Page 154 of Curse of Darkness
“She hurt you,” I whisper. “And she hurt Amaya. And May. And so many others.” I can’t help thinking of my people—both the Asturians I was raised among, and the people of Evernight who now belong to me. My voice hardens. “She is a blight that needs to be removed.”
Thiago captures my face in his hands, kissing me hard. His thumbs stroke my cheeks as he draws back. “Then don’t hesitate. And don’t listen to a word she says to you. She’ll seek to weaken you with her words, and throw you off-balance. You can’t afford that.”
I slowly lift on my toes and kiss his cheek.I know. “I will harden my heart against her.” She can’t hurt me. Not anymore. I won’t let her. “Thank you. For everything. For always standing at my side.”
Thiago steps back, his face hard and dangerous again. “Always, Vi. Always.”
* * *
“The kingdomof Aska rules in favor of the Queen of Asturia,” the herald intones as he reads from the small scroll of parchment Maren set in his hands.
Mother smirks.
It’s difficult to stop myself from setting her throne on fire.
The herald opens Kyrian’s vote. “The kingdom of Stormlight rules in favor of the Queen of Evernight.”
As expected.
Our stares connect as the herald unfolds the final piece of paper. I can’t stop myself from feeling nervous. This all comes down to Lucere and her courage, and the slow steps I’ve taken toward nurturing an alliance with her.
Is it enough? Will it be enough? Can we trust her?
“The kingdom of Ravenal….” The herald pauses, glancing toward Mother. “The kingdom of Ravenal abstains.”
Mother’s head whips toward Lucere.
Relief explodes through me.
Lucere returns an icy glare toward Mother, her shoulders square and her expression undeniable. For all her nervousness, there’s no sign of it as she holds Mother’s stare. Her face says:You may take my sister. But Ravenal will not yield. Give her back to me, and Imightconsider it.
Whispers roar like wildfire through the gallery. Maren cuts Lucere a certain look, the faintest hints of a smile touching the sides of her mouth as ifoh, this game suddenly grew interesting.
“The council has spoken,” Maren says, enjoying the moment. “This issue will be resolved between the kingdoms of Asturia and Evernight, if either party wishes to offer a formal duel. We have no part in this.”
Mother’s eyes blaze, but she looks down, her fingers curling around the edges of the throne as if she’s fighting to keep her mouth shut.
And that nervous pit in my stomach grows.
“She’s not reacting as she should be.”
Mother should be frothing at the mouth, making threats. Iknowher.
“Lucere’s given her quite the public slap across the face,” Thiago murmurs as the fae behind us suck in sharp gasps and whisper loudly. “And the loss of the crown did hurt her. She’s lost weight, Vi. There are hollows beneath her eyes. Maybe she recognizes when she needs to bow her head.”
“Mother doesn’t know the meaning of the words.” When she’s backed into a corner, she’s twice as vicious. She should be on her feet screaming by now. She should be challenging me. I was prepared for it.
She has something planned.
Something we can’t see.
And that’s the thing I fear the most.
Anxiety twists my stomach in knots. This should be our victory, but I know it’s not. Iknow.
Thiago slides a gloved hand over mine, squeezing tight.
“I have one final request of the council,” Mother calls, her voice cutting through all the noise in the room.
