Page 185 of A Queen This Fierce and Deadly

He’d bought us much-needed time. And he’d paid for it.

Natan wore no shirt. Which made it easy to see the daggers that had been stabbed into his chest and stomach. Thin black lines curved out from those daggers, indicating poison. His feet were bloody, and his hands had been tied behind his back.

“Tibris is here,” Demos whispered. “Just a few moments longer, Pris.”

It felt as if it was years before Natan was within ourwards. The moment he made it, several of our soldiers leaped forward, catching him as he fell to his knees and slicing the rope from his wrists.

Regner’s soldiers instantly slammed their power into those wards. But Tibris and Vicer had already shoved past Demos, crouching by Natan’s side.

I followed them, dropping to the ground.

Natan’s eyes met mine. He attempted to speak but couldn’t.

“Water,” Vicer demanded.

Someone handed him a waterskin. Natan managed a couple of sips.

“We need to remove the knives,” Tibris said, holding his hands against Natan’s chest. “But we need another healer to help. The poison…”

Natan caught his hand. “We both…know…not… living through…this.”

“Yes, you are,” I said, turning my head. “Healer!”

One of the fae healers rushed forward. When she saw Natan, she inhaled sharply.

Natan dropped his gaze to the daggers in his torso. “Worth it,” he said.

“Natan…” My voice broke.

“Home,” he whispered.

“Yes,” Vicer said, taking his hand. Why wasn’t he doing something? Why wasn’t he—

“We’ll bury you at home.” Tibris’s face was grief-stricken, his eyes hollow. Natan was his oldest friend. If there was anything to be done, he would be doing it.

No.Pleaseno.

Natan smiled at Tibris and Vicer. He turned thatsmile to me.

He was still smiling as he died.

My blood went cold. I got to my feet. “Stone,” I said.

Demos must have known I wasn’t asking for a trowth stone. Instead, he handed me a small red nerth stone, designed to make my voice carry across a large crowd.

“This is what Regner does,” I said. My voice shook with rage, and I forced myself to firm it. “He creates loss and then basks in it. He creates lies and then enjoys the lack of trust. He creates hopelessness and benefits from the lives spent lost to it.

“But this is not whatwedo. We create joy. We create friendship. We create life and love and hope. And when we have to—when someone forces us to—we createdeath. Today, we will make Regner regret choosing to target our people. We will make him regret the grief and loss and hopelessness he has wielded for centuries. We will defend our kingdoms and refuse to yield to the madness of the Eprothan king.”

Cheers sounded, our soldiers thrusting their swords into the air. There would be time for mourning later. For now, I couldn’t afford to let Regner’s evil chew at me. I handed the stone back to Demos. He said something into the stone, and our people began to march.

In front of us, Regner’s soldiers were doing the same.

Most of his left flank was made up of terrovians. Lorian had killed many of his skyrions when they’d attacked Sorlithia, and Asinia and Demos had clearly taken care of the rest when they’d destroyed Regner’s mine. Even as the thought pleased me, I found myself staring at the snarling, four-legged creatures slinkingtoward us.

I knew why Regner had placed them closest to the forest. To the mountains.

Because when he cut through our army, those creatures would be the best suited for hunting down anyone who thought to run. They’d sniff out hybrids in the caves, in the forest, or fleeing back through the pass.

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