Grizalyn only smiles.
“Why,Icame to see theLostPrince, of course,” she says lightly, her gaze sliding toTheronbefore settling on me.“Andthis little priestess.”
Her eyes flash with purple fire as they lock onto mine, andIfeel her malice like a physical thing—like claws dragging down my skin.Sheleans forward slightly, peering into my face, and her smile widens.
“And my, my, look at those pretty green eyes… it appears she did her job.”Hervoice turns almost playful, mocking.“Isuppose such an innocent flower was simply too much to resist for your strapping grandson, yourMajesty.”
“I don’t want to hear another word out of you!”theOldKinggrowls.“Guards—arrest her!”
The guards surge forward…and then stop asGrizalynlifts both hands in a lazy, almost bored gesture.
Everything freezes.
The guards halt mid-step, their spears suspended in the air.Thecrowd goes still, mouths open, eyes wide, and bodies locked in place like statues.Eventhe flickering torch flames seem to hesitate, their movement slowed to something unnatural.
Everyone is frozen except us—me,Theron, andGrizalyn.
A cold dread settles in my stomach.
“What do you want with us?”Idemand, my voice shaking despite my effort to steady it.“Haven’tyou done enough?Can’tyou just leave us alone?”
Her expression sharpens, the amusement draining away in an instant.
“No,” she snaps.“ForIhave a vendetta against theRoyalFamilythatIhave long sought to settle.Andyou, little priestess, have helped me to settle it.”Herlips curl.“Iknew whenIsent you to find theLostPrincethat you would be his downfall.”
“What?”Myeyes go wide.“Whatare you talking about?”
“Elowen—what the fuck is she talking about?”Therondemands from behind me, his voice low and dangerous.“Didshe really send you to find me?”
My stomach drops.OhGoddess, why didn’tItell him?Whydidn’tIsay something sooner?
“I—it’s true,”Iadmit, my voice coming out small and guilty.“Butshe never said anything about you being theLostPrince!Shejust told me to find theDrakeShiftersmith and… and offer myself to you.Backwhen—when she first cursed me along with the other girls.”
His silence behind me is worse than anything he could have said and whenIlook at him,Isee betrayal on his face.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”he demands at last.
“I don’t know!”Thewords rush out of me, desperate and tangled.“Ijust thought—Iwas afraid you wouldn’t help me if you knew a witch sent me!”
The truth feels thin even asIsay it, because the real reason is worse.
I forgot.
Somehow, in the days and nightsIspent with him reveling in the way he looked at me and touched me and made me feel…Iforgot to be afraid of her.Ino longer saw her as a threat.IguessIthought after she stole theGrimoirethat she’d achieved her objective and had no more interest in me orTheron.
What a foolIwas.
“What do you want with us?WithTheron?”Iask her, keeping my place between the two of them.
“Well, you see,”Grizalynsays, “WhenIfirst cast my killing spell, the prince—Theronhere—was but a child.Soinnocent that the spell slid right off him, leaving him free to run.”
Her gaze flicks to the bigDrakeShifter, her lips curving in something almost like admiration.
“So he got away.Isearched for him for years but whenIfinally found him again…”Hersmile sharpens.“Idiscovered my magicstillcould not touch him.Forthough he had grown, he remained pure of heart—so very kind, so very careful with women.Herefused to hurt them or take a woman’s innocence or do anything really that would sully his soul.Itmade him completely untouchable.”
A chill runs through me.Ohno…IthinkIknow where this is going…
“And so,” she continues, “Isought a prophecy.Iwent to an ancient well, older than this kingdom, andIasked how he might be killed.”Hereyes gleam.“Wouldyou like to know what it told me, afterIslit a white ram’s throat and cast it into the black depths?”
