“You’re the one who kept refusing my request for an audience.”
“I keep a full schedule.”
“And I keep a tight watch on you.” Queen Saelihn inclined her chin, amber eyes narrowing. “Unless you count practicing your dance steps with undead and playing endless games of Rack and Ruin with Sentinel Champion Reese, your life is as empty now as it was four years ago. You had no reason to refuse my summonses.”
“Yes, I’m intimately aware of thetight watchyou’ve been keeping on me. I’ve seen your hired eyes scurrying about my grounds over the years.” Catseye slid a hand to his hip. “Druidic spies, Saelihn? I didn’t know Nyllmas had the budget for such extravagant scouts.”
“Druidic spies?” Though the queen’s brows scrunched together, her perfect visage did not falter. “You are mistaken. My emissaries are no more capable of shifting into animals than they are at wielding any magic, but make no mistake, they are effective. Not only have they kept me abreast of your goings on, they’ve been providing information regarding Vessik as well.”
“And, just like that”—Catseye’s arms flew out at his sides—“we’ve arrived at the crux of my presence here, haven’t we? Honestly. Luring me in with false threats about overdue taxes? For shame, Saelihn.”
Helspira shuffled toward Ben, hiding her whisper with her hand. “How does he get away with showing Her Majesty such little respect?”
“They go back a long way,” Ben’s hushed voice replied. “He’s like a brother to her. An annoying one, but a brother nevertheless.”
The queen seemed well-versed in ignoring Catseye’s commentary, segueing with no hesitation. “Vessik’s armies invaded the village of Eboni. By now, his pattern is becoming predictable. He’s dominating the smaller municipalities, but I’m sure he’ll start spreading to larger cities soon. The Red Sentinel has kept his numbers from growing, but regardless of our efforts, his armies remain consistent. I had hoped after four years, he’d back down, but he mistakes my kindness for weakness. I know you two have a history, but the time to put him down has come.”
Catseye’s head bobbed in countless, exaggerated nods. “I see, I see. The thing is, Vessik has accurately identified my weakness asactualweakness, so as much as I’d love to help, I cannot.”
“We need the Glowing Cat’s Eye in Death’s Darkness,” the queen said. “Nyllmas needs him.”
Ben made a noise that sounded something like the clearing of a non-existent throat, and he raised his hand. “Your Majesty, if I may—”
From the gathered horde of Red Sentinels, one man stepped forward. Helspira recognized him as her superior, Banneret Rowan—a muscled mass of a middle-aged man whose personality was as cutthroat as his blade. How he had managed to sneak into the room without her notice was anyone’s guess. Helspira watched the banneret thrust a finger toward Ben and scowl. “Silence, abomination.”
Catseye rounded on the banneret. His expression twisted into a grin as eerie as it was cheery. “Oh, if it isn’t dear, sweet Banneret Rowan. How long has it been? Enough time to forget one’s manners, it seems. Show your brother-in-arms some respect, would you?”
A muscle twitched under the banneret’s eye. “He’s a Red Sentinel no longer. He’s dead.”
Catseye frowned. His boots echoed through the otherwise silent chamber, one step after the other, as he approached the banneret. When he stood at arm’s length, he cupped his hand near his mouth, leaned toward Rowan, and loudly whispered, “This may come as a surprise to you, but he’s aware. It seems antagonistic to draw attention to the fact.”
Queen Saelihn caught Rowan in her steady stare. “Banneret, please—”
“Enough of this madness.” Spit flew from the banneret’s lips as he seized the crossbow strapped to his back. “Sentinel Champion Reese isdead, and as long as the Catseye’s power is wasted parading his ghost around like a puppet on a string, we’re all damned. The coddling ends now.”
Helspira’s stomach sank when Queen Saelihn’s horrified shriek—and the bolt from Banneret Rowan’s crossbow—pierced the air at the same time. Her Majesty’s order, a garbled, “No, stand down!” seemed to leave her lips in distorted, slow motion.
But crossbow bolts did not yield to verbal commands. Not even from royalty.
Helspira flinched, thewhooshof the bolt hitting her sensitive eardrums. A close call, but she was not its target. It struck the glowing thread and stone that hung inside Ben’s ribcage.
Jolted from its resting place, rock and thread bounced between Ben’s bones and struck the marble floor with aclack. The soft, ethereal glow vanished from the thread, and Ben, the once risen skeleton, clattered lifelessly to the decorative tiles.
With pupils shrinking to pinpricks, Queen Saelihn staggered backward. She turned her wrath to Rowan, fists clenched. “You gods-damned coxcomb.” Terror overshadowed her faultless tone as she thrusted a panicked finger toward the door. “Everyone, run!”
