Page 6 of Severed Heir

She turned slightly, her silver hair lifting in the wind, barely held in place by jeweled clips that shimmered like frost. “It pays well,” she said.

“And how much am I worth?”

“A thousand gold coins,” she replied with a mocking hiss, “and the freedom to live wherever I please. Your brother had prior obligations, so he hired me.”

My jaw tightened. “I thought Bribers weren’t welcome in Verdonia. That Serpents only used you for failed Bids or hunting criminals.”

She scoffed. “We were exiled, yes. Deemed too dangerous by the same blood boiling in your veins. But once the guards saw how useful we were… let’s just say they stopped caring where we came from. Now I deal with criminals.”

Criminals. That’s what I was to them.

My stomach turned. Nevia had sensed something in me definitely the king’s blood. Maybe something worse.

I tried to distract myself. Tried to learn more about her, since she’d be delivering me like a package for the next day.

“If you could live anywhere,” I asked, voice quieter now, “where would it be?”

She sighed. “Maybe I’ll keep the Shadow Serpent company. I hear he’s lonely. And I do love the stars.”

“He’s not lonely,” I said.

“Well, he’s the finest unmarried Serpent on the Continent… or so I’ve heard.”

She was baiting me, trying to piss me off. “Go ahead,” I said. “The Night lands are beautiful. Especially under the Serpent you speak so fondly of. I hardly got any sleep.”

“You are his heir. Of course you’re beneath him.” She hummed, silk-smooth and venom-laced. “Oh… was that a secret? MyGods, your shield is weak. One whiff from my beast, and it told me everything.”

Her words hit like thorns. “So, you know everything about me just because of that scorpion?” I asked. “What kind of magic does it use to peel people open?”

“Yes. I know everything about you, Severyn. And scorpions are truth seekers, it is in their blood to see into the souls of others.”

“And how much gold is that information worth?” I asked, voice tight. “What Nevia… saw in me.”

“Not much. You aren’t as important as you think. Honestly, you’re quite annoying.”

I gripped the saddle tighter, and slowly, the ice chains began to melt as we entered a forested path. All too soon, the scorpion’s steady pace carried me farther from everything I knew and closer to everything I feared.

Chapter Two

We spent the night in Harlynn, an Autumn realm ruled by the Serpent Var, Malachi’s uncle. Unlike the barren regions I’d passed through, this mountainous town felt almost... quaint.

Civilians stared as the scorpion clattered through the black iron gates. The village unfurled in a sea of green walls and rounded peaks, every shade of orange and moss melting into the golden-flecked earth.

Three guards led us past the edge of the forest to a lone cabin slouched beneath a smog-stained sky.

For hours, I felt like both prisoner and beast. Now I was cast to the land’s fringe, teeth chattering, my flame quell barely flickering at my fingertips.

Since the snakebite to my relic, its heat had faded to little more than a dying ember. The healers said it could take months to return, once the wound scarred.

Firelight danced in Sabitha’s silver glare, painting her face in fractured shadows. She looked even more wicked here, half-lit and half-lost, than she had while commanding that seven-foot scorpion.

Across from me, she stepped beneath a low branch, stabbed an apple with her dagger, and bit into it with a loud crunch. Juiceslid down her chin. Without looking, she grabbed another and tossed it into my lap.

“Nothing like Autumn apples,” she said.

I took a bite—and damn, she was right. Then again, I was starving. “Thanks,” I murmured, trying to ignore the caws and scratches echoing from the forest’s edge. I didn’t want to know what kind of beasts lived out there.

“We should rest,” I said, though what I really wanted was to reach through the bond and tell Archer that Charles was sending me to Malvoria.

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