I spent hours lying in bed trying to unravel his words, looking for somewhere he might have tricked me.
But there was nothing. At no point did he have toseduceme, as he said.
I nod. “On this, I do.”
“Then go to see him tomorrow. Tell him where things stand.” Another tear slides down her cheek, but her eyes are clear and sharp. Her voice has lost any hint of a tremor, and this time she reaches out to squeezemyhand.
It reminds me of the night I found her in my barn, when everything seemed bleak and hopeless—and she stood up to the soldiers who were threatening her and her child. Queen Lia Mara might be in distress, but she’s still in control.
“Yes, Your Majesty,” I say. “Should I tell him anything else?”
She nods. “Let him know his queen doesn’t need sanctuary. Instead, I might need a powerful ally—and a lot sooner than I thought.”
CHAPTER 30
TYCHO
I don’t know how long I lie alone in the grass, but everything about my conversation with the king weighs heavily on my heart, and I don’t want to move. I’m flat on my back, my hands under my head, the cool night air soaking into my bones. The sounds of distant swordplay have long since gone silent, but I have no desire to go back to the palace. The night sky presses down, the stars stretching wide overhead.
I wonder if Jax is awake in Emberfall, staring at the same sky.
He likely expects me to be on my way back now.
And I simply . . . won’t return.
Again.
My throat feels tight. Jax doesn’t deserve that. But . . . ?neither do I.
Overhead, the stars go dark, and I blink, confused for a moment. Wings beat against the stars, and a gust of cold wind blows across the training fields.
“You lie exposed,” Nakiis says, and though he’s nearly invisible against the night sky, the wind carries his voice right to me. “I could gut you without effort.”
“Go ahead.”
He soars low, and I think he’s going to land in the grass beside me, but instead, he drops right onto my chest. His knees slam into my breastplate, and it knocks the wind right out of me.
I give a little cough to shock air back into my lungs. “I wasn’t really serious,” I grind out.
He leans down close, until his elbows settle on the ground, his claws pressing into my neck. His wings are half splayed, as if he could take flight at any second. His balance would be impressive if his knees weren’t driving the edge of my armor into my shoulders.
“Ah . . . well met?” I say.
He smiles. Or at least, Ithinkhe does. I catch a glimpse of his fangs. The stars barely add a gleam to his black eyes.
“You’ve never really been afraid of what I am,” he says.
He’s right, in a way. I was never afraid of his father either. The scravers are fascinating and beautiful and equally terrifying—the way a wolf or a mountain lion is terrifying. Magnificent from a distance, but dangerous up close.
“I’m not afraid of you,” I say. “Anyone who’s evertrulyhurt me has been human.”
Nakiis looks back at me and says nothing to that. The wind rustles the feathers in his wings and whips at his hair. His skin is so dark that he could be a shadow.
“You stopped me from using magic against Grey,” I add. “Thank you.”
He scoffs. “You have no control yet. I would have ended up fighting your battle for you.”
I stare up into those black eyes. “You really shouldn’t be here. There are guards who patrol these fields. They’ll shoot you if they see you.”
