What sort of monster put me on the throne?
What sort of monster believed I would appreciate such an offering?
What sort of monster murdered seventy-one—seventy-twoinnocents in cold blood?
“I want Behati fetched,” I snap as Reid returns to the ship to grab his mate. “I want to see that part of the vision.”
“Of course you don’t trust me,” Kanti snipes, just as Aodhan streaks up the path toward the large sunstone mansion bordering the Amkhuti.
I ball my fingers until my nails chew into my palm. “Well, you did paint listening sigils all over my palace walls.”
Her pink eyes swivel toward mine. “Always so quick to lay the blame.”
“It wasyourblood, Kanti,” I say.
She stops fussing with the buttons of Antoni’s collar and just shears the fabric with magic. “Fine. I confess. It was me. But it was Priya’s idea. She wanted to monitor all that was being said behind her back.”
Sensing this is another lie, I ask, “Can you show me the memory?”
“I would, but I’d prefer we try to save my lover’s life.” She parts his shirt, then paints carmine whorls around his wound that is so precise, it was unquestionably made by a sorceress.
“His eyelashes moved!” Fallon falls to her knees on Antoni’s other side. “Antoni’s alive! Lazarus, a crystal!”
“His wound was made with Shabbin magic, Fallon,” I murmur, having learned my fair share about our therapeutic crystals from Asha since Soorya failed to teach me. Though my grandmother had tasked the healer to educate me, Soorya was always too busy brewing lucent remedies or curing ailing humans and half-bloods. “There are no crystals for Shabbin wounds. Only the witch who inflicted the damage can repair it.”
“Or serpents,” Lazarus adds. “Has Aoife spotted any?”
The sky’s so dark, I can’t discern any wingbeats.Do you see her, Cathal?
He works his jaw from side to side.No.Though loath to step away from me, he pounces upward and shifts. After a moment, he says,She can’t spot any in the Sahklare.
Innoneof the rivers?
She’s investigating the last one now.An endless minute passes before he says,No serpents.
Ice slicks down my spine.Can she check the ocean?
I’ve already asked. She’s on her way.
He lands just as Behati emerges from the house. The seer’s golden cane gleams as she totters toward us, which reminds me of her other cane, the one I found at the bottom of the Amkhuti. I peer over the ledge as though I could possibly discern it in the recessed water, but it lies so deep, and there’s such faint moonlight, that I see nothing.
“Is it?” Cathal is asking, arms crossed over his black shirt that was tailored to fit his large chest but looks maladjusted fromthe strain of his stance. “Or is there something wrong with the corpses?”
Kanti skewers him with a look. “If Antoni dies because you’re distracting me, Cathal, then his blood will be on your hands.”
“My hands are already filthy.” My mate ticks his head toward the wan governor. “Besides, Antoni’s not exactly a favorite amongst the Crows these days. Fallon, ask Lore to send more people.”
“Why? Do you think?—”
“Just please do it, ínon.”
“Done.”
“Taytah’s vision!” Kanti suddenly exclaims. “She said I would turn one of Lorcan’s enemies into a friend. This must be what she meant! That Daya would make him a Serpent.”
Fallon’s cheeks hollow from how quickly she inhales. “Do you think…? Do you think that…?”
“Why don’t we try to heal Antoni with our blood first,” I suggest. “Surely our three magics combined?—”
