“Sensational,” Agata breathes, palms pressed together. “You both look sensational. You will be a vision at the duel.”
That sours Astrid’s mood.
Ottilie thanks the Weaver and her team, and she invites them to remain on the terrace to enjoy the refreshments and take the rest of the day for themselves—they don’t need telling twice. The teams bid Astrid and Skylar goodbye and good luck, as if it’s a written exam they’ll be facing rather than a fight to the death, and disperse outside, chattering happily.
“If you’ll excuse me, I have another meeting to get to,” Ottilie says to Astrid and Gwen. “Skylar, are you due back in training?”
“No,” she responds bluntly. “I’m going to go find Kaida.”
“I’ll come with you,” Astrid says, thinking of Bastet.
They don’t bother changing out of their new outfits before they navigate their way back through the reception room. Gwen holds the door open, and Astrid exits first, stopping when she sees who’s waiting outside in the hallway. Axel is speaking to Zryan, whose back is to her, but the blond man quiets when he spots her, and Zryan turns around. He falls deathly still.
His heated gaze is fixed on her, or more accurately, her outfit, which, given the fit, leaves very little to the imagination. Goddess, when he looks at her like that, it’s a wonder she doesn’t spontaneously combust.
“Astrid.” He says her name like a wish, stepping toward her. Axel grabs his arm, and Skylar, now standing beside Astrid, nods over her shoulder to where the two queens have followed them out. “You have an audience, Brother,” she warns.
But too late.
“Son.”
That one word from Ottilie manages to convey an extraordinary feeling of betrayal, and Astrid nearly flinches from it. Ottilie is glaring at her son, but Zryan is still looking at Astrid like a parched man looks at a mirage. Then his features shift—the hunger replaced with something desperate, sad—and Astrid’s heart constricts at the way he’s looking at her now. As if he’s only just recalled why Astrid has to wear this outfit.
He finally tears his gaze away, acknowledging the rest of the group in the hallway, the queen. “Mother.”
“What are you doing here, Zryan?” she says, clipped.
“Axel said you asked him to meet you here, so thought I’d tag along—I needed to see Skylar.”
“Is Kaida okay?” Skylar blurts.
“Do you think Mjolnir would let anything happen to her?”
Skylar exhales slowly. “No, of course not.”
“Axel and I have business to attend to. I’ll see you this evening for dinner,” Ottilie says to the prince, walking to Axel’s side. Axel isn’t looking at his queen, however, too distracted by Skylar—who is decidedly ignoring him. “We need to talk, Zryan. Do not be late.”
He quirks a brow, inclines his head to her. The queen turns on her heel, gesturing for Axel to follow.
Astrid thinks about warning Zryan that his mother knows she’s seen the tapestry, but she stalls, ears pricking up like a cat’s, when she hears something Axel says to the queen. One word, in particular.
Warrens.
She tunes in to Axel’s low voice, willing him to say more, and picks up “four” and “contingent”—then nothing. He’s too far away.
Mikhael the rebel mentioned the warrens that day when she was in the dungeons. She thinks back to what he said, his exact words, and the plan formulates almost instantaneously in her mind.
She needs to check her grimoire, to be sure of the spell, what she can use. And she won’t be able to do it alone. Skylar is standing next to her, hands on her hips, watching Axel’s retreating back. Will she help Astrid, even though Cam can’t be saved? Astrid will have to convince her, because this is it, this is how she’ll help her queendom.
This is how she’ll find the Heart.
45Skylar
Skylar sits on the cliff, looking out at Isla Draka, a warm breeze tugging her hair. She should, in theory, be training right now—but she’s decided she will do no more of that before the duel. She wanted to get out of the Measuring yesterday, but the king said that if she didn’t attend,hewould decide which outfit she wore into the cage.
She only has five more days to get through. Five days until the Mourning Feast. Then the duel. Then it’ll be done.
Kaida plays in the grass nearby, occasionally getting close enough to the cliff edge to make Skylar wince—even though she can just about fly properly now. A fast learner, according to Mjolnir.
