“They will kill you,” said a voice.
I turned to find Ana in my room, but it was not the Ana I knew—this one belonged to Yesenia’s time. She looked just as beautiful, the only difference being her hair. Not a hint of silver showed in her golden tresses.
“I am going to die anyway,” I said, and as I spoke, I carefully inked words onto the thick pages of a book.
“That is not funny, Yesenia.”
I paused and met Ana’s gaze. “Was I laughing?”
Ana paled. “So you plan to die and leave these spells behind. For whom?”
“You are using the wrong words. There is no plan to die, but I will die,” I said. “And the spells are for me.”
“I do not understand.”
“You do not have to,” I said. “All you have to do is hide the book.”
A knock at the door made me jump, and I found I was alone in my room. Ana was not present, and the book I had been writing in was gone.
I’d had many moments in this palace where I had visions of the past, but this was the first one I’d had about The Book of Dis.
My heart beat heavily in my chest as I tried to process what I had witnessed, but I was once again interrupted by a second knock at the door.
“My queen?”
“Fuck,” I said under my breath and rose from my place to open the door.
Violeta and Vesna had arrived to help me prepare for the day.
“My queen!” Violeta exclaimed as she entered my room. “Why did you not call for me?”
My lady-in-waiting collapsed to her knees before the hearth and began preparing the fire. Vesna remained near the entrance, arms folded, shivering.
“I did not wish to be disturbed,” I said, letting my blanket slide from my shoulders and handing it to Vesna.
“Oh no, my queen. I couldn’t,” she said.
“Do not refuse my generosity, Vesna,” I said, and she took the blanket.
Violeta climbed to her feet, dusting off her knees as the fire roared to life. Once it was warm enough, I dressed in a black gown. The bodice was structured and dipped into a V that accentuated my breasts—something Adrian would admire. The collar was high and the sleeves long, embellished with silver beading made to look like flowers caught in moonlight.
I accepted whatever jewels Violeta gave me, eager to find Ana. All I had learned was that Ana had ensured the book survived two hundred years until I could return to claim it, but in those years, had she read it? Did she recall any spells? Perhaps we would be able to anticipate Ravena’s next move.
Another knock came at the door, and I grew frustrated at having another visitor who would delay my search for Ana, but when Vesna answered the door, she curtsied immediately.
“Your Majesty,” she said and stepped aside so Adrian could enter.
He wore all black, a long shadow, and he cast his darkness upon me though I could not deny that I wanted it.
He looked just as tired as I felt—pale, dark-eyed, and sad.
He had pulled his hair away from his face, and it exposed his beautiful, angled jaw.
“May I speak with you?” he asked.
I stared at him a moment, and then my gaze shifted to Violeta and Vesna. “You are dismissed.”
When they were gone and the door clicked shut, Adrian approached, halting a few steps from me. I wanted to fill the void between us because I hated how it felt—empty and raw.
“I came to apologize,” he said. “I was unkind in so many ways last night. I promised you the world, and when you asked, I took it away.” He paused for a moment, looking away, his eyes becoming hard. “The problem is…I waited two centuries to have you in my arms again, and if I let you go, I fear you will never come back.”
“Adrian,” I said, whispering his name. His words made my heart ache.
“I came to let you know that I dispatched one of my soldiers to Nalani.”
I straightened at his words.
“Her name is Ivka. She should return within the week with news.”
I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came out, and the only thing I could think to ask was, “Why?”
He swallowed and answered, “Because I love you.”
My eyes watered, and I had to bite my lip to keep my mouth from quivering. Adrian frowned and came to kneel at my feet as I spoke.
“You did not have to do this, but I am grateful you did.”
He touched my face, and I covered his hands with mine.
“Do not cry, my sweet,” he said, his lips close to mine. “This is likely the only honorable thing I will ever do in your name.”
I believed him. He was the curse placed on this land when the first drop of my blood touched this earth. He had killed kings and ended bloodlines. He had conquered and would continue, and I felt a single sliver of fear at how unaffected I felt by such a thought.
Instead, I kissed him, and as my arms tightened around his neck, he rose to his feet, and I followed. We stumbled back, knocking into my vanity, but Adrian did not seem to care. He only used it as a perch, guiding me onto it as he gathered my skirt, hands skimming my thighs before teasing my heat. I groaned, letting my head fall back, an opportunity Adrian took advantage of as he sucked hard on my neck, letting his teeth press against my skin as he did.
I grew frustrated with his playfulness and reached for his hand, thrusting his fingers inside me. Adrian said nothing, only kissed me harder. He kissed me everywhere—my mouth, my jaw, my neck, my breasts—and all I wanted was to open for him more, feel him more, but I was already wound tight, and my entire body felt like a heartbeat, pulsing and throbbing.
He kept his pace, a rhythm that had me breathlessly begging him to keep going. He pulled back to watch me as I came, and though quiet, the release left me shaking. Adrian withdrew and placed his fingers into his mouth before he kissed me deeply.
“Are you all right?” he asked.
“Yes,” I whispered, and then we laughed together.
It was a beautiful moment, a brief second in our lives that felt simple and easy compared to what we faced outside this room—a life that would not wait.
Adrian helped me stand. “I will leave you to finish getting ready,” he said. “Today we have court.”
I could only imagine what stories we would hear. It was the first court since Ravena’s attack, since the aufhockers’ behavior had changed, and I was filled with an acute sense of dread.
Nine
Isolde
It did not take me long to restore my appearance. I smoothed my skirt and pushed my hair over my shoulder, hoping that it would help cool my heated skin, which was covered in a fine layer of sweat. I was slightly jealous of how quickly Adrian had pulled himself together.
I was still eager to speak with Ana and had time before court. I retrieved my daggers, fitting them to my wrists beneath my sleeves, and left my room in search of her, finding her in a smaller room down the hall from the sanctuary where the remaining wounded had been moved to finish healing. The room itself was long and narrow, more like a wide hall, with patients lined up in a row on cots.
When I walked in, Ana was rewrapping a leg wound.
“My queen,” she said when she saw me, smiling softly.
“M-my queen!” The patient, an older man, seemed to panic at my presence. He tried to push himself up onto his elbows, but I stopped him.