My appetite dwindles a smidgeon.
Why don’t we like Kanti, Day?
A smile blooms over my wariness at the preposition that Enzo has used—we.We do not like her because she desires the Shabbin crown so much that I sometimes worry how far she’d go to win it.
Minutes later, Behati’s granddaughter joins us. Enzo’s mouth gapes wide at the sight of her, probably stunned by her beauty.
Not why I gaped.Enzo seizes his juice and sips.
I tilt my head, waiting to hear what arrested him if it isn’t her looks.
She swam down toward us yesterday.
“You must be the green Serpent. Enzo, right? I’ve heard so much about you.” Kanti shakes out her napkin and places it on her lap. “How incredible that shemadeyou. You were human before, if I’m not mistaken.”
“Yes, I w-was.”
“And now you’re a shifter. How incredible.”
The weight of Enzo’s quizzical stare leads me to say,She wasn’t a fan of me before, Enzo. I believe having the power to create more Serpents doesn’t please her.
Why?
Either because she believes I’ll use it to create an army of shifters, or because she worries my new “edge” will sway who gets the throne.
You could heal Crows before. That’s quite the edge, no?
A practical power, but not a dangerous one.
Our noiseless conversation doesn’t go unnoticed. At least, not by Asha or Abrax. Kanti, on the other hand, is so busy gushing to the queen about all she’s achieved since reaching Tarespagia that she’s no longer paying attention to theincredibleSerpents.
“I planted listening sigils in every dissident hideout. I almost fainted from how much blood I had to part with. Actually, I did swoon a little, but I did that on purpose because that landed me a stay in the governor’s house.” She drops her voice to add, “The male’s no fan of Lorcan or Cathal—for personal reasons.” She slides me a look. “Antoni has a great instinct for people, so consider yourself lucky the Mahananda selected a new mate for you, chacha.”
How odd to hear Kanti call me cousin, when technically, she’s centuries older than I am.
She scoops up a few slices of charred avocado and layers them on a bed of sprouts. “He likes all the other Crows. If it wasn’t for him, they wouldn’t be in power.”
I dip my finger into a dollop of spicy, pureed beans and carry it to my lips, which earns me a grimace from Kanti who doesn’t eat anything without utensils, not even sundried fruit. “What personal reasons made him single out Lorcan and Cathal?”
The explosion of flavor against my palate is so beautiful that I rattle, which deepens the twist of Kanti’s mouth. I know she finds me beastly. I heard her tell Behati when she assumed I was still non-fluent in Shabbin.
“Fallon,” Kanti says.
The name of my daughter halts my rattle.
“Your daughter had Antoni tossed out of the Sky Castle like disloyal scum, even though he risked his life many times over so she could awaken Lorcan.”
I plant my elbows on the table. “My daughter wouldn’t have tossed out an innocent man.”
Kanti’s snort slides under my human skin. “Anyway, thanks to my listening sigils, Antoni and I have managed to squelchsixuprisings.”
“However is he faring without you at his side?” I deadpan.
“I know.” Kanti sighs, cutting into her avocado and slipping a piece into her mouth. After she’s swallowed, she says, “It was hard to leave, but when I heard that healing Erwin kept you in scales for so long, I immediately came home to lend Priya strength.” She reaches over and squeezes the queen’s forearm.
The queen stares at Kanti’s slender fingers before moving her arm away. “You shouldn’t stay away from Luce for too long, my dear. You’re obviously greatly needed there.”
Again, Kanti sighs an, “I know.” After another bite of her greens, she adds, “I hope Antoni is the man the Mahananda foresaw me seducing, because he’s delicious. And he would also make a terrific king. You should see the way he governs the west. Unlike the Siorkahd who executes without trial, he gives everyone a fair hearing. The men and women under his command have such respect for him. I can’t wait for you to meet him. I could have him sail over this evening?”
