Page 39 of Storm of Desire
"Enough," the queen cried, slamming her palms on the arms of the throne. "Enough," she repeated, and somehow managed to hiss the word, despite the lack of appropriateconsonants.
Shoving to her feet, she glared at both of them. "I will have my daughter back, or I will have the heads of everyone in this throneroom."
Silence fell across theroom.
Sirius slowly bowed his head under her fierce regard and felt the others doing the same. Sometimes he had to wonder at the queen's hold onsanity.
They called Amadea the witch-queen, and her powers were fierce enough to rattle the stars. Nodrekiat this court could matchthem.
She, alone, had the gift of Chaos magic that had been bequeathed to her by the ancient goddess,Tiamat.
"Find her, Sirius," Amadea told him. "Or suffer mywrath."
Perhaps he shouldn't have called Árdís naive. For if so, then he suffered the samefate.
He should have known Amadea would never let her daughter gofree.
"I will do my best, but we all know Árdís is cunning. Where would she go?" Sirius asked, lifting his head to meet her gaze. Perhaps he could make an “attempt,” and when it failed, he could succumb to the queen's viciousness and bear the punishment. Surely his father wouldn't allow another of his sons to die. "If I'm going to find the princess, then I shall need some place tostart."
"I'm glad you've come to your senses," the queen rasped, sinking back onto herthrone.
"So am I," Stellan murmured to him, as he strode to the front of the dais. "Bring the girlforward."
A startled scream broke the silence of the cavernous throne room, and Sirius whipped toward the sound, his heart sinking into hisstomach.
Lor, one of his father's most brutal guards, dragged a young woman forward, a fist in her curly brown hair. A young woman with skin like cream and a heart-shaped face that haunted his dreams. A young woman whose scent of wild grass and sunshine wrapped around his heart, taunting him at every step he took in this accursed court. She'd been shielded from view by Stellan'sdreki.
Malin.
No.
It took every ounce of will Sirius owned not to simply rip the bastard's throat out, but he knew if he took half a step toward her it would be an almost fatal mistake. She was his. But declaring for her would earn them both little more than a brutal, torturous death, and he didn't miss the sudden sharpening of Roar's eyes as Siriusstiffened.
If he wasn't trapped so poorly in this dilemma, Sirius might almost have laughed at the hand fate had dealt him—Árdís had not missed the mark by much. Malin was so beyond unsuitable, his father would rather kill him than see him mateher.
AndMalin….
Stellan would do far worse toher.
It was the only thing reining his impulsesin.
"Let me go!" Malin cried, beating at Lor's thigh with herfist.
"If there's anyone who will know the princess's plans, it will be her maid." Stellan's cold blue eyes locked on the youngdrekiwoman. "And she'll speak them before I'm through withher."
Sirius stepped between them, trying to contain the sudden fierce surge of thedrekiwithin. "She's a nothing. A nobody. Why would she know anything about Árdís's intentions?" He tried to laugh. "She's not even a full-bloodeddreki. She's lucky Árdís even glanced at her, let alone took her as ahandmaid."
"They're cunning, these half-breeds." Stellan never took his eyes off the girl. "Scuttling around court in the shadows, listening to whispers.... If the princess confided in anyone, her maid will know aboutit."
"I don't know anything!" Malin cried desperately. "The last I saw of her highness was when I walked into her rooms to bring her supper. The next thing I remember is waking up on her bed, with my hands and ankles tied. I swear! I didn't even see who hit me. I didn't realize she was missing until Lor—Lord Lor—foundme."
"You lie," Stellansaid.
"I swear on mydrekiblood, I do not, myprince."
It was the worst thing she could havesaid.
Stellan moved to draw his knife, and before he even knew what was happening, Sirius had his hand on his father's hilt, forcing it back into itssheath.
