Page 4 of Severed Heir

“What?” I gasped, caught off guard. “I’m not going to Malvoria.”

It was dead silent for a moment at the table. Then Charles gave me a strange grin. “You can’t return to the Serpent Academy, and I can’t keep my eye on you while you’re in Demetria. If the person accused of a forbidden quell fails to be stripped, they’re property of the Malvoria guards.”

“I’m a Serpent. You can’t send me to that institution.”

Evangeline spoke up, her voice flat. “Archer is young. He won’t pass anytime soon. You should be honored.”

The king chimed in after his wife, his tone matter-of-fact, “And joining the guards will look good to the civilians.”

I dropped my fork with a loud clang. “I won’t go.”

“Myla is there. Don’t you miss her?” asked Charles. “I’m trying to make this easy, but you are making this difficult.”

My throat tightened. “Yes, but you can’t be serious.”

The king cleared his throat. “Charles is right. Nothing proves loyalty to the land like fighting for it. Guards keep our borders safe. Perhaps Archer or your father will name you a protector of their realm before your third year is up.”

Holy realms. Three years? I felt like I knew that, but it never really sunk in.

The king gestured to one of the guards standing near the golden door. “Felixin, my personal guard, is known for his wit. Go on, boy—tell them a joke.”

The guard shifted. His face was nearly completely obscured by scaled armor, but the tension in his stance was clear. “Your Majesty, I don’t—”

“Come now,” the king interrupted, grinning as he stabbed his fork into a slab of meat. “Make your king proud and tell us a joke.”

A long pause. Then, flatly, Felixin muttered, “How many griffins does it take to cross the barren lands?”

Charles raised an eyebrow. “How many?”

Felixin didn’t even blink. “None. Griffins fly.”

The king burst into laughter, the sound bouncing off the marble walls like it had been waiting for an excuse to escape. “Delightfully absurd! Isn’t that just perfect?”

Evangeline nearly choked on her wine, coughing through her laughter. The candlelight carved wicked angles into her face, making her smile look sharper than kind. “Gods, that’s my favorite one. It never gets old.”

Charles and I exchanged a stiff glance before he set his fork down. “This isn’t a negotiation,” he said. “You’re going to Malvoria. No one will know you’re an heir. As far as the realms are concerned, you’ve been expelled. It’s that or prison.”

I bristled, planting both hands on the table’s edge. “Then you’ll have to drag me there.”

Charles leaned in, his smile cold and precise. “I figured you’d say that. Which is why I’ve already made arrangements for your delivery.”

He snapped his fingers.

For a moment, nothing. Just the clink of silverware. The low hum of conversation dying around us.

Then came the scrape of pincers against stone. Like something wild and armored was clawing its way down the hall.

I shoved my chair back just as a monstrous black scorpion skittered into the room, its obsidian tail curled high and twitching like it was eager to strike. Behind it trailed a silver-haired woman in a long leather coat that swept the floor like a shadow.

A Briber.

Recognition hit like a blow. I’d seen her before. She was the same Briber who hunted me in Ravensla.

Panic climbed my spine. I turned to Charles, searching his face for any hint of reason. “You sent a damn scorpion to escort me?” My voice cracked with fury. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

The woman grinned, all sharp teeth and audacity. “Remember me? I’m Sabitha,” she purred, tossing me a wink like we were old friends at a ball.

I didn’t return it. “I’m not agreeing to go,” I said to Charles, jaw tight. “There has to be another way to get me there.”

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