A SWARM OF CITRINE SOLDIERS IN SHINING INDIGO ARMOR HAULED US
from one another, and when the soldier behind me tightened his steel against my neck, my stomach threatened to empty its meager
contents all over his hand.
The contingent was large enough to have two if not three men on each of us. It was a sea of cobalt metal and white accents, helmets and spears and shining iron swords. I couldn’t see Leigh or Mari or Kane, or—
I fished for that freshly reborn lighte, straining for the power to free myself, but nothing sputtered at my fingertips. The simple act of stitching up my knee had used all of the nearly dried-up well.
“Could this be who I think it is?” boomed an arrogant male voice.
The soldiers parted slightly, and my breath nearly fled my lungs at the sight before me.
The honey-stone courtyard we were being held in led to an expanse of glittering white steps, smooth like abalone and almost blinding in the sunlight. Standing atop them was a lavish palace, different from the intimate, bohemian ranch of Siren’s Cove or the gothic, gloomy beauty of Shadowhold. No, this white-peaked spectacle built into the rocky cliffside was adorned with pearls and gold and rubies, each window and spire and turret glistening in the midday sun with clusters of jewels. The lively city of Azurine spread out around the palace before us, but I couldn’t appreciate its beauty. Not as I fought to keep my throat from splitting open against a blade.
Standing atop the white stone steps was a regal man with a square jaw and curled hair. Beside him stood a pinched woman with a permanent sneer, earlobes sagging under weighty rubies that hung past her shoulders. The royals were flanked by at least a dozen more of the sapphire-blue-clothed guards.
“King Broderick, what is the meaning of this?” Eryx sounded almost as insulted as he did afraid.
“Your Majesties.” Kane’s voice was calm somewhere in the crowd. “I think there’s been a simple misunderstanding.”
Despite my fury with the man, relief washed over me in hearing his cool, deep voice. Even at his most polite, that deadly power—that commanding, predatory intensity—carried out into the courtyard. I couldn’t see over the swath of soldiers, but I was sure no Citrine guard had laid a hand on him.
“No misunderstanding,” the king on the steps replied. “We recognize your crest, King Ravenwood. And the Provinces’.”
“Siren’s Cove has been sacked,” Kane said. “Burned to the ground by King Gareth of Amber and King Thales of Garnet.”
The shifting of the royals before us told me they either hadn’t known or didn’t much care.
“Please, let us discuss this in a more civilized manner,” Eryx called out. “This is wholly unnecessary. Our people here are refugees from battle. We mean your city no harm.”
“Not yet, at least,” Kane purred, and a chill broke out across my arms. I knew now what he could do. How easily he could massacre this entire group with his barbed, shadowed power.
The regal couple at the top of the marble stairs conferred silently. Agonizing moments passed in which I saw violence, bloodshed, guttural sobs . . . I strained to lay eyes on Leigh or Ryder, and felt the arms around my middle tighten. At best I was looking at another dungeon, more rope around my wrists, more suffering for those I loved, more—
In an instant the guards released all of us, and the blade at my throat was sheathed. I loosed a breath and rubbed at my neck before spotting the royals
striding down those sprawling white steps toward us. They must have given their guards the all clear. I scanned through the crowd for my siblings until finally my eyes found a little disheveled blonde head of hair. I pushed through a sea of blue-clad men and reached for her.
“Are you all right?”
“Fine,” Leigh said, wrenching from my grip.
I glowered at the soldier beside her and only released his eyes when Leigh forcibly yanked me away. We shuffled through the throng until a warm, calloused hand encircled my arm and pulled me back.
“You’ll need to stay with us,” Kane said. “Ryder, can you take the little one?”
I looked up to see Ryder shove through blue armor and wet gray clothes. “Yeah, I got her. Go charm some royals.”
Since when were they so friendly? Kane hated Ryder. I peeked down to Leigh. “I’ll be right behind you.”
My siblings, along with the rest of the ship’s passengers, were ushered around the wide bright steps and through a set of great stone doors wreathed in vines and peach wildflowers. Once they were safely inside, and my heart rate had slowed to a more manageable pace, Kane and I climbed the endless stairs behind Griffin, Amelia, and Eryx toward the royal family. I found a few grains of sand still lodged between my teeth, and spat discreetly onto the opalescent stone.
“Not very ladylike,” Kane murmured.
“Why don’t you find one of those guards with the pointy blades to bother?”
“So violent,” he hummed.
“What can I say? I learned from the best.”
“I think you’re plenty violent on your own,” Kane mused as we came to a halt. But something like irritation flicked across his eyes. “The numbskull with the sword at your neck did come close to losing his hand, though.”
Eryx bowed when he reached the royals, his pear-shaped body nearly toppling with the performative gesture. They only glared at us.
“King Broderick, Queen Isolde. You remember my daughter, Amelia; King Ravenwood’s commander, Griffin Bolt; and this is his healer, Lady Arwen.”
“Greetings,” the queen said to us all, lips pursed.
I curtsied, and upon rising, my eyes slipped past the Citrine royals and caught sight of a shockingly handsome man leaning against a pillar behind them.
He was lean and tall, with glowing bronze skin, and despite his casual stance, held his arms behind him in a show of respect. The position only highlighted his cut biceps and broad, strong chest. Even at a distance I found my gaze glued to his confident, resting smile and clear blue eyes, which mirrored the shining, endless ocean behind me. Next to him stood a petite woman, maybe a few years younger than me. She was also attractive, but less magnificently so. That same flaxen hair, heart-shaped face, and stunning sealike eyes.
Although hers looked rather sad, and couldn’t seem to pull away from . . . I followed her eyeline, landing on Kane.
Bleeding Stones. He wasn’t that gorgeous, was he?
His strong jaw ticked as he caught me looking at him, inky tousled hair and sleek clothes a powerful contrast to the sunny palace and blue skies around us. He turned a black signet ring around on his pinky and pocketed the hand in one smooth motion, drawing my eyes down to his long, muscular legs.
I swallowed hard and decided I’d better not answer my own question.
King Broderick motioned to the pair behind him, “Eryx, you remember our son, Prince Fedrik, and daughter, Princess Sera.”
“Yes!” Eryx exclaimed, overly familiar. “How they’ve grown! I remember when—”
“No, no need,” Isolde snipped, looking down at a single chipped nail.
Fedrik, the handsome man—not even handsome, but artfully, classically beautiful—sauntered over to greet us before giving me a warm, genuine smile and taking my hand in his. “Lady Arwen.” Fedrik bowed. “It’s a pleasure.”
He exuded cheer and ease, as if it were a mere everyday occurrence to find forty wet, windswept refugees in your courtyard, and after this little discussion he’d be off to play some kind of masculine, midafternoon sport and take a dip in the shimmering sea.
A smile itched to spread across my face—he was like sunshine.
Princess Sera offered a fluid curtsy and pinned her eyes even more intently on Kane beside me. I whipped my gaze to him to catch his reaction, but he was expressionless, staring at the castle turrets, silver eyes bored and cold.
This was the version of Kane I had first met. None of his vulnerability showing, no weakness, no warmth. Only cool and casual disinterest, with a well of deadly venom simmering just below the surface.
Eryx marched forward and motioned for Kane to do the same. Amelia moved to join at her father’s side, but he placed a single elbow out as he adjusted his belt, very subtly reprimanding her and sending her back to where Griffin and I stood. Shame painted her cheeks with a pink glow.
Unexpected ire burned in my blood. From what I had seen, Amelia was a far fiercer protector of Peridot than her father. She had been the only one concerned about the people of Siren’s Cove when the city was attacked.
“We seek asylum,” Eryx began. “King Ravenwood’s words are true. Peridot fell in the battle of Siren’s Bay, and King Gareth of Amber has assumed my throne. Onyx will be next. Citrine is a mighty and powerful force. We will need your vast army if we are to stand any chance in restoring peace to Evendell.”
King Broderick didn’t even blink. “We cannot help you.” Kane leaned forward. “Broderick, come now—”
But the queen stepped in front of her husband, her pointed chin held high. “If I recall, King Ravenwood, you are not permitted on Citrine sands after what you did. I could have your head on a stake for breathing our air.”
Of course.
Of course Kane had done something—surely something unethical, double-crossing, and self-serving—that would land us all without safe haven.
Eryx’s boastful face had finally fallen. He actually looked a little bewildered.
“Queen Isolde,” Kane tried, as if mustering patience. “She was too young to marry. She’s just a child.”
Princess Sera went pale, her eyes suddenly fixated on her pink-hued sandals.
“That was not your decision to make.” The queen’s voice was shrill. “She was to be my wife.”
Oh, Bleeding Stones.
“Well, I was pleased,” Prince Fedrik cut in. “I didn’t particularly like the idea of my baby sister marrying a raging Fae asshole anyway. Someone come find me when he’s left the city, will you?” He gave Kane a bright smile and a hard pat on the shoulder before walking past him and descending the sprawling, milky white stairs.
Fae? Shock coursed through me like a crack of lightning. But Kane merely scowled.
“Why did you agree to marry our daughter if you only planned to humiliate her?” Queen Isolde pressed.
I was still reeling from the prince’s comment. Maybe the entire Kingdom of Citrine knew of the Fae Realm? But how could that knowledge never have spread to the rest of the continent?
“You can do with me whatever you wish,” Kane said, ignoring her question. “But do not punish these people for my mistakes. The kind of evil we are up against threatens to destroy every mortal soul. What Eryx has yet to inform you is that King Gareth and King Thales are allied with my father. Surely, you won’t let your pride stand in the way of all the lives in Evendell?”
Queen Isolde’s face gave nothing away. Nothing but that splintering rage in her stark eyes. But King Broderick—all I could hope was that he might save this rapidly deteriorating situation. He took his wife’s hand in his, though she wriggled against the gesture.
“Personal feelings aside, we cannot risk our kingdom’s safety. You may stay here for the night, but we insist that you all leave tomorrow.”
No, no no—
What now? I couldn’t bring Leigh and Ryder back to Onyx, knowing Lazarus might be waiting for us. And I knew too little about the rest of the continent to even fathom which other kingdoms might offer safety.
Kane persevered. “I may have wronged your family, but—”
The queen’s voice was piercing. “Humiliated. Devastated our daughter
—”
“I know.” Kane’s eyes were severe. He was done begging. I swallowed hard. “Give me a private audience to convince you both. What I have to say will be worth your time.”
Before his wife could sink her claws into Kane once more, King Broderick said, “Fine.”
