She set the cup back down on the saucer with a sharp clatter. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
My head tipped to the side, waiting. Nevarre’s giant crow swept down to land in the middle of the table, his talons clattering through the crockery. Marne recoiled but caught herself, tipping her chin up proudly. Her alpha stepped closer, but she lifted her hand dismissively. She didn’t want to appear weak in front of me. Let alone afraid.
Winnifred whistled and Carys nodded. “Indeed. Only the second one hundred percent I’ve ever seen, my queen.”
Seated to my right, Leonie let out a soft, polite cough, drawing our attention to her. “May I be of service, Your Majesty?”
She’d already called her power, and I saw the flicker of shades around her. Shadows on the ground—where no living person stood.
“Yes, thank you, Leonie. Please give voice to the dead wishing to be heard. Gina, please capture notes for evidence.”
Leonie’s eyelids fluttered, her eyes rolling back in her head. When her mouth moved, it wasn’t her voice any longer.
“I, Ríogán, daughter of Morrigan, the Phantom Queen, High Queen of Triskeles upon my death, attest before the Mother and all Her Daughters, that Marnella Ceresa, queen of Rome, daughter of Ceres, is responsible not just for the destruction of Morrigan’s sacred grove but also my death and the entire Triskeles Triune. Using mirror magic to locate our secret meeting location, Marnella passed that information to Desideria Modron, daughter of Matres and Matronae, Triune High Queen, who in her madness then brought her Executioner to slay us while we were actively in service to the Mother.
“Then to compound that sin, Marnella corrupted and bribed my sister’s human consiliarius to sell and destroy our sacred grove. We do not forget, Marnella. We do not forgive.”
For a moment, silence hung in the air except for the rapid scribble of Gina’s pen capturing the testimony. Nevarre’s scent flowed over me in a wave of Celtic magic. An ancient grove of magical trees, thousands of years old, sentient, majestic, and fucking pissed.
Rustling black wings swept through my mind, and my voice echoed as if from a great distance. “Marnella Ceresa, meet Nevarre Morrigan Isador, son of Muirín, sister of Ríogán,Triskeles High Queen. No queen is above the law. Even Triune queens.”
Lunging forward, Nevarre slammed his beak into her eye. She screeched, stumbling up out of her chair. Winds rose, the buzzing thunder of millions of locust wings beating the air. Biting. Crawling across the ground in thick droves.
When I stood in her swarm before, I’d been unable to act. Bound by her circle. Forced to submit to her rules.
The queen of Rome held no power here.
My cup shattered, spilling tea across the pristine white tablecloth. Startled, I turned my head to see a black mirrored window hanging over the green expanse of garden. A woman—a queen—stepped out of the window. The black glass shattered, sending shards flying in all directions.
Mentally, I touched the blue feather in my hair.:Thierry, I need your miracle.:
Time didn’t freeze completely for me or my Blood but flowed in extreme slow motion. Rik dragged me part way out of my chair, slowly turning his shoulder toward the threat. Talons extended to rake Marne’s face, Nevarre sprang into the air, wings pumping so hard the rest of the tea service slowly toppled. Mouth open, teeth bared, Xin leaped up toward Marne’s throat in a slow arc. Leviathan inhaled, filling his internal bellows to blast fire at the intruder. Sword cocked over his shoulder in both hands, Guillaume charged across the green, knees pumping in slow, dramatic motion.
None of Marne’s Blood moved. Frozen in place, her eye a bloody hole, she stared, her mouth twisted in a furious snarl.
Black shards hung around the new queen like jagged obsidian blades, slowly gliding closer. “I mean you no harm. I came forher. Her blood is mine.”
“Who are you?” I asked.
Some of the black glass melted into a heavy-boned dog even larger than Itztli’s beast with a broad chest and three giantheads. The rest of the black shards shifted their trajectory toward Marne, as if she wore a giant bullseye on her back.
“Kora Haides, Queen of the Underworld, Bringer of Death.” Like most Aima queens, her age was difficult to guess. Her hair was the deep blue of the hottest flame, as piercing and bright as her eyes. She was dressed in modern black distressed jeans and a strappy black tank, which revealed thin scratches all over her arms, neck, and even her face. Some of the cuts were pale and healed, but others were pink and tight as if fresh. Aima rarely scarred, telling me some of the slices must have been delivered magically, or were extremely deep. “Marne Ceresa owes me for every single one of these scars.”
I listened for Morrigan’s drums and crows, but the pounding had gone silent. As long as Marne paid for her crimes, I didn’t think She would mind whose hand delivered the killing blow. “Do you promise to make it hurt?”
Kora’s eyes flared and a surprised smile flashed across her face, gone in an instant. “As much as she caused me to suffer tenfold.”
:Allow Kora Haides to deliver her retribution.:I told my Blood. “Then by all means, she’s yours.”
Releasing my hold, I allowed time to snap back to regular speed. Rik swept me up in his arms. Nevarre exploded up into the air and soared past Marne. In mid leap, Xin twisted aside and landed lightly with a disgruntled look on his wolf’s face. Guillaume still raced to me, covering Rik’s back as he carried me off the green.
:Well, fuck,:Leviathan complained.:I thought we were going to get another queen or two to eat.:
:I’m sorry, my Blood.:In my bonds, I gripped Xin’s ruff and pressed my forehead to his wolf’s.:The next queen we need to kill is yours.:
His ears perked.:When do we go, my queen?:
“Shara, wait!” Marne called after us. “Don’t leave me withher. She’s crazy! I’m not lying, I swear. Kora will kill us all with her madness!”
