Page 6 of Clash of Storms
The first drekling shushed the second.
Banished.Prince Rurik is banished, Malin thought. And with him the hopes of all drekling anddrekiat court who despised the queen.
But if she could help Árdís escape, then there would be no mating ceremony, and the Blackfrost would be forced to take a tilt at power via other means. The idea of thwarting him and his malicious brethren warmed her on the inside.
Take that, you dastardly villain, she could imagine herself saying, though he'd never, ever know she'd been the one to hand him defeat.
Smirking to herself a little, she caught a glimpse of her dearest friend, Tove, and dashed toward her. The princess was packing her bags and Malin carried several days worth of food and water in the sack at her side, but there was just one more thing she wanted to get her hands on for the princess....
And Tove had it.
"Malin," Tove whispered, glancing over her shoulder as they clasped hands. "How is the princess?"
"Resting," Malin lied, with a smile on her face she knew didn't quite reach her eyes. Tove was her dearest friend, but if anyone knew the princess's plans....
Safer if she alone was aware of them. The queen would probably question Malin the second Árdís was discovered missing, but no one else would bear the brunt of the queen's "mercy" if she could help it.
"Such dreadful news," Tove murmured, dragging her into an alcove and lowering her voice. "Why would the princess submit to this? She abhors the Blackfrost."
"I daresay she had little choice."
Árdís had admitted as much when she first heard of the betrothal, but now the queen was pushing for the mating ceremony to happen as soon as possible.
Why now?
The little part of Malin that served her prince—hertrueexiled prince—had to wonder at the queen's sudden demand.
Was there something brewing behind the scenes that the prince's rebellion ought to know of?
"Then why does Árdís not say no?" Tove's brow crinkled. "The queen cannot force the princess to mate with him. It's against the law—"
"Would you tell the queen you refused to do as she commanded?"
Queen Amadea ruled as regent in the wake of her husband's long-ago murder, with her twin brother, Stellan, at her side. Born in Norway, within the heart of the viciousZilittuclan, they were considered outsiders within theZiniclan, and held power through threats and violence.
Amadea had driven the rightful heir—Prince Rurik—from the court, branding him responsible for his father's murder, but no drekling in the court could believe it. Rurik was honorable and had loved his father; and considering his younger brother, Marduk, had fled the second he reached his majority, suspicion about the queen's hand in things brewed beneath the court's surface.
Why else would her sons flee if not in fear of their lives?
Technically, Árdís was the current heir, but femaledrekiwere rarely strong enough to physically win challenges, and without a male at her side to shield her from contenders—or dangerous magic such as the queen had—she would lose the throne.
"The queen wouldn't strike her daughter down for such a refusal," Tove said, but she didn't sound convinced.
"She'd do it without blinking."
"We have to stop this," Tove whispered. "If the ceremony goes ahead, we'll never be able to overthrow the queen and restore Prince Rurik to his rightful place."
Malin pressed a finger to her friend's lips. "Not in the hallways."
"But the Blackfrost is—"
"A very luckydreki," Malin said out loud, as one of the queen's loyal warriors strode into view. She dragged Tove further into the shadows of a hallway leading to the cellars. "And we shall celebrate their mating ceremony tomorrow night beneath the aurora. There'll be wine, Tove. A feast. Perhaps a handsome drekling male to sweep you off your feet?"
Tove gave her a sharp look, but Malin continued to babble until she was certain thedrekiwas well out of earshot.
"They just sentenced Marek to the bonfire for daring to declare Prince Rurik the rightful heir," she breathed. "I don't want to see you burn too."
"How do we save h—"
