Page 159 of Crown of Briars
And, truth be told, I had worn it out of spite.
Another smile crept across my lips. Varius and I had consummated. Our marriage wasreal.
And he had promised to coronate me. I would officially become the queen of this court.
A giddy jolt of excitement rippled over me, and I could barely contain my squeal of glee.
I fastened the buttons of my dress, then made my way to Varius’s desk to write a letter to Eira.
If she wanted a detailed explanation of how I satisfied my husband’s carnal needs, I would have to find a clever way to convey them.
Dear RaRa,
Perhaps my husband is not as curmudgeonly as I had previously thought. In fact, I now see him in a new light. A light that makes him seem more like the fire dancer we encountered at the ball so many years ago.
I smirked at the memory of the muscular dancer Eira and I had fawned over at the ball in the Fire Court. As I paused to consider my next words, I absently tapped on my amber necklace.
“Sybelle!”My dragon’s alarmed voice filled my mind.
I stiffened. “Azure?”
“Stones! I have been trying to reach you for over an hour. I made it to Chesser Road.”
My blood chilled, and I set down my quill. “Did you find anything?”
“The road iscoveredin Necro Shadows. I couldn’t even get close to it because the shadows are so thick.”
Horror numbed my bones. That meant the shadows were even thicker than when I’d viewed the road with the shadowstone.
“Are you all right?” I asked, unable to hide the panic in my voice. “Azure, are you hurt?”
“No. The shadows don’t affect me, remember?”
I closed my eyes, slumping against the back of the chair. My pulse quickened. “You didn’t come across that ringing sound, did you? The one from the bloodstone?”
“Bloodstone?”
Oh, right. Azure didn’t know. I quickly filled her in on what the bloodstone was and what Varius had told me about it.
“So, the bloodstone shows you memories?”she asked.“And the shadowstone shows you visions? Perhaps the two are connected.”
I froze, my body going rigid. “Say that again,” I said slowly.
“I said, perhaps the bloodstone and the shadowstone are connected. Are you a bit slow this morning, human? Should I speak in plainer words?”
I ignored her barb and scrambled for the wrinkled parchment tucked in a drawer in the desk. My heart slammed painfully against my chest as I read over the words of the witch’s curse.
By stone of shadow and blood…
“Stones,” I gasped. “Azure, I—I think this is it. I think I found it.”
“Found what?”
My words came out in an excited rush. “When the witch cast her spell, she saidby stone of shadow and blood, I make this vow.The shadowstone vanished, and the bloodstone appeared in its place. That can’t be a coincidence. You’re right. Theyareconnected.”
Azure was silent for a moment.“Are you saying…”
“I’m saying I think the two stones belong with each other.” I dug through my pouch of gemstones, then impatiently dumpedthe contents on the desk with a loud clatter. Even knowing it wasn’t there, I still had to check.
