Page 112 of A Queen This Fierce and Deadly

“He could make up to four people look like Conreth,” Lorian said. “But the disguise would only hold from a distance. Anyone who had met my brother even once before would immediately know they were looking at an impostor.”

“But it could still save Conreth’s life,” I said. I could imagine just how confused attackers would be if there were suddenly four or five Conreths to attack.

“Yes.”

I understood then, just what Conreth was sacrificing. Renit’s constant presence must have felt like an irreplaceable layer of security. The fae king was incredibly strong—I’d seen exactly how strong when we took down the barrier. But his father had been strong too. And that hadn’t saved him. Or his mother.

I pushed those thoughts away and considered why exactly Lorian had bargained for Renit. And why Lorian was insisting on bringing Kaliera. And the blood began to drain so quickly from my face, I was suddenly dizzy.

“You don’t think we should sneak into Zathrian’s camp at all,” I said, and my hands began to shake.

“No,” Lorian said gently, taking both my hands in his. “We’re going to walk in.”

ASINIA

There were too many soldiers guarding the mine.

They crawled across the landscape like ants working within a colony.

According to Lorian, when his people had first spied on this place months ago, it had had just a few guards. Enough that anyone who happened to travel through the area wouldn’t become suspicious. Wouldn’t ask any deep questions about exactly what could possibly be being guarded with such ferocity.

There were only two possible reasons for Regner to have ordered this much security.

Either it was in direct response to his queen’s little visit, or it was in preparation for our own.

If there was one thing the human king was particularly good at, it was anticipating the actions of his enemies.

Few safe routes were left for us to make our way north. Demos’s contacts had come through, giving us continual updates about the movements of Regner’s regiments and the routes of his scouting parties. Still, we’d had to backtrack multiple times when we’d come too close to groups of soldiers that had inexplicably moved into new positions.

As much as Demos would have liked to create some chaos and carnage, we couldn’t afford for Regner to know we’d slipped past his borders and were moving north.

Thanks to Madinia and Vicer’s campaign to educate thepopulace, getting across those borders had been a matter of waiting until the right guards were on duty—and sympathetic to our cause. They’d allowed us to stroll into Eprotha with a nod.

Still, some part of me wondered if Regner did know we were here. From the intent look in Demos’s eyes as he watched the soldiers, it was clear he was also considering the possibility of a trap.

We’d spent the morning slowly exploring the area. The terrain was unstable, making it a difficult place to set up a permanent camp. Demos had disappeared to spy, confirming our suspicions when he returned—the guards had chosen a second location with higher ground, allowing the guards who weren’t on shift to monitor the mine from a distance, along with the surroundings.

A sensible plan, although it would make things more difficult for us. If there had only been one or two of us, it likely would have been easier to get into the mine. But we needed all of us inside to find the amulet.

The guards stationed their horses in a corral near the mine’s perimeter for a swift response, but their barracks were set up on sturdier ground. While it was a strategic location, it left them with a predictable routine.

We’d arrived early enough to watch the day shift tie up their horses and walk directly to their posts—swapping with the bleary-eyed night shift.

Gwynara sidled closer. She was short for one of the fae, but from what I’d seen so far, she was well respected. When she’d made a suggestion while we were traveling, the others had usually agreed.

“There are too many of them. Do we still go in?” shewhispered. “It could be a trap.”

We watched the soldiers for another few hours. There was no way we could get this many people into the mouth of the mine without alerting those guards. Besides, we couldn’t risk them coming in behind us. We needed them dead.

Between us, we had plenty of power. But we couldn’t risk exhausting ourselves before even entering the mine. Who knew what we would find in there, or how much power it would take to get back out? After what Demos and I had experienced with Prisca and Lorian when we’d searched for the hourglass, neither of us was pleased at the thought of being underground once more.

There was one upside, though. While the labyrinth of caves hiding the hourglass had been filled with fae iron that had gradually drained not just our power, but our strength, Kaliera had insisted that wasn’t the case here. And while I hadn’t been inclined to believe her, Marth had pointed out that Regner wouldn’t have been able to keep the fae creatures alive while they were young if he’d cut off their connection to magic.

At one point, I was so tired of waiting, I began fantasizing about nocking an arrow and taking out the four soldiers I could see.

These soldiers weren’t particularly alert. They strolled across the areas they’d been assigned to guard, their steps shortening as the afternoon dragged on.

I calculated I could hit three of them before the fourth noticed. He would turn to run, but as long as the wind didn’t change suddenly, my last bolt would hit him in the spine.

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