Aeri can wield the ring, and she is fleet enough to steal it with a diversion. If we had the ring in our possession, we could broker terms—whether with Quilimar or Joon. But there is still the matter of getting out of this palace alive. Yes, we slaughtered a room full of men in Oosant, but those were far different odds.
“Let me attempt to wield the ring,” Euyn says. “If I am a bastard, as you say, nothing will happen, and then you will be proven right. I will return the ring disgraced before your nobility and my lover. However, if I am royal and I can wield the relic, the ring will belong to me.”
She laughs, amusement shining in her eyes. “And why would I ever agree to those terms?”
He takes one step closer. “Because you believe in your weak, inferior female brain that you are right. And I am willing to wager my life on it. If I fail, you can kill me.”
The room is stunned silent—me included. Euyn didn’t discuss this with me. And now I, like Quilimar, am trying to figure out his goal. If he thinks he can steal the ring and run out of here, he’s wrong. Even Aeri couldn’t pull that off. If he believes he’s royal, then he’s become an impressive liar. What is he doing?
Quilimar’s gaze darts around, and I’m sure she is calculating the same thing—Euyn’s intentions and the likelihood of him surviving.
“You heard me,sister,” he says, limping a step closer to her. “If I fail, you can send my head to Joon. You can collect on the bounty or just broker peace with it. I’ve heard the rumors of how you love to gamble with your opponents’ lives. Accept mine.”
Quilimar stands there, lost in thought, or maybe she is doubting herself. I’ve never heard of the hunting injury to the old king, but that would’ve happened long before I was even born.
“Come now, Quilimar,” Euyn says loudly. “You were so confident a moment ago, slinging your baseless insults about my mother and myself. And now, when you have to back up your claims, are you really nothing more than an undignified whore, like Joon said? Frankly, I expected better. Even if you are just a woman, you’re still royalty. You owe me an apology.” He gestures to the grand hall, to all the nobility listening in.
Fury lights her face, coloring her light-brown skin red. Euyn is succeeding in goading her, but how does he think this will end? The treaty of everlasting peace between Khitan and Yusan protects royal children and family traveling through both realms, but with war on her doorstep she could just as easily disregard the treaty and kill him where he stands.
“I owe younothing,” she seethes.
I step closer to him. A guard holding an axe immediately shifts, mirroring me. Quilimar knows me well enough to expect me to be dangerous. But I’m not trying to attack her. I’m trying to save Euyn from himself, because I think I’ve figured out what he is doing.
“Euyn, no,” I say.
He hears me, but he doesn’t take his eyes off Quilimar.
She smiles a vicious grin. “All right, then, brother. I accept your wager and your terms. If you turn the egg to solid gold, you may keep the Golden Ring of Khitan and your head. Fail, and you lose both.”
“And you let everyone else go,” he adds.
Quilimar hesitates, but she can’t resist the bait. “Agreed.”
Euyn nods before I can object. “You are all witnesses.”
Her guards salute as one, pounding their fists to their chests. Euyn isn’t looking at them, though. He’s staring at the dignitaries in the hall, including Ambassador Zeolin.
“Yours in this life and the next,” he whispers to me.
No. A chill runs down my spine, fear like I’ve never felt before gripping me. I got it all wrong. He’s not trying to steal the ring…
Euyn just offered his life to save the rest of us.
Chapter Sixty-Seven
Royo
The Palace of the Sky King, Khitan
The fuck is going on right now?
The fancy people in the hall murmur, crowding by the front set of doors. Well, as close as they can get. They’re a hundred feet back because of the Rule of Distance. Still, they jam in together, trying to get a peek at Euyn. He’s about to turn the egg into gold with the Queen of Khitan’s ring. I hope. Because if he can’t, she’ll chop off his head.
Did I even hear that right?
I rub my forehead. I feel like I’m losing my fucking mind. Everyone in the banquet room is moving around, guards taking positions and Sora and Aeri nervously shifting their weight. Euyn and Queen Quilimar stand next to each other by the throne.
He didn’t say nothing about this. Or he did, and I’m the only one in the dark.
