Page 195 of A Queen This Fierce and Deadly

Thanks to both Telean’s eye tonic and the ground we had lost, I could see the panicked expressions of Regner’s generals as their soldiers fell and died. As others turned to run.

And still, it wasn’t enough. Regner was safe behind his soldiers.

For now.

The air was thick with the scent of iron and blood, the metallic tang sliding along my tongue and stinging my nostrils. Demos held up a hand. “Enough. Conserve what you have left.”

My head spun dizzily. Next to me, Zathrian leaned over and panted, placing his hands on his thighs. “Kaliera is planning something,” he said. “She has someone on the outside. A man named Pelysian. She feels confident he will come for her to free her. So she can kill you.”

I stared at him. If he was telling me this now, it was because he’d been planning to join with her.

Demos cursed. “I’ll have someone check her guards,” he said.

I opened my mouth.

“Your Majesty!” Blynth strode up to us. His eyes were half wild. “We’ve heard from the elders. It’s time.”

I swallowed, my stomach fluttering. So much could go wrong…

“Pris!” Asinia screamed.

I whirled, scanning the distance. And a choked sob ripped its way free from my throat.

Hundreds of Arslan ships began to rise from deep beneath the water, directly behind Regner’s fleet.

Rythos and Madinia had made it happen.

Regner’s ships began to burst into flames. Except they weren’t just burning. No, they were turning to ash.

Madinia was here.

And she wasfurious.

“Who is that?” Zathrian asked behind me.

I couldn’t help but laugh, picturing Madinia’s reaction when she learned who Zathrian was. “I suggest you make yourself scarce.”

Asinia reached us, a wide grin on her face. And Demos scooped her up, his mouth crashing down on hers.

I gaped. That was new. Telean would be pleased.She’d muttered about how the two of them were wasting time. I turned, searching for my aunt. But she’d disappeared. Likely, she couldn’t stand to watch Regner’s ships breaking through Daharak’s lines, his soldiers prepared to slaughter our people in their own kingdom.

A strange kind of panic began to thump in my chest. She was likely fine. But…

“Has anyone seen Telean?”

Demos shrugged, unconcerned. I nudged him with my elbow. “When you see her, find a way to keep her with Tibris,” I ordered. I hadn’t had a chance to check in on him, but I had no doubt he would put her to good use and keep her safe.

“I’ll keep an eye out for her,” Asinia said.

Demos nodded, but his gaze was on a skiff that was moving toward the shallows.

Madinia stood by Rythos’s side. Her remaining power was best spent here, where she could help us get to Regner, and Rythos had clearly determined the same.

Rythos’s cousin stood behind them, and her ward held easily as they made their way toward us. By the time they’d landed on the beach, Regner’s soldiers had given up their attempts to slice their power through that ward.

Finally, Madinia reached us. Surprisingly, she hugged each of us, something heavy in her cloak pocket thunking against my armor. Asinia’s gaze dropped to it, and she opened her mouth, eyes sparking—

“We need you at the front,” Demos told her. “Thanks to the hybrids, we’ve reclaimed the peninsula. And of course, thanks to the Arslan, Regner’s ships won’t be able to invade our kingdom. That means we have the tunnel,and it’s time to get the hybrids out. Prisca, you stay here, ready to step in if the Eprothans realize what we’re doing. But don’t use your power unless there’s absolutely no other option.”

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