily slick of lies floating along its surface. No, it felt like the truth. But it can’t be.
Even now I can feel it, the thorn that’s been slowly killing me from the inside. It’s him. It’s the connection between us that shouldn’t exist.
The seeker ropes my braids on top of my head, forming a plaited crown. My heart pounds, my mouth going suddenly dry. I clench my eyes shut, but when I do that, I only see more—Solano rescuing me from a huge underwater beast, Solano kissing me beneath a peach tree, Solano fighting for me, saving me, loving me.
“Out!” I screech before I even know what I’m doing.
The seekers freeze, their red eyes focused on me. Then quickly, like roaches leaving a nest, they rush from the bathing room and away from me.
I lean forward and stare at myself. A crimson gown, a crown, and diamonds around my throat—I am Eraldon’s queen. My wings peek from over my shoulders, and when I open my mouth, my fangs drop lower. I’m no longer the changeling that the sun king chose as his consort.
Reaching out, I touch the mirror. Not with my fingertips, but with my black claws. It doesn’t matter which memories are real, because even if the new ones are real and Solano is a good king, I’ll never be that naïve changeling again. I’ll never be anything Solano could love. If he looked closely enough, he’d see that. He’dknowthat.
Better that I stick to my own kind. To Eraldon. He’s hard and cold, but he’s kindred. His blood and bite are part of me now.
Emma. Solano’s voice ricochets through me, his pulse almost an audible drumbeat. The thorn that can’t be removed. Not until … not until I take his head. Once it’s done, I’ll be Eraldon’s, and my pain will die right along with the king of day. I’ll feel nothing. No more sorrow or loss, no more misgivings.
Solano’s death will give me freedom, a new life down a dark path.
All this time I thought it was my own weakness I needed to slay. Instead, it was a king.
Rising, I square my shoulders.
It is time.
23
Solano
Athrong of seekers surrounds us as we’re dragged through the Nightkeep. My warriors fight and curse, but there are far too many enemies to do much more than that. Not to mention, Selene still has us bound.
I let them take me and shove me along. We pass bodies, many of them nobles in various bits of finery. The seekers spared few of them. The ones that survived are now part of the horde, their snapping teeth and fangs only the exterior indications of their black hearts. Eraldon decimated his father’s realm, reducing Nightland warriors to mindless, hungry drones and killing all who stood against him.
Even as they hiss and scratch at me with dirty claws, they aren’t my focus. The layout of the keep is. It’s been a long time since I’ve visited these halls, and many of its passages are unknown to me. Even so, I watch and make a mental map of every move, every bit of night sky I see, every way to escape this rocky crypt.
The entire crowd seems to hum in anticipation. Eraldon already made clear his intentions, and the thought of him staking his claim on my Emma makes my stomach churn. I won’t let it happen. He’s enthralled her, but she’s still linked to me. I can feel her even now, her will at war with her heart.
“I’m coming for you.” I send my promise down the bond.
“Get out of my head, you monster,” her terse reply. It’s shaky, full of something like dread.
“I’m not your enemy.I’m your true mate. I lov—”
Her will shuts me out, cuts our connection with a dark wave of hate.
“Emma!” I yell out loud this time.
The seekers only yank us along more quickly, their filth marring the ancient art and relics along the main corridor. I keep my head up, my eyes scanning for any escape. A glint catches my vision, a bright spot where there should be none.
