“And most of the palace doesn’t like it. Don’t expect to have the guards on your side.”
“Taste test her food,” Reid quips. “Got it.”
Mal leads us down the hall, keeping stride with my small steps. Reid doesn’t let me go, sticking close to my side. “Your mother knocked us down with only a swipe of her hands. How is that?”
“Magic,” he says, shrugging. “She’s ancient. Older than my father was. She possesses great knowledge. We assume from how long she’s lived, she was able to summon it through spells and potions.”
“It’s terrifying.”
Mal hums bitterly. “Try having her as a mother. She isn’t the most loving. If not for her care of our kingdom after our father’s death, or for her ability to save the kingdom when a sickness overtook our people, I would assume her heartless.”
“That’s comforting.” Reid gestures to the hall. “I assume we’re going to see her?”
“Yes. She’s in the throne room. Fenrir has been with her since we arrived.”
“Still not our greatest fan, I take it.”
Mal barks out a laugh. “No. But they both understand the situation.”
We reach the throne room and I openly gawk. The room is made out of gold, from the sconces on the walls, to the giant seat in the center on a large platform. A white rug runs from the entrance to the chair, and ivy swings high above, with various white flowers woven into the vines.
It smells like roses, but I don’t see any.
On the throne, is Aoife. When her eyes fall on me, my blood runscold. Dressed in days old traveling clothes, dirt under my nails, I am some peasant compared to her beauty.
With a sharp nose, pointed chin, and smooth skin, she’s otherworldly. Her ivory gown is simple, but elegant, with gold stitching along the collar and cuffs, and the crown on her head—large and gold—sits like a flame as it reflects all the light.
She practically glows. And she glares at me.
“Dark Queen,” she greets, but it’s chilly.She doesn’t like me.
Granted, I killed her guards out of spite, but still. She must understand why.
Dipping low, I mumble, “Queen Aoife.”
She taps her nails along the arm rest. “I understand Kaden,myKaden, has been changed.” She sneers at me. “Centuries of holding on to that cursed soul, and he loses it overyou.”
“To be fair,” I begin, “he lost it while killing his father and enacting his coup. A coupyousupported.”
She frowns. “Indeed.”
Fenrir walks into the room, carrying our bags. He looks freshly showered with new clothes and cleaned shoes. Glancing to us, he doesn’t bother to stop, dropping our things and continuing to his mother’s side.
“Bastard,” Reid mutters and I bite back a smile.
Dipping my head again, I say, “Mal said you were willing to help us. To reverse Kaden’s curse.”
Aoife sighs, tapping her nails again. “Reverse? Unlikely.”
“But I was told?—”
“You were told wrong,” she says coldly. “Kaden’s curse is near-unbreakable. It was given to his family well before any of you were born and no one here can change it.” Her eyes flash with irritation. “How do you hope to end it? With a simple spell?”
“I—” My hands dig into my bag, pulling out the spell book.Gods above, thank you. “I have theNoir Rose. Oslo told us to take it before he died. We thought it could offer a way to break it.”
The queen pauses, looking at the book in my hand. An emotion I can’t place falls over her face before it’s erased. “How doyouhave it?”
“We took it from the palace. We came here because your sons spoke of your abilities.” I wave the book into the air. “The pages are blank.”
