“Just special I guess.”
Her green eyes flash with malice. I don’t need to taunt her, but it makes me smile.
“I’m ready for the next step.”
Aoife stands abruptly, her pale-yellow gown swinging as she descends her stairs. Tight at the waist, low in the front, it’s made for nights dancing, not sitting over a kingdom.
My eyes travel to her son. Fenrir stands resolute—almost dazed. Something about him is off—he’s not the prick from the forest or the charming heir from the Black Palace. He just…is.
Strange.
“Smart little blood summoner,” she mutters, fists clenching her dress. “You will bathe,” she says, waving her hands. “Then, you will return to the throne room. Wear what the servants bring you. Then you will eat the petals.” Each instruction is clipped and irritated.
She doesn’t seem thrilled describing the next steps.She thought I would fail.
Does that mean all of this is for nothing? Could Baris be right?
“I’ll be back.” If this is for nothing, I’ll need to be quick. Kaden’s curse solidifies tonight and I can’t risk waiting any longer. But if this works, the sooner my mate will return.
It’s a perilous decision: not knowing which way is right.
She glares at us as we exit, and the males follow me to my chambers. Mal stays outside as a guard, while Reid comes into my bedroom. The roses, black all over, shimmer in the morning light as he places them gently on my bed.
They smell familiar and I don’t know why.
“This will work,” Reid tells me, calming my fears. The servants enter, holding sheer fabrics and various bottles of oils and scents. “Kaden is coming back to us. We can do it.Youcan do it, Max.”
Placing a hand on the gem at my throat, I can only nod. Nerves, fears, and hope tangle together into a tarry mess that sinks low into my belly.
We’re getting him back. Aoife might deceive, she might hinder, Hell, these obstacles could be for nothing—but I will succeed.
The bath is quick. A hard scrubbing by impersonal hands, the water is filled with various petals—lavender, hibiscus, sage and thyme, and the dirt from travel falls in clumps into the milky water. When the servants lead me out, Reid steps into the hall and they dress me into a silken dress. Similar in style to the Black Palace dresses, it hangs in heavy chains around my shoulders, with high slits along my thighs. A golden belt is wrapped around my waist where my daggers are placed, and then they pull at my scalp.
The servants braid an intricate knot onto my head, as they gather my strands and tug it into place. They’re not nice and I endure it with a barely bit tongue. This is the least of my concerns for their pettiness.
Stepping out into the hall, the sun is high and the palace is buzzing with activity. Mal and Reid haven’t moved from their places, still smudged and covered in grass stains.
Reid whistles playfully at me and Mal looks skyward, as if to know that if he takes too long, Kaden will come from the shadows and rip his throat out. It makes me grin.
“Are you ready?” Reid asks, flicking one of the stray strands over my shoulder.
“To break a curse? Sure.” I shrug and walk with them back to the throne room. “This is what I was apparently born for.”
“You were born for more than that,” Mal says confidently. “Breaking curses is a large part of it. But you offer more than that.”
“Like?”
“You discovered who the Crimson Army was, who Griffin truly was,” he explains. “You were the catalyst for the coup of the Shadowlands. Kaden wouldn’t have done it so soon, if not for your safety.”
“And you made my brother love again,” Reid reminds me. “That is a defeat no short of divinity.”
Reaching the throne room, I notice it’s changed. In the time it took me to bathe and dress, the area has been set up like a small training yard. There are weapons all around, with sand in the middle, waiting for a duel.
My fingers turn red and I stall, heels digging into the tile as we all look to Aoife. The queen stands at the side, directing more barrels of sand to be distributed, with her table of potions in the back corner. A black pot boils ominously.
When she sees us, she smiles ruefully. And my stomach sours.
