“We won’t be.” Casteel’s cloaked head turned to me.
I nodded, letting the essence rush to the surface as heavy footsteps bounded down the hall. Several Royal Guards raced forward. The throbbing eather lit across my skin as my will merged with the essence. A faint, silvery webbing spilled out from me as it sparked across my hand, the shadows twining with the glow thicker now.
“That’s new,” Casteel commented.
“Started a couple of weeks back,” Kieran told him as the guards jerked to a halt.
The swords dropped from the guards’ hands, clattering off the floor as their necks twisted to the sides, cracking.
“You’ll probably be concerned to hear this, but also not surprised,” Casteel said, and the smoky, spicy flavor in my mouth crowded out the taste of death. “But I found that wildly…hot.”
“There’s something wrong with him,” Reaver muttered from behind us. “Isn’t there?”
There most definitely was, but I loved him for it.
Kieran snorted as another Royal Guard entered. The essence stretched out from me as my chin lowered. The webbing pulsed and then recoiled—
“Revenant,” I spat.
The bare-faced, unmasked guard smirked. It was then that I saw his eyes. Pale blue.
Casteel twisted sharply, grabbing a dagger from the table as he threw it in one smooth motion. The blade struck true, striking the Revenant between the eyes. “Let’s see how long it takes for you to get up from that.”
“As long as it takes for the blade to be removed,” came a voice. The golden Revenant strolled out from the shadows of the hall. Callum.
“You,” Casteel seethed.
“I imagine you’re faring much better than the last time I saw you,” Callum replied as fury whipped through me. He wasn’t alone. A quick glance showed at least half of dozen guards with him. All pale-eyed.
“Reaver,” I said. “There’s something I would like you to do for me, and you’ll be really happy about it.”
The draken’s smile was bloodthirsty as he walked between Casteel and me.
Callum glanced at Reaver, a painted wing rising on one side of his face. “I think I know what you are.”
“And I think you’re about to find out for sure.” Smoke wafted from Reaver’s nostrils.
“Maybe later.” Callum held up a hand.
Clariza appeared in the hall, her nose bloodied and a blade at her throat. A guard shoved her in Callum’s direction. He took hold of her as Blaz shuffled forward, held by another guard.
“Are you that much of a coward to use them as shields?” I demanded, furious.
“You say coward,” Callum said as Clariza’s anger gathered, hot and acidic, in my throat. “I say clever.”
Kieran came to stand on my other side. “This fucker’s got jokes.”
“Endless ones.” Callum eyed the wolven. “When this is all over, I shall like to keep you. I’ve always wanted a pet wolf.”
“Fuck you,” Kieran growled.
Anger wasn’t the only thing I picked up from the couple as violence thickened the air. Salty resolve filled them, too. They were prepared to die.
But I couldn’t allow that.
“Stand down,” I said to Reaver.
The draken rumbled, but the smoke faded.
Callum smiled. “Some would say humanity is a weakness.”
“Because it is,” another voice intruded, and every muscle in my body tensed.
Callum and the other Revenant stepped aside as I immediately moved to stand in front of Casteel. A figure cloaked in crimson came forward, but I knew it was no Handmaiden.
Slender hands lifted, lowering the hood, revealing what I already knew.
Isbeth stood before us. The ruby crown was absent, as was the powder that lightened her skin. It struck me then that I had seen her like this in her private chambers, with warmer, pink skin. That time, just at dusk, when she’d shown me the Star jewel—a diamond coveted throughout the kingdom and known for its silver glow.
“The most beautiful things in all the kingdom often have jagged and uneven lines, scars that intensify the beauty in intricate ways our eyes nor minds can detect or even begin to understand,” she had said.
It was true. Just as those like her, with smooth and even lines, flawless skin, and endless beauty could be evil and ugly. And my mother was the most monstrous of them all. What of my sister? She may not want to see the realms destroyed, but what had she done to stop our mother?
“Your compassion for mortals is admirable, but it’s not a strength,” Isbeth said, glancing at Reaver before those dark eyes settled on me. “A true Queen knows when to sacrifice her pawns.”