Page 122 of A Queen This Fierce and Deadly

“Go!” Demos hollered.

I lost sight of him in the sudden chaos. The water became a seething cauldron, turbulent waves crisscrossing over the surface of the lake as everyone hurtled toward us.

The creatures were gaining on them, and my heart beat in my throat, my entire body shuddering. Brinlor threw the amulet to Demos, who ducked beneath a long, serpentine body as it leaped through the air. The moment it was free, he hauled back his arm, and the amulet shot toward us.

Elysanth snatched it out of the air beside me, but I couldn’t celebrate. I was too busy watching as Horrison dragged Nyrik through the water, the other man’s struggles slowing them both down. Demos saw it too. He turned, going back for them.

My boots were off, my bow dropped next to them within a moment.

Swiping an arrow from my quiver, I leaped into the lake.

20

Madinia

The council voted against us.

It wasn’t even a close vote. Verdion sat at the head of the table, a small smile playing around his lips.

Thousands—perhaps hundreds of thousands—of people would die. And he was perfectly content. No, he was smug.

My hands burned, but I was getting better at controlling the fire that sparked within me.

“Why?” Rythos demanded.

“It’s simple,” a man next to Verdion said, stroking his dark beard. “While His Majesty may have broken our laws by not bringing such an important decision to the council—” he leveled Verdion with a long look, which Verdion ignored “—his logic was sound. Despite your passionate argument for us to involve ourselves in a war not of our own making, to do so would needlessly risk our own people. The Arslan will renegotiate with Regner. We will explain how our wards work and communicate our expectation not to be involved in this war.”

The stupidity of his words stunned me into speechlessness.

A muscle twitched in Rythos’s jaw.

“Leave,” Verdion said.

I planted my feet. I wasn’t going anywhere. I opened my mouth, but Rythos’s expression had…changed.

This time, fire truly did burn in my hands, my power automatically leaping to protect me from the threat. Several Arslan glowered at me. But it was Rythos they should have been paying attention to.

His expression was perfectly pleasant. His eyes sparkled, and his head tilted in that strange fae way that never failed to make the hair rise on the back of my neck.

My hands burned hotter. But he wasn’t looking at me. He wasn’t even looking at his father. No, he was looking at the council.

And every one of them had stopped talking. They were looking back.

My heart thundered in my chest, and I took a step closer to the door. But I couldn’t stop myself from watching, even as my instincts screamed at me to run before I was caught up in it too.

“This makes me sad,” Rythos said. “I’ve come here to extend the hand offriendship.”

Verdion choked. “Don’t you dare.”

Rythos didn’t even spare him a glance. I could feel his power, the tendrils of it sweeping through the room, searching for the weakest—

“I’ll be your friend,” the woman with the braids spoke up.

“Silence!” Verdion roared, but it was too late.

“Don’t choose her,” the bearded man at Verdion’s side snapped. “I would make a much better friend.”

Rythos smiled, and it was terrible. “We can all befriends, don’t you think?”

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