Page 48 of Her Radiant Curse

To my surprise, he pulls his punch. He holds me against the wall, his wings blocking everyone’s view as his fist knocks into stone instead of my bones.

I look up at him, confused. Hokzuh, I say. What are you—

He leans forward, so close that our breaths mingle; I can see the silvery lines between his scales and the cuts on his pink-gray lips. I can smell the sweat on his brow. Never attack the queen, he says.

Then he lets me drop.

The nobles are on their feet, calling for me to be lashed again. Their mouths are half full, and food flies everywhere. It’s disgusting, but I can’t stop watching. Their eyes no longer glow. Neither do Queen Ishirya’s.

In my delirium, I almost wonder if I imagined it all. Almost.

Meguh rushes to the queen’s side. “Are you hurt, my dove?”

“No, no.” Ishirya bestows on her husband a winsome laugh. “I’m amused.”

“By the snake?” Meguh peers down at me, pinned to the wall.

“A fierce little thing, isn’t she?” Ishirya’s shoulders shake with mirth, and though I keep my eyes resolutely lowered, I feel her gaze on me. “You’ve done well to bring her here. But where is the sister?” A pause. “The pretty one.”

The pretty one. Three words that overturn my world. Only one person has ever described my sister as such. The words in my mind, over and over, drowning out the excuse that Meguh is making about Vanna.

My stomach pinches, and the color drains from my face, making me cold.

“You look unwell, Channari,” says the queen. When did she get so close? She rests her hand on mine. Her nails are sharp and press against my wristbone. “It must be difficult for you to be so far from your sister. I’ve heard you two are close.”

I don’t move. Am I the only one who can see through her? Everyone here adores her, even the servants. I imagine she is the one who pleads with Meguh not to beat them, who sees to it that they are bandaged and taken care of while she whispers sweet poison into the king’s ear.

Hokzuh was right. It is the queen who rules Shenlani.

She instructs the servants to bring me water. “Come, sit with me. Won’t you reconsider my generosity?”

No wonder Queen Ishirya is often compared to Su Dano. To everyone in the room, it sounds like an invitation to peacefully rejoin dinner. But I know better.

I’ll never betray Vanna. “Never.”

Her smile fades, and she clucks her tongue dramatically—as if my vehemence has stung her. I could laugh at the absurdity of it, but the way everyone moves to defend Ishirya is a sour taste of her power.

The guards circle me.

“Escort her to her room,” Ishirya says, pretending to sound troubled. “The poor thing has had too much to eat. She’ll need rest before the fight tomorrow.”

The smell of her sharpens in my nostrils, and I am brought back to that fateful day in the jungle. As I am led away, I become sure that Queen Ishirya is a demon, and not just any demon…

She is Angma.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

I cannot sleep.

Every time I close my eyes, I think of Angma, barely a thousand steps away, deceiving the entirety of Shenlani under the guise of its beloved queen. No wonder I could never find her. Ukar was right; all this time she wasn’t even on Sundau.

I’m tense all over, every muscle in my body gone stiff. Ukar! I try calling out.

Never an answer, no matter how far I stretch my thoughts. But he is alive, somewhere. I’d know if he weren’t.

Digging is hopeless. Kicking the walls and the door only rattles my neighbors, who don’t need much encouragement to hate me.

“Hope you’re ready to die, snake hag,” they jeer. “No girl’s ever survived the Bonemaker.”

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