Page 99 of The Serpent Prince

Concern started spreading in Imani’s chest at being singled out. It dawned on her that it wasn’t simply her brands Kiran wanted … it was her, specifically.

What could this stranger possibly want with me? Is Kiran handing me over? Didn’t I already do what I came here to do? Why me? Her thoughts were spiraling at all the lies Kiran had told her, but she kept her mouth shut. If this man was able to tell her more about herself, she was willing to be compliant.

The death angel stood in front of her now, his own shadow magic snaking out to lightly brush Imani’s arms and neck.

“Hmm.” He turned back to the prince. “She is very beautiful, Kiran. And part-Norn elf. Entirely unexpected. The gods have smiled upon your fate with her. Those eyes remind me of Beliana …” He trailed off, almost reaching to touch her, but pulled back when Imani flinched.

Kiran stepped in front of Imani, hiding her from the male’s pervasive inspection.

She peeked around the corner of his waist to watch, annoyed at his overprotectiveness again. The prince lifted his shirt to reveal a binding mark to Mateus that was so large across his abdomen Imani had wondered more than once what bargain he had struck for such a thing.

Mateus, in robes and a tunic, lifted his own shirt to show a matching brand. “The bargain still stands,” he replied.

Kiran nodded and tucked in his shirt.

Anxiety frayed her nerves. Did this bargain involve her? She’d been told this would be simple for her—in and out, no questions—yet the air continued to take on a sinister feeling as the conversation continued.

“I must speak with her alone,” Mateus stated, dropping his shirt.

“Never,” Kiran hit back immediately, backing her farther behind him, his hands touching her. “You said all I needed to do was bring her to enter—you do not have to speak with her.”

“You think I don’t know your reputation, Serpent Prince? Before I give you what you ask, I must interrogate this creature alone to ensure she is who you say she is to you.”

“We have the marks to prove it.”

“I don’t trust marks from you as proof.”

This death angel was wise.

Imani fisted the back of Kiran’s shirt as she hid behind him. Did she want to speak with this man? Maybe he had answers for her. Answers that Kiran had denied her.

“No,” Kiran growled. “Speak to her with me here. This wasn’t part of the agreement. She stays with me.”

Either Kiran was being an obstinate asshole … or he was hiding something.

Mateus gave Kiran a placating look. “It’s a simple conversation. Alone. Then I will give you what you seek.”

What had Kiran come for? And why did he really need me? She was far more critical to this escapade than she’d originally thought.

Of course, Kiran had fooled her once again.

Imani stepped around Kiran and lifted her chin to look at the death angel. “I’ll speak to you alone.”

Kiran snarled and nearly snatched her back around him, but before he could, shadows of her own ensconced her body, protecting her, and the death angel grinned.

“Excellent.”

It was as if the dam on Mateus’s power disappeared. Darkness surrounded Imani. Filled her. Shadows shifted, and wind howled past her ears, tossing her hair around in a whirl of power, welcoming her to the world of night and enigmas. It called to her. But, while similar, this was not Imani’s darkness. Hers was total blackness; this was a fog—a lesser version of her power.

The inky magic dissipated slightly, but it hung around them like a dome. A veritable privacy wall that Kiran now stood outside of.

Imani’s eyes widened as she let the wisps of shadows twirl around her finger and dance off into the air. “You have magic like mine,” she whispered.

“I have the brand, but I’m curious if anyone has magic quite like you.”

Imani didn’t know what that meant. “I’d like some of my own answers in exchange for yours,” Imani offered, moving back to the altar as he stared at her with a look burning in his eyes that was both terrifying and intriguing.

Imani glanced back at the prince.